Mae Jomson Biography

One of the most important aspects of Dr. Mae Jemison includes her experiences. During her time at Cornell Medical School, Jemison spent time working as a volunteer in places such as: Cuba, Kenya, and Cambodian Refugee camps in Thailand (Jemison 2). After Cornell University, Jemison spent the next year accomplishing an internship at Los Angeles County- University of Southern California Medical Center. Knowing she wanted to work on a biomedical engineer research assignment, she quickly determined to apply to serve as a volunteer at a Peace Corps. From 1983 to 1985, Jemison became a volunteer in Sierra Leone and Liberia (Jemison 2). She says this job was the most difficult because “I was on call seven days a week, twenty- four hours a day, 365
days a year, and I was responsible for people’s lives and their health” (Jemison2). Returning to California she accepted a position as a general practitioner with CIGNA health plans of California. Even though she had already accomplished an abundance of tasks, Jemison was still intrigued by space exploration.
She goes on to say, “I followed the Gemini, the Mercury, and the Apollo programs, I had books about the, I always assumed I would go into space” (2). Therefore, Jemison began taking graduate engineering classes and applied to NASA for admission of the astronaut program. In 1987, Jemison and fifteen astronaut candidates were accepted to the NASA program; and she completed her training in 1988 (Jemison 2). Aboard the shuttle, Endeavor, in 1992, Jemison was the mission specialist on flight, and at the age of thirty- six, Dr. Mae C. Jemison became the first African American woman to travel in to space. In March 1993, Jemison founded the Jemison Group Inc., her private company that aims to “research, develop, and implement advanced technologies suited to the social, political, cultural, and economic context of the individual, especially for the developing world” (Jemison 2). One group project her team has conducted is a satellite based telecommunications system to improve health in West Africa; and Jemison taught environmental studies at Dartmouth College from 1995 to 2002 and since 2015 she is a professor at Cornell University (Jemison
2). One of the most important aspects of Dr. Mae Jemison includes her awards and achievements. Throughout her years of dedication, Jemison has received numerous awards. Some awards including: The Essence Award in 1988, McCall’s ten outstanding women for the nineties in 1991, Ebony’s most influential list in 1993, Johnson Publications Black Achievement Trailblazers award in 1992, and her achievement of creating an alternate public school, located in Detroit, Michigan, established in 1992 (Jemison 2). With all that she had accomplished, she became inducted in to the National Women’s Hall of Fame in 1993 (Jemison 2). Through hard work and perseverance she could accomplish even the most challenging tasks. She strived for what she wanted and she got it.