Kraal_ABT

The speaker wanted to be an astronaut like Sally Ride but couldn't because they didn't meet the height requirement. However, they found a new passion for geology and decided to explore space as a scientist instead. They started college as a geology major. I grew up in the 1980s. The space shuttle launched every few months and astronauts were famous. And when I grew up, I wanted to be just like Sally Ride, the first American woman in space. I joined the Young Astronauts Club and entered every science fair every year. My science grades were all A's and any summer camp that involved physics or chemistry was the top of my list, but it turns out that there was one important thing I couldn't do or change. To be an astronaut, you had to be 5'4", and I stopped growing at 5'2 and a quarter. I fell two inches short of my dream, so I had to find a new plan. Lucky for me, I had a great science teacher in high school named Mr. Fennell. He loved earth science and he took our class out to map a local state park one day. Once I learned about geology and that there was geology on Mars, I decided I'd rather explore space from Earth as a scientist. A few years later, I started on that goal when I entered college as a freshman majoring in geology.