Barry Cordero; Inspiring Next Generation of Latino Engineers
The folks at ABC News end us a link to their latest in their “Second Tour” series about veterans after their service. This one is Barry Cordero who graduated from the mean streets of Chicago to the US Navy as a nuke;
Cordero said he wasn’t a great student in high school. “I was in a lot of honors classes but I didn’t perform really well,” he said. “I knew I wanted to be a doctor one day because I really had a passion for helping people.”
Cordero said he wasn’t a great student in high school. “I was in a lot of honors classes but I didn’t perform really well,” he said. “I knew I wanted to be a doctor one day because I really had a passion for helping people.”
ht barry cordero kb 140512 16×9 608 US Navy Vet Inspiring Next Generation of Latino Engineers
U.S. Navy Nuke and Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers (SHPE) President Barry Cordero. (Angel Canales/ABC News)
One day he went to his school guidance counselor and asked him for advice about what he should do.
“He really discouraged me from pursing college. He encouraged me to use my mechanical experience to pursue a mechanical education,” Cordero recalled.
Despite the advice, he applied to the University of Illinois and at the same time he went to a Navy recruiter to check out his options. On his second try, Cordero passed the nuclear engineering entry exam and two weeks letter he received an acceptance letter from the University of Illinois. He ended up going to the Navy since he already signed up for service and four days after he graduated high school he was on a bus for boot camp.
ht barry cordero graduation kb 140512 16×9 608 US Navy Vet Inspiring Next Generation of Latino EngineersU.S. Navy vet Barry Cordero’s boot camp graduation photo. (Courtesy of Barry Cordero)
Cordero joined the Navy in 1997 and served for 6 years. He went on to become a Nuclear Electrician’s Mate and in 1999 was assigned the USS Nimitz, which was being refueled and overhauled at the time. “It was a unique experience and I had a lot of opportunities to teach and that sparked my interest in teaching and coaching,” he said.
When he left the Navy in 2003, Cordero decided to pursue a bioengineering degree. He enrolled at the University of California, San Diego bioengineering program and graduated in 2007.
When he was a tutor at Mathematics, Engineering, Science Achievement (MESA), there was a group of students working on a project for the Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers (SHPE). The students asked Cordero to help them with the project and that was his first pull into the organization he now leads as president. He said he enjoyed organizing that project with the students and having an impact in the community.
So go read the rest about a veteran works to inspire youngsters in a field that needs more Americans.
Category: Veterans in the news
Thanks for posting this.
It is because of the young men and women that are now serving the country in the military that I do not worry about the future of this country.
As time goes on they will become more and more the natural leaders and will bring this country back to the level of greatness that is was and has always been.
They are being given true life lessons about politics and the crap that goes on in political situations.
They are also learning the good things about Honor Duty and Country that are the qualities that are so lost in this current political class.
I know that as time goes on the country will swing back to the right and that these young men and women will lead the way.
Salute to all of you form and old Grunt from US Army Alaska…
When I took the tests in highschool the Navy offered me nuclear propulsion on a sub. The Army Recruiter looked at me and asked me if I wanted to jump out of planes. Being full piss and vinegar I chose Airborne. I loved but I do not think I made the correct longterm choice.
This man is an inspiration. A positive story about a Vet who should be a rolemodel for every kid.
He took the NFQT twice? At least he made it. Not often you see a retest that passes or makes it through the pipeline.
That tells me he busted his ass. Good on him keeping up the prestige and high standards of Naval Nuclear Power and his great success since.
Thank you Jonn for this article. It’s always good and rewarding to hear the success stories.