An Out-of-this-World-Encounter: Astronaut shares story of success
On Oct. 5, astronaut Michael Massimino visited Peninsula and spoke to over 500 science and engineering students. Massimino, who has a Ph.D. in mechanical engineering from MIT and is currently a professor of mechanical engineering at Columbia University, talked about his excursions into space, the struggles he overcame to become an astronaut and the strengths and values that he learned throughout his time as an astronaut. Massimino also discussed his enthusiasm for the sciences and STEM education.
“It wasn’t really until I got out of Columbia [University] and I was working as an engineer that I started thinking what my big passion was, what I wanted to do,” Massiminosaid. “I couldn’t get that little kid dream out of my head, so I decided I had to do something about it.”
During his career as an engineer and an assistant professor at Georgia Institute of Technology, Massimino also went through interviews to become an astronaut. Finally, after four fruitless applications, Massimino was finally accepted into the astronaut program in 1996. Since choosing its first group of astronauts in 1959, the space program has received tens of thousands of applicants but has only selected 339.
Massimino entered space twice – once in March 2002, and again inMay 2009. Both spaceflights were launched in order to service the Hubble Space Telescope. During Massimino’s spaceflight in 2002, his crew set a record for spacewalk time with 35 hours and 55 minutes during five spacewalks, two of which Massimino performed. This record was broken again during his 2009 spaceflight.
There has been a strong push for students to focus on STEM related classes and fields in recent years across the country, and Pen is no exception. Though some of these subjects in school may seem tedious, even jobs such as being an astronaut lead back to the basics of math and science, as Massimino well knows.
“A lot of students think that STEM related fields are interesting,” Massimino said. “But math and science aren’t so easy. It’s rough and people tend to get discouraged. The important thing is to not let that stop you. Just keep trying and you’ll find your own niche.” Students at the Oct. 5 session were able to gain life lessons from Massimino’s story.
“By persistently working hard to be accepted, he was able to do what he loved,” junior Sabrina Lee, who attended Massimino’s presentation, said. Massimino emphasized during his presentation that never giving up on one’s dreams is the key to success. Massimino went from being rejected from the astronaut program four times to setting world records in space, all because he refused to give up on himself and his childhood dream.
“You can control the effort, but you can’t control the outcome,” Massimino said. “So don’t give up on stuff, and be
true to what you really like. And don’t worry if it seems like a stupid idea. If that’s what you like doing and that’s what your
idea is, stick with it.”
