Katherine Johnson Very few women pursue careers as scientists or engineers. This is because of things like stereotypes and gender bias that hinder the progress of women getting involved in STEM. Not only being a woman, but an African-American woman also hindered the progress of women getting involved in STEM. Katherine Johnson, a colored woman, overcame these obstacles and became one of the most prominent females in NASA history.
Katherine Johnson, originally Katherine Coleman was born on August 26, 1918 in White Sulphur Springs, Greenbrier County. Her parents were Joshua Coleman, a lumberman, and Joylette Coleman, a teacher. Katherine was the youngest out of four children. From a young age, Johnson excelled proficiently in math. In Greenbrier, African-Americans weren’t offered public schooling …show more content…
In her career she was rewarded with seventeen awards. These awards include: Group Achievement Award presented to NASA’s Lunar Spacecraft and Operations team, the NASA Langley Research Center Special Achievement award in 1971, 1980, 1984, 1985, and 1986, the Honorary Doctor of Laws in 1998, the West Virginia State College Outstanding Alumnus of the Year in 1999, the Honorary Doctor of Science by the Capitol College, Laurel, Maryland in 2006, the Honorary Doctorate of Science from Old Dominion University, Norfolk, Virginia in 2010, the De Pizan Honor from National Women's History Museum in 2014, the NCWIT Pioneer in Tech Award in 2015, the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2015, the Silver Snoopy award from Leland Melvin, the Astronomical Society of the Pacific's Arthur B.C. Walker II Award, and the Presidential Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters from West Virginia University, Morgantown, West Virginia in 2016. The most important of all these awards was the one given to her in 2016 at the age of 97 by President Barack Obama and it was the Presidential Medal of
Katherine Johnson, originally Katherine Coleman was born on August 26, 1918 in White Sulphur Springs, Greenbrier County. Her parents were Joshua Coleman, a lumberman, and Joylette Coleman, a teacher. Katherine was the youngest out of four children. From a young age, Johnson excelled proficiently in math. In Greenbrier, African-Americans weren’t offered public schooling …show more content…
In her career she was rewarded with seventeen awards. These awards include: Group Achievement Award presented to NASA’s Lunar Spacecraft and Operations team, the NASA Langley Research Center Special Achievement award in 1971, 1980, 1984, 1985, and 1986, the Honorary Doctor of Laws in 1998, the West Virginia State College Outstanding Alumnus of the Year in 1999, the Honorary Doctor of Science by the Capitol College, Laurel, Maryland in 2006, the Honorary Doctorate of Science from Old Dominion University, Norfolk, Virginia in 2010, the De Pizan Honor from National Women's History Museum in 2014, the NCWIT Pioneer in Tech Award in 2015, the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2015, the Silver Snoopy award from Leland Melvin, the Astronomical Society of the Pacific's Arthur B.C. Walker II Award, and the Presidential Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters from West Virginia University, Morgantown, West Virginia in 2016. The most important of all these awards was the one given to her in 2016 at the age of 97 by President Barack Obama and it was the Presidential Medal of