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By Miriam RafteryThe first in her family to go to college, she became a groundbreaking aeronautical engineer, inventor, and astronaut on her way to becoming the first Hispanic woman to travel to space, logging four trips into space and nearly 1,000 hours in orbit.
According to her NASA bio, she has won many honors,including the Exceptional Service Medal, Outstanding Leadership Medal, and four Space Flight Medals. She also received the Harvard Foundation Science Award, Women in Aerospace Outstanding Achievement Award, HENAAC (Hispanic Engineer National Acheivement Awards) Engineer of the Year, the Hispanic Heritage Leadership Award, the California Hall of Fame and San Diego State University Alumna of the Year. Six schools are named after her, though none locally.
She is married to Coe Miles; they have two children. She is also a classical flutist who enjoys traveling and family activities.
The Presidential Medal of Freedom was established 61 years ago by President John F. Kennedy to recognize any person who has made an especially meritorious contribution to the security of national interests of the United States or world peace, cultural, or other significant public, or private endeavors.
Ochoa was one of 19 people awarded this year’s Presidential Medal of Freedom.
Three posthumous awards were given to honor the late civil rights activist Medgar Wiley Evers, Jim Thorpe, the first Native American athlete to win an Olympic gold medal, and Senator Frank Lautenberg, a consumer rights champion.
Living recipients include Dr. Jane Rigby, senior project scientist for NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope, Father Greg Boyle, founder of the world’s largest gang intervention program, former Vice President Al Gore, winner of a Nobel Peace Prize for his leadership on climate change, Opal Lee, an educator who fought to make Juneteenth a national holiday, United Farm Workers President Teresa Romero, seven-time Olympic gold medalist swimmer Kathleen Ledecky. Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Clarence Jones, a civil rights activist who helped write Martin Luther King Jr.’s” “I have a dream” speech, Judy Shepherd, who founded a foundation to combat hate after her son was murdered in an anti-gay hate crime, Michelle Yeoh, the first Asian to win an Academy Award for best actress, TV journalist Phil Donahue, former secretary of state and military veteran John Kerry for his seven decades of public service, Former New York Mayor and philanthropist, Michael Bloomberg, and former Secretary of Transportation Elizabeth Dole, whose foundation supports military caregivers and their families.
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