Ashley Walker knew what she wanted from a young age, she wanted a star of course ! At the age of 5, her uncle decided he could give the next best thing, a Telescope. The story resonates deeply with my own experiences, and no doubt many more reading this.
Ashley was inspired, not just by her uncle, but by a passion for Science and Astronomy that led her to a BS in Chemistry and now works for NASA at the Goddard Space Flight Center as a part of the Undergraduate Research Associates in Astrobiology program.
Ashley created the #BlackInAstro tag after being inspired by #BlackBirdersWeek and all that had been happening in the US.
In the words of the late Carl Sagan,
“Look again at that dot. That's here. That's home. That's us. On it everyone you love, everyone you know, everyone you ever heard of, every human being who ever was, lived out their lives. The aggregate of our joy and suffering, thousands of confident religions, ideologies, and economic doctrines, every hunter and forager, every hero and coward, every creator and destroyer of civilization, every king and peasant, every young couple in love, every mother and father, hopeful child, inventor and explorer, every teacher of morals, every corrupt politician, every "superstar," every "supreme leader," every saint and sinner in the history of our species lived there--on a mote of dust suspended in a sunbeam.“
Astronomy opens our eyes not just to how insignificant we are in comparison to the Universe’s vastness and age, but equally, how special we all are, how unique and individual, and it opens your eyes to a perspective few are just too busy reading headlines to notice.
So here’s to Ashley, and to those she inspires ! May your life be filled with wonder ..
https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/black-astronomers-highlight-achievements-and-obstacles/
