Dr. Gladys B. West is the author of It Began With A Dream and a retired mathematician who was on the Global Positioning System (GPS) development team. Often asked advice for anyone who has a particular ambition or vision, she answers, work hard. Her other words of wisdom are:
Be and do your best.
Set goals.
Be yourself and don’t compare yourself to others.
Treat others as you want to be treated.
Be encouraged by every little thing.
Have a mentor.
Follow your own heart and your own path.
Never give up.
It is how Dr.West has lived her life and continues to do so.
At ninety years old, Dr. Gladys B. West is experiencing a shower of media attention as she and her co-author, writer-producer Marvin H. Jackson, promote her memoir: It Began With a Dream. As a humble woman who puts maximum effort into every job she does, instead of self-congratulations, Dr. West was surprised by a request from her AKA sister (Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc.). Gwen James asked if she could get her story into a local newspaper, which happened. The Associated Press then picked it up. America now had another hidden figure. Dr. West’s story joined those of other women whose lives and highly significant contributions were written about in Hidden Figures by Margot Lee Shetterly and in Code Girls by Liza Mundy.
In 1956, Dr. Gladys B. West (then Gladys Brown) was selected by the Naval Proving Ground in Dahlgren, Virginia, for a mathematician position. At the time, she was working as a high school math teacher in Martinsville, Virginia. Before her job there, she’d graduated first in her high school class and graduated from Virginia State College (now University), a historically black college (HBCU), with a mathematics degree. She taught at two high schools, saved her money, and enrolled at Virginia State College again to earn her master’s degree in mathematics. The decision to accept the job at Dahlgren required considerable thought, given its recent desegregation; however, the salary would be double what she earned as a teacher and it was a good career opportunity. Dr. West trusted her faith in God and began service to her country that lasted 42 years.
Initially, Dr. West’s position involved computing range tables for weapons systems. It was the start of the satellite era. The Department of Defense (DoD) had the task of making sure there was an accurate and stable satellite navigation system available. Dr. West describes her job:
One of my duties was to calculate the geoid, the hypothetical shape of the earth, coinciding with mean sea level and its imagined extension under, or over land areas. Thus, it was more complicated if you were getting satellite data from over water, and this is where most of my work was done. Since the earth is not perfectly round, we had to figure out the precise shape, depending on what point of the earth was being measured.
In the book, she explains why without her calculations and contributions, determining a position on earth would not be possible. There was a moment during this project when the team discovered there was an error somewhere in the system. Dr. West remembers:
Nobody could figure it out, not even the big directors and scientists. After a while, I figured out where the error was located. Little me had figured out the problem before anyone else, including some folks who I considered on the “genius” level. Everyone thanked me, and I even got some applause from a few of them. It was not exactly my 15 minutes of fame as they say, because back then, we had to get it right and keep moving towards our goal. There was never time to waste, but in my mind, it was an “aha” moment that led to the solution of a problem that no one else had solved. Maybe I should have declared “eureka,” but I just kept on working like it was something I did every day.
An excellent explanation of the significance of Dr. Gladys B. West’s contributions can be heard on Command_Line Heroes, season 6, episode 2. Host Saron Yitbarek interviews Dr. West. Then Paul Ceruzzi, Gavin Schrock, and Todd Humphreys, experts in the field of geodesy, share the reasons why Dr. West’s work impacted almost everyone throughout the world. Also in the episode are comments from Marvin H. Jackson, who defines Dr. West as “recently recognized,” adding, “she was always there;” and Gwen James who speaks of Dr. West and other Black men and women in the fields of engineering, mathematics, and the sciences. “They are not anomalies,” she said.
Gladys Brown was the second child of four born into her family. Her mother and father were farmers in rural, segregated Dinwiddie County, Virginia. Gladys and her siblings worked the farm from sunrise to sunset during the summers and after school the rest of the year. Mr. and Mrs. Brown provided their children with strong values, prayer, and an enduring work ethic; however, young Gladys, after visiting the “city” of Petersburg, VA, knew she needed to educate herself well to be able to leave farm life.
During her tenure at the Naval Proving Ground, Gladys Brown married Ira West, also a mathematician, and added his name to hers. As they navigated being professionals in an environment with, initially, only four Black people, they succeeded in being outstanding employees amidst discrimination. Dr. Gladys B. West says that it was not blatant, but that they were not mentored nor given the same promotional opportunities as their White counterparts in the same time frames. However, she says they had friendly relationships as their co-workers began to get to know them.
As more people become aware of Dr. Gladys West and her memoir, the expressions of love, respect, and admiration continue to grow. It Began With A Dream stems from her contribution to the GPS; however, it also evokes readers’ different emotions. They are impressed with her knowledge, smile as the love story begins with Ira, and are sad during the heartbreaks in her life. They learn that this mother of a daughter and two sons could (with her husband, Ira) care for them and raise them well while being employed full time in a demanding job. Several great photos in the book add to the story.
Readers also experience a journey through decades of history. As a Dahlgren employee, Dr. West was privy to developments resulting from the U.S. satellite launching of Explorer I followed by the Soviet Union’s Sputnik I and Sputnik II. Civil rights challenges and advances, wars, presidents, and more – all happened as she stayed on track and continued to progress. At age 70, she added a Ph.D. to her many accomplishments, and in 2018, Dr. West was the first black woman inducted into the Air Force Missile and Space Pioneers Hall of Fame.
Dr. Gladys B. West is thankful and feels very blessed by her faith in God. In It Began With a Dream, she lists several people and organizations, beginning with her husband, children, and grandchildren. She is notably thankful to Marvin H. Jackson, her co-author, and his circle of family and friends who connected the two of them. And she is deeply honored by Lt. General Stayce D. Harris, USAF (Retired), who wrote the book\’s forward and acknowledged Dr. West\’s influence and example for her achievements in STEM.
Dr. Gladys B. West would love to hear from you via her Facebook page and Twitter account!
Dr. West, I am thankful that It Began With a Dream was given to me as a gift, and I enjoyed reading it. I wish you and Marvin joy and success as you continue to share your story. The postcard you sent for my collection is perfect. I hope all eyes upon it will translate to belief in your message. Thank you. 🙂
~Anita~