Marissa Fanady

I started my journey in 2010 through astronomy by witnessing a meteor shower on accident and this event sparked an interest. Later that year I learned of a total lunar eclipse and with luck on my side I was granted witness to the most immense beauty I have ever seen; from then on a passion for nature was ignited. In 2011 I discovered what branch in astronomy I want to study, what I fell in love with…meteorites. I love the earth as well and this is a perfect combination of astronomy and our planet. My career goal is to become a meteoriticist and in order to accomplish this I need a geology degree. I was recommended to join this association in the hopes of gaining valuable insight, information, and assistance on my journey to a better life.

I will return to college but first a huge obstacle stands in my way. I am physically disabled and use a power wheelchair full time but I refuse to let my condition or society stand in the way of my goals. The meteorite community and the scientific community in general has been wonderful to me thus far, pulling me out of a dark life of believing that I was a detriment to society. They assisted me in my goal of becoming a meteorite hunter and in 2015 I flew out to Las Vegas Nevada and became the first physically disabled meteorite hunter and finder as far as we are aware of. That experience was beyond anything I ever experienced before except equal to the lunar eclipse, I fell in love. All I hope to achieve is a career in studying meteorites and to go in search of more of these space rocks.