Last week, Joan Higginbotham, engineer and retired NASA astronaut, met with our students to discuss her leadership journey as part of our last Leadership Speaker Series of 2025.
Check out the video:
Our Leadership Speaker Series brings together next-level community change makers with representatives from each ILTexas area, providing an opportunity for engaging discussion.
About Joan:
Joan Elizabeth Higginbotham is a retired NASA astronaut and electrical engineer. Born in Chicago, Illinois, she earned a Bachelor’s in Electrical Engineering from Southern Illinois University Carbondale and two master’s degrees in Management and Space Systems from Florida Institute of Technology.
She began her NASA career in 1987 at Kennedy Space Center, supporting 53 shuttle launches and leading Orbiter Experiments. Selected as an astronaut in 1996, she flew in 2006 on STS-116 aboard Space Shuttle Discovery, logging over 300 hours in space and operating the International Space Station’s robotic arm.
After retiring in 2007, she held leadership roles in industry and continues to advocate for STEM education and diversity in aerospace.
