Education

In high school, Bowie’s guidance counselor encouraged her to become a cosmetologist. Instead, she went to community college and took a pre-algebra class that jumpstarted her passion for STEM, and she went on to receive her Bachelor’s degree in aerospace engineering and her Master’s degree in Space Systems Engineering, both from the University of Michigan. While in school, she worked at NASA as an intern and mission engineer.

NASA

After graduating with her Master’s in 2009, Bowe continued to work for NASA as an aerospace engineer for over five years. Throughout her time there, she worked in the Flight Trajectory Dynamics & Controls Branch of the Aviation Systems Division and worked on maintaining safe and efficient air traffic automated systems and Nanosatellite missions.

STEMBoard

While still at NASA, Bowie founded her own engineering company, STEMBoard, in 2013. Today, STEMBoard is an eight-figure company that advises the U.S. government and elite organizations with Bowe as CEO. The company was named one of the fastest-growing companies in America by Inc. 5000 and has won awards for its work with the Department of Defense.

LINGO

Bowe is extremely passionate about empowering students. In 2013, she fundraised almost $2 million to create LINGO, a self-paced coding kit. It’s currently used by over 5,000 students in 10 different countries.

Motivational Speaker

Today, she’s a motivational speaker around the world. She’s part of the State Department’s U.S. Speaker Program, which allows her to travel all over to tell her story. She hosts keynotes and speaks about leadership and self-empowerment at conferences and retreats, as well as participating in brand partnerships and mentoring other entrepreneurs.

Astronaut

Bowe is scheduled to go to space in 2024 as the first Black woman on the New Shepard rocket, part of Jeff Bezos’s spaceflight company Blue Origin. She will be the sixth-ever Black woman to travel to space.

Awards and Recognitions

She has won many awards for her work, including NASA’s Woman of the Year in Technology. Bowe currently sits on the University of Michigan’s Aerospace Department Industry Advisory Board, as well as being an active member of both the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) and the National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE). Bowe has been featured in major publications like Logitech, Black Enterprise, and Entrepreneur, and was recently highlighted in the documentary “In Her Element” in 2021.

Check out Bowe’s website here to keep up to date with her future space travels!