'I’m proud to be a geek'
Astronaut inspires students with visit to Lewis and Clark
CASEY RIFFE/Gazette Staff
Dr. Bernard Harris, Jr., speaks at Lewis and Clark Middle School on Friday. Dr. Harris was the first African-American to walk in space, and flew two mission for NASA.
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- Bernard Harris, the first black American astronaut to walk in space, talked to students at Lewis and Clark Middle School about the challenges he faced pursuing his dream.
Bernard Harris, America’s first black astronaut to walk in space, told students at Lewis and Clark Middle School this morning to dream big and follow through.
“We’re here to encourage you to do whatever it is you want to do,” he told them. “You choose to succeed or you choose not to.”
Harris’s visit to the school was part of the ExxonMobil Dream Tour, a series of inspirational messages and speakers designed to encourage middle and high school students to excel in math, science and engineering. Joining the Lewis and Clark students were eighth-graders from Riverside Middle School.
“We’re doing this because of you,” Harris told the eighth-graders. “If this country is going to survive and be competitve … that’s going to require you to have some knowledge in science, math, engineering and technology.”
Harris told them if that means being a geek, then they shouldn’t be afraid to be geeks.
“Geeks rule the world,” he said. “I’m proud to be a geek.”
D.J. Nash, an eighth grader from Lewis and Clark said the assembly inspired him.
“It was awesome,” he said.
His friend, Joey Wagenman, agreed. He said it was good to hear someone besides teachers praise subjects like math, engineering and science. Although, as someone who already likes the sciences, the assembly didn’t do much to change his mind on anything.
“It was something I was already interested in,” he said.
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