When you were a teenager, did you know what you wanted to be when you grew up? 14-year-old Taylor Richardson of Jacksonville, FL is an aspiring Astronaut who has already dedicated years to achieving her ultimate career goal. Check out this interview I conducted with Taylor and get a glimpse into her busy life! :

Was there a specific life event or moment that motivated you to want to see more women in STEM?

“Well I’ve always been interested in stars and what’s above us. When I read my idols book, Find Where the Wind Goes by Mae Jemison, the first African American woman to go into space, I decided I wanted to go to space camp. I think the exact event that motivated me was actually going to space camp and seeing that I was the only Black girl at camp that week. That’s when I was inspired to find more women of color in STEM, especially space exploration. That motivated me to encourage more girls of color to go into STEM too”, said Taylor.

What are some of your accomplishments?

Taylor exclaimed, “Well here’s a few: Teen Vogue’s ’21 under 21′ class of 2017, Glamour Magazine’s ’17 Young Women Who Created Real Change In 2017′, and I was on the cover of the 2017 issues of Aviation For Girls and Scholastic Science World. Lastly, raising almost $20,000 to send 1,000 girls to see the movie Hidden Figures was an amazing accomplishment for me.”

Are there any projects that you are currently working on?

“I’m currently raising funds to send 1,000 girls to see the upcoming movie A Wrinkle In Time this spring. It’s important that girls see this movie so they can be warriors like Meg in STEM, which is Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math. Girls, especially Black girls need to know that they can be anything and the character Meg is perfect because it shows girls that a Black girl can save the world! How cool is that?! I have a few more things coming this year too. Just know 2018 is going to be a stemtastic year! We as girls will be reclaiming our STEM!”, says Taylor.

How can the general public help support you?

Taylor says, “I would love if the public could follow me on all social media outlets under Astronaut StarBright and of course if they can share and donate to my campaign. I’m trying to raise $15,000 by the end of February 2018. So, I can use some help! You can help support my campaign here.”