Mae Carol Jemison

Introduction: Who were the first people to walk the moon? Most people know that Buzz Aldrin, Neil Armstrong, and Michael Collins are the correct answers to this question. But does anyone know who the first African American woman to enter space was? This woman’s name is Mae Carol Jemison.

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Point 1: Mae Carol Jemison was born October 17, 1956 in Decatur Alabama as the youngest child to Charlie Jemison and Dorothy Green Jemison. Jemison and her family moved to Chicago, Illinois at a very young age. Her parents believed that moving to Chicago would increase Mae’s and her fellow sibling’s educational opportunities. At a very young age Jemison knew following her dreams was very important. One of her dreams happened to be wanting to explore

She participated in dance, theatre, and was a main leader of the Black Student Union. In 1977, Jemison completed her Bachelors of Science degree in Chemical Engineering. She also fulfilled the requirements for the Bachelors of Art in African and Afro-American Studies. In the fall of 1977, Jemison enrolled at Cornell University Medical College. As a medical student at Cornell, she studied in Cuba and Kenya. Moreover, she worked at Cambodian refugee camp in Thailand. In 1981, upon graduation of Cornell University Medical College, Jemison completed her medical internship at the Los Angeles County/University of Southern California Medical Center. After completing her internship, she went on to become a general practitioner with INA/Ross Loos Medical Group until December 1982. Beginning in the early months of 1983, Dr. Mae Jemison became the Area Peace Corps Medical Officer for the West African countries of Sierra Leone and Liberia. Later on she taught and engaged in medical research in both of the aforementioned countries. Upon return to the United States in 1985, Jemison decided she was finally going to pursue her longtime dream of becoming an astronaut. In October 1985, Mae Jemison applied to be admitted into the NASA astronaut training program. Due to the Challenger explosion in January 1986, the selection process was delayed. Jemison reapplied after the disaster and was one of

Jemison earned the title of science mission specialist. This title and job required her to be responsible for conducting various scientific missions during her mission on the Endeavour. On September 12, 1992 on mission STS47 aboard the Endeavour Dr. Mae C. Jemison she became the African American woman to enter space. On her eight day journey, Dr. Jemison conducted experiments involving weightlessness and motion sickness. She conducted this experiments on herself and her fellow crew members. In total Jemison spent over 190 hours in space before making her return back to Earth on September 20, 1992. Succeeding her journey into space, Jemison pointed out how society needs to acknowledge how women and racial minorities can make tremendous contributions when given the chance to succeed. In early 1993, Jemison resigned from her position at NASA because she wanted to pursue other interests. In 1995, Dr. Jemison became a professor of Environmental Studies at Dartmouth until 2002. Dr. Jemison has also established the Jemison Group which works to research, develop, and market advanced technologies to the general public. Since resigning from NASA, Dr. Jemison has received many awards for her historic journey into space. Some of these awards include numerous honorary doctorate degrees and an alternative public school in Detroit, Michigan named after her. Dr. Mae C. Jemison is currently a professor at Cornell