Mae C Jemison

Article written by Shivam Singhal

Artwork by Amy Titley

Mae C Jemison was the first black woman to travel to space. But not only that, she was a doctor, an engineer and a professor.

Growing up as a child, Jemison loved the sciences and knew she wanted to become an astronaut. She felt frustrated at the lack of representation when watching the Apollo missions, later recalling “I remember being really really irritated that there were no women astronauts”.

She got a degree in chemical engineering from Stanford University and went to Medical School at Cornell.

She has also worked as a doctor for the Peace Corps, serving in Sierra Leone and Liberia.