– 2023 –
I’ve spent the past year trying to say ‘yes’ to as many opportunities as I could, which ended up making for a very busy (and sometimes chaotic) time, but I am very happy with all of the experiences I’ve had and work I’ve put in especially related to STEM education with Art Technically. Every year, I keep a lab coat that all of my K-12 students sign; these photos/videos feature my 2023 one. I also included a photo of my 2022 lab coat. I pulled it out the other day when I went to store my 2023 one and realized how many more signatures this year’s one had 🥰
And, here’s a recap of what I’ve been up to the past year:
In 2023 I…
* Started the third year of my PhD program at Rensselaer Polytechnic studying horticultural lighting
* Finished visiting all 50 states to promote arts and science education during my reign as Miss United States
* Watched NASA Crew-7 launch from Kennedy Space Center
* Passed on the Miss United States title in October
* Hosted a NASA downlink at Brighton Elementary where students asked questions to astronauts living aboard the International Space Station
* Was named to the Memphis Flyer’s 2023 20 under 30 list
* Ended my blonde era 👱🏻‍♀️
* Started a research assistantship at NASA’s Goddard Institute for Space Studies
* Connected with 5,000 K-12 students directly and in-person through STEM programs
* Over 200,000 8-12th grade students engaged with my virtual STEM content
* My social media videos got over 77 million views, 32 million of which were videos promoting STEM