Mae Jemison
Deja P.
Early Life
Mae Jemison is the youngest child of Charlie and Dorothy Jemison born October 17, 1956. She's originally from Decatur, Alabama, but moved to Chicago Illinois at the age of three. She became fascinated with astronomy at a young age. During high school she wanted to pursue biomedical engineering and graduated Morgan Park High School in 1973 with a Stanford scholarship.
Initial Career choice
Throughout college, Mae was involved in dance and theater productions. She received the bachelor of science degree in chemical engineering. After graduation she entered Cornell University Medical College. Mae studied in Cuba and Kenya and then moved on to work at the Cambodian Refugee Camp in Thailand. She then went on to apply admission to NASA's astronaut training program in October of 1985.
First African American Female Astronaut
After a year of training Mae Jemison went on to become the first African-american female astronaut. She earned the title of mission specialist and flew into space on September 12, 1992 with 6 other astronauts. In space she conducted experiments on weightlessness and motion sickness on the crew and herself. On that trip she spent over 160 hours in space and returned back to Earth on September 20, 1992. Mae says the dancing she did in college helped her to be a better astronaut because of the moves and facts she learned.
Honors and recognition
She has received a number of awards for her bravery and unique intelligence. She has won the 1988 Essence of Science and Technology Award. She even had a school built after her in Michigan called the Mae Jemison Academy. In 1990 she won the Woman of the year award. She was featured in Ebony magazine's 50 most influential women. She won a 1993 Kilby Science Award.
Where is she now?
Mae has been seen on the television show Star Trek: The Next Generation in 1993. On February 17, 2008 she was the featured speaker for 100th anniversary for the Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority. Today she lives in Houston She enjoys dancing, playing cards and cats.
Mae Jemison: I Wanted To Go Into Space
Sources
Redd, Nola Taylor. "Mae Jemison." Www.space.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 14 Dec. 2015
"Mae Jemison." Bio.com. A&E Networks Television, n.d. Web. 14 Dec. 2015
"Meet a Super Scientist!" Meet Mae Jemison, a Super Scientist. Scholastic,., n.d. Web. 14 Dec. 2015.
Jemison, Mae C. Find Where the Wind Goes: Moments from My Life. New York: Scholastic, 2001. Print.