Let me introduce you to Dorothy Vaughan, an amazing mathematician and computer genius who broke barriers and paved the way for so many! She started working at the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA), which later became NASA. Dorothy wasn't just any mathematician—she was a human computer!

That means she did super complex calculations by hand. But Dorothy saw the future coming and knew that digital computers were on the rise. So, she taught herself and her team the programming language FORTRAN, becoming an expert in computer programming!

She didn't stop there. She was the first African American woman to supervise a staff at NACA, and her leadership helped open doors for many African Americans and women in computing and engineering at NASA.

Dorothy Vaughan was a true trailblazer who showed that with determination and skill, you can lead the way into the future!