‘Don’t stop in the face of challenges,’ astronaut tells Cal Poly students from space station
In a historic and inspiring event Wednesday afternoon, Cal Poly students spoke with a NASA astronaut as he orbited Earth in the International Space Station.
Victor Glover, a Cal Poly graduate, is orbiting Earth in the International Space Station during a research mission for NASA. He spoke with students from San Luis Obispo university’s chapter of the National Society of Black Engineers.
Glover, 44, has been on the ISS since Nov. 16, 2020, arrived at the ISS aboard a SpaceX craft in NASA’s second manned launch since 2011. He will remain on the station until mid-May.
During a 25-minute call with Glover on Wednesday, university students, alumni and others who attended virtually asked Glover questions about living in space, what his life journey to space was like and how he feels about being selected as part of NASA’s Artemis team with the opportunity to possibly walk on the moon.
Glover said living in space on the ISS can be stressful, especially when everything he does doesn’t feel normal due to the microgravity of the station. At one point during the question-and-answer session, he floated upside down.
“I enjoy lifting weights. It’s one of the things up here that feels the most normal because it puts weight on all your major joints,” he said. “Because here I have no weight on those joints, everything just kind of relaxes since we’re floating.”
Glover said that Wednesday was his day off. To de-stress, Glover said he exercises, reads and talks to his family on the phone or via video conferencing.
Students mostly wanted to get advice from Glover on how to succeed professionally and make a difference in their communities.
Gregory Broadous, an aerospace engineering student at Cal Poly, asked Glover what advice he would give to a student who is struggling with the social life of being at a school that lacks diversity.
“The direction that you’re going, being at Cal Poly, going off into the science and technology workforce, it is likely that you’re going to continue to blaze trails and to be one of the few doing what you’re doing,” Glover said. “And that requires strength.”
“Just like when you go to the gym, you put weight on the bar. And what does that do, it puts tension in your muscles. And the source of muscle growth is that tension. And that’s what makes you physically stronger,” Glover continued. “It’s also what makes you emotionally and spiritually stronger. So try to understand that, try to understand what you’re feeling and have a network of friends, mentors and folks that you can go to to talk about it and to share it, because that helps. But I would say don’t turn away from it, don’t let it deter you. Because it’s actually going to make you stronger.”
Another student, Wanjiku Gichigi, who studies mechanical engineering, asked Glover what his biggest struggle was, and what lesson it taught him.
In response, Glover said he had always doubted himself and did not dream big enough. But, the astronaut added, over the years he learned to fight his “internal battles” and learned to be resilient and tenacious.
“It’s just effort. It’s not being smart, it’s not being good looking, it’s not being the funniest person in the room,” he said. “It’s being the hardest working person in the room. And the beautiful thing about hard work: You can control it right now.”
One of Wednesday’s attendees was 8-year-old Yaphet Yoseph of Toronto, Canada. He was invited to the event after he’d connected with the Cal Poly NSBE chapter president, Amman Asfaw; Yoseph noticed Asfaw had an Ethiopian flag in his background during a livestream of the SpaceX launch.
Yoseph asked Glover how it felt to be on the first NASA operational flight that used a reusable liquid fuel abort system.
“It is truly been humbling, and a tremendous honor and opportunity to fly this spacecraft to the International Space Station,” Glover said. “Our crew, Dragon Resilience, and the International Space Station are amazing marvels of technology and examples of what we can do when we work together.”
Yoseph also asked Glover what advice he would give to kids.
“No matter what you want to do in life, whether it’s to be a good mom or a dad, or to be a great engineer, or a great jazz trumpet player or basketball player ... If you’re gritty, resilient, tenacious, if you don’t stop in the face of challenges, that’s No. 1,” Glover responded. “No. 2, be a lifelong learner inside the classroom and outside the classroom. And No. 3, be a good teammate.”
At the end of Wednesday’s question-and-answer session, Glover told the attendees that he was honored to speak with them.
“Keep up the great work. I’m proud of you,” he said. “And I know the future’s bright from watching you all. Thank you. You’ve been so much motivation.”
One student, Zane Ellis-Rector, called Wednesday’s conversation inspiring, and said the advice Glover gave was helpful to him.
“I needed to hear all that,” said Ellis-Rector, who is studying architecture at Cal Poly.
NASA astronaut makes history with ISS mission
Glover made history as the first Black crew member of the ISS for an extended stay. Those who preceded him stayed only briefly aboard the space station.
Glover is also the 15th Black astronaut in space. A total of 21 Black astronauts have traveled outside Earth’s atmosphere.
Glover is one of 48 active NASA astronauts who are considered “active,” meaning that they can get called to a flight assignment at any time. Four of those active astronauts are Black.
Glover is the fourth Cal Poly alumnus to serve as a NASA astronaut. He studied general engineering at the university.
Glover is aboard the ISS along with six others: NASA astronauts Mike Hopkins, Shannon Walker, Kate Rubins, Japanese astronaut Soichi Noguchi and Russian cosmonauts Sergey Ryxhikov and Sergey Kud-Sverchkov.
The crew is conducting research and scientific experiments such as growing radishes to better understand plant growth and nutrition in microgravity; conducting cancer therapy research; studying how mining with microbes might be used on asteroids and continuing research into the effects of microgravity on the human heart.
This story was originally published January 13, 2021 at 2:38 PM.
