The clear night skies in the outskirts of Nairobi , Kenya — where some of the many local Maasai tribes live — sparkle at night with glowing stars in beautiful patterns known as constellations . These stars seem so close , yet so far , for each of the students as they dream of becoming explorers .
The Maasai are a semi-nomadic tribe indigenous to the African Great Lakes region ; they are known for their bright red robes and courageous “ warrior-like ” demeanor .
30 LET ’ S GO AEROSPACE
While preserving their rich culture , many students aim to venture out of their traditional community to pursue higher education and bring new ideas and innovation back to their tribe . However , the paths to entering the aerospace industry , pursuing STEM degrees , and even getting higher education sometime seem cloudy and even impossible .
This past August 2024 , the stars aligned perfectly ; I , Gitika Gorthi , connected with one of the Maasai tribe ’ s in Kenya through Dean Cameron from Let ’ s Go Aerospace .
I have founded an organization , IgnitedThinkers , to spread interdisciplinary aerospace education to all students . As a part of our outreach events , we host Global Space Education Summits in different countries to ignite students ’ passions for aerospace and connect young professionals with their country ’ s growing space economy . When sharing IgnitedThinkers journey to Kenya , Dean connected me with this incredible community , to be the ignition for these students ’ education in STEM and careers in Kenya ’ s growing space economy .