Mae Carol Jemison, born on October 17, 1956, in Decatur, Alabama, and raised in Chicago, developed an early interest in science and space. She graduated from Stanford University with degrees in chemical engineering and African and African-American studies, and later earned her medical degree from Cornell University. Before her career as an astronaut, Jemison served as a doctor for the Peace Corps in Liberia and Sierra Leone from 1983 to 1985, working as a general practitioner.