BROOKLYN PARK, Minn. — For a woman who has her head in the clouds, 24-year-old Sideena Grace is anything but a daydreamer.
"I loved space as a kid, but I think when I wanted to do engineering and what kind of engineering I wanted to do, then that's what helped me narrow it down to-- what's the closest thing to space?" Grace said.
Grace graduated from Hamline as the first Black woman to have a degree in Applied Physics. She did research for Harvard while she was there. Then, she finished her grad program at MIT to become an aerospace engineer.
Calling it hard work, doesn't cut it.
"I was discouraged, like a lot," Grace said with a laugh. "I think discouragement can come from many different things, especially if you're a woman and if you're a person of color. You kind of deal with all those things and juggle and navigate those emotions."
To be a pioneer, can be lonely. So in the hopes of encouraging more children to get into STEAM (science, technology, engineering, art and math) topics, she decided to invest in the future, via Adventures with Sideena.
"Adventures with Sideena is a book that teaches kids concepts about space using poetry," Grace explained. "What I wanted to do was introduce kids to cool concepts while also having an adventurous enjoyable way of learning."
The book goes through the ABCs, each letter accompanied by a scientific concept written in a poem. Grace said she also wanted kids to know that poetry and the arts are important too--especially if they are passionate about that field.
Plus, the book is filled with beautiful illustrations of the cartoon Sideena, as an astronaut in space. She said that was important to her
"[To] provide representation for them, because when I was younger, I didn't get to see books that had characters that looked like me let alone about space," she said.
At 24 years old, Grace had the whole world in front of her. So why is she investing in the upbringing of others?
"I realized in school that it wasn't always the problem sets that were hard-- it was wondering if I belonged," she said. "I think that a lot of people, especially people of color or women or other marginalized groups get that experience of not feeling included."
Turns out, she is working for a future in which kids feel that whatever they're dreaming about is already written in the stars. Whether that's STEAM topics, exploring space, or the arts, she said she wants kids to feel empowered.
"To see themselves in science, to be able to see representation and to not make it that's something so distant or unrealistic," Grace said.
Adventures with Sideena is available for purchase here. You can also find her books at most Hennepin County libraries and other county libraries around the metro.
Grace said she's now focused on her start-up, Grace Innovations LLC, with which she is working on a wearable pain relief device for astronauts. You can find out more about her project here.