July 31, 2026Today is a free day for teachers; the students will graduate at 1 pm, so the teachers had time to go through the museum at our own pace. We had several times during the week but only for 15-30 minutes. So, I was able to wander through the buildings and enjoy my morning. Lunch was with the other teachers, then off to the graduation ceremony for the students. The ceremony was live-streamed and can still be watched here. https://www.youtube.com/live/h2UAHaYPKpU?si=WlN3AcidIxGhcTPX After the student graduation ceremony, we had an Endeavour Scholarship ceremony. Tom Kallman (the CEO and sponsor of the Endeavour Scholarship), Diallo Wallace (Space Camp Hall of Famer), and Heidi Grant (former Deputy Under Secretary of the U.S. Air Force for International Affairs) all gave speeches and encouraged us to continue working on what we learned this week and to keep in touch with each other. That we are an elite group; only 160 other people in the world are considered Endeavour Scholarship alumni, and only 160 people wear the flight jackets that we have. Then they surprised us with a few awards. The first one is the Mission Mentor Award – the honoree was chosen by the trainer (a wonderful letter of nomination) and the Endeavour Staff – ME! The second award Cosmic Character, was given to a student for his outgoing personality and flair. And the last award was the Stellar Spirit and was given to a student who has shown lots of growth and achievement. Peter McKenna and Don Thomas hung around for the Endeavour ceremony. We were then surprised with additional time in the museum and an afternoon in the Inspiration4 Skills Training Complex on the indoor ropes course. We checked back into the hotel, and the hotel staff had created a party for us. They provided chips/salsa, a popcorn bar, and a sundae bar. Dinner was an assortment of things from Chipotle, Chick-fil-A, and Jersey Mikes. As a surprise for Itzel, the students gave her an award for her leadership throughout the week. Then it was party time – Karaoke, cards, and just being together for one last night. I had to leave the party early, as my bus to the airport was to leave at 3:45 am. 💫🚀⭐Ad Astra ⭐🚀💫 Comments are closed.
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