And solutions where she in fostering longterm partnership with her clients and is t responsible for leading Treatment Services across Southern California using filtration as a highly valued employee shes been commended withth the sales in 2019 values Service Award for 2019 and 2020 and has been part of the sales team of the year the last three or four years. The journey has taken him from ecuador, puerto rico and nyc to the Cutting Edge Program with a Strong Foundation in mechanical and Electrical Engineering from the university of michigan, an d instrumental role in groundbreaking missions where he contributed to the success of the perseverance and ingenuity. Most recently he worked on blue origins a product of diverse cultural experiences and is driven by a deep passion for exploration, expansion. The volunteer work and mentorship. A joy and onis the quest to reah for the stores and empower others toe, do the same. Please give a warm welcome to the guest. [applause] needless to say, can i say that . I want to start first and foremost by saying thank you for sharingf your story with us. Thank you for being here and supporting and for including me here tonight. I am honored and humbled and you know i love you. So i was going to start by asking you to share with us what you think would surprise most of the readers but im going to share what surprised me the most. On the National Board of directors i was a professional board member and the undergraduate student representative he was this feisty young man that was intend on accomplishing all the goals that he set out for their therepresentatives and i thougho myself who is this kid with this passion. I think what has surprised me the most is toto listen and rea. The tenacity and the grit that i wasnt fully aware. I had a feeling that i wasnt fully aware of the trajectory that you had to go through to get to where you are and you keep going. With that, you inspired me to reconnect and to reconnect with the tenacity and the grit i think we all have growing up one of the passages could be that made it evident to me that you are about to embark on a very ambitioushi journey as a child n chapter six that is titled page 67 so we will get to that page i had it here and it went away. Titled built to be tougher than expected. Why dont you share that passage with us. This is emotional because first of all im so happy that youre here. Heidi knows me. Its super special to share this moment with you and i hope we keep doing this. Keep writing. This passage in particular is special because it touches on one of the most difficult moments of my life which is my transition between cultures, puerto rico and moving to new york city. At the same time it highlights the love that folks around me were ready to give me. With that, i will just start. In 2006 when he arrived in new york on the cusp of winter. They took us this time in brooklyn. She bunked in the spare room of the threebedroom house. I slept on an inflatable mattress with their cocker spaniel. I dide. Stay up late watching american ninja warrior, george lopez and the fresh prince of bel airl on g4 if anyone catchs that. By then my allergies subsided. Earlier i describe i had a terrible asthma attack in puerto rico that wasnt long before this but at that point its gone. I would bring the mattress up and leave it there until it was time to call it a night again. I connected with my friends online but the chats were tinged with knowing they were more than a thousand miles apart. My aunt brought me a lands end jacket that i carried with me for several years. About a week or so after our arrival they swung by to pick me up and a took me to see santa claus as if middle school boys loved santa. I realized then she saw me is that same little kid from seven years before. We had a lot of readjusting ahead of us. I still lived in spanish often catching myself. I bit my tongue to stop myself from greeting people on the street. I missed my island. Although born in ecuador i speak spanish like a puerto rican and i know where to go in the area. Suddenly i was no longer perceived. I was different, a foreigner, an immigrant. Is this what my mom had always felt . Now mainly was my turn to pace around the ongoing battle how others perceive me versus who i am. I think what struck me most about that passage is the perception that you talk about of who you are versus the perception others have. Its very telling of not just kids of immigrants but immigrants coming they have a perception of themselves that they dont often share with others for shame or feeling belittled or whatever their feelings are i think that applies not to immigrants but all of us we have a perception of ourselves and that can play to our strengths or insecurities so theres another passage on the same lines id like for you to share. Page 80, 81 the story on how many immigrants and children of immigrants, what we go through sometimes. Before i go into that, not too many spoilers but moving to new york was incredibly challenging and this is a story i share often is that i was faced with immediate backlash for my grades being too good because i was an immigrant who couldd believe in emigrant was o smart and deserved being accepted into prestigious schools in new york city and my grades were deflated at the time. I always wonder if my mom without knowing any english if she would have fought