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Taylor Richardson

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Taylor Richardson
Born (2003-07-15) July 15, 2003 (age 21)
Columbia, South Carolina
NationalityAmerican
Other namesAstronaut StarBright
EducationSpelman College
Alma materThe Bolles School
Known forAdvocacy, science, philanthropy

Taylor Denise Richardson (born July 15, 2003; also known as Astronaut StarBright) is an American advocate, activist, speaker, student and philanthropist. She has crowdfunded over $40,000 to send girls to see the films A Wrinkle in Time and Hidden Figures. She attended Space Camp and has expressed interest in becoming an astronaut and doctor.

Early life

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Richardson was born in Columbia, South Carolina and attended The Bolles School.[1] Her mother is Latonja Richardson.[2] Richardson is an aspiring astronaut, and admires Mae Jemison.[3][4] She cites Jemison's book Find Where the Wind Goes, which she read in the third grade, as the source of her interest in space exploration.[5] At the age of nine she attended Space Camp in Huntsville, Alabama.[6] She is a member of The Mars Generation.[7] Richardson is determined to visit Mars.[8]

Philanthropy

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In 2015 she organised "Take A Flight with a Book", delivering books to elementary schools in Jacksonville, Florida. She won the Hands On Jax Youth in Action Award for community service.[9] Richardson was invited to attend a screening of Hidden Figures at the White House, where she met NASA astronaut Yvonne Cagle.[10][11] Here, "Michelle Obama stated that we have to do the work and that we have to take a seat at the STEM table and bring others with us".[12][13] In 2016, Richardson raised $18,000 to send girls in her hometown of Jacksonville, Florida, to see Hidden Figures.[14][15] With the remaining proceeds, Richardson created a scholarship for Kaitlyn Ludlam to attend Space Camp.[16] In 2018 she raised over $50,000 to send 1,000 students to see the film A Wrinkle in Time.[17][18][19] She told Good Morning America she came up with the campaigns because "representation matters".[20] Oprah Winfrey agreed to match her funding, bringing the total to $100,000.[21]

Honors and recognition

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Later that year, Richardson met astronaut Mae Jemison at the Clark Atlanta University graduation.[5] She attended the White House United State of Women Summit in June 2016.[22][5] She was appointed the 2016 "Martin Luther King Jr. Tomorrow’s Leaders Middle School" recipient.[23] In 2017 she was listed in Teen Vogue's "21 under 21".[24] She was also included in Glamour's "17 Young Women Who Created Real Change In 2017".[25] In April 2017 she spoke at the March for Science, where she said "Science is not a boy’s game, it’s not a girl’s game. It’s everyone’s game".[26] She was cast as a "#RealLifePowerpuff" girl by Hulu.[27] She was part of the Lottie Dolls campaign, "Inspired by Real Kids".[28][29] She featured on the cover of the Girls in Aviation Day September 2017.[30] In October, Richardson's story "Dreaming Big" was the cover story in Scholastic Science World.[31] She is a Generation WOW and W speaker.[32] Mashable described Richardson as the "coolest 14-year-old".[33] She was a keynote speaker at Silicon Republic's Inspire Fest.[34] She was listed as a Young Futurist by The Root.[35]

