I think the author feel happy and excited because Ellen didnt let those people hinder her learning.The author also said Ellen always listen when her mother said reach for the stars. In the story ,The author said that in school ,Ellen Ochoa was a top student and did well in all her classes. Ellen loved  music and learned to play the flute. Ellen spent hours practicing and became a very talented player. In high school,she played with a band for young people. Ellen also loved math.  Some people told her girls were not good math students. She didn't let those people hinder her learning. Ellen always did her best. When she graduated,she had the highest grades in her class. Ellen decided that she wanted to be an engineer.There were people who did not think that a woman could do such a difficuit job. Ellen had to study very hard, but she did well. She felt very proud when she graduated and got a job as an engineer.This shows that Ellen made robots that used special tools to see things around them.This reminds me of when I was watching t.v and I told my mom that I wanted to play the flute just like Ellen Ochoa.