
After graduating high school at the age of 16, I left my native Venezuela and moved to Miami, Florida, with the goal of becoming an electrical engineer. The following year, I started my undergraduate studies at Florida International University (FIU) and was scheduled to graduate as an electrical engineer in December 1998.
Unfortunately, on October 6, 1998, two months shy of graduation, I had a car accident in front of the university. A car ran a red light and hit the car that I was in, flipping us over three times and eventually landing us upside down. I was airlifted to the hospital where I was diagnosed with a spinal cord injury at the C5 - C7 level, which left me paralyzed from the neck down (quadriplegic). I was in the intensive care unit for two weeks connected to machines that helped me breathe. Then, I had a neck fusion surgery and was transferred to the rehabilitation department.
I had no choice but to withdraw from the semester and was unable to graduate in December as planned. Suddenly I could not move, walk, write, drive, eat by myself or play sports. All the things that I had taken for granted were gone. I had to regroup and assimilate what had just happened. I now depended on others for the simplest things, and I no longer had privacy. Daily activities tested my patience, and I realized that the way I chose to react to this unexpected new reality would affect the rest of my life. I could either give up or confront these challenges directly and continue achieving my goals.
I knew I had to keep going and finish what I started. With the unconditional love and support of my family and close friends, I persevered. For the first few days of January 1999, I attended school from the hospital before finally being discharged. I completed my last semester at FIU and attended the graduation ceremony in April.
I immediately continued with my graduate studies, and in 2002 I completed my master's degree in electrical engineering. During graduate school, I was a founding member and manager of FIU's VLSI (Very Large Scale Integrated Circuits) Laboratory where I helped bring in donations for the study and development of complex integrated circuits. After completing my master's, I continued my graduate studies to obtain a Ph.D. in electrical engineering at FIU. I based my doctoral dissertation on creating an electronic system capable of segmentally calculating the human body composition. This allowed me to not only meet the requirements for graduation, but also provided an opportunity for me to help people with physical disabilities like mine get better assessments of their physical conditions.
Since receiving my Ph.D. in electrical engineering in December 2007, I have taught electrical engineering classes at FIU and Miami Dade College, worked as an electrical engineer and have participated in projects like flight control electronics and autonomous vehicle system.
In April 2020, I was offered a position at L3Harris. I mentioned that I was very interested, but at the same time it was very difficult for me to relocate because I had already modified my house to be more accessible. I have ramps for my wheelchair, a roll-in shower, wider doors, etc. The recruiter called me back a few days later and told me they would offer me a remote position. Now, I have been working at L3Harris over three years.
I am proud to be surrounded by so many intelligent and caring people that have helped me grow, both personally and professionally. It could have been very easy to quit and not achieve my goal of becoming an electrical engineer, but I realized that there are always far worse positions to be in. I share this story to encourage everyone to continue pursuing their dreams. Feeling sorry for yourself will not help you get past your hardships and could hold you back instead. Overcoming challenges is by no means easy, but staying focused on your ultimate goal can turn dreams into reality.
Most recent headlines
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
06/09/2026
June 9 2026, 23:00 (PDT) Dolby and MagentaTV Bring Fans Closer to the FIFA Worl...
04/08/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...
04/07/2026
April 7 2026, 19:00 (PDT) Detective Conan: Fallen Angel of the Highway Opens in...
25/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
25/06/2026
The Eurovision Song Contest 2026 in Vienna was a significant success for the Austrian public broadcaster ORF. In Austria, more than 1.5 million viewers tuned in...
25/06/2026
Wisycom has further strengthened its ecosystem of professional wireless solutions with the MPR60 Wideband IEM/IFB Receiver with expanded multichannel IFB mode, ...
25/06/2026
Ease Live, the interactivity expert, today announced that its graphics overlay platform is powering a new interactive experience on Rally.TV, the official video...
25/06/2026
VFX History: the origin of After Effects
Graham Quince June 25, 2026
0 Comments
Before it was Adobe, it was CoSA. This is the VFX history of Adobe Aft...
25/06/2026
Creative Remote, the provider of remote and hybrid offline editing infrastructure, today announced the opening of 41, its new offline edit facility located at 4...
25/06/2026
Rise, the award-winning advocacy group for gender diversity in the broadcast and media technology sector, is pleased to announce the global mentoring cohort for...
25/06/2026
Emergent, a pioneer in browser-based, AI-enhanced content production environments, today announced a strategic partnership with ROCKET, a premier media-centric ...
