Growing up in Puerto Rico, Yomayra Cruz-Diaz didn’t imagine that one day she would work at NASA. Today, she serves as technical project coordinator at NASA’s Langley Research Center in Virginia, supporting its Aeronautics Research Directorate.
Cruz-Diaz’s position requires her to travel in support of public engagement events and recently she supported NASA’s presence at the Miramar Airshow in San Diego, California where the agency’s booth featured Spanish-language STEM materials.
Something, or rather, someone, made this event especially unique for Cruz-Diaz: Her son, Israel Martinez-Cruz, is currently serving in the United States Marine Corps and is stationed at Marine Corps Air Station Miramar.
In a stroke of serendipity, they were both working the same event for their respective employers. Living on opposite sides of the country, they hadn’t seen each other in person for nearly a year. With surprise and joy, they hugged.
Growing up in a Puerto Rican household, conversations about core values revolved around family, Martinez-Cruz said. He recalled seeing his mom work at NASA and feeling inspired by her work ethic. That level of commitment ran in the family.
“Israel and I would carpool,” she said. “He would drop me off at Langley and then he would go on his way to his aircraft mechanic school.”
Martinez-Cruz serves as an air traffic controller, work that Cruz-Diaz knew about but had never seen in person.
“He’s explained to me what his job entails but taking a tour of his job site gives me a whole new understanding,” she said after a tour of the air traffic control tower.
NASA is proud to celebrate National Hispanic Heritage Month, the annual observance honoring the wide and rich histories, cultures, and contributions of the Hispanic and Latino community. In the words of NASA Administrator Bill Nelson, “Adelante y hacia arriba,” or “Onward and upward!”