Welcome to Second Life, a podcast spotlighting successful women who’ve made major career changes—and fearlessly mastered the pivot. Hosted by Hillary Kerr, co-founder and chief content officer at Who What Wear, each episode gives you a direct line to women who are game changers in their fields. Subscribe to Second Life on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or anywhere you get your podcasts to stay tuned.
Aisha Bowe is breaking barriers in the aerospace industry. As an aerospace engineer and founder of STEMBoard, her career is nothing short of extraordinary. Today, she stands as a beacon of inspiration for underrepresented communities in STEM.
Yet Bowe’s path to success wasn’t conventional. Growing up, she didn’t feel like school was her forte, and the thought of excelling academically seemed out of reach. That changed when a community college professor recognized her potential and suggested she explore engineering. Bowe was inspired to pursue her newfound passion with determination, earning not one, but two aerospace engineering degrees from the University of Michigan.
Her academic achievements led to a remarkable career at NASA, where she worked on cutting-edge projects for seven years in various roles. But Bowe’s ambitions didn’t stop at NASA. Driven by her vision to make engineering more accessible and impactful, she founded STEMBoard, a start-up specializing in engineering services for federal and private sector clients—impressively, without any outside funding.
(Image credit: Ant Farm Media, Inc.)
In 2020, Bowe extended her mission of fostering STEM education with the creation of LINGO, an innovative at-home coding kit designed for children aged 13 and up. The kit provides an engaging, user-friendly introduction to coding, empowering the next generation of innovators.
Her advocacy for inclusivity in STEM education goes beyond products, as she’s become a vocal champion for increasing opportunities for Black students and other underrepresented groups in the field. Earlier this year, Bowe reached yet another milestone when she was announced as the first Black woman set to fly to space aboard Blue Origin.
Listen to the latest episode of Second Life to discover how Bowe is rewriting her own story and redefining what’s possible for generations to come.
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