Dr. Mae Jemison visits USD

First African American woman to travel to space talks to USD

Lauren Ceballos / Feature Editor / The USD Vista

USD Professor Dr. Dominguez interviewed  Dr. Jemison, the first African American woman to travel to space, in the Kroc Institute for Peace and Justice on March 29 in honor of Women’s History Month. 

The event was a product of the collaboration of the USD Black Student Union (BSU), the National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE), the Women’s Commons and the Torero Program Board (TPB). USD chose Dr. Jemison as a representative for Women’s history due to her work as a doctor, engineer, astronaut, her work with the Peace Corps and more.

“She is an inspiration to us all, and we could not be more excited to have her on campus,” according to  the Torero Program Board.

Dr. Jemison was in the first class of the astronaut program after the Challenger accident but had no apprehension. Applications had closed and once they opened, Jemison renewed hers. Dr. Jemison was not afraid to go to space but was afraid of heights, but she was willing to overcome that fear to accomplish her goals and inform her curiosity. 

“I’m a fraidy cat, but I’m nosy,” said Dr. Jemison. “What do we do with fear, we have to put it in context.” 

Dr. Jemison articulated how she made some of her life choices by taking the next step, leaving where she was, and/ or starting something new.

“We talk about empowerment like somebody gives us the power, but we have to take it; we have to own it.”

Dr. Jemison shared her experience of going to space, including how her worldview changed and clarified her perspective.

“For me, the change was a connection with the rest of the universe, it affirmed things that I always believed… when people say ‘save the earth’ they’re wrong, the earth will be here but we might not be here… An affirmation, the beauty of the earth, and the moon and the stars.”

Her perspective was broadened and confirmed. Dr. Jemison came to visualize  just how small one person is in comparison to the universe.

Amongst the multitude of Dr. Jemison’s accolades was also her acceptance to Stanford as a 16-year-old. 

Dr. Jemison expressed a memento from the experience.

“One can get affirmation from lots of different places, but very importantly you have to affirm yourself.”

Dr. Jemison described the approach that  she took as a young teenager in college. 

“You usually don’t slip in the room, people usually know you’re there, so… you might as well take advantage of it.”

Dr. Jemison explained how she wanted to join the Peace Corps in order to find a purpose. She worked at refugee camps and then decided to go overseas with the Peace Corps, serving in Sierra Leone and Liberia, solely because she wanted to, not thinking that it was a part of a specific plan. 

The Ivy League, Cornell, did not understand Dr. Jemison’s reason for choosing to go to the Peace Corps.

The Dean called Jemison down to his office.

“[This is] not the way a Cornell medical student is supposed to be doing things.”

Dr. Jemison ignored the concern and followed what she knew to be her next step.

Jemison knew that going overseas was “purposeful,” but she was not “plotting” for anything, just doing what she knew she wanted to do with her life. Later on, she applied to be an astronaut, and it was her overseas experience that helped set her application apart, working in a very “low resource environment, on call all the time.”

Jemison shared a lesson from this experience. She had chosen to follow her heart, not a plan, just what she knew she wanted to do for herself at the time. Later on, this work helped set her apart from other astronaut applicants.

“All the things you learn can interplay, and you [can] draw from [it].”

Dr. Dominguez questioned Dr. Jemison’s earliest memories of her love for science. Dr. Jemison explained  a story of getting a splinter when she was little, seeing the pus in her thumb, and being fascinated with it and the way that her body was taking care of itself. Dr. Jemison developed a never-ending curiosity with the natural world. 

“[I was] always fascinated by the stars and everything around me,” Dr. Jemison shared.

Dr. Jemison has both a love of science and a love of dance. When she graduated from college, she had to make the decision of becoming a dancer or going to medical school and came to a realization.

“You can always dance if you’re a doctor but can’t [be a] doctor if you’re a dancer.”

Dr. Jemison shared the correlation of her interest in both fields.

“People don’t think of the sciences and all of those as creative, but they are. And for me they’re all about creativity.”

Dr. Jemison explained how her parents, her mom (a teacher) and her dad (a construction worker), were some of the best scientists she has ever known and how important it is to pick the right influence in life, setting you up for success or turmoil.

Dr. Jemison answered Dr. Dominguez’s question about the influential people in her life.

“People underestimate how important it is when you choose your parents [to be your influences.]

Dr. Jemison admired her parents’ emphasis on the importance of “how people approach the world.”

“[They] help set the tone to whether you try things, or whether you’re discourag[ed] from things.” 

When reflecting on her childhood, Dr. Jemison also shared  how, growing up,  girls are always taught to keep their dress clean and not mess up their hair, “But you gotta fall sometimes and be resilient and get back up.” 

USD sophomore Naomi Kidane shared her anticipation regarding seeing Dr. Jemison.

“I’ve heard about her since I was young, because my dad would always tell me that she was the first [African American] woman to go to space, so I really made sure that I attended this event because it’s just cool to see her live and in person,” Kidane explained. 

Kidane revealed her expectations for the event.

“I’m just excited to hear about her experience… seeing how she interacts with other people, seeing how she presents herself, because I feel like that would also be like a way for me to mimic and use her as a role model and maybe, hopefully get to talk to her after.”

USD sophomore Cesar Liza shared his biggest takeaway.

“Just do what you want to do. Even though she was an astronaut, went to medical school, nothing ever stopped her from doing whatever interested her in that moment,” Liza said.

USD sophomore Ashlyn Kopf relayed her reaction to Dr. Jemison’s visit.

“She was very well spoken and I loved how she was very confident in what she was saying and it truly seemed like she cared even though she didn’t know about us.”

Dr. Jemison, shared her story and some insight to her success.  Students were impressed by her multitude of achievements and happy to hear her wisdom. 

USD closed Women’s History Month with Dr. Jemison who gave attendees motivating words to live by with a built resume to  support her advice.