Early Years
Pedro Rodriguez was born in Brooklyn, New York to the Puerto Rican salsa singer, Pellin Rodríguez and Elba Lopez Perez, who met in New York while Pellin's band was touring. Rodriguez is the first of three children for the couple. As a child, Rodriguez was always surrounded by musical instruments and by personalities from the entertainment world. He wanted to become a musician like his father, but his father objected because he wanted Pedro to get a college education. The family settled in the city of Bayamón, Puerto Rico. There, young Pedro started to become more interested in the field of science than in the field of music. During his school years, he excelled in the subjects of math and science. In 1971, Rodriguez graduated from La Salle High School with honors.
Rodriguez enrolled in the University of Puerto Rico at Mayagüez and changed majors four times before deciding to become an engineer. He earned a bachelors degree in mechanical engineering in 1976. That same year, recruiters from NASA were conducting interviews at the campus. He was hired by NASA as an engineer, designing special test equipment at the Marshall Space Flight Center in Alabama. Since then, Rodriguez has held several positions at NASA.
Read more about this topic: Pedro Rodriguez (NASA)
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