Astronaut Lee Morin On a Mission Encouraging STEM Careers
By Amanda Perez, Intern A
stronaut Lee Morin has landed at The University of Texas-Pan Amer-
ican for Hispanic Engineering, Science and Technology (HESTEC) Week with the assignment of inspiring young stu- dents to pursue careers in science, tech- nology, engineering and math (STEM). “It’s really great to be able to come
here. This particular event reaches so many people and has so much energy,” said Morin. At a reception held in his honor
Sept. 30 in the NASA Exhibit, he greet- ed UTPA faculty, staff, students and community members, who were ex- cited to meet the astronaut with more than 200 hours logged in space. They had the opportunity to ask him ques- tions about his experiences, education and time in space. Arlene Gorena was at the recep-
tion with her family and said she loves bringing her daughter to HESTEC events every year. “It is so neat, I love that UTPA was
able to bring an astronaut to speak with us,” Gorena said. “This is actually the first year since I have been coming to HESTEC, that I actually get to meet an astronaut. To be able to ask him ques- tions was awesome.” Gorena and her daughter Bianca
discovered that Morin’s favorite meal in space is shrimp with horseradish and that he will be a part of the con- struction process of a new spacecraft. Bianca said she was excited and a
little nervous to speak to Morin, but that someday she hopes to be just as successful. Morin has an important message to
send to young students like Bianca that reach far beyond his favorite meals in space. His goal at HESTEC is to en- courage them to go to college and earn a degree. He said he wants them to
www.hnmagazine.com
know they can master even the things that seem the hardest with the help from family and professors. “The best message I would like to
send is that kids need to study hard in math and science and get STEM- relat- ed training so that they can get STEM- related jobs,” Morin said. “These are the jobs of the future and will be very important to the economic future of the entire Valley.” Morin spoke of his education and
how it has impacted him greatly. He said his degrees are the center of his life and have enabled him to do all the things he has. Morin holds a bachelor of science in mathematical and electri- cal science, a master of science in bio- chemistry, a doctorate of medicine and microbiology and a master’s degree in public health. “I hope these students have as many
Celebrating 19 Years of Diversity
opportunities as I have. I want them to achieve a personal plan that works for them,” Morin said. “I want them to find something they can be the best at. Every child has the potential and insti- tutions like UTPA can make that poten- tial possible to realize.” Morin joined the NASA team at the
Johnson Space Center in Houston, Tex- as in April 1996. He was selected as an astronaut the same year. Morin served on the crew of STS-110 Atlantis in 2002, which was the 13th shuttle mission to visit the International Space Station, and logged 14 hours of spacewalking time. He is currently assigned to the Exploration Branch, where he is work- ing on the cockpit of NASA’s newest spacecraft, the Crew Exploration Ve- hicle. For more information go online at
http://hestec.utpa.edu.
HISPANIC NETWORK MAGAZINE 57
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84