Adhara Pérez Sánchez is an 11-year-old child prodigy from Tláhuac, Mexico City, with an IQ of 162, higher than that of Albert Einstein and Stephen Hawking. She is currently pursuing a master’s degree in mathematics at the Technological University of Mexico and dreams of becoming a NASA astronaut and contributing to the colonisation of Mars.
Her early life was far from easy. Diagnosed with autism at age three, she faced severe bullying and a lack of understanding from her peers and teachers, forcing her to change schools three times. This adversity led to depression and social withdrawal.
A single moment changed everything. After her mother suffered a seizure and went into a coma, a seven-year-old Adhara saw pictures of Stephen Hawking at her doctor’s office, inspiring her to pursue a career in engineering and space exploration.
From that point, she never looked back. She finished elementary school at five, then completed middle and high school in just one year. She later enrolled at Mexico’s National Polytechnic Institute and earned two degrees in systems and industrial engineering.
She was even invited by the president of the University of Arizona to study there, but chose to stay in Mexico.
She is now working with the Mexican Space Agency as a STEM ambassador to promote space exploration among young girls. She also authored a book called Do Not Give Up, sharing her personal experiences.
Adhara hopes to eventually study astrophysics at the University of Arizona and pass flight tests that could make her the first autistic person to fly through a NASA-connected agency, at around age 17.
Her name, fittingly, belongs to a star in the Canis Major constellation. She is already shining like one.
