Reach for the Stars with Mae Jemison
If there is one woman to honor when talking about women in history, Mae Jemison is one of one. Not only is she a NASA astronaut, but she is a doctor and engineer. Jemison is the first African American woman to travel to space. She not only continues to reach for the stars for women, but she made it to the stars herself.
Who Is Mae Jemison?
Mae Jemison was born on October 17, 1956, in Alabama to an elementary school teacher and a maintenance supervisor. Growing up in Chicago, Jemison had a passion for both dance and science at an early age. Her love for science led to her passion for astronauts and outer space. As a child, she unfortunately never saw any astronauts that looked like her. No African American female astronauts were doing things for her to look up to. But, as a fan of Star Trek, she fell in love with Lieutenant Uhura on the show who was played by an African American actress. After seeing her on the show, Jemison knew she had to make it to space one day.
Jemison later graduated from Stanford University with a Bachelor of Science degree in Chemical Engineering and a Bachelor of Arts degree in African and African-American studies. She then went off to Cornell Medical School and graduated with a doctorate a few years later. After graduation, she then worked for the Peace Corps and eventually opened a private practice. But, then a sudden change occurred. That change was when Jemison got to see Sally Ride become the first American woman to make it to space. So, what did Mae do? She applied for the astronaut program at NASA. In 1987, Jemison was 1 of 15 who were selected from 2,000 applicants to be part of the program. Then, in 1992, Jemison joined a mission with six others to go to space in the Endeavor making her the first African American woman to take a trip to space. Talk about a full circle moment!
Life After NASA
After leaving NASA, she started The Jemison Group and began teaching at Dartmouth College. Not only did she continue to support her love for science an opportunity of a lifetime made its way to her. Jemison made an appearance on one of her favorite shows, Star Trek: The Next Generation. Everything from her childhood came into a full circle moment when she made her tv debut. Jemison continues to support women in science and has received multiple awards over the years.
