Katherine Coleman Goble Johnson, a native of White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia, came to Institute at age 10 to attend the high school that was once part of West Virginia State's campus, graduated from high school at 15, then enrolled in college classes there and began a lifelong relationship with Nu Chapter, Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. She graduated summa cum laude in 1937 at age 18 with a bachelor's degree in mathematics and French. In 1953 she was hired as a research mathematician, or "computer," at the Langley Research Center with the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics, which became NASA in 1958. She became especially known for her calculations of Alan Shepard's 1961 trajectory as the first American in space, her 1962 verification of the first flight calculation made by an electronic computer for John Glenn's orbit, and her work on the 1969 Apollo 11 trajectory to the moon. Her pioneering work was widely recognized after the publication of Hidden Figures and the release of the film of the same name, and in November 2015 she received the Presidential Medal of Freedom from President Barack Obama, the highest award that can be bestowed upon a civilian.