Sally Kristen Ride, Ph.D., was an incredible woman who was the first American woman and the youngest to go in space at age 32. She flew twice on the space shuttle Challenger until she left NASA in 1987 and went on to teach and do research at Stanford University and University of California, San Diego.
I love the story about how she applied to go into space. She was finishing up her doctorate degree in physics at Stanford and she saw an ad in the NASA newspaper that mentioned they were looking for space candidates.
Her passion and drive to even apply for something like this just amazes me. I have to ask: What caused her to reach so high for her dreams? Was she fearless? Did she think maybe there was a chance for her to get picked since she was a woman and no one else had gone into space but men?
She seemed to just plow through all doubt and took a chance. I bet she may have thought to herself, “Why not?”
I admire her drive; it encourages me to go after my dreams and take a chance. So, why not go after your dreams and passions? By following one dream, it can open a door for another dream.
Sally also was a catalyst for young girls to go into science fields. After she retired, she then authored science books for children before her death in 2012.
Each of us has a chance to be all we can be, and as Sally did, we can all open doors to help others.
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