Israel Ramirez wants a career that’s out of this world. Literally.
Knowing that it’s not an easy road to become an astronaut, though, he began his education the way that every great journey starts: with a single step. For Israel, that first step was to enroll in community college — in his case, Eastfield College.
Already interested in engineering, he was well on his way to earning an associate degree when he and 15 other DCCCD students were selected to join 300 community college students from across Texas to participate in the Community College Aerospace Scholars program (CAS). Part of Texas Aerospace Scholars, CAS was created by the state in partnership with the Johnson Space Center and Texas education institutions to interest community college students in science and engineering careers.
Israel’s group spent three days in an intensive on-site program at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston. In addition to getting directed career information, participants formed fictional Mars exploration companies responsible for developing a prototype rover and forming the company’s infrastructure, including budget, communications and presentations. For Israel, a career dream began to take shape.
“I was always interested in working for NASA, but that experience really helped me to make the decision to get my degree in aerospace engineering,” he says. “They explained what it really meant to be an aerospace engineer, from the brainstorming and planning to the actual design work.”
He completed his associate degree at Eastfield and was accepted into the aerospace engineering program at the University of Texas at Arlington. Now in his third year, he plans to receive his bachelor’s degree in spring 2009. Then he hopes to snag a NASA internship and become an aerospace engineer. Eventually, he wants to be an astronaut.
Still, he’s very conscious that besides providing the opportunity to participate in the NASA Scholars program that influenced his career decision, community college was his entrée into higher education.
“The best thing about going to Eastfield was getting my feet wet in college,” he says. “It’s important to learn time management, to make sure you stay on top of your responsibilities. I was able to do that there. Community college was a great experience for me.
“Don’t underestimate community college. It’s a good way to learn what you need to learn — and not just academically — to transfer to a university. You’ve got to use your time wisely. And you’ve got to give it your all.”
For Israel Ramirez, it all began here.