for me in the district as she did and they wouldnt have been changed, what my life would have been like and its one of those things i can only imagine how many kids are out there that are being held back by their own counselors and we dont really know because maybe their parents dont know how to fight these things. Its important for those involved to pay attention. The next passage, this one is about my mom and if you read the book you can tell. Its dedicated their. I was kind of a troublemaker. Although she didnt have much of a choice she was fine with me taking public transportationd which meant i was gripped by a freedom that i never felt before. My mom was working two jobs as a home attendant for the elderly and cleaning offices. She had a 30 year career teaching in ecuador and puerto rico. When i arrived home early from school she asked me to start chopping vegetables. They would ask me to meeting one of the offices to finish out the cleaning shift. Its really cool and looks beautiful but to me it is a constant reminder that area is where i would go clean offices with my mom. I lost myself here. Knowing the enormous efforts she made i dropped what i was doing and headed straight over. As much as i appreciate it the hard work, i usually excuse myself by saying see you later i have to help my mom at the office, deliberately giving just enough information so as not to incite any followup questions. Some things that didnt work and they would ask about the job. I would answerr she works in an office never specifying that she was there to claim. Mostly thats how she felt themselves. It was a reflection of her own frustrations. She was a College Graduate whod been a teacher and principal influencing the lives of hundreds of students and now she was cleaning offices again and taking care of older people. It took me years to recognize. She swallowed her pride and adult with her shame to give me a better shot at life. Perception or as we call it is an enormous cultural burden and barrier in the communities. It keeps us in line with preconceived beliefs of restraint and fear of the unknown and can prevent us from finding our own voice and using it. Only time and experience allowed me to unlearn these beliefs and take control of my narrative staying focused on my goals rather than how others perceive me. In retrospect i wish i had the wisdom then to tell that there was nothing to be ashamed of. I was too young to understand this at the time. I was hanging out with her last weekin and its been redefiningy relationship. Its very clear throughout the book that your mom is your rock and foundation and has be been. I understand that because you have a brother you have a special bond of single child, single mom. I understand the ebb and flow of the relationship. How has it changed throughout the years because in the book its like we are going to fight through anything that comes our way but with that also comes the responsibilities and so how are you with that . Weve been navigating this in recent months. There are times i can tell her since she stopped working she can chill and i cant support whatever she needs if she needs to travel shes holding onto this idea that its going to cost money and im like you dont even worry about it however there are s issues that prevent that from happening so theres a bit of a game i have to play to figure out how to get to the east coast often or how does my mom travel accompanied by someone because you cant get on the plane by yourself so its been difficult and a very tough challenge particularly a becausi am gaining all this freedom that we didnt have. Its something ive been trying to stop. Inspiring her and talking with her more like a son something i do talk about. There are things that have to be done and she admitted a few weeks ago that i told her how to express herself and love to not just me but the family. Weve been going through some hard situations. Cancer sucks and the family is tighter than weve ever been so its been difficult to have some conversations that led to this book but at the same time an incredible healing process. In redeveloping and redefining relationships where they ebb and flow and kids of immigrants were translators and that relationship changes. Aside from that relationship. To reach out as you are ready how is that going now . Its hard. Incredibly difficult. Some situations have happened in the last few weeks and im looking through this actively with my dad in particular. I will say my mom is an angel despite the Emotional Abuse because thats what it is. She would push for me to buy phone cards for Long Distance calls and to stay connected and have conversations even if that was once a month or whatever it was. As an adult i talked about this recently. I see what has led ultimately to some suffering. I cant putt it aside. I fortunately was protected from that but what can i do about it and other things im actively working on. After not seeing him since i was in kindergarten i saw him when i was a sophomore at college. It was weird because i wasnt sure what he was even going to look like and i had a distinct version of him in my head that i kindn of held onto. There were not that many pictures. He had a cane and whatnot. Its a bit surreal when i met him in person then. I confronted him in 2017 i think is when i went down to ecuador because a wedding and i confronted