User:CROIX/Kiesha Schahaff

Keisha Schahaff is an Antiguan and Barbudan, who, along with her daughter Anastatia Mayers, are expected to be the first Caribbean people to go into space on 10 August 2023, on the Galactic 02 launch. Schahaff is a 46-year-old entrepreneur, health and wellness coach, and mother of two daughters.

By winning two tickets costing $450,000 each from Virgin Galactic's space tourism contest after entering in July 2021, Keisha Schahaff, 46, realized a "childhood fantasy". Schahaff had to undergo a number of tests after receiving the reward to make sure she is fit enough to go, these tests being in New Mexico.

Schahaff received a tropical bouquet and a gift bag from tourism minister Charles Fernandez in December 2021, not long after it was revealed that she will be traveling to space. In order to help her on this "phenomenal" trip, the Minister pledged the entire support of the nation and the Ministry of Tourism and Investment. Schahaff has stated that she does not have any hesitance whatsoever when headed to space.

Quotes
"When I was two years old, just looking up to the skies, I thought, ‘How can I get there?’ But, being from the Caribbean, I didn’t see how something like this would be possible. The fact that I am here, the first to travel to space from Antigua, shows that space really is becoming more accessible. I know I will be changed by my experience, and I hope I will be able to share that energy and inspire the people around me—in my role as a life coach, a mother, and as an ambassador for our beautiful planet."

- Keisha Schahaff