San Joaquin Regional Transit District (RTD) and local leaders today will celebrate the unveiling of the agency’s new José M. Hernández bus wrap—a tribute to the Stockton native and celebrated NASA astronaut.
“I am deeply honored and humbled by RTD’s incredible tribute,” said Hernández. “To see my image and message wrapped on an RTD bus that travels the very streets where my journey began is both emotional and inspiring. This community helped shape who I am, and I’m grateful to RTD for celebrating that connection. I hope this bus serves as a moving reminder to our youth that with education, hard work, and perseverance, any dream is within reach.”
The bus wrap features Hernández in his trademark NASA uniform alongside the quote “It’s OK to Dream Big,” displayed in both English and Spanish. The bus wrap is part of a joint venture between RTD and the Hernandez’s Reaching for the Stars Foundation, a nonprofit organization with a mission to “inspire youth to find passion in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) Education, establish a family commitment to education, and develop a support network through community engagement.”
The bus wrap will be displayed for at least two years. The unveiling ceremony was held today at Cal State Stanislaus, Stockton Campus.
“Mr. Hernández is such a beloved part of the Stockton community—we thought it was only fitting to honor him with a bus wrap,” said RTD Chief Executive Officer Alex Clifford. “His inspiring story is a reminder to us all about the power of perseverance and persistence. We look forward to sharing his powerful words on our buses for years to come.”
One of four children in a migrant farming family from Mexico, Hernández didn't learn English until he was 12 years old. Despite that, he graduated from the University of the Pacific in Stockton with a degree in electrical engineering before enrolling as a graduate student at the University of California in Santa Barbara, where he continued his engineering studies.
He joined the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in 1987 and officially became part of the NASA Space Program in 2001. In 2009, he took part in the STS-128 space shuttle mission to the International Space Station.
The story of Hernández’s rise from his humble beginnings in a migrant workers family to a NASA astronaut was depicted in the 2023 biographical film “A Million Miles Away,” starring Michael Pena.