By Miriam Raftery

Photo: NASA

March 18, 2017 (La Mesa) — I remember Ellen Ochoa from our student days at Parkway Junior High School.  She was brilliant, having already skipped two grades and still maintaining an “A” average. So, I’m not surprised at her stellar career, which included becoming the first Hispanic woman astronaut in space and now, induction into the U.S. Astronaut Hall of Fame.  Congratulations to a true local hero!