Taylor Richardson
Taylor Richardson | |
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Born | (2003-07-15) July 15, 2003 (age 21) Columbia, South Carolina |
Nationality | American |
Other names | Astronaut StarBright |
Education | The Bolles School |
Known for | Advocacy, 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
Richardson was born in Columbia, South Carolina and attends 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
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
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
- ^ "Bolles News post - The Bolles School". www.bolles.org. Retrieved 2018-02-26.
- ^ Joseph, Frederick (2018-02-28). "Black Kids Will Save The World". Huffington Post. Retrieved 2018-06-12.
- ^ Woke Video (2017-12-22), Aspiring Astronaut Taylor Richardson, retrieved 2018-02-22
- ^ "In Conversation with Taylor Richardson - InnovateHer". www.innovateher.co.uk. 22 January 2018. Retrieved 2018-02-26.
- ^ 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.
- ^ "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.
- ^ "Meet Student Space Ambassador Taylor Richardson". The Mars Generation. 2015-12-01. Retrieved 2018-02-22.
- ^ "Defying Gravity: This girl wants to be the first African American on Mars". NBC News. Retrieved 2018-02-22.
- ^ Stepzinski, Teresa. "HandsOn Jacksonville honors volunteers with festival, awards". The Florida Times. Retrieved 2018-02-26.
- ^ Astronaut Abby (2016-12-21), Hidden Figures White House Event Interview with Taylor Richardson | Astronaut Abby, retrieved 2018-02-22
- ^ "Taylor Richardson Receives Historic White House Invites". My Quest To Teach. 2017-01-01. Retrieved 2018-02-26.
- ^ Morad, Renee. "Aspiring Astronaut Raises $17,000 For Hundreds Of Kids To See 'Hidden Figures'". Forbes. Retrieved 2018-02-22.
- ^ Woods, Mark. "Mark Woods: 7th grader believes anything possible; wants to show others". The Florida Times. Retrieved 2018-02-26.
- ^ "A 13-year-old aspiring astronaut raised thousands so girls could see 'Hidden Figures'". Retrieved 2018-02-22.
- ^ "This 13-Year-Old Aspiring Astronaut Is Funding Students To See 'Hidden Figures'". blavity.com. Retrieved 2018-02-22.
- ^ "Future Astronaut Taylor Richardson is Helping 1,000 Girls See A Wrinkle in Time". www.themarysue.com. 14 February 2018. Retrieved 2018-02-26.
- ^ Lutkin, Aimée. "Hero Teen Has Raised Enough Money to Send 1,000 Girls to See A Wrinkle In Time". Jezebel. Retrieved 2018-02-26.
- ^ "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.
- ^ "Teen raises over $20K to send 1,000 girls to see 'A Wrinkle In Time'". ABC News. 2018-02-21. Retrieved 2018-02-22.
- ^ "Video: Teen who raised $20K for girls to see 'A Wrinkle In Time' says 'representation matters'". ABC News. Retrieved 2018-02-22.
- ^ "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.
- ^ "Watch the 2016 Summit - The United State of Women". The United State of Women. Retrieved 2018-02-26.
- ^ "Taylor Richardson". Generation W 2017. Retrieved 2018-02-26.
- ^ Haig, Sophie. "Meet Teen Vogue's 21 Under 21 Class of 2017". Teen Vogue. Retrieved 2018-02-26.
- ^ Maunz, Shay. "17 Incredible Young Women Who Created Real Change In 2017". Glamour. Retrieved 2018-02-26.
- ^ "13-Year-Old Aspiring Astronaut's Inspirational Speech At The March For Science". Women You Should Know. 2017-04-24. Retrieved 2018-02-22.
- ^ "Meet Hulu's Real Life Powerpuff Girls". InStyle.com. Retrieved 2018-02-22.
- ^ Lottie Dolls (2017-07-05), Lottie Dolls, Inspired by Real Kids - Meet Taylor Richardson, retrieved 2018-02-22
- ^ "Aspiring Astronaut, Meet 12 Year Old Taylor - teaching us to dream big!". Lottie Dolls. Retrieved 2018-02-22.
- ^ "Aviation for Girls - 2017". afgdigital.epubxp.com. Retrieved 2018-02-26.
- ^ "Shooting for the Stars". scienceworld.scholastic.com. Retrieved 2018-02-26.
- ^ "Celebrate Us - Generation W". Generation W. Retrieved 2018-02-26.
- ^ 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.
- ^ "Taylor Denise Richardson - Inspirefest 2018". Inspirefest 2018 | Dublin, 21–22 June 2018. 2018-01-12. Retrieved 2018-02-26.
- ^ The Root Staff. "Young Futurists 2018: These Are the Leaders This Country So Desperately Needs". The Root. Retrieved 2018-03-27.