Sally Kristen Ride was born on May 26, 1951 in Encino, California (near Los Angeles). Sally started playing tennis at age 10, and became an excellent tennis player. She won a tennis scholarship to Westlake School for Girls in Los Angeles. After graduation in 1968 she attended Swarthmore College, but dropped out to pursue a career in professional tennis. After three months of hard practice, Sally decided she was not good enough to become a successful pro. She quit tennis and enrolled at Stanford University.
At 27, with B.A., B.S., and masters' degrees, she was a Ph. D. candidate looking for postdoctoral work in astrophysics when she read about NASA's call for astronauts in the Stanford University paper. More than 8,000 men and women applied
At 27, with B.A., B.S., and masters' degrees, she was a Ph. D. candidate looking for postdoctoral work in astrophysics when she read about NASA's call for astronauts in the Stanford University paper. More than 8,000 men and women applied