LOS ANGELES — The Caltech community received a special call from space.

Dr. Jessica Watkins is a NASA astronaut and former Caltech postdoc who requested to call the school and speak with students and staff from the International Space Station where she’s been for nearly 100 days.

Watkins made history this year as the first Black woman to complete a tour on the ISS — and spoke about the need for people of all backgrounds to enter STEM fields. Student interns like Kayla Smith could barely contain their excitement.