Aastha Thakur
Grade: XI 'B'
The present world is a world of equality where every single human has the right to participate in all fields irrespective of race, religion, gender or any other diversity. However, it is not always the same. The human civilisation has gone through multiple changes, some good and some bad. Katherine Johnson is one of those great personalities who broke all the barriers of differences and discrimination and inspired the future generations.
Katherine Johnson was born in an African family in West Virginia. She was not from a very economically well-off family due to which her childhood was pretty difficult. However, no difficulties stopped her and she graduated at an early age of just 14. She later on started teaching and got married at the age of 33. She applied to NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration) and was deployed as human computer to calculate the trajectories. She was kept separately to the other white employees who were pretty deceitful. However, her amazing talent helped her rise up among all her colleagues.
She had a prominent contribution in different space missions. She worked in NASA for about 33 years with Apollo 11 and she was the women behind the great success of missions that include Apollo 11 mission, the first one and the mission 1962 (The friendship mission). In fact, John Glenn denied to go on the space mission of 1962 unless Katherine personally reviewed the calculation of Trajectories.
Her contributions were so astonishing and significant that she was awarded the Presidential Medal of freedom in 2015 A.D. by Barack Obama. She also raised voice for fair pay for the women employees and advocated to uplift the involvement of women in STEM areas.
Katherine Johnson once said in one of her interviews, " I never ran away from my work playing sick or any- thing: The one problem I had was answering questions to the world which I did in the best way possible." This undoubtedly proves her dedication in the field. She stands as the biggest inspiration for those who always get back thinking that their problems or difficulties are the barriers for their success.