BOULDER, Colo. — Students at Fairview High School had the opportunity Monday to hear from an alumnus of the school who is an astronaut aboard the International Space Station.
Jessica Watkins is the first Black woman working and living aboard the International Space Station and is a 2006 graduate of Fairview High School. Watkins, along with fellow astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti, who was born in Italy, answered questions virtually as part of an ongoing event focusing on leadership and getting students, especially women of color, interested in careers in science, technology, engineering and mathematics, or STEM.
“I think finding role models for women and especially women of color going into STEM fields, they’re pretty few and far between,” senior Lauren Patwardhan said. “But the ones that have made it are absolutely remarkable and a huge inspiration to me and others like me.”
Patwardhan is biracial -- half Indian and half white. She said she’s interested in hearing what Watkins has to say about women of color going into careers in STEM. It’s a field that she’s pursuing after graduation.
“I kind of settled into engineering physics because I’m super interested in physics, but I want a lot more real-world application to maybe try and help people,” Patwardhan said. “I’m really interested in seeing what Watkins and Cristoforetti have to say about what it was like to come from a very similar background as mine and pursue a career in a field that is inherently misogynistic and them succeeding when all odds were against them.”
Meera Khadaakkar is a junior at the high school and is also interested in a career in engineering.
“I think it’s really valuable for students to just see what the possibilities are and that you can dream big,” Khadaakkar said. “There’s a cool factor, but it’s also very important that students can see a student that walked these very halls can achieve something so awesome and fantastic.”
For more than 21 years, astronauts have continuously lived and worked aboard the space station, testing technologies, performing science and developing the skills needed to explore farther from Earth. Through NASA’s Artemis program, the agency will send the first woman and first person of color to the moon. It will be the U.S. space agency's first crewed Moon mission since Apollo 17 in 1972.
Patwardhan said she was excited to hear from both Watkins and Cristoforetti. It’s an achievement that has students like her grateful to see an alumnus of their school soaring to new heights.
“People who look like me and have grown up with my background can really do anything, even go to space,” Patwardhan said. “A huge thank you for everything [they’ve] done for women who are pursuing a career in STEM.”
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