On this week’s 51%, she’s a professor, pilot, computer scientist and author, and talks about how flying helped her face many fears. And we’ll hear about environmentally-friendly feminine products.
The daughter of a Chilean father and a Filipina mother, Cecilia Rodriguez Aragon grew up as a timid child in a small Midwestern town during the 1960s. Targeted by school bullies and dismissed by many of her teachers, she worried that people would find out the truth: that she was INTF. Incompetent. Nerd. Terrified. Failure. This feeling stayed with her well into her 20s. Yet in the span of just six years, Aragon became the first Latina pilot to secure a place on the United States Unlimited Aerobatic Team and earn the right to represent her country at the Olympics of aviation, the World Aerobatic Championships. Dr. Cecilia Aragon is now a professor of Human Centered Design and Engineering at the University of Washington. In her new book “Flying Free: My Victory Over Fear to Become the First Latina Pilot on the US Aerobatic Team,” she chronicles her story of breaking free from expectations and rising above her own limits by combining math and logic with her passion for flying. Aragon spoke with 51%’s Elizabeth Hill about her transformation.
That was Dr. Cecilia Aragon speaking with 51%’s Elizabeth Hill. Aragon is a professor of Human Centered Design and Engineering at the University of Washington and the author of “Flying Free: My Victory Over Fear to Become the First Latina Pilot on the US Aerobatic Team.” It is published by Blackstone Publishing.
And now we tune into “Possibly,” which looks at the science behind proposed environmental solutions, taking on massive problems like the future of the planet and breaking them down into smaller q & a’s. Here’s “Possibly” host Megan Hall.
For more information or to ask a question about the way you recycle, use energy, or make any other choice that affects the planet, go to “the publics radio dot org slash possibly.” Or subscribe to us wherever you get your podcasts. “Possibly” is a co-production of the Institute at Brown for Environment and Society and the Public's Radio in Providence, Rhode Island.
That’s our show for this week. Thanks to Tina Renick for production assistance. Our executive producer is Dr. Alan Chartock. Our theme music is Glow in the Dark by Kevin Bartlett. This show is a national production of Northeast Public Radio. If you’d like to hear this show again, sign up for our podcast, or visit the 51% archives on our web site at wamc.org. And follow us on Twitter @51PercentRadio
