Margaret Ikape

"When I was really young, I saw a shooting star. And that got me looking up at the night sky a lot more,"

"Can I count all the stars? Can I really go to a star? What would it be like if I could really go to a star? How long would it take?"

"That period is like a black box in astronomy knowledge. We know it happened, because the universe is ionized today, but we don’t know many details about it,"

"The universe fascinates me a lot and I'm super excited every time I think about it, So I think that everybody should know about it."

"I feel very excited to be recognized for this award, and to know that my research and contributions to science education are acknowledged, This further reinforces my desire to pave the path for young Africans in STEM disciplines."

"It's my wish and my passion to bring up young ones in the study of astronomy and show them how cool the universe is"

"I’m a PhD candidate at the University of Toronto, studying Astronomy and Astrophysics. My research is mainly focused on cosmology where I use simulations to understand the Epoch of reionization, the period when the universe went through a phase transition thought to have been brought about by the first stars."

"Believe in yourself and don’t listen to anyone who tells you that you can’t. Also, keep asking questions."

"I think my biggest challenge was finding a mentor that looked like me, someone with similar experiences."

"Africans are doing great things all over the world and need to be showcased."

"If you can think it, you can be it."