him with stories to learn more like why did you do the things that you do and he carries himself with an arrogance that i cant fully explain and hes very proud. Understanding thats how he is and impo never going to get a trueue emotional apology from hm and now im way more conscious of how these things make me feel to figure out what kind of want to have with him. So we are doing that live and its been anan empowering. Its made me incredibly grateful for the male figures in my life and the men that have showed up have been incredible throughout my entire life and now its part of some of my incredible male friends. Its something that ive learned to realize. What ive learned in the book is how you were surrounded throughout the different periods in your life you gravitated to positive people and build what we call the board of directors. You have done that by happenstance most of the time, but its important that we all surround ourselves with those people that influence because we dont have that one friend. Weat have several people that he different needs. You shared that very nicely but with that you shared a lot about mentalal health and you shared openly about getting burned out at work which is part of the cycle. The hustle that they go through is unreal. Two or three jobs to support the family. Why dont you share a little bit about that . Its on page 183. He was my job supervisor and basically discipline manager. Fantastic. He was an incredible ally. This is where it gets real. Its been interesting if youve been following me on social media some people thought i was no longer an engineer because i havent been posting anything about space and ive gotten conscientious about posting things on mental health. I spoke with someone and they thought i was a public speaker and no longer doing engineering. Sacrificing to keep afloat there were no vacations, beach getaways. Sundays were usually for churchgoing, cleaning and prepping for the next weeks daily grind. The only breaks came for special occasions and holidays but those were usually relegated to an afternoon. It could mean having everything crumble before our eyes. Our families, parents, moms sacrifice everything to give us a better life we become a vital part of the relief of the circle out of poverty. To pass the torch onto us and we aree meant to reach the finish line and obtain the american dream. We focus on Mission Success and belief we are invincible until we are not. As humans we need to recalculate, find that elusive thing called balance and as humans, we need to feel. Show up for ourselves and others. We need to experience the fullness of our humanity. Throughout the years my mentors landed on one piece of common advice dont be so hard on yourself. I didnt get it. I found it insulting and what is this person talking about, slow down, who are they to tell me this. I took on too much and relied on my managers to tell me when to cut back. I felt i had to prove that i deserved to be there to show the world i was worthy of taking up the space. Sometimes when i look at my achievements i cant believe im in this room and feel imposter syndrome is real. A crazy loop that feeds into what has become a cycle of anxiety ive begun to work on this dismantling so i can be present in the moment that is often hard for someone whos learned to constantly anticipate and solve problems for a living. I remind myself earned my spot. Its not how ally of all people here but rather how do i want to show up. It required a time and patience but eventually it happened. I began to develop empathy for those around me and to set out to learn the patterns in the society at large including my mom. T she told me to do better, to seek excellence but also how to avoid my emotions and turn to to work as a coping strategy. I was angry for not prioritizing her wellbeing but now i realized i was also angry at myself for repeating this cycle in my life and the fractures that appeareds soon became a ph to healing. I began to offer my same compassion and empathy. While the mission may park more pungent get more airtime, the journey onto the unexplored spaces have become equally as meaningful. I want to be a good loving friend, partner, son and human. The inside and outside components carry the same weight when we feel we are relinquishing control and it gives us peace is the moment. Course correcting to find the balance once again. There is such a thing is good enough. Sometimes sacrifice will be required and s objectives will shift and that is okay. I love your vulnerability in the book. We are humans we are not machines were robust, but how do you think traveling to mars and beyond. You worked on the mars rover, and you are following the path of exploring outer space. Mars was fun but the shorter commute is a bit more reasonable. Im actively working on that mission and its a different technical problem. I think it taught me quite a bit because its incredibly difficult and inhospitable land not meant for us to be there. Similar challenges get flowed to the moon, and we often romanticize what its going to be like to live in space and leave our beautiful blue planet. The reality is the earth is meant for us and we will explore. That being said, we have to be methodical and protect the human lives that will go and venture. We are at the point in history and the economy where we can be more careful and its