Around 155 people attended NASA engineer Farah Alibay’s conference, organized by Caisses Desjardins de Charlevoix at the Fairmont Le Manoir Richelieu this afternoon.
The aerospace engineer from Quebec reflected on her career and her various missions at NASA. Born in Montreal to immigrant parents, young Farah quickly felt like she was different because of her name and the color of her skin.
Despite “many moments of loneliness” during her childhood in Joliette, this “very curious” girl could count on friends and the fact that “there were no gender stereotypes at home.” This allowed her to pursue her passions without complexes.
The young girl greatly appreciated science fiction films, but was particularly impressed by the film Apollo 13, in which she was able to see the real work of engineers during a failed lunar mission.
After studying in England, then in Cambridge and at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Farah Alibay applied to NASA “around twenty times” before she was able to work for the American space agency.
Since then, she has worked on several missions, most notably on Mars. “The best part of my job is not so much sending a robot to Mars, but the people I work with. They are passionate. »
Perhaps thanks to the teachers’ strike, there were many children present in the room. They had the opportunity to ask Farah Alibay many questions, which she answered generously and enthusiastically.
Farah Alibay answered many questions from very curious children.
Originally posted 2023-11-23 21:12:32.