Nigerian-born Dr. Wendy Okolo has become the first black woman to obtain a PhD in Aerospace Engineering from the University of Texas at Arlington.
She’s an aerospace research engineer in the Intelligent Systems Division at NASA Ames Research Centre.
Okolo is also the Special Emphasis Programmes Manager for Women at Ames.
Some parents who spoke with Duaglobalnews in Lokoja in separate interview congratulated Okolo for being a worthy daughter not only of her parents but also Nigeria and the world at large.
Mrs Agnes Owolabi, a mother of five children, all of who are university graduates, praised the intellectual accomplishment of Okolo.
Owolabi said:”As a parent who has also trained all my children up the highest level of educational attainment, I must commend the parents of this worthy daughter of Nigeria, for her amazing educational ability and for being of a priceless value and worthy to the woman world.
“She has been able to further prove the truism in the proverbial saying that, what a man can do, woman can do better.
“I urge our daughters to see Okolo’s feat in science and technology as a challenge to put in their best in order to also achieve world record in their educational pursuit.
Messrs Micheal Achumugu, Idau Ahmed, John Chukwuemeka among others also louded Okolo for her feat in the academic world and called on her not to see such attainment as the end to her educational aspiration.
“Infact, I will urge her to see her degree as another stepping stone to her future accomplishments in education.
” Nigeria needs more women in the field of science and technology, particularly space engineering, therefore, our worthy daughter should carry out more research in the field of her chosen career and avail her country of the result of her research.
“This will go along way in boosting effort of Nigeria to achieve the desired result in space engineering.
“In not too distant future,she could establish a foundation whereby she attracts various scholarships, abroad, to Nigerian youths eager to study science and technology but lack the resources to actualise their burning desire,”Achumugu said.
