I was just excited to have challenging work to do and smart people to work with. — Katherine Johnson

I liked working with smart people. — Katherine Johnson

My colleagues and I were committed to the work. We found different ways to deal with the segregation. — Katherine Johnson

I like to work problems. If you do your best, nobody can ask you to do it over again. I never had to repeat what I did. — Katherine Johnson

In math, you’re either right or you’re wrong. — Katherine Johnson

I was excited at something new, always liked something new, but give credit to everybody who helped. I didn’t do anything alone but try to go to the root of the question and succeeded there. — Katherine Johnson

Take all the courses in your curriculum. Do the research. Ask questions. Find someone doing what you are interested in! Be curious! — Katherine Johnson

I believed I was where I was supposed to be. — Katherine Johnson

Our teachers made such a difference–all my teachers and professors were very supportive and nurturing. — Katherine Johnson

Girls, some of them are reluctant to ask questions. But if you want to know, you ask the question. There’s no such thing as a dumb question. It’s dumb if you don’t ask it. — Katherine Johnson

I see a picture right now that’s not parallel, so I’m going to go straighten it. Things must be in order. — Katherine Johnson

I felt most proud on the success of the Apollo mission. — Katherine Johnson

I found what I was looking for at Langley. This was what a research mathematician did. I went to work every day for 33 years happy. Never did I get up and say I don’t want to go to work. — Katherine Johnson

We had to determine so much. Where you were, where the Moon would be and how fast the astronauts were going. — Katherine Johnson

You should always be interested in something. — Katherine Johnson

Many professors tell you that you’d be good at this or that, but they don’t always help you with that career path. — Katherine Johnson

I had a very, very interesting childhood, but, oh my, education was the primary focus in our family. — Katherine Johnson

Girls are capable of doing everything men are capable of doing. Sometimes they have more imagination than men. — Katherine Johnson

He knew i had done (tHe calculations) before for him and tHey trusted my work. — Katherine Johnson

Everything was so new–the whole idea of going into space was new and daring. There were no textbooks, so we had to write them. — Katherine Johnson

Let me do it. You tell me when you want it and where you want it to land, and I’ll do it backwards and tell you when to take off. — Katherine Johnson

They needed information and I had it, and it didn’t matter that I found it. At the time, it was just a question and an answer. — Katherine Johnson

Like what you do, and then you will do your best. — Katherine Johnson

We always worked as a team, it’s never just one person. — Katherine Johnson

I don’t have a feeling of inferiority. Never had. I’m as good as anybody, but no better. — Katherine Johnson

Men don’t pay attention to small things. — Katherine Johnson

I’m always interested in learning something new. — Katherine Johnson

We will always have STEM with us. Some things will drop out of the public eye and will go away, but there will always be science, engineering, and technology. And there will always, always be mathematics. — Katherine Johnson

John Glenn’s life will long be remembered for his time in space, his courage, and his service to all Americans. — Katherine Johnson

All jobs are important to somebody. They had to be important to somebody. My theory is, do the best you can all the time. No fooling around. — Katherine Johnson

I like to learn. That’s an art and a science. — Katherine Johnson

We needed to be assertive as women in those days–assertive and aggressive–and the degree to which we had to be that way depended on where you were. I had to be. — Katherine Johnson

I counted everything. I counted the steps to the road, the steps up to church, the number of dishes and silverware I washed… anything that could be counted, I did. — Katherine Johnson

There’s nothing to it; I was just doing my job. — Katherine Johnson

Know how to learn. Then, want to learn. — Katherine Johnson