Lesson 7: "Never be limited by other people's imaginations."
Continuing with the subject of literal rocket science, today is devoted to astronaut Mae Jemison. The first black woman to travel in space, Dr. Jemison served as a Mission Specialist about the space shuttle ENDEAVOR in September of 1992, and worked as an astronaut for 6 years. Later she founded the Jemison Institute for Advancing Technology, and an international "space camp" for teens called The Earth We Share (TEWS). She holds a medical degree from Cornell Medical School, worked in a Cambodian refugee camp, and --just to round it all out-- is fluent in Russian, Japanese, and Swahili. [grin]
Oh and heads up, my nerds: Dr. Jemison's stellar career trajectory was very much influenced by seeing Nichelle Nichols in the role of Commander Uhura on "Star Trek." She would herself later cameo in a role on "Star Trek: The Next Generation" (at Levar Burton's invitation); the first-ever astronaut to do so. If any of you simply MUST go to Memory Alpha to nitpick, the episode title is "Second Chances" (Season 6, ep 24).
