In 1963, we moved into a house in the small town of South River, NJ — a diverse community of immigrants. It had open spaces — trees, a river, and ponds to explore! We had a lovely background with a stream running through it. With no sons, my father taught his girls to throw and catch a football.
My parents made sure we had experiences they never had. 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 to satisfy my father’s interest in history. Our job was to search for bullets in the grass and pose next to cannons.
I was 14 years old when I joined Civil Air Patrol (CAP) for the aerospace education I wanted. It wasn’t taught in schools in those days. We wore real Air Force uniforms and learned military protocol, drilling, and survival techniques. They had an airplane so I had flying lessons before driving a car. At McGuire Air Force Base (AFB), I began my public speaking by talking to the public about aircraft.
Every year I attended CAP weeklong camp at McGuire AFB. I returned on July 20, 1969 in time to watch the Apollo 11 spacecraft land on the Moon. It was unbelievable —- science-fiction made another step into reality! I believed that one day I would be living and working on there. At 15, I was determined to make that happen.
I enjoyed sports and I wanted to earn high school letters like the boys. However, Title IX didn’t exist yet so there were no school teams and competitions between schools. When there weren’t enough girls for games after school, I cleaned and organized equipment to earn points. I was a senior when I received my letters but there was no school wide announcement. My Phys Ed teacher handed them to me in her office.
My family only flew once during our vacations and that was to Puerto Rico with my grandmothers in 1970. With a rental car, we were able to travel drive to the major cities. The word spread that we were on the island so we were obligated to visit relatives even my parents didn’t know. My younger sister and I found adults rather boring but we were pleased to meet our great-grandmother who was 98 and, according to my parents, mentally sharp.
In 1971, I began college just 6 miles from home so I commuted. Counselors couldn’t advise me on aerospace courses so I created my own major with Astronomy, Astrophysics, and Geology of the Moon and Planets. It was an unexpectedly great choice because it got me first space job — Princeton.
One of my college friends told me about a summer program with the US Army looking to recruit women as officers. My CAP experience made it an easy month. If offered, after college graduation, we would be in the Army for a minimum of two years. My leadership skills got me an offer but the job I’d most likely get would be in Military Intelligence. It didn’t match my interest and, fortunately, I declined.
Engineer Torres 