Mayers, 18 and, a student at Aberdeen University in Scotland, heard about the opportunity from her mother.

“My mom read about the competition back in 2021 while we were on our way to another Caribbean Island to get my visa for studying at the University of Aberdeen,” she told her university in an interview. “We had to take an insane detour. So instead of a one-hour flight, it was 16 hours through London and then back into the Caribbean.”

“It was on that flight my mom randomly entered this competition, which I had no clue about until I was here in Scotland. I was very skeptical about it when she told me she had entered. I thought she was joking,” she added. “The one thing I did make sure was if she was going into space, it was going to be with me.”

Mayers then started her studies in Physics and Philosophy at the University of Aberdeen. She is now about to enter her third year.

Months later, Schahaff started receiving updates about the sweepstakes.

“I filled out this sweepstakes, and then suddenly months later, I’m getting correspondences saying that you’re a top 20 finalist, then a top five finalist, to becoming a winner,” Schahaff told the BBC.

Keisha Schahaff

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