First South American to travel to space talks with high school students

Carlos Noriega, the first South American to travel to space, and a Peruvian-American astronaut, gave a talk to high school students at the Colegio de la Inmaculada Concepción, Roosevelt, and Villa Alarife. The event was facilitated by the Universidad de Ingeniería y Tecnología (UTEC) and the Embassy of the United States. These talks are part of the program "From Space to Earth: Promoting Science and Technology" created in 2013 by the Embassy of the United States.The activity was organized with the intention of introducing tangible engineering-related experiences, such as Noriega's, to high schoolers, as well as showing the astronaut's work. Noriega's message was related to the ability of young people to dare to dream to achieve anything they want. "I dreamed of going to space, and I did," said Carlos Noriega.He added, "studying something related to science, technology, math, and engineering is very valuable and important because it is what Peru needs. Everyone should dare to dream great things, keep high goals, and take an interest in studies that excite them, and thus be able to put in maximum effort.Daniel Mendiburu, Director of the Pre-University Center at UTEC commented that these activities help to define the students' vocation to a career in engineering.Noriega will visit other cities and educational institutaions where he will share his work experiences. About Carlos NoriegaCarlos Ismael Noriega Jimenez (born in Lima, Peru on October 8, 1959) was a NASA astronaut, scientist, and Lieutenant Colonel retired from the United States Marine Corps. He is a Peruvian who also has United States citizenship. He is currently 54 years old.Selected for NASA in December 1994, Noriega was dispatched to the Johnson Space Center in March of 1995. In May of 1996, he was assigned as a specialist on a space mission. Noriega flew on the STS-84 in 1997 and on the STS-97 in 2000. He was in space for 461 hours, including 19 hours of space walks on three occasions. After the STS-97, Noriega was appointed as Reserve Commander of Expedition 6 to the International Space Station. Later, he was part of the crew of the STS-121, although in June 2004 he was replaced due to an unfavorable medical report that kept him away momentarily.This Peruvian engineer is also renowned for making 144 returns to Earth in 221 hours and 20 minutes. In one of his flights, he took a Peruvian flag, Tumi, and chicha to space.