Estrella Hernandez wasn’t really sure what she wanted to be when she grew up. So, she’s tried just about everything available to her at the STEM magnet program at Legacy of Educational Excellence (LEE) High School.
“I am in CyberPatriots, Robotics, Spanish Club, Spanish Honors Society, French Honors Society, French Club, HOSA, Unity Club, STEM Ambassadors, NHS….Oh yeah, I am in the Model UN club, too. If I have seen a poster, I have probably gone to the meetings.”
Her curiosity and love for all things have landed Hernandez in a highly coveted spot in the US Navy’s Nuclear Propulsion Program.
“I heard about the ASVAB (Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery), and I just took it for fun, I guess. I like trying new things. The way I saw it was that I had nothing to lose by taking the exam.”
She took the test for fun!
She scored an 82.
So, she took it again her junior year and scored a 92.
That’s when the Navy started calling.
When she took the Navy’s Advanced Placement Test (NAPT), she scored so high they offered her a chance to join them as a Nuclear Engineer.
“From my experience working with naval officers over the years, the US Navy’s Nuclear Propulsion Technicians are critical to the United States’ ability to deploy our submarines and aircraft carriers anywhere in the world to protect our national interests,” said LEE High School Army instructor LTC Kyle Henson. “The fact that our NEISD schools are contributing to the development of that kind of talent is fantastic.”
While her teachers are undoubtedly proud of her accomplishments, she’s thankful for their influence.
She remembers the gifts Marina Gonzalez handed out to students in second grade at El Dorado Elementary School. (Estrella still has her sketchbook!)
She remembers Sandra Geisbush from Nimitz Middle School and the way she helped her explore new things in science and technology, building castles in Annie Schlichting’s Geometry class, and how her Computer Science teacher, Vierna Sampayo, still calls her by name in the hallways at LEE even though she’s not in her class anymore.
“All my teachers have had a tremendous impact on me. I didn’t just learn math in math class; I started to learn time management and how to speak confidently. It was more than just the subject. The sense of community here will stick with me when I go off to boot camp. We are just one big family here, especially in STEM. Knowing that my teachers helped me know I could do more than I thought I could do. That’s what I will take with me.”
Big or small, we all have a story to tell #theNEISDway.
