Carol Trembath (Courtesy of Carol Trembath)
The stories of women who dare to go where no woman has gone before will be told by NASA Solar System Ambassador Carol Trembath on April 4.
The St. Clair County Library System will host Trembath’s free presentation on Women in Space: Women of Action at 4 pm at the Main Library, located at 210 McMorran Blvd. in Port Huron. The presentation is recommended for adults.
St. Clair County Library System Community Relations Coordinator Mike Mercatante said the library system is hosting several space-related programs at different branches due to the upcoming solar eclipse.
“Presenter Carol Trembath is great to work with and she has done several unrelated presentations for the library in the past,” Mercatante said. “With the upcoming solar eclipse, we wanted to have more astronomy-themed programs.”
Trembath said her journey towards becoming a NASA ambassador began with her roots as a librarian, and her roots coming from a family of engineers as well as a cousin who worked at NASA. Trembath is a member of the American Library Association. She went to visit family in Utah during 2021, and also attended an American Library Association conference in that state. At this conference, she heard a speaker from NASA.
“When she was done, I was absolutely so exhilarated by her talk. I walked up to her table; a couple of other teachers to my left were doing the same. I asked her, ‘How did you get to do this? I would like to do it.’ She told me that NASA, one time per year, opens for one month in September, they open up to apply for a program,” Trembath said.
As the conference she attended was held in October, Trembath had to wait a year to apply to become a volunteer NASA solar system ambassador. She was formally accepted to the program by early 2023.
“I am really grateful for this incredible opportunity to promote space, science and education. Being part of NASA’s Solar System Ambassador program, I am able to share my passion for the wonders of the solar system with other volunteers,” Trembath said.
Trembath said that although NASA provides many different materials and information, ambassadors create their own presentations. She chose to create a presentation about the past, present and future of women in space.
“I am excited to do this, I am very happy to share it, because it is part of who I have been in the past as a teacher. It makes sense for me to talk about it. I get extremely energized when I am in front of an audience,” Trembath said.
Trembath said in her April 4 presentation, she will include information about the Mercury 13, Jerrie Cobb, first American woman in space Sally Ride, second American woman in space Judith Resnik, Mary Wallace Funk, Christa McAuliffe and Christina Koch. Koch set a record for the longest single spaceflight by a woman and participated in the first all-female spacewalk. Trembath said Koch is a native of Grand Rapids, grew up in North Carolina and will participate in missions for NASA’s Artemis programs.
“We are coming up to a point where we are going back to the moon,” Trembath said.
Trembath, a Brighton resident, is a retired teacher with over 30 years of experience. She is also a media specialist. Trembath taught in the Plymouth-Canton Community Schools, Allen Park Public Schools and Walled Lake Consolidated Schools. Trembath has a bachelor’s degree from Western Michigan University, with a major in English. She also has a master’s degree from Wayne State University in library and information science. Trembath holds a master’s degree in educational technology from Michigan State University. Trembath is also an author of several self-published books.
Registration for the Women in Space: Women of Action presentation is now available at sccl-mi.libcal.com/event/11887020?hs=a.
Nicole Tuttle is a freelance reporter for The Voice.
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