McDougle: Yes, it was awesome. There were so many awesome women at that event. I thought I was just going to go to a school and do a suit presentation to the kids like I always do, but she had this big gala also where she recognized us. She gave me that beautiful trophy right there. It has all of our names on it, it’s just gorgeous.
Ross-Nazzal: Oh my gosh, it’s heavy.
McDougle: Yes, it’s heavy. The names of all the ladies she honored are listed on it. They spelled my name wrong, but that’s all right. Girl, it was like the Academy Awards. They had the voice of God behind the curtain reading our biographies. They would just start off talking and wouldn’t say who they were talking about. I started listening—“That’s my bio!” Girl, I just cried. I couldn’t believe it. That’s one of the things I love about her; she never forgets the little people. I was honored with women pilots, women saving people on rafts, and the first African-American woman to fly fighter helicopters. She placed me in the same category as the women astronauts, but I don’t feel I’m in that league. She treated us all the same. I’m about to cry just talking about it. She said, “If it wasn’t for you taking care of me and my suit….” She just makes you feel so special. Mae is so sincere when she talks to you, it’s not just one of those fake, “Oh, you were my suit tech; you were awesome!” pat on the back. She really sincerely makes you feel like she really really appreciates everything. She told me she was glad that I was her suit tech. I was like, “Woo!” because I just wanted it to be a good experience for her. I’m sure it was probably a little scary for her being the first African-American woman to go into space, so I wanted to do my part in making it special for her too. And for me, because I was excited about being a part of history.
McDougle: Yes, as soon as I saw her name on the flight. We had a board out in the lab here, and they would list all the astronauts. I had already heard the first “sista,” as I say, was going to space so right when my lead put the names up, I placed my name by Mae’s; she’s my crew member. Everyone already knew the first black woman would be assigned to me.I was proud to be the only black woman in my department. Like I said, I wanted to make sure she was taken care of, she was comfortable, and I wanted to be the one to do that. I didn’t want anybody else assigned to her. I’m sure they would have done a fabulous job too, not saying nobody else wasn’t good enough to take care of her. I just wanted to be the one. You know that kinship, that family feeling. Bottom line, I just wanted to make sure she was taken care of. I knew my stuff, and I’m really good at what I do.
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