In the early 2000s, in Ann Arbor, Michigan, Aisha Bowe was just emerging from her “shy kid” shell and entering her spirited “spunky teenage” era. Reflecting on that pivotal period, she recalls, “My grades, at the time, were not that good. But I had other things going on. Life was happening.”
Like many young people, she didn’t yet know what she would do with her life, but she was open to suggestions. Her high school guidance counselor recommended cosmetology as a potential career path—not a wrong suggestion, but one commonly given to girls like her, with little regard and even less curiosity about their interests, skills, and aptitudes. It was among many messages that subtly implied she wasn’t valued or considered. “I remember feeling angry but not really knowing what to do about it,” she said. “So much at that time in my life was riding on a grade point average.”
Feeling less certain about her direction than she perceived her peers to be, Aisha enrolled at the local Washtenaw Community College. There, she met a diverse group of people with different backgrounds and aspirations. As they collectively chartered the course of self-discovery, she realized that many of the beliefs she held about herself were not her own but shaped by others’ opinions, expectations, and resentful projections of their unfulfilled aspirations. “I had to stop and go: There’s a reason why you don’t feel confident. There’s a reason why you don’t feel beautiful. There’s a reason why you don’t feel strong. Are those reasons yours? Or where they imposed upon you?” The answers would become clear in time.
Today, Aisha Bowe is a two-time startup founder, including the elite engineering firm STEMBoard, twice acknowledged as one of America’s fastest-growing. She’s also a Blue Origin astronaut, a business thought leader, and a former NASA aerospace engineer. It’s been an exciting journey for that spunky teen unclear about her path. “I still, to this day, can’t understand why society expects you to know what you want to be before you even begin to understand who you are,” she told ESSENCE.
Last year, she was named among ESSENCE Power 40. She recently added another accolade to her mantle—she was among three Luminary Award recipients at the BLACK ENTERPRISE Women of Power Summit. It was there, at the Bellagio Hotel & Casino, that I had the privilege of speaking with the renowned tech entrepreneur whose revolutionary approach to technology and innovation is boldly paving new paths in the industry.
Aisha, you will soon become the first Black woman to travel to space with Blue Origin, founded by Jeff Bezos. Your journey is truly remarkable. What motivates you to consistently surpass expectations and defy gravity?
I felt such a stigma because people did not expect much from me. It took some time, but I finally said: You know what? I’m going to focus on the things that I want. I’m going to escape their perception of me and create my own reality. And in that reality, I am amazing, I am accomplished, I am powerful.
And so I intentionally picked the loftiest, craziest thing I could think to be—a rocket scientist. And that is what I set out to do. So I started my degrees in aerospace engineering with pre-algebra in community college, which, by the way, was exceptional because it prepared me for the University of Michigan, where I got my undergraduate degree in aerospace engineering and a master’s in Space Systems Engineering with a concentration in nanosatellites. I went from there to work for NASA.
Had you retired as a NASA’ rocket scientist’, that, alone, would have been impressive. But, for you, it was just a stepping stone. What fuels your ambition to keep topping yourself?
There is something to that. I loved that job [at NASA], but I left because I craved something bigger than the track I was on. I wanted to inspire other people to do the things that I was doing; I wanted to say: You can live your best life by believing in yourself. You can create things that don’t exist. So, I set out to create an environment where I was running my own technical company, which is today known as STEMboard.
When I started, people said, there’s just no way. You don’t have a business degree. You can’t run a business. So, I think I’ve become accustomed to making that a motivator for me.
Being told there’s something you can’t do is a motivator?
Yes, that—and also just the idea or instinct that compels anyone to diminish anyone else’s dreams or say what is or isn’t possible for someone. Because what is possible? Really. What have I ever been qualified for? I was always too young, too inexperienced, too something.
If you have to wait for someone to tell you you’re qualified, or realize who you are, or see that you are better than they thought you were, you’ll be waiting until you die. Because when are they ever going to believe you’re good enough? You have to know you’re good enough.
That’s what led me here; all these inflection points of— Okay, I’m going to run this business. I’m going to be an engineer. I’m going to go to space. And now, I will create an education company where students can see a Black woman teach them a technical topic.
It is powerful, Aisha, to be able to alchemize ‘hate’ into fuel. But do you think there comes a point when it becomes a toxic motivator? What I mean is: Sometimes disproving people’s low estimations only compels them to intensify, even fabricate new justifications for their hate.
I know exactly what you mean, Ebony. I’ve experienced it. Anyone who’s surpassed others’ expectations, I think, has experienced it. There is this false idea that once you become successful, everything will be great. But what they don’t tell you is that success is hard, too.
I have a new project where I interview successful unicorn founders who have achieved things people only dream of; and I’ve found that the number one commonality among them is loneliness. Success can create a distance between you and the people you love. And, it’s not even that they necessarily hate you, as much as what you represent, your tenacity is a mirror for their insecurities.They have to diminish you. So, to answer your question, it can be a motivator to a point, but there comes a time when it starts to diminish you. If you allow yourself to be held back by people who wish they could accomplish what you’re achieving, you’re going to feel drained and depleted. Sometimes you have to let go.
What I want people to understand is that standing apart isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Sometimes, it’s a signal that you are unique and doing something extraordinary. But when you receive that signal, the next step is to create a community around you.