The Emerging Face
On Saturday night at the Spring Commencement, the doctoral hoods worn by Chance Garcia and Jesus Flores as they walk to the stage will reflect much more than the shining light of personal excellence but also the emergence of a powerful national research university that defies the traditional choice between Access and Excellence. We hold a deep compassion for merging opportunities with excellence. Chance will start his aerospace research career with the NASA Marshall Space Flight Center in June, and Jesus has already joined a coveted engineering team at a pioneering commercial space exploration company, Blue Origin. Engineering doctoral graduates such as Chance and Jesus carry a strong message from UTEP, i.e., it’s clear intention to change the face of the engineering workforce. Although Hispanics are still a tiny fraction of the aerospace research workforce, the academic success of Chance and Jesus is the symbol of a Sputnik-like generation of engineers who are inspired, excited, a