Dajae Williams speaking on stage at a conference

Making a Movement Makes it Matter

Turn student resistance into the reason they lean in. The problem isn’t that students don’t care. It’s that they don’t know why they should.

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A student asleep on his desk in a full classroom

We find it in
every class:

One room. 10 learning levels.

The will to try is low.

Behavior disrupts class.

…and the question every educator gets:

“Why does this matter?”

That answer is different for every student. And it’s not something we can just hand to them. We also can’t steamroll through curriculum and hope they magically care one day. We have to be intentional. Guide them to find the answer for themselves. That type of discovery doesn’t come from our lesson plans. It comes from building a classroom movement.

And that’s exactly what Dajae helps educators do.

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Dajae Williams speaking at TCX Talk

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Signature Keynote

The Accidental Rocket Scientist

How Making Movements Makes It Matter

This keynote is high-energy, deeply personal, and thought-provoking. Dajae, the Rapping Rocket Scientist and former NASA engineer, blends storytelling, music, and reflection to show educators what it actually takes to reach the students everyone else has given up on. Along the way, she'll show educators how AI can help them create the kind of classroom environment kids actually want to be in. Yes, we'll have fun, but this isn't just a feel-good hour. Your audience will leave the room remembering exactly why they started teaching in the first place.

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They’re still talking about it.

Testimonials

People are still talking about what they learned from her talk from the perspective of a young person persevering through the gauntlet of the education system.

Lynn Lawson, M.Ed.Missouri AfterSchool Network

We had students responding who have not submitted ONE assignment all school year. That just shows how much of an impact she had!

Madeline NuñezGreen Street Academy

@Dajae_Monae is an amazing, inspiring young woman! Her story reinforces studies that show STEM subjects need to be introduced to girls in early education.

Julie Hamptonvia Twitter

Listening to #CAST2020 Keynote @Dajae_Monae, NASA Engineer and Rapper, talk about not giving up when people say it’s a “mistake.”

Amy OusleyProsper ISD

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Dajae with educators at her session
Dajae with a group of five educators after her keynote
Dajae fist-bumping an educator after her session
Dajae posing for a selfie with two educators
Dajae taking a selfie with two educators after her keynote
Dajae Williams, keynote speaker and former NASA engineer

Meet Dajae

Hi, I’m Dajae.

Former NASA Engineer. Keynote Speaker.
The Rapping Rocket Scientist.

I’ll just come straight out and say it… growing up… I hated school.

Mostly because I was bad at it. But my mind was set on hearing my name called in the WNBA draft, and I didn’t think knowing how to “solve for X” would get me there.

Then in 8th grade, my math teacher mistakenly enrolled me in honors high school math.

And that mistake changed my life forever.

It gave me a sneak peek inside a world that had always felt restricted

…the minds of the “smart kids.”

And it left me with two questions I’ve been chasing ever since:

  • Why do some students succeed while others fail?
  • What would it take to get any student to see the value in education, no matter their background, access, or limiting beliefs?

The journey of answering those questions helped me develop learning strategies that landed me in the top 10% of my graduating class, signing NDAs for Apple and NASA, and even publishing work in science textbooks.
The thing I hated… textbooks… I’m now helping contribute to.

Wild stuff.

Dajae as a student holding a medal after an awards ceremony
A young Dajae working a division problem at the chalkboard
Dajae working at her desk in a classroom
Dajae taking a selfie with a group of smiling students
Dajae in conversation with educators after a session
Dajae with a rover wheel at NASA JPL
Dajae in a NASA clean room suit beside flight hardware

While I never made it to the WNBA draft…

…I found something better.

A passion for teaching these strategies to the students who need them most. And for partnering with educators around the world to empower, excite, and equip the kids sitting in the same seat I was in…
so we can build the movements thatmake it all matter.

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