Who Is Katherine Johnson A Hero

Kayla Klontzaris

January 19, 2018

English 8

Ms.Carey

(word count)

Katherine Johnson

Katherine Johnson is an inspiration to many people. She was a mathematician and a “computer” at NASA. She took chances and made it through. She is a remarkable women and broke the barriers. The world has not always been accepting. She even made huge contributions to space travel. Even at the time when she worked for NASA she got credit for her work. She made great achievements. “With her razor sharp mathematical mind Katherine G. Johnson helped broaden the scope of space travel…..” said President Obama. (Loff, Sarah)

Katherine was born on August 26, 1918. Johnson was born in White Sulpher Springs, WV. Her parents were Joylette and Joshua Coleman. Katherine

Johnson’s parents had totally different jobs. Her mother was a teacher and her father was farmer and a janitor. As Katherine got older she did very well in school. She ended up skipping a few grades. Katherine counted everything and anything she possibly could. She loved being around smart people (Wild, Flint). Her brilliance shined through.

As Johnson got older she became more and more interested in math. She could very easily solve advanced mathematical equations. At the age of 13 Katherine Johnson went to a high school at a historically black campus. ( Schwartz, Heather)She managed to enroll in college, started working on math curiculum. She was getting closer and closer to achieving her dream.

“Math. It’s just there. It has always been a part of whatever I was doing. You’re either right or you’re wrong. That’s what I like about it.”-Katherine Johnson\

In Katherine’s later life she graduated college. Johnson graduated in 1937 from West Virginia. She also achieved the highest honors with a B.S. degree in French and Mathematics. (Wild, Flint) Next, she landed a teaching job at a black public school. Then, she got the chance to go back to school. Katherine Johnson took the chance.

Next, later in life, Katherine was one of three black student to integrate into a graduate school. She was actually the only woman to integrate. After she enrolled, she ended up deciding to leave the program to start a family with her huspand. Her huspand was Colonel James A. Johnson. She had three children, all who were girls. Katherine was close to finding her calling. (Loff, Sarah)

In 1952 a realitive of Katherine told her about open positions as computers at NASA. But, in 1956 her huspand died of cancer. After that, she became a computer in 1953. Then the space race started. In 1957 the Soviet Satellite Sputnick was launched. She provided some math for the 1958 Document Notes on Space Technology. In 1962, NASA prepared for the launch of John Glenn. Katherine Johnson checked all computer math by hand for John Glenn’s liftoff. Glenn said, “Get the girl,” he continued, “if she says they’re good, then I’m ready to go”. Johnson made huge contributions to space travel. Without her, space travel and the expectations for women would be different. She was the change that we needed for gender equality, as people in her time did not believe that women could do everything that men could.(Wild, Flint)

After many years of working at NASA, Katherine retired in 1986. All of her life, Katherine asked complicated questions, which made her stand out. No other women dared to ask questions like she did. Katherine was also one of the first women to work at NASA. She spent 33 years of her life contributing to space travel. Katherine worked so hard for most of her life and made a huge difference. Many people work all of their lives and do not contribute to society’s views or anything that can actually change how people look at the world, Katherine Johnson did just that.(Wild, Flint)

After retiring, Katherine was recognized for all of her work.

She actually had a movie made after her, and her coworkers at NASA. The movie is named “Hidden Figures”. It is about three amazing young, African-American women who worked at NASA. Katherine Johnson was the main character in this movie. In Hidden Figures, it how Katherine and the other computers worked to compete in the space race, and sent John Glenn into orbit. Katherine Johnson was played by Taraji P. Henson. That is not all of the recognition she got after retirement.(Loff, Sarah)

Katherine Johnson was awarded for her work. President Barack Obama awarded Katherine with America’s highest civilian honor.The Presidential Medal of Freedom was awarded to KAtherine in 2015. That is an amazing achievement. Not many people are awarded for their work, and especially not from the president! That is not where it ends though for her recognition. Not many people get this opportunity, but Katherine deserved it. With everything she did in life she definitely deserves every bit of recognition she has

received.

