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February 22, 2017 The Skanner BLACK HISTORY EDITION Page 5 Black History Joan Higginbotham: Her Passion for Math and Science Led to Outer Space By Rushawn Walters Howard University News Service WASHINGTON — During grade school growing up in Chicago, Joan Higginbotham said, she always enjoyed math and science. That led to her love for electronics as a young, inquisitive girl. “I was fascinated with elec- tronics. I used to mess around with things at home,” Higgin- botham said. Ultimately, her fascination with math, science and elec- tronics led to her desire to be- come an electrical engineer, which ultimately led to NASA and a trip to outer space about a space shuttle. “I wanted to be very good at my job and for people to see me as very competent,” she said. After graduating high school in 1982, Higginbotham re- ceived a bachelor’s of science degree in electrical and elec- tronics engineering five years later from Southern Illinois University. She then set her sights on working for IBM, where she had interned for two summers. There was just one problem, she said. IBM wasn’t looking for any electri- cal engineers at the time. NASA, on the other hand, was. “Unbeknownst to me, they got all our résumés and out of the blue one day a manager called me up and offered me a choice of two positions at Kennedy Space Center,” she re- called. Higginbotham said she ini- tially thought the job offer was a prank, but she soon realized it was the real deal. She began her career and new life at the Kennedy Space Center as a payload electrical engineer in the Electrical and Telecommu- nications Systems Division. “ she had no plans of becoming an astronaut. “I was very content,” she re- called, “and I kept on getting promotions and moving up the ladder. One day, my manager suggested to me that I’d make a good astronaut.” She eventually applied and was selected as an astronaut candidate and began training in August 1996. After over a decade of train- ing, Higginbotham, along with the rest of the six crewmem- bers of the space shuttle Dis- covery, took off on Dec. 9, 2006. Her experience, she says, was inde- scribable. “It was incredi- ble,” she said. “It is just one of those things that you absolutely have to experience yourself. “I was sitting with Christer Fuglesang and anoth- er crewmember, and when we took off, we joined our hands and raised them in joy and eu- phoria.” During her 12 days in space, Higginbotham’s assignment was to operate the robotic arm space shuttle. The robotic arm is used to hold crew members ‘When we took off, we joined our hands and raised them in joy and euphoria’ Her job entailed reconfig- uring the cargo in the Space Shuttle, commonly called the payload. Her job included cal- culating the weight of the ac- tual spacecraft, for all shuttle missions and conducting elec- trical compatibility tests for all payloads flown aboard the shuttle. Higginbotham had finally reached her goal of becoming an electrical engineer. She said while doing work in space and to move cargo, such as satellites. “It was probably one of my tensest moments because you have this huge piece of equipment with this 70-foot long arm worth billions of dollars,” she said. “You had a precious life at the end of the arm. So, you’re just tense the entire time and really focused on what you’re doing.” After her career Astronaut Joan Higginbotham with NASA, Higgin- botham switched parents. gears and worked in the oil in- Higginbotham credits her dustry and is currently work- close-knit family with her ing for hardware store chain drive to keep striving for the Lowe’s as director of supplier best. diversity, which ensures that “They were my biggest inspi- the more of business’ suppli- ration,” she said. “I have an in- ers are minority-owned and credible mom, dad and siblings woman-owned. who were always supportive Higginbotham said she nev- of me. As a black female astro- er planned to become a role naut, I hope my life shows oth- model or to even make history. er women of color they don’t Instead, she said, she lives her need to be pigeonholed into a life according to three prin- particular career, but they can ciples: being a good person, pretty much do whatever they being a productive citizen and want.” trying not to embarrass her