Dr. Sally Ride was the keynote speaker at Babson College Tenth Annual Women's Leadership Conference last Friday, November 9th. Mostly known as the first American woman in space, Dr. Ride is now on a different mission: to reignite the passion for science, math and technology in girls and young women.
During her speech, Dr. Ride showed the audience pictures from her vacations in space. It was an experience out of this world (pun intended) to hear her talk about her life as an astronaut in such an unassuming way as if she were describing a cross-country trip. Her humbleness only made her stories more memorable. Perhaps having shared her experiences in space many times over felt a bit old. What did not feel old, I can assure you, was Dr. Ride's determination to motivate young girls to consider a career in science.
"Americans,"she said, "need to have a basic understanding of science. In other countries being an engineer or a scientist is cool. Why not in America?"
Anna --
Great story; I had not heard of Sally Ride. Love what she's doing, especially because I just learned that my 7 year-old daughter has a particular aptitude for math and science. The trick of course will be fostering this aptitude.
Also, thanks for the comment on my blog. You're absolutely right that our media fosters discontent with our lives. Perhaps my thesis needs further refining.
My best,
Whitney J
www.daretodream.typepad.com
Posted by: Whitney Johnson | November 15, 2007 at 05:59 PM