From Suriname to Space: Rohit Goeptar's Journey to NASA

Rohit Goeptar was born into a poor family in Suriname, where both parents worked three jobs yet could only provide food and shelter. His family moved to California when he was about six, then he returned to South America with his father two years later while his mother stayed in the U.S.

and remarried. He became a U.S. citizen at 13 and reunited with his mother and brothers in California. At 19 he joined the U.S. Marine Corps and spent six years as a technical operator; during a deployment to the Philippines he helped set up communications for people after a typhoon.

"I was lost, the Marine Corps gave me an opportunity," Goeptar recalled. Goeptar faced further hardships: he lost two fathers to suicide and a short first marriage left him unhoused in Kissimmee, Florida, for six months. His path shifted after meeting his now-wife, who filled out college applications for him and pushed him to apply at Kennedy Space Center.

Suriname, Kissimmee, Florida

rohit goeptar, suriname, nasa, kennedy, marine corps, us citizen, philippines, typhoon, kissimmee, california