Women's Day
March 8th is International Women's Day, to honor the many accomplishments made by women. Women like Helen Keller, the first blind-deaf person to earn a Bachelor of Arts degree. Women like Bessie Coleman, the first African American to earn an international pilot's license. And women like Marie Curie, a physicist and chemist, the first person to receive two Noble Prizes. What do these women have in common? They were all the first. They were not only the first women to complete their accomplishments, but the first of any person. Their achievements were not only for women, but for all people.
To celebrate International Women's Day, I watched the movie, Hidden Figures. Hidden Figures is based on the African American female mathematicians who worked at NASA during the Space Race. The movie is based on Katherine Johnson, Dorothy Vaughn and Mary Jackson. Dorothy Vaughn was a NASA supervisor and Mary Jackson was a NASA engineer.
While the movie features the plots of Jackson and Vaughn the movie stars Katherine Johnson. Johnson graduated from high school at the age of 14 and graduated from West Virginia State at the age of 18. After graduating summa cum laude at West Virginia State with a degree in mathematics and French, Johnson taught at a black public school in Marion, Virginia. From there, Johnson was the first African American women to attend graduate school at West Virginia State (Ott).
Before working for NASA, Johnson worked for the NACA — the National Advisory Committee for Astronauts. After working for the NACA Johnson received a job at NASA. While working at NASA, Johnson calculated the trajectory for the flight of Allan Shepard, the first American in Space. Not only was Jonson responsible for calculating the trajectory for Shepard's flight, she was also instrumental in the math responsible for the 1961 Mercury Mission. Johnson was also influential in the calculations that put Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin on the moon (Ott).
Katherine Johnson is a truly inspirational woman. Not only did she succeed in a male dominated industry, but she overcame adversity as an African American at a time when Virginia still upheld segregation laws.
The life of Katherine Johnson illustrates women can do anything. Today on International Women's Day we honor Katherine Johnson for her achievements not only as a woman, but as a person.
Ott, Tim. “Katherine G. Johnson.” Biography.com, A&E Networks Television, 27 Feb. 2018, www.biography.com/people/katherine-g-johnson-101016.
To celebrate International Women's Day, I watched the movie, Hidden Figures. Hidden Figures is based on the African American female mathematicians who worked at NASA during the Space Race. The movie is based on Katherine Johnson, Dorothy Vaughn and Mary Jackson. Dorothy Vaughn was a NASA supervisor and Mary Jackson was a NASA engineer.
While the movie features the plots of Jackson and Vaughn the movie stars Katherine Johnson. Johnson graduated from high school at the age of 14 and graduated from West Virginia State at the age of 18. After graduating summa cum laude at West Virginia State with a degree in mathematics and French, Johnson taught at a black public school in Marion, Virginia. From there, Johnson was the first African American women to attend graduate school at West Virginia State (Ott).
Before working for NASA, Johnson worked for the NACA — the National Advisory Committee for Astronauts. After working for the NACA Johnson received a job at NASA. While working at NASA, Johnson calculated the trajectory for the flight of Allan Shepard, the first American in Space. Not only was Jonson responsible for calculating the trajectory for Shepard's flight, she was also instrumental in the math responsible for the 1961 Mercury Mission. Johnson was also influential in the calculations that put Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin on the moon (Ott).
Katherine Johnson is a truly inspirational woman. Not only did she succeed in a male dominated industry, but she overcame adversity as an African American at a time when Virginia still upheld segregation laws.
The life of Katherine Johnson illustrates women can do anything. Today on International Women's Day we honor Katherine Johnson for her achievements not only as a woman, but as a person.
International Women's Day is a day not only to honor the incredible women of our past, but to inspire the strong women of our future. March 8th is a day to empower all women, to show the tremendous things women can do. Female heroes like Katherine Johnson, Helen Keller, Bessie Coleman, Marie Currie, Dorothy Vaughn and Mary Jackson remind us all that anything is possible.
To the women of our past,
To the women of our present,
And to the women of our future,
Here's to you.
For the things you have done,
For the things you do,
And for the things you will do.
Happy International Women's Day, here's to women.
Ott, Tim. “Katherine G. Johnson.” Biography.com, A&E Networks Television, 27 Feb. 2018, www.biography.com/people/katherine-g-johnson-101016.
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