Hero: Sally Ride

Sally Ride was the first women and the youngest American in space. Dr.Ride was a pioneer in the work and motivation for women in the STEM field. Sally was never recognized for her courageous work but ridiculed for being a woman. For being one of the five crewmembers on ChallengerSTS-7 and the only women Sally prepared for the weeklong trip extensively. Sally was asked how the space trip would affect her chances of getting pregnant or what kind of makeup was she going to take. Clearly none of these questions would have been asked to a male astronaut and don’t protean to science at all. Sally played it cool and responded “it’s too bad this is such a big deal. It’s too bad our society isn’t further along”. Sally served as the director of the California space science institute, she was also physicist and a physics professor at the university of California. Sally was very passionate about the future of science and helping motivate women and girls to pursue an interest in science. Sally created Imaginary Lines, which supports girls interested in math, science, and technology. Sally impact on science is nothing less than inspiring and motivational her passing in 2012 was very saddening. She was awarded after her death with the Presidential Medal of Freedom. I wish she was able to receive her award while she was alive so she could know she was acknowledged for her efforts and work; she is the true definition of hero.