My Hero Essay Example

Heroes can be described by many different words, but one that always comes to mind is determined. A hero is a leader, intelligent, and dedicated. Being fearless and taking risks are acts demonstrated by a hero. Sally Ride is remembered as a motivated hero because she was the first women in space and a relentless activist for STEM education for women.

Sally Ride set the pathway for all women in America who wanted to become an astronaut. Sally was always active as a kid and really enjoyed taking part in sports especially baseball. Education was also a very valued part of Sally's life. Sally went to college at Stanford University for physics. One day while she was sitting in the cafeteria, she saw a poster from NASA advertising that they were hiring women to become astronauts. Sally didn't want to skip out on this opportunity to possibly become an astronaut so she immediately emailed NASA for an application. She filled one out and sent it over to NASA and they called her back for an in-person interview. Sally flew out to Houston, Texas and was put through multiple tests to make sure that she was healthy enough to be an astronaut. She was sent home and later George Abbey called her at a super early hour and delivered the monumental news that Sally Ride was accepted into NASA to be one of the first female astronauts. Since it was so early in the morning Sally tried to hold off calling her parents, but finally at 5 am she couldn't contain herself anymore. She called her parents and then her friend Sue but the only person Sally really wanted to call was her high school science teacher, but she couldn't because she had committed suicide a few years after Sally graduated. Sally was 1 of 6 women who were accepted into NASA's space program. She was alongside Kathy Sullivan, Rhea Seddon Anna Fisher, Shannon Lucid, and Judy Resnick. Also, when the 6 women were recruited NASA switched their focus from military to science. Sally arrived at NASA in 1978 and trained for a year before she was asked to help design a 50-foot robot arm that would be attached to the STS-7 to capture a satellite that was hurtling around the earth. One day Sally was called into George Abbey's office, he delivered the news that Sally was going to be the first American woman to ever be in space. On June 18, 1983, was an extremely monumental day for Sally Ride and women all across America, because that was day Sally would take off and go to space. While Sally was in space she wasn't allowed to take a break and look at the view she was still constantly working. She had to monitor the computer screens, read checklists, tick off milestones, and use the robot arm she had designed to successfully capture the satellite. When Sally touched back down on Earth it was June 24, 1978. They were originally planned to land in Florida, but there were weather complications so they had to make another full orbit around the Earth to land safely in California. Sally Ride probably faced a lot of discrimination for being a woman in a "man's" job, but she persevered and made history.

Sally Ride wasn't only the first woman in space, she also was a determined STEM activist for women. '"One of the topics that Sally and I discussed frequently was why so few young girls were entering into math, technology, science, and engineering "' (US News). This was something that Sally and her friend Bonnie would converse about all of the time because they were always pushed by males and females to go into a career falling under the STEM category. Sally's monumental flight into space inspired many young women and men to go into STEM-related careers. In the past 35 years, the percentage of women graduating in engineering increased from just 1% to 20%. When it was Sally's time to retire from NASA she knew she couldn't just stop doing work in STEM, so she founded Imaginary Lines, and Sally Ride Science in hopes to influence more middle school aged girls to take interest in STEM. Imaginary Lines and Sally Ride Science are different programs that are directed to middle school aged kids to enable them to interact with experts, share ideas, and work their peers and go on all sorts of adventures. Sally Ride Science still has its outreach through the University of California in San Diego. A lot of companies are looking for more qualified and inspired women to work for them, but it is still difficult because still many women are choosing different paths. Sally has done so much work to inspire young girls to become a part of the STEM community and her legacy will continue on.

A hero is a person who is recognized for their courageous acts. Sally Ride was relentless and never gave up on her dream. Her legacy lives on and continues to inspire many young girls.