Teresa Clarke co-founded the Student Sponsorship Program, a nonprofit organization in South Africa that focuses on scholarships and mentoring. Since 2010, she has been funding and leading Africa.com.
She has also served on the boards of the Tony Elumelu Foundation, the Opportunity Agenda, and the Student Sponsorship Program in South Africa.
Introducing africadotcomofficial’s “Meet the Astronauts” event held in South Africa, Clarke expressed excitement about hearing various voices in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM).
A few months prior, the Student Sponsorship Program hosted its inaugural STEM Seminar, designed to inspire learners to consider careers in the STEM field. This event featured Dr. Kizzmekia Corbett-Helaire, who utilized her expertise in viral immunology to advance novel vaccine development for pandemic preparedness.
On Wednesday, March 19, 2025, the Student Sponsorship Program brought together six former astronauts to share their experiences and inspire individuals across Africa and beyond.
The audience comprised board directors, CEOs, academics, corporate professionals, bankers, heads of non-governmental organizations, investors, tech leaders, entrepreneurs, and students from 87 countries, including 36 from Africa.
A total of 5,000 participants attended, with over 130 watch parties organized in 32 countries to view this remarkable session. Participants came from Algeria, Angola, Benin, Botswana, Burundi, Cameroon, Chad, Côte d’Ivoire, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Egypt, Eswatini, Ethiopia, Gambia, Ghana, Kenya, Lesotho, Liberia, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritius, Morocco, Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, Rwanda, Somalia, Senegal, Sierra Leone, South Sudan, Tanzania, Togo, Tunisia, Uganda, Zambia, Zimbabwe, and South Africa.
Additionally, universities, high schools, elementary schools, and nonprofit organizations from India, China, France, Turkey, Nepal, Peru, Afghanistan, and the United States were also part of the online audience.
The seminar began with one of the former astronauts, who compiled a history of Black individuals in the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) during his time there.
Leland Melvin is an American engineer and retired NASA astronaut. He served as a mission specialist aboard the Space Shuttle Atlantis on two missions.
In October 2010, he was appointed as the NASA Associate Administrator for Education. Before joining NASA, Melvin was a professional football player.
He noted that while it wasn’t always the case, NASA’s astronaut classes now reflect the diversity of America’s population.
NASA began selecting African American candidates for astronaut training in the 1970s.
Among the pioneering class were former fighter pilot Guy Bluford, the top honoree at the 1991 BEYA Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) Conference, and physicist Ronald McNair, who tragically lost his life in the Challenger disaster in 1986, and Fred Gregory, a former pilot and space commander, later served as acting administrator of NASA.
Other groundbreaking NASA astronauts include Charles Bolden, who flew on four Space Shuttle missions and later became NASA Administrator; Mae Jemison, the first African American woman to travel in space; and Bernard Harris, who became the first African American to walk in space during his 1995 spaceflight.
Many others followed, such as Michael P. Anderson, who lost his life in 2003 aboard the Space Shuttle Columbia along with six fellow crew members.
Listen to the inspiring stories the astronauts shared at this groundbreaking global event.
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