{"id":17966,"date":"2023-01-24T14:42:42","date_gmt":"2023-01-24T19:42:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/engineering.jhu.edu\/magazine-archive\/?p=17966"},"modified":"2023-02-03T12:07:00","modified_gmt":"2023-02-03T17:07:00","slug":"steminist-in-space","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/engineering.jhu.edu\/magazine-archive\/2023\/01\/steminist-in-space\/","title":{"rendered":"#Steminist in Space"},"content":{"rendered":"<figure id=\"attachment_18353\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"width: 722px\"><a href=\"https:\/\/engineering.jhu.edu\/magazine-archive\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/BCGN2115.jpeg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-18353 \" src=\"https:\/\/engineering.jhu.edu\/magazine-archive\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/BCGN2115-300x222.jpeg\" alt=\"Photograph of Katya Echazarreta, smiling with arms crossed in front of her body, standing in front of a NASA sign\" width=\"712\" height=\"527\" srcset=\"https:\/\/engineering.jhu.edu\/magazine-archive\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/BCGN2115-300x222.jpeg 300w, https:\/\/engineering.jhu.edu\/magazine-archive\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/BCGN2115-1024x759.jpeg 1024w, https:\/\/engineering.jhu.edu\/magazine-archive\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/BCGN2115-768x569.jpeg 768w, https:\/\/engineering.jhu.edu\/magazine-archive\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/BCGN2115.jpeg 1165w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 712px) 100vw, 712px\" \/><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Katya Echazarreta<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Growing up, Katya Echazarreta MS \u201922 was fascinated by space, an interest inspired by Carl Sagan\u2019s <em>Cosmos<\/em>, which was her favorite book. But as a teenager, she kept quiet about her dream of working at NASA. When she voiced her aspirations, she saw doubt in people\u2019s eyes, so she stopped talking about it.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI remember wanting it so badly, but more than that, I told myself that I would,\u201d recalls Echazarreta, who on June 4, 2022, became the first Mexican-born woman to travel to space on a suborbital flight with Space for Humanity.<\/p>\n<p>Echazarreta, who moved to the United States from Guadalajara, Mexico, when she was seven, decided as a college student that <a href=\"https:\/\/engineering.jhu.edu\/ece\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">electrical engineering<\/a> would be her path to space. At UCLA, she landed an undergraduate internship with the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.jpl.nasa.gov\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">NASA Jet Propulsion Lab<\/a> (JPL), which turned into a job there.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhen I got the email to interview at JPL, I cried,\u201d she says. \u201cEverything I had been working for was falling into place.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>She applied to Space for Humanity in 2019 as a college senior, but COVID-19 delayed her journey. The nonprofit sends \u201cpurpose-driven\u201d leaders to space for a grander perspective meant to inspire their efforts to tackle challenging social issues. During her 11-minute flight late last spring, Echazarreta pinched herself, her Mexican flag tucked in her bag. \u201cEven now, it feels like a dream,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n<p>Echazarreta worked on five NASA missions at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory before leaving in September 2021 to focus on science advocacy\/education and to begin her master\u2019s degree coursework in the Johns Hopkins <a href=\"https:\/\/ep.jhu.edu\/program-finder\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Engineering for Professionals<\/a> program. \u201cI needed more education on the professional side of engineering and to network with like-minded individuals,\u201d she explains.<\/p>\n<p>Today, Echazarreta, who favors the #steminist hashtag, is dedicated to ensuring that other women and girls, especially minorities, can voice and achieve their STEM dreams. She lectures and hosts her own segment, <em>Electric Kat<\/em>, on the CBS children\u2019s show <em>Mission Unstoppable<\/em>. She also co-hosts a Netflix YouTube series, <em>Netflix IRL<\/em>, and consults for <em>Space for Humanity<\/em>. She hopes to write a book about her untraditional journey to space.<\/p>\n<p>Most meaningful, she says, is when she gives talks in Mexico and sees little girls, dressed like astronauts, recording her every word. \u201cI see how important it is for them to have a role model,\u201d says Echazarreta. \u201cLife has given me a huge gift, and I definitely plan to use it for good.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Growing up, Katya Echazarreta MS \u201922 was fascinated by space, an interest inspired by Carl Sagan\u2019s Cosmos, which was her favorite book. But as a teenager, she kept quiet about her dream of working at NASA. When she voiced her aspirations, she saw doubt in people\u2019s eyes, so she stopped talking about it. \u201cI remember&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":18353,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[25],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-17966","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-students","issue-winter-2023"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.9 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>#Steminist in Space - JHU Engineering Magazine<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/engineering.jhu.edu\/magazine-archive\/2023\/01\/steminist-in-space\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"#Steminist in Space\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"During her 11-minute flight late last spring, Echazarreta pinched herself, her Mexican flag tucked in her bag.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/engineering.jhu.edu\/magazine-archive\/2023\/01\/steminist-in-space\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"JHU Engineering Magazine\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2023-01-24T19:42:42+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2023-02-03T17:07:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/engineering.jhu.edu\/magazine-archive\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/BCGN2115.jpeg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1165\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"863\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Abby Lattes\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:title\" content=\"#Steminist in Space\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:description\" content=\"During her 11-minute flight late last spring, Echazarreta pinched herself, her Mexican flag tucked in her bag.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:image\" content=\"https:\/\/engineering.jhu.edu\/magazine-archive\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/BCGN2115.jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Abby Lattes\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"NewsArticle\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/engineering.jhu.edu\\\/magazine-archive\\\/2023\\\/01\\\/steminist-in-space\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/engineering.jhu.edu\\\/magazine-archive\\\/2023\\\/01\\\/steminist-in-space\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Abby Lattes\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/engineering.jhu.edu\\\/magazine-archive\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/0244393be370fbc3ead8ec26062e9742\"},\"headline\":\"#Steminist in Space\",\"datePublished\":\"2023-01-24T19:42:42+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2023-02-03T17:07:00+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/engineering.jhu.edu\\\/magazine-archive\\\/2023\\\/01\\\/steminist-in-space\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":415,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/engineering.jhu.edu\\\/magazine-archive\\\/2023\\\/01\\\/steminist-in-space\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/engineering.jhu.edu\\\/magazine-archive\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2023\\\/01\\\/BCGN2115.jpeg\",\"articleSection\":[\"Students\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/engineering.jhu.edu\\\/magazine-archive\\\/2023\\\/01\\\/steminist-in-space\\\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/engineering.jhu.edu\\\/magazine-archive\\\/2023\\\/01\\\/steminist-in-space\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/engineering.jhu.edu\\\/magazine-archive\\\/2023\\\/01\\\/steminist-in-space\\\/\",\"name\":\"#Steminist in Space - 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