I want to share a quick little blurb from the Mattel corporate site: https://shop.mattel.com/pages/barbie-role-models-katya-echazarreta

“Katya Echazarreta is the first Mexican and Latin American-born woman to go into space. She is a 27-year-old Electrical Engineer who has shown her passion for science and engineering, making her own successful path in a field that’s mostly dominated by men and opening the way for many more women to come. After graduating from UCLA, Katya went on to intern at NASA JPL and transitioned to a full-time engineer on five NASA missions, including Perseverance and Europa Clipper. And she is now pursuing a Master’s Degree in Electrical Engineering at Johns Hopkins University. Katya was sponsored by the nonprofit Space for Humanity on a mission to analyze what is known as the “Overview Effect” in space travel. Fewer than 80 women have been to space, and fewer than three dozen have been Black, Indigenous, or Latino from a total of 600 people that have ventured into space. She also explained that she had the opportunity “to guide girls and women who are looking for someone who had experienced what they are going through. I hope to encourage girls and women to achieve their STEM goals, so that together we can remove those barriers.”

How absolutely inspiring!?! Like, this made the hair on the back of my neck, stand. I am so excited for Katya, and all women on the globe. I was born a writer, but it took me a bit longer to make change. Ha! It’s okay, we all have our strengths, right?!? Regardless, there is a stigma about how girls are not interested or not capable or not high achievers in the subject of Science, Technology, Engineering, and/or Math (STEM), but there have been a number of change-makers challenging this notion. Katya Echazaretta, in particular, I only just learned about browsing through The Writing Studio, a small writing community immersed in the National Writing Project. Apparently, Mattel recently issued their new Katya “Barbie” and I am tickled pink about it! It’s pretty awesome, and I admire Katya for all of her hard work and dedication. She deserves this, and women around the world can celebrate her achievement. It is a unifying and empowering endeavor for her, women, the nation, and humanity.

Come on! The absolute ganas this takes? Man, woman, child, or monkey, any space travel is terrifying and exhilarating all at once, in my humble opinion. Additionally, it takes a selfless individual, the type that is not common in 2024, but here she is. She is a flying-under-the-radar kind of story, and stories like this help restore my faith in humanity, pun intended. I pray for Katya and her crew’s safety while soaring among the stars on a mission of wonder and discovery. She is putting in the work, they all are and in an area that so few of us are qualified to work in. I’m proud for her, and I don’t even know her. I cannot imagine how crazy proud her family must be as well.

¡Oye, chica! Keep kicking ass, and taking names.