The story of a migrant worker ...

I loved today's story which appeared in The Seattle Times--not a local story, but inspirational indeed.

A Mexican resident, Jose Hernández grew up with the California harvests. Seven days a week, when school was out. Hard work, relentless--and every evening at the end of the family's tough workday, his eyes would meet his dad's in the rearview mirror:

"Remember this feeling because if you guys don't do well in school, this is your future."

Apparently Jose took his dad's advice to heart, because he's blasting off with NASA this Tuesday. He earned Bachelor's and Master's degrees in electrical engineering and since has been working toward this goal. In fact, all kids in this family finished not only high school--but college.

Salvador and Julia Hernández, both having completed just third-grade level, taught their children well. I think we'd all agree that education is part of what the American dream is all about, and every parent wants his/her kids to have all the opportunities in the world.

In high school, Jose witnessed the first Hispanic go into orbit and thought, "If he can do it, why not me?" And now he's helping young students achieve their potential in math, science, engineering and technology with the Reaching for the Stars foundation.

And, out of the seven astronauts taking flight this Tuesday, there will be another Mexican American, Danny Oliva, joining Jose on this dream. The first launch with two Hispanics, and the first launch with a bilingual Twittering astronaut! Follow him at http://twitter.com/astro(underscore)jose.

Take a read.