25/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
25/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
25/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
25/06/2026
Summer savings are heating up. From the Steam Summer Sale to GeForce NOW membership discounts, this week's GFN Thursday delivers double the deals and more w...
25/06/2026
Launching today (Thursday 25 June), new RT podcast Ramble with Joe McGucken is a series of curiosity-driven conversations where actor, writer and comedian Joe ...
25/06/2026
Immune molecule may drive excessive drinking in alcohol use disorder Scripps Research scientists showed that blocking an immune molecule tied to inflammation r...
24/06/2026
Plus: VoiceAssist Basic now available to UA LUNA users
NoiseWorks Audio have just released an update that adds a new Mouth De-Click module to the Advanced t...
24/06/2026
New heavy-duty mic stand joins range
The latest arrival to Gator's Frameworks family introduces a new heavy-duty boom stand that's been designed for...
24/06/2026
Latest major plug-in update goes live
Waves have just announced that the latest major update for their hugely popular plug-in range is now officially availa...
24/06/2026
When assessing cellular coverage, many people look at the signal bars displayed on a smartphone, router or modem. More bars are often assumed to mean better per...
24/06/2026
Rohde & Schwarz THORIS sets new standard for counter UAS defense At Eurosatory 2026, Rohde & Schwarz is unveiling THORIS, a German engineered, sovereign count...
24/06/2026
Rohde & Schwarz expands voice communications modernization program for Egyptian ...
24/06/2026
eds3_5_jq(document).ready(function($) { $(#eds_sliderM519).chameleonSlider_2_1({...
24/06/2026
Streaming sets record high of 46.6% of ad supported TV viewing, driven by Super Bowl and Winter Olympics; overall share of ad supported TV remains steady
NEW Y...
24/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
24/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
24/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
24/06/2026
RE:Vision Effects Announces Twixtor Standalone v 8.1 and a Sale!
Brie Clayton June 24, 2026
0 Comments
Twixtor v8.1 Standalone adds support for variab...
24/06/2026
Dreamtek Uses Full Blackmagic Workflow for Vercel Next JS Event
Brie Clayton June 24, 2026
0 Comments
Blackmagic cameras, switchers, routers, recorder...
24/06/2026
Chyron LIVE Unveils New Features: Haivision StreamHub Integration, SCTE-35 Ad In...
24/06/2026
Mapping an Education How composer Chloe Clarke Smith navigated her Boston Conservatory experience and brought new meaning to her work
June 24, 2026
By
Sara...
24/06/2026
The Next Act Dean Krisha Marcano's vision for a connected Theater Division, and the fund making it possible
June 24, 2026
Photo by Eric Antoniou
The Or...
24/06/2026
Announcing STAGES Magazine 2026 Marking a decade since Boston Conservatory and Berklee College of Music joined forces, this issue spotlights some of the groun...
24/06/2026
In Brazil's TV 3.0 Trials, Appear's X5 is transporting live signals from Bras lia to S o Paulo over the public internet using secure, reliable next-gene...
24/06/2026
Melbourne, Australia - 24 June 2026: Mediaproxy, the global standard for software-based IP compliance monitoring and multiviewing solutions, has named Heartland...
24/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
24/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
24/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
24/06/2026
First Rush Brings SDI Multicam ProRes Recording to Apple Silicon Macs
Brie Clayton June 23, 2026
0 Comments
First Rush is a native macOS application d...
24/06/2026
Vertical Drama Beneath Crimson Sails Created with Blackmagic Design
Brie Clayton June 23, 2026
0 Comments
Thunder Child Productions relies on cameras&...
24/06/2026
X-Rite Pantone Adds MSI PRO MAX Displays to Pantone Validated Program for Proven...
24/06/2026
24th June 2026, London: Dara Briain will host brand new comedy entertainment series Dara's Dull Appreciation Society (4x40') celebrating members of th...
24/06/2026
Wednesday 24 June 2026
Sky reveals wild new trailer and images for Shaun the Sh...
24/06/2026
Why Dynamic Media Facilities Matter In this series, we explore the technologies, architectures and operational realities shaping modern media operations. Along ...
24/06/2026
Comscore Announces Partnership with Amazon DSP to Expand Content Addressability ...
24/06/2026
From Cork to Limerick to Earagail:
RT is supporting 21 Arts and Cultural Events all over Ireland this July
RT Supporting the Arts is delighted to spotlight...
23/06/2026
When we began planning our transition from an SDI-based infrastructure to a new ...
23/06/2026
Imagine Communications has announced the appointment of Greg Garmon as Senior Vice President, Americas Video Sales. Garmon will oversee account growth and busin...