First Mexican-born woman to go to space visits Parlier

PARLIER, Calif. (KFSN) -- On June 4, 2022, Katya Echazarreta crossed a milestone she'd dreamed of since she was 7 years old: going to space.

The non-profit Space For Humanity inaugural picked her to marque a suborbital travel aboard Blue Origin's NS-21 formation -- sending her connected a travel 66 miles supra the Earth to acquisition a fewer minutes of weightlessness and get an unforgettable presumption of the Earth below.

"When I yet made it retired there. When I felt gravity for the archetypal time, erstwhile I saw satellite Earth for the archetypal time, it was the astir beauteous acquisition you are going to person successful your life, but beyond that, it's an grant and a privilege," Echazarreta said.

On Thursday morning, Echazarreta talked to hundreds of students astatine Parlier High School astir the galore barriers she faced arsenic a young Latina.

"I americium an immigrant. I came to this state erstwhile I was successful the 3rd grade, and I retrieve that being 1 of the astir hard experiences I person ever faced."

She acknowledgment her ma for instilling a coagulated enactment ethic and perpetually reminding her to travel her passion.

Hope and motivation, she says, kept her focused.

She graduated from UCLA with a bachelor's grade successful electrical engineering and present works astatine NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory successful Pasadena, wherever she is moving connected immoderate astonishing science.

Most recently, she's been moving connected the Europa Clipper mission, which volition motorboat successful October connected a ngo to sojourn a satellite of Jupiter, thought to beryllium 1 of the places successful our star strategy astir apt to harbor extraterrestrial life.

The hurdles she faced inspired her to usage her level and wage it forward, motivating aboriginal generations with akin backgrounds.

"It's ever truthful peculiar to maine erstwhile I americium capable to beryllium successful a country similar this wherever beauteous overmuch everyone present understands the migrant struggle."

Senior Trinidad Andrade felt honored to perceive Echazarreta talk and says moments similar this substance his dreams.

"She is putting america connected the map. Putting america astir the world," Andrade said. "She connected to a batch of america to pursuit our dreams and cognize that we tin execute it, we person her arsenic an example."

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