GOLDENDALE, WASHINGTON: Standout senior Kimberly Morales Cortes is photographed inside the Goldendale Observatory in Goldendale, Washington on July 9th, 2026. Morales is standing next to the observatory’s telescope, one of the nation’s largest publicly accessible telescopes. The primary instrument is a massive, custom-built 24.5-inch Classical Cassegrain reflecting telescope. Unlike massive research scopes built for cameras, this one is specifically designed for humans to look directly through the eyepiece. Morales was a high performing student from The Dalles who graduated this spring. She will be attending Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Prescott, Arizona in August. During her high school career she won numerous awards such as the monthly Youth of the Gorge award her first year of high school. She was the “Hawk” of All Trades award by the entire student body which is given to someone who is involved in many things at school. She also won the Stephen “Hawking” Award for being good at math and science. She was in the robotics team which won the VEX Oregon Championships three years in a row (2023-2025). She was involved in Leadership clubs, Symphonic/Jazz/Pep and Marching bands, STEM Club, VEX V5 Robotics, drama department Juntos club and National Honors Society all four years while attending The Dalles High School. Before heading off to college in Arizona she is working two jobs at Casa El Mirador, where she is a hostess and busser as well as working at the 4H OSU Extension at CGCC. She is planning on majoring in Aerospace engineering with a minor in either astronomy or astrophysics or space science. As for her dreams and aspirations for her future she says she can’t wait for the day when “I become part of something greater than myself. When I can be a part of a diverse team of people all working together, hopefully at NASA, to discover ways to build a better, brighter, more sustainable tomorrow.” “I want to dedicate my life to research,” she continues. “There is so much we don’t yet know about the cosmos and the difference ways to navigate it.” (Photo by Helen H. Richardson)
