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| Diana Trujilo via People.com |
Diana Trujilo a Latino was born and raised in Colombia. When she was younger, her country was saturated in violence. To escape from all the instability in her environment, Diana used to lay down on the grass looking up at the night sky and stars. She called this ritual "her safe place" from all the horrors.
Looking at the stars, she always thought: 'Something has to be out there that's better than this'. Little did Diana know that this was her dream calling as she went on to become an Aerospace Engineer.
How did it happen? At 17, Diana left her home country for Miami in the United States of America with only $300 and no knowledge of the English language. She took up menial jobs like cleaning of toilets to see herself through school and make ends meet.
"I didn't see it as, 'I can't believe I'm doing this job at night,' or 'I can't believe that I'm cleaning. I can't believe that I'm cleaning a bathroom right now.' It was just more like, 'I'm glad that I have a job and I can buy food and have a house to sleep.'" She says.
As a little girl, Diana saw women in her family give up their dreams. For example, Diana's mum dropped out of medical school to focus on the home and family when she married her dad. Diana didn't want this for herself and so she took a tough stance to fight for her dreams.
Diana says "I want to be out there looking back in, showing my family that women have value, that women matter."
Diana attended the University of Florida and studied Aerospace Engineering.
She got a job at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, where she is a Flight Director for NASA's Perseverance Mars Rover. A Robot recently and successfully launched into Mars to identify signs of life that may have existed billions of years ago.
Diana was also part of the team that designed the arm of the robot.
Diana also created and hosted the airing of this historic planetary landing in spanish language. It is NASA'S first live broadcast in Spanish and continues to attract millions of viewers around the world.
Diana has exemplified that indeed a woman's dream can come through if she believes in it and works hard to achieve it.
Diana also created and hosted the airing of this historic planetary landing in spanish language. It is NASA'S first live broadcast in Spanish and continues to attract millions of viewers around the world.
Diana has exemplified that indeed a woman's dream can come through if she believes in it and works hard to achieve it.