By Jonathan Morales

2020年9月9日

At just 16 years old, Felipe Valdez ’16 (Mechanical Engineering) faced a life-changing decision.

他和他的家人生活在墨西哥的贫困中。 他的母亲在当地一家工厂每天工作10个小时。 His older sister had dropped out of school, and his parents couldn’t afford for him to continue his own education. 而且，也许最严重的是，他的父亲与酒精和毒品成瘾作斗争。

他问自己，应该留在墨西哥和家人一起找份工作，还是搬回他出生的美国，和大家庭住在一起，这样他就可以继续上学了？

“Many kids want to be like their parents when they grow up. My case was the opposite,” Valdez said. “I didn’t want to be like my dad, so I would always ask myself, ‘what are my options?’ And my only option was to move to the U.S., leaving my parents behind, in order to continue my education and become a better person.”

That difficult decision set Valdez on the path that led to what he is today: a 萨克拉门托 State engineering grad who in August started work as an aerospace engineer at NASA’s Armstrong Flight 研究 Center.

With NASA, he is working alongside “the smartest people on the planet,” he said, and helping develop cutting-edge technology for aircraft, making planes faster, quieter, and more efficient.

Valdez’s interest in math, science and engineering started young.

“I was always good with numbers, had an interest in science, and wondered how mechanical things work from inside out. Then I realized that combining math with science was engineering,” he said. “So later on, that’s when engineering became my passion.”

当他十几岁回到美国时，瓦尔迪兹不会说英语。 On his first day of high school in Live Oak, he says the principal asked if he was “in this school to be one of those gang members.” 他立即转到尤巴市的河谷高中，并最终茁壮成长，进入尤巴学院，然后转到萨克州立大学。

 

一旦进入校园，瓦尔迪兹就参与了多个学生组织，如工程荣誉协会Tau Beta Pi，专业西班牙裔工程师协会，领导力倡议计划和MESA工程计划，该计划支持工程和科学领域代表性不足的学生。 在课堂上，他很感激有机会获得实际的研究经验，并与教授建立有意义的关系

“I truly enjoyed the combination of hands-on and research that comes with the Engineering program,” he said. “I got the experience that has now prepared me for the workforce.”

瓦尔迪兹将他的成功归功于他的家人和亲密的导师。 Jose Granda, a professor of Engineering, taught several of Valdez’s classes and made a positive impact on his college and future career.

It was Granda who told Valdez about an internship at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston and encouraged him to apply. 瓦尔迪兹一开始很犹豫。

“I said, ‘You know what, professor? 这是NASA。 I don’t even know if I’m going to be accepted or if they’re going to look at my application at all,’ ” Valdez said. “But he believed in me, and he made me believe in myself.”

瓦尔迪兹得到了实习机会，这开启了他在美国宇航局的职业生涯，并使他在研究生院时被美国宇航局学生培训计划录取。

 

Granda’s connection to NASA is deep, including time as the Spanish-language spokesman for the shuttle mission. Valdez was the latest in a long line of Granda’s students to obtain an internship with the agency.

Valdez’s organization, attention to detail, and quality of work set him apart from other students, Granda said.

“To be able to come to an office hour and on a one-to-one basis talk with the professor, you begin realizing that there is a talent in there,” he said. “There is a love of the profession, of doing things of the best of his ability, doing things right.”

瓦尔迪兹前途无量。 This summer, he graduated with his master’s degree in Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering from UC Davis. 他最近和女友普里西拉订婚了。

重要的是，他的父亲自从十年前搬回美国后就一直保持清醒。

8月底，瓦尔迪兹开始为NASA远程工作，不过他最终将搬到阿姆斯特朗研究中心所在的南加州。

“Working with cutting-edge technology alongside top-quality NASA engineers, that’s really exciting for me,” he said. “Being part of the aviation technology that will help the world and have a positive impact in our lives is what fulfills me as an engineer.”

He’s a long way from living in poverty in Mexico, his future in question. 他不计一切代价追求教育的决心把他带到了这里。他说，他希望自己的故事能激励那些正在苦苦挣扎或怀疑自己的梦想是否现实的人。

“探索 things you are curious about, and don’t be afraid of pursuing your dreams and what makes you happy,” Valdez said. “Make sure to stay focused and consistent, be proactive, and take care of yourself both physically and mentally. These are some of the things that helped me succeed in college.”