Who is Mae Jemison?
Who is Mae Jemison? What are Mae Jemison accomplishments? For what she is so famous? So, all these questions arise inro mind when we read her name. Well, she is a multi-talented woman with lots of skills. Words are not enough to describe here. Jemison born on 17th October 1956, is an American engineer, a physician and also former astronaut at NASA. Moreover, she is the first African American woman to travel in space as a mission specialist. Also, she was the first black woman to enter into the astronaut training programme. In recognition of her services, she has got many awards and honorary doctorates. There is a series of Mae’s achievements and accomplishments to write down. However, I am going to narrate here briefly. For further details, you can visit here.
Early education and life of Jemison
Jemison was the youngest child of her parents and they used to live in Decatur, Alabama. Her father was a roofer and carpenter. In 1959, her family moved to Chicago, USA to seek better educational opportunities. Mae Carol Jemison joined Morgan Park High School for her early education. Moreover, her parents were much supportive of her throughout her school career. She used to spend a lot of time in the school library to explore all the aspects of science and astronomy.
During her school life, she decided to pursue her education in biomedical engineering. Moreover, after graduation in 1973 from High School, she got admission in Stanford University at National Achievement Scholarship. In 1977, she earned the degree of BS, chemical engineering from university and later joined Cornel University Medical College for medical education.
The career of Mae Jemison
Initially, Mae started her career as a Medical Practitioner at the University of Southern California Medical Centre. Later, she also remained the area Peace Corps medical officer for Sierra Leone and Liberia. However, in 1985, she returned to America and changed her career as well as life. She applied to get admission in NASA’s astronaut training programme. Hence on 4th June 1987, she became the first African American to secure a slot in NASA’s programme. During the training, she showed her immense skills and talent, as a result, she earned the honour of Science Mission Specialist.
Moreover, on 12th September 1992, she flew to space, along with her other six members aboard the Endeavour on mission STS47. Thus she became the first-ever African American female to travel in space. Moreover, she spent more than 190 hours in space and conducted experiments on weightlessness and motion sickness.
Mae Jemison Accomplishments and honours
Mae Jemison has served immensely for NASA and America as a Black woman. Therefore, her services were recognized and she got many awards and honours. Here are the some prominent,
- Essence Science and Technology Award 1988
- Gamma Sigma Gamma Woman of the Year in 1990
- McCall’s 10 Outstanding Women for the 90s
- Ebony Black Achievement Award 1992
- Florida Southern College Honorary Chancellor
Besides these honours, she has got many honorary doctorates and fellowship member of many institutions.
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