Former migrant worker shares journey of becoming astronaut

Students at Desert Mirage High School were excited to hear from a former migrant worker — now a retired astronaut — as he shared his journey of ascending from a migrant farming family in Mexico, to the ranks of NASA.

The Coachella Valley Unified School District welcomed Jose Hernandez on Wednesday afternoon.

District officials said Hernandez was one of four children in a migrant farming family. He spoke to students participating in the “Camp Jedi” (Just Enough Determination In Me) summer school program, which focuses on robotics and coding. Hernandez founded the Reaching for the Stars Academy, a program that prepares young students for careers in STEM (science, Tehcnology, Engineering, and Math).

KESQ and CBS Local 2 were at Wednesday’s event at Desert Mirage High School. We’ll have the full report on KESQ at 5 p.m. and CBS Local 2 at 5:30 p.m.