Fresh off a five-month mission aboard the International Space Station, Col. Anne McClain shared her story with a gym full of eager Hamblen students on Tuesday, her first school visit since returning to Earth.
McClain, who grew up in Spokane, first told her mother she wanted to be an astronaut at age three.
“Guess what? Your dream might come true, because I was younger than you all when I decided I wanted to be an astronaut and it came true,” she said. “I sat in a lot of school assemblies just like you're sitting in. So, you are in the exact right spot to get your dream.”
McClain spoke for about an hour with students about what it was like to live in space and shared her joy at returning home.
“I didn't truly feel like I was back on Earth until we were driving in from the Spokane Airport and I got to come down I-90 and see that view of Spokane that everybody knows,” she said. “That to me is home. I wasn't really back until I saw that view.”
While students were enjoying their summer break, she was repairing equipment, conducting experiments, and eating freeze-dried meals in zero gravity — all while circling the Earth every 90 minutes at 17,500 miles per hour. She shared personal moments, like taking selfies during spacewalks and gazing down at her hometown from the Cupola, a windowed module with extraordinary views.
McClain also fielded questions from fifth grade science students, who are studying space in Mr. Barmes’ class. Questions ranged from “What’s your favorite experiment done in space?” to “What things did you like to eat up there?” and “What’s your favorite planet?”
Along with answers — “anything relating to human health,” “coffee and M&Ms,” and “Earth,” respectively — McClain gave students a vivid picture of space life: running on a treadmill while strapped down by giant rubber bands, maneuvering in a 300-pound space suit, and gazing out of the Cupola at the curve of Earth.
She also left students with three big lessons:
Work together: “I didn’t get to where I got by myself… My challenge to you guys today is look around and just try to notice when somebody might need help.”
It isn’t about the dreaming, it’s about the doing: “When I was about in fourth grade, what I decided was, ‘Okay, it's going to take a lot of work to become an astronaut. And so I'm just going to do one thing every single day that's going to get me closer to that.’”
Get out of your comfort zone: “Doing new things is kind of scary…But even if there's part of you that doesn't want to do it, you just do it anyway. When you get out of your comfort zone, that’s where the magic happens.”
Big thanks to Col. McClain for taking time with our Hamblen Huskies – it was an inspiring day they won’t soon forget!