Neil deGrasse Tyson

By: Joel Ostola (Jefferson Middle School)

Neil deGrasse Tyson is an American astrophysicist. He is also a cosmetologist, an author, and a science communicator. Despite all of these accomplishments, Neil has had to overcome many challenges in his life.

One challenge Neil had to overcome was his neighbors reporting him to the police for suspicious behavior whenever he looked at the stars. He was so fascinated by the stars when he was younger that he would stand on top of his roof and study them through his binoculars. The police calls never stopped Neil though. All he had to do was give them a little peek through his telescope. He never really got a good look at the stars until his parents took him to New York’s Hayden Planetarium. After that, Neil was determined to become an astrophysicist.

Another challenge Neil had to overcome was school. He had a tough time; he was never told by his teachers that he would go far. Eventually one of his middle school teachers noticed his love for astronomy. So they suggested that he take lectures at the Hayden Planetarium. Then others started to realize his love for astronomy, and opportunities for him to take classes there started coming. He ended up giving his first public lecture when he was 15.

Neil believes that everyone has a role in increasing the literacy of science. After he graduated from Harvard, he was one of only seven black astrophysicists in the U.S. Neil had a big struggle in college, but he overcame it and ended up getting more involved in educating the public. He realized that he made the right choice.

Today Neil has many jobs. He is a talented and funny author who has written 18 books. He is going to come out with his own video game. It will be all about stars and outer space. Neil also works as the director of the Hayden Planetarium. When he took over the planetarium, he ended up redoing the building and reopened it in 2000. He is an actor and the voice of many people in TV shows. He has also appeared on radio shows.

How has my life and people’s lives around me been affected? There are now more opportunities for African Americans and other educational options for all. Neil deGrasse Tyson has been a big role model to me and is a big role model to others. I hope to meet him one day, but I don’t think that will ever happen. He has made a big impact on our world and I hope that he continues making more. He has really helped with the science community. I think that his dad would be very proud of him if he was still alive.

Sources https://www.aps.org/careers/physicists/profiles/tyson.cfm https://www.britannica.com/biography/Neil-deGrasse-Tyson https://www.haydenplanetarium.org/tyson/ https://www.tvguide.com/celebrities/neil-degrasse-tyson/credits/260330/ https://www.behindthevoiceactors.com/Neil-deGrasse-Tyson/ https://www.biography.com/people/neil-degrasse-tyson-20766239