Franklin Chang-Diaz

Franklin R. Chang-Diaz was born on April 5, 1950, in San José, Costa Rica. His

mother, Maria Diaz, was Costa Rican, while his father, Ramon Chang was of Chinese

heritage. Chang-Diaz had a brother, Ronald Chang, and a sister, Sonia Chang-Diaz.

They lived with Chang-Diaz while he was in Costa Rica, but they did not go with him

when he moved to the United States of America in 1967. When he arrived to America,

Chang-Diaz had $50.00 on hand and did not speak any English, making it hard for him

to get into a high school. Chang-Diaz had to beg to get a full schedule of classes going

in to his senior year. Although he failed the first two quarters, Chang-Diaz had exceeded

grade expectations and he was granted a full scholarship to the University of

Connecticut. Later in his life, Chang-Diaz had the opportunity to work with NASA. This

made Franklin Chang-Diaz the first Hispanic-American astronaut. Chang-Diaz has

earned seven NASA Space Flight awards, two NASA Distinguished Service medals,

three NASA Exceptional Service medals, and he received a Liberty Medal from

President Ronald Reagan.

Chang-Diaz’s biggest hardships was that he grew up in a low income family and

when he had a difficult time learning in America due to his inability to speak english at

the time. One of the the most important lessons to learn from Franklin Chang-Diaz’s life

is that no matter where you come from, you have the ability to achieve anything you

dream of. Chang-Diaz begged to have the ability to take normal classes his senior year

in the United States, which lead to working for NASA, then becoming a space

entrepreneur after retiring. Another important lesson you can learn from his life is that

you shouldn’t be scared to leave behind a part of your life to move on to another. When
Chang-Diaz moved from Costa Rica to the United States, he left behind most of his

family to achieve his dreams. One of Chang-Diaz’s most beneficial traits was his

diligence. This trait showed the most when Chang-Diaz continued on his career, even

after retiring from NASA in 2005.

Roberto Goizueta

Roberto Crispulo Goizueta was born on November 18, 1931, in Havana, Cuba.

Roberto died on October 18, 1997, in Atlanta Georgia. Both sides of his family

emigrated from Spain to Cuba. His mother, Aida Goizueta, was a heiress to a sugar

fortune, and his father, Crispulo Goizueta, was an architect. In Roberto’s teenage years,

he was sent to New England to attend high school, then he went to Yale to study

chemical engineering. Crispulo Goizueta gave Roberto $8,000 to invest in 100 Coca-

Cola stocks because his father believed that Roberto should work for himself. In 1981,

Roberto became the CEO (chief executive officer) of Coca-Cola. From that point on, he

brought up the value of Coca-Cola from $4 billion to over $150 billion, created large

shareholder returns (the returning of a stock to an investor), launched Diet Coke and the

New Coke, and overall made Coca-Cola the world’s largest trademark.

Roberto’s family did not have much money growing up, and giving their son

$8,000 did not help that situation at all, but Roberto believed that it was important to

invest in stocks before buying material items. The life of Goizueta was admirable

because he came from a family with a low income and made something big out of it.

With only having a little bit of money to invest into stocks with Coca-Cola, it eventually

led to being the CEO of a successful company. The best quality of Goizueta was his

simplicity. When doing business, he focused on three main tasks: the leadership role,

the company’s financial security, and representations of jobs to specific employees or

groups. Since Goizueta was so focused of these points, he lead himself to success.
Celia Cruz

Úrsula Hilaria Celia de la Caridad Cruz Alfonso, or commonly known as Celia

Cruz, was born on October 21, 1925, in Havana, Cuba. Unfortunately, Celia died in

2003,at age 77, due to brain cancer. Celia Cruz grew up in Santos Suárez, which was a

poor neighborhood in Havana. Her family was of African-Cuban heritage, and her

descendants were forcibly brought from Africa to Cuba to work in sugar fields. Her

household was ran mostly by her father, who was a railroad stoker. Cruz was a singer

for most of her life. Her fame arose when she became the lead vocalist in a band, called

La Sonora Matancera, in the 1950s.

Cruz had a hard time being a female lead vocalist because of its rarity in Cuba,

but she was not bothered by other people’s opinions. After her band had gone on tour,

Fidel Castro became the Communist leader of Cuba in 1959, which became a socialist

state. The band then decided that they would settle in the United States, which angered

Castro to the point where he didn’t allow any entry into Cuba again. Cruz tried to come

back when her mother passed away in 1962, but she could not surpass the permission

to. Celia Cruz’s life was newsworthy is because she had a bunch of hardships

throughout it, but she still continued on with her life. For example, when Castro wouldn’t

let her back into Cuba after her mother’s death, she moved on and continued doing

what she loved instead of letting it bring her down. To be a hero, you are someone who

is admired for courage, outstanding achievements, or noble qualities. I believe that Cruz

could be admired for her courage as a female singer. She had a hard time becoming a

singer due to her gender, but she did not care what others thought about it.
Carolina Herrera

María Carolina Josefina Pacanins Y Niño, or commonly known as Carolina

Herrera, was born on January 8, 1939, in Caracas, Venezuela. Carolina’s whole family

is Venezuelan, with her father being the former governor of Venezuela. Carolina was

born wealthy, but she was taught how to be an elegant woman. She was well known in

Venezuela during the 1970s and the 1980s for how well she dressed. The family

eventually moved to New York, which is where Carolina decided she wanted to be a

fashion designer, but she had no training whatsoever. Carolina was one of the first

designers to use padded shoulders in her clothing. She believed that broader shoulders

made a woman’s waist appear smaller. Some of her most famous clients include

Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, Diana de Melo, Michelle Obama, and Renée Zellweger.

Carolina Herrera is a hardworking woman that took her small amount of

knowledge on fashion and made a thriving fashion empire on it. She centers her fashion

lines around femininity and elegance. Carolina’s charm was the most beneficial quality

that helped her with her business. She has proven that class and grace is based on how

you behave, instead of material items. Carolina Herrera has the ability to shape the lives

of gifted people by providing guidance and encouragement due to her elegance and

diligence. She took her small knowledge on fashion and made it into an empire.

Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vpTRLzreBc8
Conclusion

The purpose of this project was to learn about the life and contributions of four

different famous Hispanics. Not only did I learn about these people’s contributions, but

learned about their struggles, achievements, etc. It was interesting learning about

people that I have never heard of before. What I enjoyed most about this project is the

information about the Hispanic people and how they overcome their struggles.
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“Carolina Herrera Facts.” Biography, biography.yourdictionary.com/carolina-herrera.

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