WCC alumna and aerospace engineer Aisha Bowe visits campus

Aisha Bowe, WCC alumna and aerospace engineer, speaks at the Bailey Library for STEAM week. Courtesy of Daniel Majaess

By Claire Convis
Deputy Editor

When Aisha Bowe described the role that WCC played her life, it was no wonder why she’s so passionate about education and community college.

Bowe is a WCC alumna, former NASA employee, an aerospace engineer and CEO and founder of STEMBoard.

However, her successes didn’t happen overnight. She described the trials she faced throughout high school. Her parents divorced and both were gone long hours, working to put food on the table. Bowe said she struggled with her grades in school.

“I didn’t feel like going to school most days, so I did not go,” said Bowe. “I remember being really, really angry at the time, but not knowing how to express that emotion.”

But failure is success in progress, Bowe said. And when she came to WCC, things started to change. Bowe worked hard at her education, and her dreams for the future got bigger.

She thought, “Why not just try a life change and try out all these crazy things that I think that I can do?”

So she sat cross-legged on the floor and wrote out what she wanted to do in life. She called it “ordering from the menu of the universe.” Some of her aspirations were to be an engineer, go into aerospace and work for NASA someday.

These goals helped Bowe overcome the challenges in her path and to forgive herself for making mistakes, such as failing classes.

“[My grandma] never thought that a person of color could be a rocket scientist,” said Bowe. “You may think that this journey is about you, but you’re actually inspiring and lifting up the people around you.”

Bowe referenced a quote from Michelle Obama, in which she says: “Never let anyone make you feel like you don’t matter, or like you don’t have a place in our American story.”

Bowe went on to graduate and become a NASA rocket scientist, winning awards and being recognized by the head of NASA for her hard work and achievements.

Bowe said that her struggles in life helped make her into the person she is today.

“The things that you didn’t have in life will help make you a better teammate, a better employee, a better problem-solver,” Bowe said.

“I don’t wake up every morning and say ‘you’re perfect, you’re killing it,’” said Bowe. “I have to pray, I meditate. My self-esteem is something I work on every single day.”

“I am here to challenge myself and meet my expectations,” said Bowe. “I know what it is that I am out here trying to accomplish.”

Bowe took a risk by leaving her job at NASA and founding STEMboard, where she employs and empowers women in aerospace fields.

“One of the things you can do to make sure you’re successful in life is to empower other people,” said Bowe. “You don’t have to wait until you start a business to do that—look at your relationships with your friends or family. See if you are being supportive and uplifting to others in the way that you would like them to be supportive of you.”