going to take time. Ige know people are rushing to t toey the moon and beyond and for those of us who are living in that space i like to think that im bringing consciousness into our design and human centered design not just for the astronauts that are going to be exploring but also for us on the ground who have to support their objectives and missions. Theres a lot of work to be done but its also exciting because expanding means we get to move the industry off planet and make this more pristine. That is an idealized goal but an exciting time for the space industry. When it gets to be like southwest going toi the moon thats when iha will go. Other than that, you can go first. [laughter] we have five minutes left. Im going to ask a twofold question because i think they are both related. You talked about healing a lot of relationships and writing the book but what was the most surprising about that process. What i wasnt aware of was my brother on my moms side. But theres stuff i dont include in the book its not my story to tell but i almost resented the way we grew up because he lived across the street most of my time in puerto rico but i cant say that i grew up with an older brother. My two nieces that were seven or eight years older than i am so he was very busy working and supporting his family. The sacrifices we ended up following him to puerto rico and he told me because weve been opening up more and more especially in person, he told me his dream was to be an Aerospace Engineer and for reasons he couldnt make that happen so he expressed his gratitude that i am pursuing this and that in a way he is living through me so that was incredibly special. Thats not explicitly written here for a variety of reasons. It epitomizes how important it is to have access. The difference between our correspondence and journeys he went to a school in brooklyn and also was in high school in new york city and has his own story that was way more. He had to play tough and not be a part of that and he ultimately couldnt pursue the College Education for a variety of reasons that made college inaccessible to him. At the end of the day he didnt have mentors or friends like i did. That is in a way i did get lucky inmy the high school. My almost there to protect me and wasnt in new york at the time when he was off to college so that made a big difference so its evident having a supportive parent made a big difference being surrounded by incredible friends who were supportive. We pushed each other to do things, to do well, to do the sat. I like to say im the dumb one off the group. Theyve become. This is the kind of people im surrounded by and we feed off each other and i think that made a difference and i didnt know at the time that i was building that. Inin a way i was attracted to tt circle and wanted to imitate it. We had incredible teachers as well that showed resources and encourage us to do things like research. And the knowledge from people in the community. Thats the message we talked about how important it is for us because you will never know but you can still impact that life tremendously by giving a word of advicese on dont let that counselor tell you you cant go to college. In Todays Society they still need to be said because there are immigrants that are coming and there are kids of immigrants and kids that dont have the resources because even if you were born in this country not everybody goes to college, so you need that research and that help. With that being said i think its an open invitation and at same time space is pretty accessible and if anything the industries arean accessible andn high demand. The biggest number that angers me right now. We are at about 7 representation and there is a disparity by the 2050s its going to be closer to 50 . I see the Financial Freedom im getting into the wellness that comes with being secure in the country. I dont want people to get left behind and its one of those things i think this country can do better and its worth criticizing and its worth pushing our Education System to do better and not leave students behind. With the advent of whats to we will have that created very quickly in ways we cant fully envision but we are going to improve education and i know for a fact they are terrified by aiai. Thats what im hoping to share and what the platform is creating for me. You and your introduction very nicely. I hope my story has new launch into the spaces youve never explored so that together we can create a Better Future for this universe in which we play a very small and yet profoundly powerful role. [applause] this is one of the first memoirs ive read. I went to go back to school and continue my education. You explain a lot of the stuff because of the content. As an emigrant, a lot of us are immigrants in our own way whether we come from another country or a neighborhood where we are lacking the resources. So thank you for writing this book and i cant wait for the second one. What message do you have when they take you back to new york because most of us get pulled from bad neighborhoods at that age and its very traumatic. Device from ecuador to new york and from puerto rico to new york, the change you had was daunting. Navigating this as a child with my therapist i had hidden for a long time. I dont remember it. I guess i blocked it out of my head, my entire experience i moved when i