the echolopaperMagnolia elementary school student newspaper
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By Avery Riley, Adele Goldsworthy, and Laykin Markle Born 1918 – died 2020 at the age of 101 Katherine Johnson was a very accomplished Black woman who worked as a mathematician for N.A.S.A., helping in the launch and landing coordinates for the Friendship 7. In 1939 she was one of the first three African Americans to enroll in a graduate program at the West Virginia University. Childhood Katherine Johnson was born on August 26, 1918, in White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia. Her mom worked as a teacher and her dad as a farmer and custodian. As a child she was incredibly smart (and she still was as an adult!), but we will get to that in the next section. Moving on, Katherine’s town did not have a High School for her to attend once she finished middle school, and her dad insisted she had an education, so she went to a High School in another town! One Smart Child Katherine Johnson skipped lots of grades. She started Elementary School at age 5 (the usual), but with her crazy intelligence, she skipped an abundance of grades and entered High School when she was just 10 years old! She was also 18 when she went to college! She graduated before her older siblings. College Katherine got her Bachelor of Science in mathematics and French. In college Katherine started studying English and French, but her professor and a lot of others told her to start studying STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) instead. But she managed to find time to do both. Working For NASA Katherine worked as an exceptional mathematician for NASA, helping Astronaut John Glenn into space on the spacecraft Friendship 7. She helped with the launch and landing coordinates for this journey to space. While she was working for NASA, there was something going on called the “Space race.” The Space Race happened in the 1950s and ‘60s, where America and Russia were competing for technological advancement in spaceflight. Katherine helped in America’s getting a man to the moon. Family to Care For Katherine had a family to take care of as well as being a big part of the launching of a spacecraft. Her family consisted of her first husband (James Goble), her second husband (James Johnson), and her three daughters (Constance, Joylette, and Katherine Goble). Her mother was Joylette Roberta, and her father was Joshua Coleman. More Fun Facts!
Katherine’s Quotes!
Our sources are: https://www.nasa.gov/content/katherine-johnson-biography, https://www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/katherine-johnson-22835.php, and the books NASA Mathematician Katherine Johnson, from the series STEM Trailblazer BIOS (available in our library), and Little Leaders Bold Women in History
2 Comments
Julie R
5/26/2022 07:21:33 pm
Very interesting and well written!
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Julie Colando
5/30/2022 10:07:53 am
KJ was a remarkable person! Thank you for shining a light on her achievements.
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Land Acknowledgement
We at the Echolopaper acknowledge that we are on the traditional land of the Coast Salish people, including the Duwamish people past and present. We honor with gratitude the land itself and the Duwamish people. Echolopaper History The Echolopaper was started by five MES 5th graders during online learning in December 2020: Dexter Chinn, Sam Long, Ella Smits, Ella Wagar, and Eva Mirsky. To learn about the unique name Echolopaper, read Ella Smit's article on it. Have a question or an idea for us?
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