ECTOR COUNTY, Texas — Students at ECISD got to reach for the stars Wednesday.
The district's bilingual and ESL department got to bring students to meet former astronaut Dr. José Hernández.
Hernández spoke to the children about his life story, including how he grew up with his parents who traveled to California from Mexico and how they worked long hours picking fruit on farms.
He also told the students how he watched the Apollo mission on television as a young boy and knew from that moment on he wanted to be an astronaut.
A Netflix movie will be releasing in 2022, which will tell Hernandez's journey.
Hernández's message to children is to never give up on yourself, dream big and always reach for the stars.
"Give them the license to dream big but at the same time, give them the recipe to convert that big dream into reality. And more importantly, empowering them by having someone that looks like them, that came perhaps from the same socioeconomic situation that they find themselves in, it kind of empowers them to say 'If he did it why can't I?'" Hernández said.