By Julie Gargotta Volusia County
UPDATED 1:21 PM ET Sep. 20, 2024 PUBLISHED 12:32 PM ET Sep. 19, 2024
VOLUSIA COUNTY, Fla. — Sometimes the greatest reward is finding success where there has been little before.
What You Need To Know
Inspired by her science-teacher mother and years of science fairs, Wilmar Galvez Alfonso Alfonso grew fascinated by space
She connected with NAF, a national education non-profit that focuses upon scholastic readiness, and graduated from an engineering program in Aguadilla, Puerto Rico
And for Wilmar Galvez Alfonso, that means charting her own course at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Daytona Beach, though it feels far from the college freshman’s home of Puerto Rico.
“They get sad sometimes with me being away. But they’re supportive. They know it’s for my future,” she said of her family. “I feel like it’s been the biggest change of my life.”
Alfonso said that in order to find her space at the school, she surmounted many hurdles, such as a lack of funding and opportunities back on her island. Inspired by her science-teacher mother and years of science fairs, Alfonso grew fascinated by space.
She connected with NAF, a national education non-profit that focuses upon scholastic readiness, and graduated from an engineering program in Aguadilla, Puerto Rico. In addition, she earned scholarships and even a coveted spot in a summer space camp program in Huntsville, Ala.
Now at Embry-Riddle, still finding her footing and learning the campus, Alfonso is looking to the future; undeterred by the lack of women in aerospace, she remains resolute, hoping to become the first Puerto Rican female astronaut to set foot on the moon.
“For me, becoming an astronaut is not only inspiring Latinas, women to pursue careers in STEM and become astronauts, but also demonstrate as humans, we’re able to do amazing things,” she said.