Hello, hello everyone.

This is Tanya Dalton, owner of Inquell Press, and I'm here to give you another episode of The Weekender, a mini episode to help you end your week on the right note.

I had the pleasure of hearing Dr. Christine Darden speak a few weeks ago at a woman-up event here in Asheville.

Dr. Darden started her career as one of NASA's human computers, and she went on to have a 40-year career as a NASA engineer,

and an international expert in high-speed aerodynamics and sonic boom research.

An impressive resume to be sure, but to note that Dr. Darden began her career in the mid-1960s

as an African-American woman in the field of mathematics is even more inspiring.

And while she wasn't a featured character in the movie Hidden Figures,

Darden is actually one of the researchers featured in the book

upon which the movie is based.

You may have seen the movie or read the book,

and if you have it, I definitely recommend both because they're so inspiring.

What struck me, while hearing Christine Darden speak,

wasn't just her amazing knowledge and experience. It was the way she held herself with confidence.

During her talk, she shared a story of how she eventually became an aerospace engineer.

Yes, she had the right degrees for the job, but back then, women simply were

not engineers. The only jobs available to them were to support the male engineers. There was no

recognition, no speaking opportunities. Their names didn't even appear on the studies and the

papers that they helped to write.

Engineering was a career reserved for the men, a job that did receive all the glory,

certainly not one for African American women. So one afternoon, she took a big risk. She decided

to speak up and ask. She thought for sure she'd be fired.

...