Katherine Johnson had a building named after her. It was even a NASA building. The building that was named after her was NASA’s Langley Research Center in Hampton, VA. It was the newest building that NASA had created. Katherine Johnson thought that people were crazy for recognizing her for her job. Little does she know, she’s an inspiration to many people today. Even after retiring she still inspires people to break the boundaries and not to let anyone or anything stand in the way of your dreams.. (Loff, Sarah)

Katherine Johnson has also received the ASP’s new Arthur B.C. Walker II Award. ASP’s stand for Astronomical Society of the Pacific’s. This award is for remarkable achievements of African Americans in the science field of astronomy and for promoting diversity in science. Her family accepted the award on her behalf on October 22, 2016. This is a huge accomplishment for anyone and someday I hope that I can be this productive as an adult. (Katherine Johnson to Receive the ASP’s NAw Arthur B.C. Walker Award)

Katherine Johnson was a mathematician at NASA. People around the world have the same job as she did. It takes a lot of hard work to become a mathematician though. The education field of studies that you need to work on are mathematics, applied mathematics, and theoretical mathematics. You need to get your Bachelor’s degree in mathematics and then enroll in a PH.D program. Bachelor’s degrees are accepted, but getting your Master’s degree is preferred. When you are working in this field you need to be able to solve complicated mathematical equations for many industries. Some of the industries are business, government, and academia. You have to analyze data and create reports on what you find. Last, you have to stay up to date on current math trends. (how to become a mathematician in 5 steps)

Becoming a mathematician is not that easy as you see, but there are good opportunities that go along with all of the hard work. Being a mathematician can be very rewarding though. First, mathematicians make around $112,560 on average. The need for mathematicians will continue to grow in the near future. The growth is estimated at 33% from 2016-2026. We definitely have opportunities and they continue to grow. (mathematicians and staticians)

If you happened to want to be a mathematician in the future, you’ll need to go to college. I’ve found many great options to pursue the career of a mathematician. First, Colby College in Waterville, Maine is one of the best schools to get an education. The net price is $18,477. Next, LUNY Bernard M. Baruch College is another excellent option. This college is in New York, New York. The net price of this college is $8,151. Then, the Lafayette College in Easton Pennsylvania is wonderful. Lafayette Colleges’ net price is $27,019. After that, Weslegan University is an impressive option too. It is in Middletown, Connecticut. The net price is $24,156. The California State University in Long Beach, California is another grand school. With the net price of $7,672 it seems like a very good place to get an education. Then Washington and Lee University is an apprietable place to get an education to be a mathematician. This college is located in Lexington, Virginia. It has the net price of $20,700. Last, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology is a splendid option to get an amazing education. Its located in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The net price is $22,212. It also happens to be rated the best option in the United States Of America. (GVC Staff)

Katherine Coleman Goble Johnson had a rough time getting the education she needed because of her race and gender.

She did not let that stop her though. She worked very hard throughout her life and she became someone great. Katherine Johnson is currently 99 years old, and she is still being recognized for her achievements in the last decade. She did so much at NASA. Katherine made so many contributions to space travel. Johnson is truly an inspiration to me, and many others who know her story.I aspire to be as great as Katherine is and to actually achieve something in life like she has. I appreciate everything that Katherine Johnson has done in her life, and many other people do too. I am so happy that she has gotten recognition for everything she does and I am happy that I was lucky enough to be able to write about this remarkable woman. It has been a pleasure

learning.

Loff, Sarah. Katherine Johnson. Nasa.gov. Aug. 3, 2017. Dec. 11, 2017.

Schwartz, Heather. NASA mathematician Katherine Johnson. North Minneapolis. Lerner Publishing Group. 2018.

Wild, Flint. Katherine Johnson: A Lifetime of STEM. nasa.gov. Aug. 4, 2017. Dec. 11, 2017.

N/A. Mathematicians and Statisticians. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Oct. 24, 2017. Dec. 11, 2017.

N/A. How To Become a Mathematician in 5 Steps. Learn.org. N/A. Dec. 11, 2017.

N/A. Katherine Johnson to Receive the ASP’s NAw Arthur B.C. Walker Award. https://www.astrosociety.org/society-news/katherine-johnson-to-receive-the-asps-new-arthur-b-c-walker-ii-award/. N/A. Jan. 11, 2018.

GVC Staff. 50 Great Value Colleges for Mathematics 2018 .https://www.greatvaluecolleges.net/rankings/mathematics/. September 2016. Jan. 12, 2018.