By Tawanda W. Johnson,
Special to the AFRO
Dr. Mae C. Jemison, the first African-American woman astronaut to travel to space, has always pushed the boundaries of what some people thought possible for her.
In her book, “Find Where the Wind Goes,” Jemison, 67, tells the story of how, during the early 1960s, she declared her desire to become a scientist to her elementary school class on the Southside of Chicago. Jemison’s teacher asks her if she meant to say “nurse” instead of “scientist.” To make her position abundantly clear, Jemison says that, with her hands on her hips: “No, I mean a scientist!”
She would go on to face other doubters throughout her life. But Jemison didn’t let the naysayers keep her from achieving her goal. On Sept. 12, 1992, she made history, traveling with six other astronauts to space on the shuttle Endeavor, where they spent eight days before returning to Earth.
Jemison worked as a science mission specialist, conducting experiments on the crew that involved motion sickness and bone cells. The historic moment wasn’t lost on Jemison who writes in her book, “Looking down and all around me, seeing the Earth, the moon and the stars–I just felt like I belonged right there.”
Before achieving her goal of becoming an astronaut, it was clear that Jemison was destined for greatness. At age 16, she graduated from high school with honors. In 1977, she earned bachelor’s degrees in chemical engineering and African and African American studies from Stanford University. In 1981, she received a medical degree at age 25 from Cornell University before serving for two years in the Peace Corps as a medical officer in Africa. Additionally, she speaks Russian, Japanese and Swahili.
Since her historic moment in space, Jemison has been lauded with many honors, including being named to the Women’s Hall of Fame, the Johnson Publishing TrailBlazer Award, and People Magazine’s “Fifty Most Beautiful People in the World.” Additionally, she is a member of the National Academy of Medicine.
In 1993, Jemison was the first astronaut to appear on the science fiction series, “Star Trek.” A longtime fan of the show, she was impressed with the diversity of characters featured on the series, including Nichelle Nichols, who portrayed Lt. Uhura, an African communications officer.
That same year, Jemison retired from NASA and started a technology consulting company that merged social issues with technological design. Through her new venture, she developed The Earth We Share, an international science camp for students. She also taught environmental studies at Dartmouth College. In 2012, she began the 100-Year Starship, an initiative funded by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency to make human interstellar travel a reality within the next 100 years.
Jemison who now boasts titles of physician, engineer, educator, social scientist, entrepreneur and former NASA astronaut, resides in Houston with her pet cats. She continues to encourage a new generation of space explorers through various projects and is widely known for the inspirational quote: “Never be limited by other people’s imagination; never limit others because of your own limited imagination.”