12 Quotes & Sayings By Ellen Ochoa

Dr. Ellen Ochoa served as the first female captain of the United States Air Force and commanded the Space Shuttle program for over three years. She holds more than 150 patents and was awarded NASA's Exceptional Service Medal in 1986. Ellen is the recipient of many distinguished NASA awards, including the NASA Exceptional Achievement Medal, the NASA Humanitarian Award, and the Exceptional Public Service Medal Read more

She had a distinguished career in academia, serving as a professor of Aerospace Engineering at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). She was also a professor of Aerospace Engineering at Stanford University and a professor of Physics at Caltech. Dr.

Ochoa also worked on several classified projects for the Department of Defense and Department of Energy while she was at Stanford University. In 1985, Dr. Ochoa became the first female Hispanic to receive a doctorate from UCLA.

In 1993 she became a member of MIT's Society of Women Engineers and in 2002 was inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame. In 2003, Dr. Ochoa received the highest civilian honor from President Bush when he presented her with the Congressional Gold Medal for her contributions to science and engineering excellence in aviation technology.

1
Being an astronaut is a wonderful career. I feel very privileged. But what I really hope for young people is that they find a career they're passionate about, something that's challenging and worthwhile. Ellen Ochoa
2
We are involved in technology development for, you know, missions that we hope to plan that would take us to an asteroid and eventually to Mars. Ellen Ochoa
3
That's what we want to do here at Johnson Space Center. I think what we have always brought to NASA and brought to the country is trying to push the boundaries, trying to go to the next level. Ellen Ochoa
4
Astronauts are very professional and when they're preparing for launch, they prepare for it as the most serious endeavor of our lives. Ellen Ochoa
5
I'll tell you, being involved in human space flight, it is an emotional endeavor. I think it brings in the highest highs and the lowest lows. Ellen Ochoa
6
Usually, girls weren't encouraged to go to college and major in math and science. My high school calculus teacher, Ms. Paz Jensen, made math appealing and motivated me to continue studying it in college. Ellen Ochoa
7
I think of it as a good opportunity to let, in particular, school kids know that this job and other interesting jobs in science and engineering are open to anyone who works hard in school and gets a good education and studies math and science. And that it's not just for a select group of people. Ellen Ochoa
8
I don't recall any interest in science in particular. It came later in college. Ellen Ochoa
9
A hallmark of the Latino community is to help one another, if students are interested in a way to give back and help their communities, becoming a teacher is probably one of the very best ways of doing that. Ellen Ochoa
10
I tell students that the opportunities I had were a result of having a good educational background. Education is what allows you to stand out. Ellen Ochoa
11
We are constantly emphasizing to people that they need to address anything that affects flight safety or mission success - many pathways to do that. We need to understand better what may be preventing people from using those pathways. Ellen Ochoa