Diversity is any kind of variety that makes our world a better place.
Today we are commemorating the spirit of the seven Americans whose lives were lost 25 years ago this week when the Space Shuttle Challenger disintegrated shortly after take off.
Throughout NASA’s rich Space Shuttle history, the astronauts who earned the honor of flying in space have been a cross-section of American diversity. Sally Ride was the first American women in space, and Guy Bluford was the first African-American, just to name two examples. The Challenger crew was also a collection of men and women from many backgrounds, including of course Christa McAuliffe, who was the first teacher in space.
In President Reagan’s eulogy for the Challenger Seven, he said the following:
We think back to the pioneers of an earlier century, and the sturdy souls who took their families and the belongings and set out into the frontier of the American West. Often, they met with terrible hardship. Along the Oregon Trail you can still see the grave markers of those who fell on the way. But grief only steeled them to the journey ahead. Today, the frontier is space and the boundaries of human knowledge. Sometimes, when we reach for the stars, we fall short. But we must pick ourselves up again and press on despite the pain. Our nation is indeed fortunate that we can still draw on immense reservoirs of courage, character and fortitude - that we are still blessed with heroes like those of the space shuttle Challenger.
Remember, you don’t have to travel as far as the Kennedy Space Center in Florida to find diversity. There are hundreds of opportunities to celebrate diversity right here at your own school. Find one today!
