Zonta Club of Makati and Environs inspires young women to embrace Amelia Earhart's spirit

On 30 January, the Zonta Club of Makati and Environs, Philippines, celebrated Amelia Earhart by inviting a special guest speaker, Josephine Santiago-Bond, who currently serves as NASA’s safety and mission assurance manager of the commercial crew. The talk was attended by more than 300 participants from other Zonta clubs and students from several universities and high schools.

The talk aimed to inspire young women to take up a career in STEM, particularly in engineering and aeronautics and to consider careers traditionally perceived to be male-dominated fields. Josephine’s inspirational story of a Filipina who has made a name for herself in aeronautics while championing inclusion in space touched her audience and inspired many of the students in attendance. She also spoke about the importance of finding role models, mentors and allies, taking advantage of opportunities and creating them and making space for younger women to step up.

Growing up, Josephine never in her wildest dreams thought she would end up working for NASA. She reminded the audience that, in Amelia Earhart’s words: “women, like men, should try to do the impossible.”