How did I manage to participate in 5 programs at NASA?

I was born in Mexico City on September 18th, 1999, despite being diagnosed with Attention Deficit Disorder, still I have never stopped striving to achieve my goals, thanks to this effort I have been recognized many times nationally and internationally. We were told that the sky is the limit, but I think it’s a good starting point. The world always gives us surprises, whether good or bad, it is up to us to make something good from them, it is not always easy and, in my experience sometimes it hurts a lot that you don´t want to continue, yet we can, to get up, to walk, to run, to fly. 

Since I was very young I have had to face challenges, and although people may consider me a genius, I have never perceived myself as someone like that, I like playing video games, and watching television, but I don’t always do well in studying, things that can be considered normal for someone my age, even if doing something I’m passionate about is when I can excel, not because I’m good, but because I’m constant and never give up, I can assure you that I have lost more times than I have won, but whenever I fall I don’t stay down, I get up and I try again, thanks to this attitude is that there are opportunities like the IASP that results in a great experience to grow as a person, learn fascinating topics and design ideas for the future.

José Antonio Galicia Salazar

I live in CDMX, study a career in Geological Engineering at the National Polytechnic Institute, credited with many national and international recognitions including the youth award of 2016, proudly Mexican.

¿Te gustaría vivir una experiencia como esta?

​At the age of 7, I started this walk in a robotics course, eventually, the course became a contest, and curiosity about witty ideas. All this gave me the experience that I never thought would take me to NASA until the possibility arose to participate in the IASP, I was barely 14, but I still remember the excitement of being at NASA, seeing so many scientists, researchers, etc.

​It is an experience that gives you goosebumps on more than one occasion; in that first competition I did not have many expectations since we would compete against college students, my team and I were just in high school, but our effort and perseverance for months, paid off and we got the 2nd° place with our project, a great achievement that would mark the way forward for us, so we continue to compete every year, learning new things and inspiring us to apply this knowledge to the areas of study we were passionate about.
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I still have a lot to live for, but I can guarantee that following your passions makes you achieve great things, remember it is important to enjoy them; I like to cook and garden, and while I do not stand out for those things I still do, because I enjoy it; I enjoy cooking for my family and friends, I enjoy watching the plants grow, I enjoy watching the rocks and thinking "why and how did they form?", since all these things give me ideas of the potential that can be not only in our world, but also in other worlds, but in the end all part of something that I like to do, doing this the human is capable of great things and of overcoming unimaginable limits.
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Nowadays, I am still participating in the IASP, it is not easy and requires a lot of effort, but the experience and knowledge you win make it worthwhile, every edition is something new and fascinating and although it requires me to overcome my limits, I will not give up, because now that I am studying geological engineering, I have the opportunity to apply everything I know in multiple fields, with all this I will keep trying, always walking with my eyes to the front, and every time I fall, I will rise again.

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