She Creates: Athena Brensberger
Athena Brensberger
Athena creates space science videos for all ages to learn about the universe and world around us. Whether it's creating content for the Astroathens Channel (her company) or filming for the Science Chanel, Athena's mission is simple--advocate for science. Since pursuing a career in acting and modeling, Athena is currently working on bridging these various industries together. Athena has covered rocket launches for NASA, ArianeGroup and SpaceX, as well as various space-inspired designers for New York Fashion Week. It's all about having fun and showing the world that science isn't how we conventionally thought of it, it's not boring and always serious, science derives from questions and curiosities, creation and art, a bit of philosophy and the beautiful language of math. Athena is connecting more people from opposite industries than ever before.
What gets you up every morning?
A new feature that I'm building for the space industry.
How did you get your start?
When I was 12, my best friend Anika Ahmed gave me a book on the cosmos. That day I decided I'd work in space.
What does a typical workday look like for you?
Nespresso in the AM with my laptop, chatting with my developer, reviewing files, answering emails finalizing contracts and by noon I'm heading out for castings. Afternoons are usually packed with video editing for my channel or script writing for new videos if I'm not on a photoshoot. By evening I'm either exercising or working on my website, attending an event or researching new topics to make video content on (this often can last until about 1-2am).
What is your favorite thing about your job?
Every day is different day.
What do you credit your success to?
Not giving up.
What advice would you give to someone who wants to follow in your footsteps?
Seek a mentor who has done what you aspire to do and surround yourself with people that believe in your vision, if you can't find that - surround yourself with literature of people that have achieved what you want to go after. Keep a journal and track your progress and don't give up. NEVER GIVE UP.
What is your earliest memory of wanting to pursue a career in STEM?
12 years old when I first was shown just how massive our universe is.
What is your super power, the thing you bring to your work every day that sets you apart from the rest?
I truly feel like I am a people connector.
STEM can be intimidating and difficult to digest by the general public. You’ve found a way to bridge that gap and bring your work to audiences in an accessible way. What’s your secret?
I was not born with a special ability to just pick things up quickly, things used to take me hours to finally grasp a simple concept. This taught me the various ways of how human minds comprehend things. I've learned patience and ways to verbalize and physically communicate subjects to people the way they need be communicated to in order to understand. It's about diversity and not lecturing the am pattern for each individual. Each person learns differently and it's about recognizing that.
If there’s one small step we can take to get more women involved in STEM, what is it?
Childhood. It's about parenting and exposure at a young age to the various paths that a girl can take when she grows up. Not every girl will have the ability to resist what society tells her she "can't do" --like I did. I truly didn't and still don't care what anyone says to me. For young girls that's not always the case, one word from a teacher, a friend or a parent figure can deter her from pursuing a career in science. "You're too pretty to do that..are you sure you're smart enough? You should just be on stage." These are all wrong things to say to youngsters, girl or boy. Let them explore. Let them learn things that maybe you or me or any adult hasn't explored before. Just because the older figure doesn't understand that career path, doesn't mean their offspring can't be the first in the family to explore it.
How important is community to you? How are you fostering a community?
SOOO IMPORTANT!!!! Sometimes your biggest support can come from community. And this is coming from someone who tested out being a loner for a year. Who thought being in quarantine for a while would really develop my success, but actually it was the opposite I learned. You don't need o shelter yourself away to grow or become a successful entrepreneur or scientist. Community can bring you new perspective, new ideas, new offers and collaborations. When I began to realize this and open myself up to people more if when things just started flourishing in my life. This is why I said earlier that I feel my superpower is being a people-connector. Because I used to fear getting distracted or taken away from my mission by "having too many acquaintances or friends or people around me" but it turned out the more I connected people to each there the more people connected me to others the more things just started flowing abundantly. Social media has changed the game of community for me. Going to events that are in your industry of choice. And jus being open to talking to strangers. I LOVE TALKING TO STRANGERS!!! (keep in mind I am an adult, I wouldn't recommend being young and doing this unless you're at a social event or school where you can trust the people that are there). But some of my greatest connections have come from being open to have a simple conversation with someone, no expectations of even exchanging info--just TALKING to your fellow earthlings. We all roam this planet, we're all doing life together, enjoy one another's company we're all here for a brief period of time.
What do you want to be known for?
Disrupting the world and creating a mental shift in humanity by raising collective consciousness through the education of science.
College & Major ?
CUNY College of Staten Island. Major in physics, minor in astronomy, minor in dance.
What are some apps on your phone?
Sky Guide. Photofox. Splice. LinkedIN. Instagram. TikTok. Dashlane. Dropbox. Gregorys Coffee. Spotify. KakaoTalk. Discord.
One piece of Tech you cannot live without?
My phone.