Path to the Stars: My Journey from Girl Scout to Rocket Scientist
The inspiring memoir for young readers about a Latina rocket scientist whose early life was transformed by joining the Girl Scouts and who currently serves as CEO of the Girl Scouts of the USA.
A meningitis outbreak in their underprivileged neighborhood left Sylvia Acevedo’s family forever altered. As she struggled in the aftermath of loss, young Sylvia’s life transformed when she joined the Brownies. The Girl Scouts taught her how to take control of her world and nourished her love of numbers and science.
With new confidence, Sylvia navigated shifting cultural expectations at school and at home, forging her own trail to become one of the first Latinx to graduate with a master’s in engineering from Stanford University and going on to become a rocket scientist at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory.
Simultaneously available in Spanish!
Download the Path to the Stars teacher’s guide here!
Available in both English and Spanish.
Acevedo is an inspiring storyteller as she presents her memoir to her readers. As a young girl torn between traditional Mexican-American expectations and the desire for adventure, Acevedo grew up in a lower income family in Las Cruces, New Mexico. A strong reader in the early years of elementary school, she feels alone and disconnected when her family moves to a better neighborhood after her sister contracts meningitis. It is here that she is introduced to the Brownies, a division of the Girl Scouts. That introduction put her down the path to college, engineering, NASA, and now the CEO of Girl Scouts of the USA. Through all of this, she shares the stories and struggles of her family and of being a girl who loved math and order when the main expectation of her was to marry young and have children. Acevedo’s memoir is a brisk, engaging read. The writing is conversational, though she does talk down to readers a bit when relating the difficulties she faced back in the 1960s and 70s in order that a modern audience can understand. This story has struggle, a girl overcoming obstacles, and a STEM-focused Latina author. For libraries looking for #ownvoices, you won’t go wrong with this one. Overall, an inspirational story that honors the author’s mother, reading, math, and the Girl Scouts.
Acevedo is an inspiring storyteller as she presents her memoir to her readers. As a young girl torn between traditional Mexican-American expectations and the desire for adventure, Acevedo grew up in a lower income family in Las Cruces, New Mexico. A strong reader in the early years of elementary school, she feels alone and disconnected when her family moves to a better neighborhood after her sister contracts meningitis. It is here that she is introduced to the Brownies, a division of the Girl Scouts. That introduction put her down the path to college, engineering, NASA, and now the CEO of Girl Scouts of the USA. Through all of this, she shares the stories and struggles of her family and of being a girl who loved math and order when the main expectation of her was to marry young and have children. Acevedo’s memoir is a brisk, engaging read. The writing is conversational, though she does talk down to readers a bit when relating the difficulties she faced back in the 1960s and 70s in order that a modern audience can understand. This story has struggle, a girl overcoming obstacles, and a STEM-focused Latina author. For libraries looking for #ownvoices, you won’t go wrong with this one. Overall, an inspirational story that honors the author’s mother, reading, math, and the Girl Scouts.
Contact
info@sylviaacevedo.org