Dr. Mae Jemison

After graduating high school at sixteen, Dr. Mae Jemison trained as a dancer and choreographer and earned degrees in engineering, African American studies, and medicine before joining the Peace Corps as a doctor.  A renaissance woman, Mae wasn’t content with her life’s accomplishments just yet.  She applied to NASA and was accepted to the astronaut program in 1987, then became the first African American woman in space.  Now Jemison researches and implements technology in developing nations and is a professor of environmental studies.  Photo credit: nasa.gov