In 1963, we moved to the small town of South River, NJ — a diverse community of immigrants. It had open spaces — trees, a river, and ponds to explore!
Every year, we went on vacation driving to a variety of locations along the East Coast and South. Each trip included visits to American Revolution and Civil War battlefields.
I was 14 years old when I joined Civil Air Patrol. We wore real Air Force uniforms. It was where I received my aerospace education. We learned military protocol, survival techniques, and fly an airplane.
I enjoyed sports and I wanted to earn high school letters like the boys. However, Title IX didn’t exist yet so there wasn’t competitions between schools. When there weren’t enough girls for games after school, I cleaned and organized equipment to earn points.
In 1971, I began college just 6 miles from home so I commuted. I started in Engineering but created my own major with Astronomy, Astrophysics, and Geology of the Moon and Planets.
Engineer Torres 