was for. Ive been described as the saddest little boy and i do not remember any of that time period. That was due to the separation. I watched the lion king over and over because i identified. That moved to puerto rico wasnt as bad because it was just going on vacation and then second grade. I dont think that was too difficult but leaving puerto rico was one of the most difficult experiences, and i talk about in the book kids would try to blame me for things like wearing the same shoe every day. I was to mature at the time for a varietyu of reasons. What do you think i want to do . I dont want to be here in this room with you. And that shut down the bullying pretty quickly. But i wish i would have had more schools to process what i was feeling at the time. I learned howou to cope. I dont think i was given the room for it. Again its one of those things that did not exist. What would you tell emilio now . I admire my younger self a lot because despite the challenges i wanted to keep going. I carried myself with a lot of arrogance. Part of it is that protected me from being poor. I only had the revelation recently and the comments on. Thats just what i believe and i carried myself with that for a very long time and realized i dont have to be that way. Despite not knowing for a long time, loving the people around you and accepting and learning. It was difficult. I think one of the questions i explored is when is the first time i i was asked how do you fl and i cant remember being asked that question as a kid. As a kid i didnt have that and i wish i did. I turned out all right. [laughter] i appreciate what you were saying about the exploration and also human centered. I feel that i do see in a society. They are regardless of what the experts will say. Its frustrating to see. So i dont know. Itmay be curious to hear your thoughts on that and what will happen. We explored irresponsibly. Im bankrolled by the richest man on the planet, so im struggling a lot. It is something that i hope as we expandem into the solar syst, we constantly. They may end up concentrating in the small group and we will see how that ends up. This is part of the importance of bringing people culture so that as we go it is the best we can possibly make it. So, thats my hope. Actively working on and any other questions . Thank you personally. What is the most interesting thing. Im a true believer we are the universe trying to understand if self because we are. Its so infinite and beautiful that we have the consciousness to look up. And at the same time, i hope with that it has helped me appreciate the planet even more because at the end of the day we are. So, infinite universe and how microphone, please. In your professional opinion i dont know if youve pondered this but intelligent life there. Theres a documentary coming out by pixar where he is a representative in the scholastic. Its the story of me when i was 11yearsold. A funny one, keep going. Thats been the cool thing about working on the mission as we are scientifically trying to figure out if we are alone in the universe and if that is something independently. Imagination is the limit. What can happen in that. I come in peace. [laughter] i have a question. I have a son that wants to pursue engineering. What advice i guess. Whatever it means for him as far as engineering, i think. Whatever comes from the engineering school, he will enjoy his time afterwards. Theres a lot of sacrifice that will come with the decision and not to get lost inin the number. Thats important to also remember to live a little while they are in college. Its one of thee most beautiful experiences. The technical preparation fantastic. I went to the university of michigan, one of the best universities in the world, and it was a very much work hard play hard. We had a lot of fun. We went out on saturdays before the games. I think that balance is something to seek out, to explore it. To tell their own story. If i can add to that, a surprising thing is that he was doing engineer projects. My comment to you would be give as much exposure as you can. Whether its a science fair, whatever it is the more you expose them, the more curious hes goinge to be to stay in tt field and once he is leaning there, you support because it is going to be hard. And as long as, and this goes for those of us in the field we tell the student its going to end. Stick to it. The light will come. It does. Most will say you kind of stay learningat afterwards. I think that is the beautiful part of it is we normally get to design but we get to be creative and change lives and explore space in some cases and impact so manyit people be it in the medicall fields or whichever field you can imagine. Energy et cetera. Its exciting at the end of the dayt and its going to keep expanding. What jessie said earlier, you inspired me to want to learn more. I wasud in the best engineering student or the best at math. I think had i been exposed to what that really meant, like how is math really used. This was your teacher. He told stories and cracked jokes and one time he was introducingst everyone to a new student. He walked over and stood behind you and said this is heilo which is a spanish play on the word helium. He is the lightest man in the world. He placed his hand on my head and said if we dont hold him down he could float away. He floated away to the stars. [applause]