References

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  1. ^ "Bolles News post - The Bolles School". www.bolles.org. Retrieved 2018-02-26.
  2. ^ Joseph, Frederick (2018-02-28). "Black Kids Will Save The World". Huffington Post. Retrieved 2018-06-12.
  3. ^ Woke Video (2017-12-22), Aspiring Astronaut Taylor Richardson, retrieved 2018-02-22
  4. ^ "In Conversation with Taylor Richardson - InnovateHer". www.innovateher.co.uk. 22 January 2018. Retrieved 2018-02-26.
  5. ^ a b c "12-Year-Old Aspires To Be First African American Woman To Go To Mars, Meets Her Idol Dr. Mae Jemison". Women You Should Know. 2016-06-01. Retrieved 2018-02-26.
  6. ^ "Jacksonville Teen's Mars Dream Fueled by NASA Women's Life Stories - Doing More Today". Doing More Today. 2017-03-30. Retrieved 2018-02-26.
  7. ^ "Meet Student Space Ambassador Taylor Richardson". The Mars Generation. 2015-12-01. Retrieved 2018-02-22.
  8. ^ "Defying Gravity: This girl wants to be the first African American on Mars". NBC News. Retrieved 2018-02-22.
  9. ^ Stepzinski, Teresa. "HandsOn Jacksonville honors volunteers with festival, awards". The Florida Times. Retrieved 2018-02-26.
  10. ^ Astronaut Abby (2016-12-21), Hidden Figures White House Event Interview with Taylor Richardson | Astronaut Abby, retrieved 2018-02-22
  11. ^ "Taylor Richardson Receives Historic White House Invites". My Quest To Teach. 2017-01-01. Retrieved 2018-02-26.
  12. ^ Morad, Renee. "Aspiring Astronaut Raises $17,000 For Hundreds Of Kids To See 'Hidden Figures'". Forbes. Retrieved 2018-02-22.
  13. ^ Woods, Mark. "Mark Woods: 7th grader believes anything possible; wants to show others". The Florida Times. Retrieved 2018-02-26.
  14. ^ "A 13-year-old aspiring astronaut raised thousands so girls could see 'Hidden Figures'". Retrieved 2018-02-22.
  15. ^ "This 13-Year-Old Aspiring Astronaut Is Funding Students To See 'Hidden Figures'". blavity.com. Retrieved 2018-02-22.
  16. ^ "Future Astronaut Taylor Richardson is Helping 1,000 Girls See A Wrinkle in Time". www.themarysue.com. 14 February 2018. Retrieved 2018-02-26.
  17. ^ Lutkin, Aimée. "Hero Teen Has Raised Enough Money to Send 1,000 Girls to See A Wrinkle In Time". Jezebel. Retrieved 2018-02-26.
  18. ^ "14-Year-Old Aspiring Astronaut Raises More Than Enough Money To Send 1,000 Girls To See 'A Wrinkle In Time'". BECAUSE OF THEM, WE CAN. Retrieved 2018-02-22.
  19. ^ "Teen raises over $20K to send 1,000 girls to see 'A Wrinkle In Time'". ABC News. 2018-02-21. Retrieved 2018-02-22.
  20. ^ "Video: Teen who raised $20K for girls to see 'A Wrinkle In Time' says 'representation matters'". ABC News. Retrieved 2018-02-22.
  21. ^ "Oprah Matches Teen's $50K Fundraiser For Girls To See 'A Wrinkle In Time,' Blesses Her With The Best Advice". blavity.com. Retrieved 2018-03-27.
  22. ^ "Watch the 2016 Summit - The United State of Women". The United State of Women. Retrieved 2018-02-26.
  23. ^ "Taylor Richardson". Generation W 2017. Retrieved 2018-02-26.
  24. ^ Haig, Sophie. "Meet Teen Vogue's 21 Under 21 Class of 2017". Teen Vogue. Retrieved 2018-02-26.
  25. ^ Maunz, Shay. "17 Incredible Young Women Who Created Real Change In 2017". Glamour. Retrieved 2018-02-26.
  26. ^ "13-Year-Old Aspiring Astronaut's Inspirational Speech At The March For Science". Women You Should Know. 2017-04-24. Retrieved 2018-02-22.
  27. ^ "Meet Hulu's Real Life Powerpuff Girls". InStyle.com. Retrieved 2018-02-22.
  28. ^ Lottie Dolls (2017-07-05), Lottie Dolls, Inspired by Real Kids - Meet Taylor Richardson, retrieved 2018-02-22
  29. ^ "Aspiring Astronaut, Meet 12 Year Old Taylor - teaching us to dream big!". Lottie Dolls. Retrieved 2018-02-22.
  30. ^ "Aviation for Girls - 2017". afgdigital.epubxp.com. Retrieved 2018-02-26.
  31. ^ "Shooting for the Stars". scienceworld.scholastic.com. Retrieved 2018-02-26.
  32. ^ "Celebrate Us - Generation W". Generation W. Retrieved 2018-02-26.
  33. ^ Gallucci, Nicole. "The coolest 14-year-old is raising money to send 1,000 girls to see 'A Wrinkle in Time'". Mashable. Retrieved 2018-02-22.
  34. ^ "Taylor Denise Richardson - Inspirefest 2018". Inspirefest 2018 | Dublin, 21–22 June 2018. 2018-01-12. Retrieved 2018-02-26.
  35. ^ The Root Staff. "Young Futurists 2018: These Are the Leaders This Country So Desperately Needs". The Root. Retrieved 2018-03-27.
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