Fun Facts about Dr Mae C Jemison (Celebrating Black History for Students)

Going into space has to be amazing and many have done this throughout history, but do you know who the first African-American woman to go into space is? Join me as I share a few fun facts about Dr. May C. Jemison, the first African-American woman to enter space. Dr. May C. Jemison is an American engineer, physician, and NASA astronaut born October 17, 1956 in Decatur, Alabama. Growing up May was the youngest child of her parents, Charlie and Dorothy Jemison. Her father was a carpenter and her mother was a teacher. In school May was always encouraged by her family and she did very well earning a scholarship and attending Stanford University. May also enjoyed dance, theater production, and participated in her Student Union. May would go on to earn her degree in chemical engineering and later would earn her medical degree working as a general practitioner. Another cool thing May C. Jemison did was work with the Peace Corps as a medical officer teaching and doing medical research. Wanting to pursue her dreams May would change careers and applied for admission to NASA's astronaut training program. This would be tough with thousands of people trying to get in. Being the first is always a challenge and one of the first that May is known for becoming the first African-American woman to be admitted into the astronaut training program on June 4, 1987. After many years of hard work May C. Jemison would see her dreams of going into space come true on September 12, 1992 when she went into orbit aboard the Space Shuttle Endeavor with six other astronauts. May C. Jemison would go on to teach, establish the Jemison group, and more. So it just goes to show all things are possible when chasing your dreams. And those are fun facts from a biography on Dr. May C. Jemison.