Space itself may be perceived as a series of plane surfaces, and as Johnson became known for her training in geometry, she began to work with the team more and more.
NACA was just beginning its work on space. The answer, of course, was no, and so Johnson began to attend briefings. She was told that women didn’t participate in the briefings or attend meetings she asked if there were a law against it. She didn’t want to just do the work - she wanted to know the “hows” and the “whys” and then the “why nots.” None of the other women had ever asked questions before, but by asking questions, Johnson began to stand out. As Johnson worked on the problems, she would ask questions. She started as one of the women who worked on problems assigned from the engineers in what was then the Guidance and Control Branch. Her work in the agency was a day-to-day progression. Remembering what professor Claytor had always told her about becoming a research mathematician, she took the job at NACA. One was a contract to teach, and one was to work for NACA. By the time the next year rolled around, Johnson had applied again and found herself with two contracts on her table. Johnson immediately applied for the job, but the agency already had filled its quota for the year. In the 1950s, pools of women at NACA did calculations that the engineers needed worked or verified. They were specifically looking for African-American females to work as “computers” in what was then their Guidance and Navigation Department. And then one day, at a family function in the 1950s, a relative mentioned to Johnson that the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics, the predecessor to NASA, was hiring. When her husband fell ill in 1952, she began to teach again.
She left teaching to marry and start her family. Johnson ended up teaching after college at that time, teaching was the only option for her in her community. He’d tell me that I should know the answer, and I finally had to tell him that I did know the answer, but the other students did not. But sometimes I could see that others in the class did not understand what he was teaching. Johnson recalls of her professor, “Claytor was a young professor himself, and he would walk into the room, put his hand in his pocket, and take some chalk out, and continue yesterday’s lesson. At age18, Johnson graduated summa cum laude with Bachelor of Science degrees in mathematics and French. Professor Claytor made sure I was prepared to be a research mathematician.” He saw that Johnson took all of the mathematics classes listed in the catalog that were needed to pursue her life’s passion, and even went so far as to create a class in analytic geometry of space just for her. Johnson said, “Many professors tell you that you’d be good at this or that, but they don’t always help you with that career path. He told Johnson that he would help her become one. Then professor Claytor did something else. “You’d make a great research mathematician,” he told her. Schiefflin Claytor, recognized the bright and inquisitive mind that Johnson had. She loved being surrounded by smart people, she said, and knew all of the professors and students on campus. She told Johnson, “If you don’t show up for my class, I will come and find you.” And so it was, through part threat and part joke, Johnson steered her way into what was already her first love: mathematics.Īt West Virginia State College, Johnson became immersed in academia and the mathematics program. One of her professors at West Virginia State College helped Johnson with her choice. She had two years before having to declare a major, so Johnson wavered between English, French and mathematics. Johnson did so well in her classes that she graduated early from high school, and at age 15 she entered West Virginia State College. The teacher was a great encourager to the students and a strong mentor to many of them. Miss Turner taught geometry, and Johnson couldn’t wait to take her class. In school, one teacher stood out to Johnson. Johnson so excelled that she began her studies in the second grade, then moved into advanced classes. The opportunity to attend school finally did come. She can vividly remember watching her older siblings go to school and wishing so much that she could go with them. At a young age, she was ready and anxious to go to school. Born in 1918 in White Sulphur Springs, W.Va., Johnson’s love for mathematics was inherent, an inclination she had from birth. I counted the steps to the road, the steps up to church, the number of dishes and silverware I washed … anything that could be counted, I did.” And so it began for this young girl from West Virginia in the US.
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