Indiana teen defies odds, becomes NASA Solar System Ambassador

FOWLER, Ind. (WISH)– Stacy Welborne lives with cerebral palsy and epilepsy, but the fact that she lives at all is a miracle.

“The first day they said she wouldn’t live, the second day they said she wouldn’t live, and 12 days later, they dismissed us to go home with pretty much a ‘good luck’,” Anni Welborne, Stacy’s mom, said.

Although the odds were stacked against her, Stacy Welborne never stopped reaching for the stars.

“I love sharing information about astronomy with other people in my community,” Stacy Welborne said.

Anni Welborne loves astronomy and she says it didn’t take long for Stacy to follow in her footsteps.

“We went down to Tennessee for the total solar eclipse in 2017, which [she] thought was pretty cool. Finally, mom did something cool! She just became very interested after that total solar eclipse,” Anni Welborne said.

From that moment, the teenager took her love for outer space straight to the moon.

“Way before the existence of GPS, people needed to study astronomy to keep from getting lost, and I find that really interesting,” Welborne said.

Welborne created an astronomy curriculum that caught the attention of NASA and helped her become the newest NASA Solar System Ambassador.

“I’m one of a thousand people discussing NASA’s programs and history,” Welborne said.

Anni Welborne believes that with her daughter’s passion for space and her zeal for life, the sky is the limit.

“I can’t fathom the far reaching ripples of her life. I’m sure some day God will show it to me, but a little girl that wasn’t suppose to be able to, can, and does, with sparkle and a tiara,” Anni Welborne said.