“I’m a big community person. I’m a person who will be like, ‘I think I know someone for you.’ And then I’ll put everyone together. So, I’m a big person on lending a helping hand.
“My platform is for highlighting folks. I’ve highlighted over 50 black junior astronomers for Black History Month, which I will continuously do. I founded the #BlackInAstro Week, which was very successful. I had no clue it was even trending until other people told me. I didn’t even realize until it was the middle of the week, and people were saying, ‘congratulations!’ And I was like, ‘wait, what? Okay, thanks!’ I didn’t realize it was that big. Community for me and using my platform to promote others — it’s something that really makes me happy.
“It’s very important to lift others up because for me, I don’t see people who look like me. You never know who’s watching, or who will get inspired. The next generation of scientists will be amazing. This generation of scientists is outstanding — but the next generation will be amazing, so on and so forth.
“We’re just going to keep lifting each other up and making sure that we all have each other’s backs, because right now is a critical time in our lives. We need each other more than anything.”
— Ashley Walker, Undergraduate Research Associate in Astrobiology and Founder of #BlackInAstro Week, Goddard Space Flight Center
Image Credit: NASA / Joel Kowsky
Interviewer: NASA / Thalia Patrinos