Today we say goodbye to a woman who inspired many, if not all of us, in Club Jade.
Yes, she contributed to science, to the space shuttle program, and to science education. You’ll read about those at the sites above.
However, it’s the stories you will not read as part of the official record that are the most important when it comes to the impact Sally Ride had on the hearts and minds of children growing up in the 80’s through today.
Club Jade’s own Paula tweeted earlier today:
I had the honor of meeting Sally Ride when I was twelve. She encouraged me to pursue science so I could follow her to the stars.
My earliest memory of Sally Ride was seeing her picture on a wall in a classroom, with the simple note of “First American Woman in Space – 1983”. My first report in that class was on her because of that picture and caption and it made me a fan for life. I wanted to go to space camp, I was driven to learn more about science and technology, and I was absolutely empowered to never let anyone tell me “girls can’t do X”. All because of Sally’s example. Thank you Sally Ride, for giving so many of us young girls an example of what we too could achieve.
I’d like to invite you to share how she impacted your life, no matter how small, in the comments below.