An unknowing aerobic brewing in the small town. Born in 1960, raised in Indiana. In school she’d be framed for plagiarism. Aragon was made to feel ashamed of her Hispanic heritage and sex to which caused the accusations of cheating because she was underestimated.
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Math became her best friend because she could back up her answers and she wouldn’t no longer be accused. This spiked her interests in mathematics.
Chronicles & Obstacles
Obstacles ran her way as she approached university. The thought of ever becoming a Ph.D never was ideal for her, because she’d thought she would never be able to fly.
As an Hispanic women immigrant that attended the University of California in 1987, she was faced with discrimination and sexism. Professors and faculty would place barriers to which limited her true potential. These barriers would prevent her confidence and capabilities. It made her feel helpless. Much prejudice and expectations caused her to feel belittled but that didn’t discourage her to at least try. But little did she know she could reach the sky and even soar, physically and mentally.
She flew a plane of her own, competing competitively and became the first Latina to win a slot in the United States Aerobatic Team in 1991. She acknowledges how it now plays a part in her academic success and gives others the motivation to soar, or to even surpass her achievements.
Where is she now?
Professor Cecilia R. Aragon is now a data scientist at the University of Washington. She advocates for women and girls in STEM as mentioned in her memoir, “Flying Free”. She gives people the courage to follow her path and break from societal norms, listen and advise from her journey that is told with grit and pride.
Fun fact: “One of the top scientists and engineers” was stated by President Obama to Cecilia Aragon.
Works Cited
Nyugen, Ahn.“‘The sky was calling’: Professor Cecilia Aragon’s memoir talks about her life as a Latina pilot on the US aerobatics team” https://www.dailyuw.com/arts_and_culture/the-sky-was-calling-professor-cecilia-aragon-s-memoir-talks-about-her-life-as-a/article_42dad1c2-72ea-11ea-be7e-2b8bc84f9775.html August 12, 2021
Aragon, Cecilia R. “Flying Free: My Victory over Fear to Become the first Latina Pilot on the US Aerobatic Team” https://www.amazon.com/dp/1982642467/ref=cm_sw_su_dp
Aragon, Cecilia R., “Failure with a Captial ‘F.’”, http://ceciliaaragonauthor.com/flying-free/
https://depts.washington.edu/hdsl 2024 Human-Centered Data Science Lab. All Rights Reserved.
About the author:
Hi, my name is Citlalli Luna-Gonzalez, and I’m a rising freshman in Georgia! STEM isn’t the career I’d want, it’s the career I deserve. Critical creative thinking is what I excel in, but trust me that STEM won’t judge you even if you aren’t the best. So think about joining it too!
Her Stem Space 
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