Women in Aerospace Day, Breaking the Sound Barrier, and Being a Role Model
Yesterday was Women in Aerospace Day and as I read about some of the newest role models in the aerospace industry, thanks to Colorado State University and the Walter Scott Jr. College of Engineering, I also started thinking about the women who inspired me in my career. There is no doubt about it that at the top of my list is retired Colonel Eileen Collins, the first woman to pilot the space shuttle and the first woman Commander of a space mission. I had looked up to Col. Collins her entire career, even having copy of the famous Annie Leibovitz portrait of her hanging on the wall in my office. I have been fortunate to meet Col. Collins twice in the last year – once at the Women In Aviation International Conference in Nashville and once at the Wings Over the Rockies Air and Space Museum. She was very gracious and graceful, taking the time to speak with me about the shuttle mission that I participated in and signing copies of her book for hours for all of the young women in line. It is difficult to describe the emotional thrill of meeting your hero and inspiration in person. I will relish these opportunities for the rest of my life.
Role Models
This week we also celebrated the 70th anniversary of Jackie Cochran’s feat of becoming the first woman to break the sound barrier. She was a true aviation pioneer.
June marks the 40th anniversary of Sally Ride becoming the first American woman in space. The Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum and its affiliates have many celebrations planned for Sally’s Night.
Last year I was asked to speak on a panel at the Aircraft Interiors Expo in Hamburg, Germany. The panel was titled “Women Behind Aviation: The Industry Success Story” and was intended to provide insight to young women about the path to a career in aviation. There were three women on the panel and each of us were asked to talk about our experience with one of three phases of our journey – education, first job, and leadership. Originally, I was a bit disappointed that I had been asked to speak about my education, in particular because I had very nearly failed out of my engineering program. I was a little embarrassed to talk about that experience and would have much preferred to speak about my first job – sitting in Mission Control calling go/no-go for my system on the first classified launch of the space shuttle. I agreed to speak about my college experience and what I learned about resilience. I was thrilled when several young ladies in the audience dame up to me after the panel to tell me how relatable my story had been and what an inspiration I was. It completely changed my thinking about what it meant to be a role model.
Sarah Chapman, an engineering manager at 3M, feels the same way about not being such a perfect role model as I do.
Leona Serao, a 23 year old commercial pilot, plans to become the first black woman to complete a solo flight around the world this summer.
Entertainment
Here is one writer’s picks for films to watch about women in science.
Athena Donald’s book “Not Just for the Boys”, about increasing the number of women in science and engineering, is out this week.
Axiom-2 Launch
As I am typing this, Axiom-2 is now in orbit!
Education
Adults and popular media may be behind the inequality in gender in computer science.
Lynn University is a leader in changing the number of women in aviation.
What does it take to be a mentor for young women in STEM/STEAM?
Memorial Day Honors
Women in Aviation International is encouraging people to honor the Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASP) this Memorial Day.
Legislation
This week Senators Collins and Rosen introduced a bill to strengthen STEM education.
My Mission
The value and benefits of a career in a STEM field are well-known and well understood. Adding the “A” to STEM to create STEAM opens new doors for inclusivity, creativity and innovation in fields that are not conventionally considered to be STEM careers.
What if we stopped asking kids “Are you good at math?” and instead asked “What are your interests and what are the problems that you would love to solve?”…