Delta Epilson Foundation rented the Ritz Carmike Theater in Voorhees to host these students.
On Jan. 23, the Delta Epsilon Foundation rented the Ritz Carmike Theater and welcomed 100 students from Camden and Burlington counties for a private screening of the movie, Hidden Figures. The Oscar nominated film tells the story of three African-American women working at NASA who served as the brains behind the launch of astronaut John Glenn into orbit.
One of the organizers of this event was Sicklerville resident Lloyd Freeman.
The foundation partnered with several local organizations, including Big Brothers Big Sisters, Camden Youth Services, Eastern Regional High School, and the Willingboro High School cheerleading squad to expose their youth participants to this amazing film focused on empowering black women to succeed in careers in the STEM subjects.
Before the film, there was a question and answer session with Laurie Hylick, granddaughter of Katherine Johnson, the African-American physicist and mathematician portrayed by Taraji P. Henson in the movie. Throughout her career at NASA, Johnson made significant contributions to the aeronautics and space programs that launched Apollo 11 and Project Mercury, among others. Hylick spoke about her grandmother’s research for NASA and the Space Shuttle program, as well as breaking barriers for women in science.
