Celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month – meet Pilar Archila

As we continue celebrating National Hispanic Heritage Month, we had the privilege of speaking with Pilar Archila, our ISS Research Results Senior Scientist. Pilar plays a vital role in tracking scientific publications related to station research and uses this analysis to highlight exciting trends in the growth and quality of space science.

As a proud dual citizen – Colombian-American – she shares that Hispanic Heritage Month represents an opportunity to broaden horizons, embrace new perspectives, and appreciate how diverse cultures shape unique ways of seeing the world.

“This year’s theme – Pioneers of Change: Shaping the Future Together – means a lot to me as I look back at how I lived through the sweat and tears of the early days of immigration 24 years ago, the hard work invested in my PhD, the job transitions, and the experience of continuing to rewire my brain in a bilingual/bicultural environment.

“I celebrate being Hispanic year-round, especially during Christmas time. With much effort, I try to get my kids to see the beauty of the Latin world (as in speak Spanish!). Their resistance makes it harder on me, but I’m making progress. I’m very proud to be a Spanish speaker and I think it’s a beautiful language with phenomenal morphology. It takes years to see how much language shapes our thinking, and I’m happy to be on this side of the equation now,” adds Pilar.