Mae Jemison

Slide 1: 

Mae Carol Jemison Born: October 17, 1956 in Decatur, Alabama

Slide 2: 

When she was a child Mae Jemison looked to the sky wishing she could go there. She had no role models to look up to as a black women had never been there. So Mae worked hard to reach her goal, but she is also a hero because she helped so many others along the way to her dream.

Slide 3: 

Mae was born in Alabama on October 17, 1956, and raised in Chicago. She is the youngest of three kids. Her siblings’ names are Charlie and Dorothy Jemison. She did well in school from a young age and was able to go to Stanford University on scholarship at the age of 16. She graduated in 1977 after passing her exams in Chemical Engineering and African-American Studies. She attended medical school at Cornell University and became a doctor in 1981. While in medical school, she travelled to Cuba, Africa and Asia to help sick people. After medical school, she spent time in the Peace Corps supervising medical staff in Sierra Leone and Liberia where there was a war.

Slide 4: 

In 1987, Mae fulfilled a lifelong dream of being an astronaut when she was accepted into NASA’s astronaut training program out of over 2000 applicants! How do you think Mae feels wearing her astronaut suit?

Slide 5: 

Mae and the STS-47 crew after having been named for the SLJ mission.

Slide 6: 

The official crew portrait

Slide 7: 

Mae had to do lots of training and learn all about the shuttle.

Slide 8: 

She has to practice weightlessness. Do you think you could do that?

Slide 9: 

She had to learn how to use the special microscopes on board the shuttle.

Slide 10: 

Can you imagine floating and working at the same time? How would you stop your pencil floating away?

Slide 11: 

She was assigned to the space shuttle Endeavor. Even though there had been a terrible shuttle accident some years earlier, Mae didn’t let it stop her from following her dreams. The Endeavor blasted off September 12, 1992. 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, 0, Blast off!

Slide 13: 

Mae could even click her heels in zero gravity!

Slide 14: 

Mae was an amazing woman. She went to a good college, became a medical doctor, and flew on the space shuttle Endeavor. We can learn from Mae Jemison not to give up and follow your dreams no matter what. Mae didn’t give up and applied to NASA even though people thought she couldn’t be an astronaut. Mae taught us that if you work hard you can do anything. She was everything she had hoped to be because she worked hard. Most people think Mae was just an astronaut, but she was much, much more!

"Don't be limited by others' limited imaginations" - Dr. Mae Jemison : 

"Don't be limited by others' limited imaginations" - Dr. Mae Jemison You’ve got to chase your dream and ‘Reach for the Stars’!!