STEM Influencer Emily Calandrelli to Journey to Space and Inspire Future Generations

We were thrilled to sit down with Emily Calandrelli — engineer, TV host, and passionate advocate for STEM education — to talk about her upcoming journey to space on Blue Origin’s NS-28 mission. Emily shared her thoughts on the importance of inspiring curiosity in young minds and her commitment to empowering the next generation of explorers.

Club for the Future: We’re honored to welcome you to the Club for the Future blog! Say hi to our readers.

Emily Calandrelli: My name is Emily Calandrelli. I’m an MIT engineer turned Emmy-nominated science TV show host. Most people today know me as the host of Emily's Wonder Lab on Netflix. I'm also the author of nine children's science books — the latest book in my Stay Curious and Keep Exploring series became a #1 New York Times Best Seller. Most recently, I released my newest series, Emily’s Science Lab, on YouTube to bring fun science experiments to families everywhere. You can find me online at @TheSpaceGal

Club: Tell us about your STEM education journey. Is there a teacher who inspired you?

Emily: I wanted to become an engineer because my dad, who grew up in poverty, taught me the value of financial security. As a high school senior, I looked up all the majors available to me and their starting salaries, and studying engineering seemed like the best bet one could make! So, I originally jumped into the field to make a good living, but once I became an engineering student, I fell in love with it — the discovery, the creative problem-solving, the dream of humans expanding their reach in the universe. I found aerospace engineering very beautiful, and it made me feel like I was tapping into the essence of being human. As someone who didn't know anyone in STEM, the professors and staff at my home-state university were key to my success — in particular the NASA Space Grant program at West Virginia University. No one achieves anything alone, and they were particularly helpful in helping me identify the fellowship, internship, and research opportunities available to me as an undergrad. I'm forever grateful for the way they helped me build and fortify my own launch pad that helped lead me to where I am today.

After WVU I went to MIT to get two masters in Aeronautics & Astronautics and Technology & Policy. Through my research, I started learning more about entrepreneurship, policy, and science communication to those without a STEM background. Personally, I found that aspect of STEM crucially important as someone who felt both creative and analytical. And so, when a TV production company asked if I wanted to be the host of a new space TV show that offered a national platform for science education, I said yes!

Club: What is it like to host a TV show?

Emily: When you host and produce a TV show you have the ability to create the type of content you wished you’d had when you were a child. I get to select the stories we cover and the people we interview, and I can ask them any question I want. If you love asking questions, traveling to new places, and learning about new projects all the time, it’s the perfect job!

Club: What does your journey to space mean to you and your community?

Emily: Throughout my journey to space, I have worked to shine a spotlight on my home state of West Virginia. I hope that kids across the state and throughout Appalachia will see themselves in me. I want those kids to know that even when your foundation is lower, your ceiling can be higher. I hope that kids, particularly girls, who decided they wanted to become a scientist after watching one of my shows or reading one of my books, will look at me and think “I'll do that one day, too.”

Personally, going to space is something I have dreamed of for 20 years. I’m anxiously awaiting the moment I get to look out the window and back at our home planet.  I’m honored to be the 100th woman in history to see that view because I think that we’ll go from 101 to 1,000 10 times faster than we went from one to 100. I can't wait to see all the little girls who watch my shows and read my books sitting in the same seat in the next few decades.

I’ll be capturing my journey as I’m going through it, and my goal is to share this experience with kids who need to see it the most — so in many ways the real work begins once I return to Earth.