{"id":4000,"date":"2024-10-23T16:23:57","date_gmt":"2024-10-23T16:23:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.siuf.org\/?p=4000"},"modified":"2024-12-05T15:17:02","modified_gmt":"2024-12-05T15:17:02","slug":"tinoco-honors-father-heritage-with-25k-gift","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.siuf.org\/?p=4000","title":{"rendered":"Tinoco honors father, heritage with $25K gift"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"SIU Donor Story: Dr. Janet Tinoco\" width=\"474\" height=\"267\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/Mnzp_x72sgQ?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong>By Jeff Wilson<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Where others see a challenge, Dr. Janet Tinoco sees an opportunity.<\/p>\n<p>That\u2019s been true throughout her life and career, which spans from Belleville to Southern Illinois University Carbondale to the defense industry to outer space. It\u2019s what led her to donate $25,000 to endow the Jesse Salvador Tinoco Scholarship for Women in Engineering, named for her father. The scholarship benefits students in the College of Engineering, Computing, Technology and Mathematics, with preference being given to females of Mexican descent.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSome of it has to do with how I was raised,\u201d she said. \u201cMy father was raised by Mexican immigrants. His parents pushed education as a way to improve one\u2019s lot in life.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Tinoco transferred to SIU from Belleville Area College (now Southwestern Illinois College) and graduated in 1982 with a degree in engineering.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_4001\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-4001\" style=\"width: 414px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\" wp-image-4001\" src=\"https:\/\/blog.siuf.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/Tinoco-1-300x200.jpg\" alt=\"Janet Tinoco\" width=\"414\" height=\"276\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blog.siuf.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/Tinoco-1-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/blog.siuf.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/Tinoco-1-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/blog.siuf.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/Tinoco-1.jpg 800w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 414px) 100vw, 414px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-4001\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Janet Tinoco donated $25,000 to establish the Jesse Salvador Tinoco Scholarship for Women in Engineering.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>\u201cI come from a hard-working, wonderful family, but we were not wealthy,\u201d she said. \u201cI was the youngest of four girls, all of whom have some element of engineering, science and technology in their careers. My parents worked hard to give us a good education and help us through college.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>After her father passed away nearly a decade ago, Tinoco began to reflect on his impact on her life.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cLooking back, I realized what an influence he was in my education. Without him recognizing my personal need to spread my wings and support me, I would not have been able to come to SIU,\u201d she said. \u201cWhile my mother wanted us to be self-sufficient, I think my father wanted more for us.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>As an SIU student, Tinoco worked her way through college. She wants the scholarship to ease some of the financial burdens faced by today\u2019s students.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI hope this scholarship shows students that someone cares about them and their success,\u201d she said. \u201cWorking my way through college was hard. I was a good student, but not a straight-A student. There were very limited scholarship opportunities for me, at least that I was aware of.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Tinoco also hopes her gift may inspire others to give back any way they can.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAll alums that have a passion for SIUC can help the institution. In addition to financial support, we can help spread the word on the good works and educational opportunities at SIUC by simply following, liking and sharing SIUC posts on social media platforms. Or post relevant news about yourself and tag SIUC,\u201d she said.\u00a0\u201cIt doesn\u2019t take much time yet can have a significant positive impact for the university by increasing its visibility.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>After graduating, Tinoco took an engineering job with a defense company in Orlando working on laser-targeting systems for F-16s for the Air Force. She then transferred to Washington, D.C., to work with the Federal Aviation Administration on air traffic control modernization, and then back to Orlando to continue her work in defense.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMy career path was not a straight line. I took lots of turns,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n<p>She later earned her Ph.D. and began teaching at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University. During her time at the university, she co-wrote the book: \u201cRunways to Space: An Introduction to the Spaceport Industry.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-4005 alignright\" src=\"https:\/\/blog.siuf.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/image001.jpg\" alt=\"Runways To Space\" width=\"288\" height=\"173\" \/><\/p>\n<p>\u201cI have always had a passion for space,\u201d Tinoco said. \u201cI enjoy working with emerging economies and indigenous communities to find growth and economic opportunities within the space realm. Currently, I am working to identify opportunities in this field for Native Americans. There are many opportunities in space. You do not have to be an engineer, scientist or astronaut. Anyone can have a role in the space sector.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Tinoco hopes her scholarship will provide others with the satisfying career she has experienced.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt really has been an interesting, wonderful career that keeps giving back to me the more I put into it,\u201d she said. \u201cI want everyone to realize they have potential, and they are valued for who they are.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&nbsp; By Jeff Wilson Where others see a challenge, Dr. Janet Tinoco sees an opportunity. That\u2019s been true throughout her life and career, which spans from Belleville to Southern Illinois University Carbondale to the defense industry to outer space. It\u2019s what led her to donate $25,000 to endow the Jesse Salvador Tinoco Scholarship for Women &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/blog.siuf.org\/?p=4000\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Tinoco honors father, heritage with $25K gift<\/span> <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":13,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[7,3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4000","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-donor-stories","category-higher-education"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.siuf.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4000","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.siuf.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.siuf.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.siuf.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/13"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.siuf.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=4000"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/blog.siuf.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4000\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4109,"href":"https:\/\/blog.siuf.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4000\/revisions\/4109"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.siuf.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=4000"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.siuf.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=4000"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.siuf.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=4000"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}