NASA MUST Scholar Spotlight

NASA MUST Scholar Spotlight

Juan standing in front of a treeJuan Carlos Lopez

2009 - 2010 MUST Scholar

I am currently a sophomore at the University of Texas at El Paso, pursuing a Bachelor’s in Mechanical Engineering.  I selected this major because technology and machines are my passion.  To change the way we think about our world and the way we do things, to explore the unknown and reach new horizons: that is what engineering means to me, and that is the reason I love it.  I would like to focus on design, and work for NASA in the creation of aircraft.  I also have interests in transportation and robot design.   

Besides satisfying my professional ambitions, I constantly look for new ways of extending the reach of Hispanic culture in this society.  As a recent immigrant, I’ve especially noticed the lack of representation of Latino youths in the STEM fields.  For the last three years, I have worked and volunteered as a math and science tutor for high school students, as well as an engineering peer leader for incoming UTEP freshmen.  Those positions have given me the opportunity to make young Latinos aware of all the opportunities offered in the STEM professional world.  Those are some of my main goals and priorities, and the ones that give me the motivation and enthusiasm to overcome any adversity.

The last two years of my life have been a period of great reflection on valuable lessons learned.  Every goal set has been accomplished, every dream has become a reality, and my vision of being an engineer and helping humanity has become more attainable through a series of personal and educational sacrifices.  I am convinced that we all share a universal language, “the language of enthusiasm, of things accomplished with love and purpose as part of a search for something believed in and desired” (Pablo Coelho).  This has been one of my most important recent life lessons, and it is an ideology that I strive to embody and share as a NASA MUST scholar.