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Diana Trujillo's talent, perseverance, and intellect have allowed her to achieve her dream of becoming NASA's Aerospace Engineer, becoming the first Latina to lead one of the organization's space missions.
Born in Cali, Colombia, Trujillo had long dreamed of being a part of NASA. When she was 17 years old, she moved out of her country and began to build a career away from home. With $300, Trujillo moved to Houston, Texas, where she learned English at Miami Dade College. At the same time, she worked different jobs until she gained entry to the University of Florida, where she continued her career as an engineer.
"Space for me began as a challenge. I wanted to prove to myself and to remember that no one here would tell me that I couldn't do this or that it wasn't for me."
Inspired by other women who'd achieved similar feats, Trujillo applied to NASA's Academy Program, becoming the first immigrant woman to gain entry.
Trujillo's abilities allowed her to become a part of an elite group of professionals, ultimately becoming an aerospace engineer at NASA. Proud of her achievements, Trujillo shared an emotional message where she revealed how happy she was to be a part of her team, and that this was just the beginning of an impressive career filled with many accomplishments.
Trujillo has always shared the importance of her Latin roots, launching a program called "Somos Flight." Aside from leading space missions, Trujillo also launched the first live program about landing a spacecraft on Mars to be transmitted in Spanish, titled #JuntosPerseveramos, which translates to Together We Persevere.
"Together, as the word states, means community. It's a word that includes everyone."
As a brilliant woman, hard worker, and dreamer, Trujillo is sure to always speak up for people who are hunting for new opportunities in a new country. "You came with a dream, with all of the desire to work hard," she said to El Tiempo Latino.
"No one said it was going to be easy. Don't forget why you came here. Hold on to your Latin community that's also here, because we're here to help each other out."