Alumni Spotlight

Estela Hernandez

Estela attended College of the Canyons while working full-time. Professor Joe Gerda inspired Estela to pursue an engineering career and attend California Polytechnic State University. Estela became a NASA civil servant in 2018. She is currently the manager of FutureFlight Central, which is an air traffic control tower simulator, and is also the software assurance representative for the Aviation Systems Division at NASA Ames. When asked to provide advice to females and individuals underrepresented in STEM, Estela shares, “STEM education is important, but don’t neglect the soft skills, like communication and people skills. Joining clubs and participating in activities that pique your interests is a great way to develop these skills, which can prepare you for career opportunities.” Estela was recently nominated for the Women in Aerospace Award. “The time I spent at College of the Canyons Community College changed the course of my life. I was fortunate to have many great instructors, but one really had a huge impact on me. My instructor, Joe Gerda, gave me confidence and encouraged me to pursue a career in engineering. Being the first in my family to go to college and the daughter of a migrant farm worker, I had no idea what was possible. Thanks to Mr. Gerda and College of the Canyons, I was inspired to achieve my goals and become a NASA aerospace engineer. My experience at College of the Canyons inspired me to also serve as a mentor to dozens of interns, throughout my career. Hopefully, I have had an impact on these interns in the same way that College of the Canyons staff had on me.” In statistics class, Professor Gerda would often remark that “there is no such thing as a dumb question,” Estela said. She often finds herself telling her children exactly that.

Michael Kramer

Michael Kramer is the program director at the African American Policy Forum (AAPF) where he works on dismantling structural racism and gender inequality. At AAPF, Michael develops programming that connects academics, activists, and policymakers to promote efforts to dismantle structural inequality; such as the #SayHerName Campaign, Critical Race Theory summer school, Under the Blacklight speaker series, and Her Dream Deferred: A Week on the Status of Black Women. Previously, Michael was an Intersectionality Fellow where he assisted in teaching civil rights and a seminar on intersectionality with Kimberlé Crenshaw at UCLA School of Law and Columbia Law School. Michael also worked with the Washington State Attorney General’s Civil Rights Unit where he focused on various issues of civil rights, immigration, and antidiscrimination on both a state and national level. In addition, Michael has worked with two tribal nation supreme courts (Hualapai in Arizona and Ho-Chunk in Wisconsin), where he assisted in drafting legal opinions, and developing their legal systems. As a law student, Michael was a semi-finalist in the Jean-Pictet International Humanitarian Law Competition, honored with the prestigious Order of the Barrister award as a top oral advocate, and manager of the National Black Law Journal. Michael’s own scholarship has involved voting rights, tribal jurisprudence, and discrimination in disability law.