SCALA Brings NASA Astronaut To WCS To Inspire Dreams
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David Slone-dslone@timesuniononline.com
NASA astronaut and retired U.S. Air Force Col. Kevin A. Ford piloted space shuttle mission STS-128 on his first trip to the International Space Station in 2009. He’s made several trips to the station since. On March 26, the Indiana native will speak to Warsaw Community Schools students during the day and then give a presentation to the public at 6:30 p.m. in the Warsaw Community High School Performing Arts Center. The talk is open to the public, admission is free and doors open at 5:30 p.m. Ford’s visit was partly inspired by Holocaust survivor Eva Kor’s in March 2014, according to Megan Stone, Supporting Children with Accelerated Learning Abilities founding board member. SCALA is a 501(c)3 non-profit parent organization advocating for high-ability students in WCS, said co-President Felicity Havrilla. It has been in existence since 2013, according to co-President Sarah Richardson. On March 25, 2014, Stone said Kor spoke in Winona Lake on the same night the high-ability students were presenting their Night of the Notables. On Night of the Notables, students give presentations of historical individuals they have researched as if they were that person. Around the same time, Stone’s son, Nate Stone, now a junior at Notre Dame in the Naval Reserve Officer Training Corps, met Ford at a symposium at the university. “All of that was kind of happening simultaneously,” Stone said. That summer, SCALA’s board met to come up with some ideas and plans. Havrilla said they wanted ideas to grow their group, inspire students and “really fit in the mission of Warsaw Community Schools to inspire students and develop this idea of a SCALA Speaker Series.” “We wanted to bring in a great speaker to our community that could inspire and enrich our students to work toward their personal goals. Then came the idea of Col. Ford,” Stone said. “Nate, having had this personal contact with him, I thought, ‘I’ll ask Nate and he can ask Col. Ford if he’d be willing to come to Warsaw.’” Ford responded to Nate’s email and told him how to go about getting an astronaut from NASA to speak at an event. It turned out to be a very lengthy process, Stone said. Havrilla said many groups contact NASA requesting appearances. “They turn many of those requests down so we’re very excited that when we submitted our request, they accepted,” she said. “Colonel Ford is from Indiana as well, so we liked the tie-in of a young person from Indiana who has a dream and gets to Notre Dame and then gets to the International Space Station and goes up in a space shuttle. So we thought that was very inspiring for our kids,” said Richardson. Ford was born July 7, 1960, in Portland, Ind. He graduated from Blackford High School in Hartford City, Ind., and his hometown is Montpelier. He graduated from Notre Dame with a bachelor’s degree in aerospace engineering in 1982. A U.S. Air Force fighter pilot, Ford was commissioned through the ROTC program. He trained in the F-15 Eagle and was assigned to the 22nd Tactical Fighter Squadron, Bitburg Air Base, Germany, from 1984 to 1987. He was assigned to the 57th Fighter Inceptor Squadron, Keflavik Naval Air Station, Iceland, from 1987 to 1989. He flew test missions in the F-16 Fighting Falcon from 1991 to 1994, and was a flight and academic instructor at Air Force Test Pilot School from 1997 to 2000. In 2000, Ford reported for duty to NASA Johnson Space Center and completed two years of astronaut training. He piloted the space shuttle to the space station from Aug. 8 to Sept. 11, 2009. He flew again to the space station in October 2012, and served as a flight engineer for Expedition 33 aboard the station. On Nov. 17, 2012, he assumed duties as commander of Expedition 34, returning to Earth on March 16, 2013. Havrilla said what they want to do with SCALA is not only bring something to town to inspire students but also educate them. “We like the idea it’s NASA so it really ties in a lot with so much of the science and all the STEM programs and projects,” she said. Ford’s first presentation is in the morning March 26 to Madison, Leesburg, Claypool, Harrison, Sacred Heart fourth- through sixth-graders and Gateway Educational Center students along with select classes from the middle schools and high school. The afternoon presentation will be given to Eisenhower, Lincoln, Jefferson and Washington students and some select classes from the middle schools and high school. The WCHS JROTC will present the colors. Hoffert will give the introduction for Ford and there will be a short video of the space shuttle launch Ford piloted. Ford’s speech is titled “Follow Your Dreams,” and he will speak on his life story. The public presentation will be somewhat identical to the school presentations but geared more toward the adults. With the doors opening an hour earlier, the public can check out the WCS STEM bus, displays from student groups and science-related student presentations. Havrilla said, “One thing that has really excited us about this is just the fact that as a parent group we had this idea, we brought this to the administration and just the excitement that has come from the administration. (Superintendent) Dr. (David) Hoffert has just been so incredibly supportive. Immediately he just loved the idea and started bringing team members in, and the team members were just so excited.” “They have really partnered with us,” said Stone. “We brought the idea to them, but they have really embraced it and just partnered with us and took it to the next level beyond what we could hope for.” Havrilla said WCS are preparing the students for Ford’s visit with everything from the purchase of books on the space station to displays in the schools’ libraries. Richardson said a large portion of the costs to bring Ford to Warsaw was underwritten through the Kosciusko County Community Foundation. Hoffert said, “The SCALA group and its leaders are really the catalyst behind this. They came forward with the idea. They saw how it impacted our mission statement and – especially when we’re talking about dreams and enriching the lives of others – how it fits right into what we’re doing. The belief is that what is good for their students, being involved in the GT program, is good for every student at Warsaw Community Schools. And taking that idea and wanting to share that with all fourth-, fifth- and sixth-graders, and also having a time in the evening for other community members ... I just look at this as a huge gift to our community of knowledge, of excitement, of really inspiring those dreams of moving forward. We never know what’s going to happen with the students who are listening to this.”
