Polette Esmeralda Cortez is a native El Pasoan who has maintained her interest and enthusiasm toward space since experiencing a field trip to the Gene Roddenberry Planetarium as a third-grader in Hart Elementary School. She earned her Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering and her Master of Science in Metallurgical and Materials Engineering from the University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP). Polette is currently a doctoral student within the Materials Science and Engineering program at UTEP and strives to focus on research related to investigating the effects of microgravity on cardiac tissue.