To say that Katya Echazarreta is a success is an understatement, the electrical engineer who was the first Mexican-born woman to go to Space is a stellar role model and inspiration to all students who dream big. She achieved her unimaginable mission of reaching space and working at NASA and now she has the calling to give back to her community and share her valuable life skills and experience.
McDonald’s recruited Echazarreta, who was a former staff member (while going to school) to participate in a series of education workshops and a mentoring program for Latino students. The program, HACER National Scholarship, would also provide these students the opportunity to receive up to $100,000 in scholarship funds. Being one of the largest programs committed to college scholarships and resources for Hispanics, already this year, it has awarded half a million dollars in scholarship funds to 30 applicants.
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Katya will join McDonald’s as a guest speaker on this year’s HACER Education Tour across high schools in select U.S. cities and as host of in-person and virtual mentorship sessions. As part of her role, she aims to connect with students over shared challenges to instill in them the confidence “que si se puede” and that college and bigger dreams are within reach.
The 26-year-old, who was born in Guadalajara and moved to San Diego at 7 years old, studied electrical engineering at UCLA and was selected by the organization Space Humanity and Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin as one of the crew astronauts to take part in their 5th mission to space. Recently, the Latina trailblazer also made the cover of Vogue Mexico, and this week, she was named woman of the year in science by Glamour Mexico and Latin America.
HOLA! USA had the chance to ask Katya a few questions and we were impressed with her energy and story. She spoke about her journey from working at McDonald’s in the mornings and teaching herself electrical boards in the afternoons, to the importance of mentorships, asking for help to get the resources you need to accomplish your goals. In addition, she shared the name of the special mentor who believed in her and moved mountains for her, and she joked about her parents being afraid when she has news for them. I guess once you tell your Latino parents you are going to space, what else is next?!
“As a child, I thought that the sky and the stars were the most beautiful, but now that I have seen planet Earth, I can tell you that it is the most beautiful thing I have ever seen”.
She said “Everyone told me that this was a children’s dream, that it was not going to happen, that it was impossible” Read on to learn more about her journey and how passion and drive took this young woman far!”
How long did you work at McDonald’s, and at that time, did you ever imagine you would end up working for NASA?
I worked at McDonald’s for a few years. I actually worked there at two different times. One when I was in High School and then another time when I was at UCLA. During that time, even though I was starting with the little that I had and this job, I was able to get through it. My goal was always to be able to reach space and always to be able to work at NASA.
Fun fact, the second time I worked at McDonald’s, I was working at McDonald’s during the day and teaching myself how to design circuit boards in the afternoon. It was thanks to that summer that I was able to get my first internship at NASA. Everybody loves that story.
That’s amazing. And why are you partnering with McDonald’s now?
I’m partnering with the McDonald’s HACER National Scholarship Team because we have some really exciting things planned. I want to encourage everyone from the Hispanic community to apply for the scholarship. I was able to get my education through a national Scholarship, and it is thanks to that, partially, that I am here today. Therefore, being able to educate students on those same type of resources is important to me.
We are going to be doing a series of really amazing things. One of them is a workshop tour across different states in the United States, where we will go to high schools and provide them with workshops, resources, and tools necessary for them to apply to college. So whether this is their college application, financial aid application, helping them with their essays, or helping with their HACER scholarship applications, it’s going to be exciting. Something else that I’m excited about is doing one-on-one mentorship sessions with some of these students.
I will be able to give them a hybrid mentorship session, which involves some motivating and inspiring conversations and any advice they may need as they go on in their educational journey.
“I am a very firm believer that in order to get somewhere, you don’t get there alone...So if you were given a hand, it’s really important that once you’re up there, you lend that hand right back.”
You are going to be mentoring students one on one. Did you have a mentor that guided you and you’ll never forget?
Yes, I will be mentoring students one on one, and that is so exciting for me because I definitely had mentors throughout my academic career, and one of them is so important for me. His name is Dr. Rafael Alvarez, and this was part of the MESA program. He was my number one fan while I was going to college. He believed in me so much.
He would go out of his way to talk to different research institutions and admission counselors, all to get me in touch with people who were already doing the things that I wanted to do and was dreaming of doing. He really went out of his way to make sure that I had everything I needed in order to succeed. There were times when I didn’t really believe in myself, and he believed in me for the both of us to the point where eventually I believed in me so much that I was able to do so much more than I really ever expected I would be able to do.
What inspires you to give back to the community?
What inspires me to give back to the community is the fact that so many individuals and people from my community came together to help me. I have so many individuals who served as my mentors, who served as people that were there for me when I needed help, when I needed advice and when I needed encouragement. I am of the very firm believer that in order to get somewhere, you don’t get there alone. Once you eventually get there, you now have to come back and give back and help make sure that more people are able to reach that as well. So if you were given a hand, it’s really important that once you’re up there, you lend that hand right back.
Tell us how your parents feel about your accomplishments
My parents are so incredibly excited and happy for me every day about my accomplishments. It’s been kind of funny because it’s become a running joke that whenever I come to them with news, they sort of just immediately stiffen up and are just waiting for it, because every time I’ve come with them to share different news or share different things going on in my life, it’s always been bigger than the time before. So I don’t know if they can handle any more at the moment, so I have to try to space them out. (She laughs)
What advice would you give to young students looking to pursue higher education who might not have the means or have not found the resources to move forward with their education?
To young students out there who want to pursue higher education but don’t have the resources or the means, I want you to know that I was in your shoes. What I had to do is really get out there and find the organizations, the groups, the people that would believe in my mission and in my dream enough to support me.
I was able to get not one, but two different scholarships to help me through my education. I’ve also been able to get a scholarship to help me through my master’s degree. So I firmly believe that if you really want something, you will go out and get it in any way that you’re able to, in any way that you can.
The McDonald’s HACER National Scholarship is now open for applications through February 6, 2023. Visit mcdonalds.com/hacer to apply and access additional college resources in English and Spanish.
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