Chapter 1 Ellen Ochoa bo0 views Earthoo from a window on the Internationalo Space Station I EXPLORING HER INTERESTS when Ellen Ochoa was young girls did not grow up to be astronauts Ellen was interested in science but she did not expect to travel to outer space as an adult dreams Yet as the world changed around Ellen so did her
2° And she surprised everyone by becoming the first female Hispanic American astronaut in 1991 She went on to log nearly one thousand hours in outer space EARLY IMPRESSIONS Ellen was born on May 10 1958 in Los Angeles California She spent her childhood near San Diego California Her father Joseph was Mexican American and ran a retail store Her mother Rosanne was a homemaker The family also included Ellen's sister and three brothers Ellen was the middle child By fifth grade Ellen thought she might like to be president of the United States one day But she had many other interests and did not stick with that goal She learned to play the flute TECH TALK I was definitely interested in space exploration when I was little and the Apollo program was going on when I was in elementary and junior high But at that time women were excluded from becoming astronauts so I never thought it was a career I could grow up and pursue Ellen Ochoa 133 si 5
Ochoa has continued playing the flute throughout her life un sat TVAR DO B O EF She also liked math and science In 1969 when Ellen was eleven the Apollo 11 mission landed American astronauts on the moon The moon landing made a big impression on Ellen Along with the rest of the country Ellen followed the news about this major historical event But it didn't figure into her men personal goals Everyone knew all astronauts were
SMART FROM THE START Ellen's parents divorced when she was a teenager Ellen and her siblings lived with their mother and witnessed her determination as she took college classes part time while working to support her family It took Rosanne twenty two years to earn her college degree She expected the same perseverance and hard work from her children Ellen was a serious student throughout high school She took calculus classes and was very interested in science and math Some of her classmates thought that was strange for a girl Some of her teachers thought so too In 1975 Ellen graduated from Grossmont High School in La Mesa California Her grades put her at the top of the class She was named valedictorian and she earned a four year scholarship to Stanford University She was not entirely sure what her career path would be But her childhood and her education had prepared her for future success 3° 7
