Christa McAuliffe

Christa's Official NASA Photo

How do the heroic qualities of Christa McAuliffe affect my life? She is a woman of immense bravery and fearlessness. She wanted to be an astronaut even though she knew the risks. She was also a social studies teacher, which also requires bravery. Christa was an ordinary person who people could relate to, and she was able to do the extraordinary.

She was determined to achieve her dreams. NASA offered the opportunity to become the “First Teacher in Space,” and when they did, Christa’s friends, family and students told her to “Go for it!” After some hard work filling out the eleven-page application and sending it in, barely under the time limit, all she could do was hope for the best. Out of 11,500 applicants, Christa was chosen as a finalist. And somehow out of the 11,500 applicants, Christa was chosen as the first “Teacher in Space.”

Christa did great works of kindness for her community. She was a jogger, a Girl Scout leader, and a swimmer. She belonged to the tennis club, the local playhouse, the YMCA, the church and Concord Hospital. She is intelligent and thoughtful. Her students said she was an “inspirational human being, a marvelous teacher who made their lessons come alive.” She cared deeply about her fellow human beings, and was to keep journals about her journey, not unlike the pioneers who also kept journals. She said, “That’s our frontier out there, and it’s everybody’s business to know about space.” Even while Christa was training at NASA, she made a point to answer all the letters she received from her awed and curious admirers and to go to all the media interviews. She was very grateful and ecstatic to be chosen for this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

So after nearly 115 hours of training with the “Challenger” crew at NASA’s training base in Houston, she was ready for launch time on January 28, 1986. He mission, however, was to end in tragedy. Only 73 seconds after lift-off “Challenger” exploded, killing all seven astronauts on board.

Christa was brave; she had no fear of the dangers that claimed her life and those of the six others. Christa was determined; she always achieved her goals, despite all the hard work it involved. Christa was thoughtful; she did not let publicity and status get in the way of her work, family, friends and admirers. Christa was a role model to many people: her friends, students, and countless others. Christa McAuliffe was also my cousin. She was a teacher from a small town, whose big heart touched the nation. Though she is no longer here, her message continues to speak to and teach us today, “I touch the future; I teach.”