Astronaut Victor Glover: Ontario High School grad's ride into history books
When you look up at the stars tonight, marvel at this: astronaut Victor Glover, who graduated from Ontario High School in 1994, is aboard the Space Station.
The electronic sign at Ontario High in the Inland Empire proudly displays a shout out to its distinguished alum. Early on, Glover established himself as a leader in high school. He displayed excellence in academics and in athletics, where he played two sports.
His former classmate from high school and college, Dr. Pamela Larde, told FOX 11's Laura Diaz, "Victor had the biggest dreams. But at the same time, he was humble. He got along with everybody."
Those dreams are now on full display. The 44-year-old is the first Black crew member on the space station. He becomes the first one of his background ever to begin a full six-month stint on the orbiting lab.
At California Polytechnic State University in San Luis Obispo, where Victor majored in Engineering the sense of excitement and pride are palpable. His former wrestling coach Lennis Cowell told me he speaks to Victor often. He said his former athlete has contributed time and money to the wrestling program and recently supplied his email address to stay in contact while on the Space Station.
Cowell and his wife watched the launch remotely and became teary.
There's plenty of emotion to go around. Glover's Engineering professor, Dr. Daniel Walsh was ebullient when speaking of his former student. He sent me a copy of the recommendation letter he wrote to help Glover get into NASA.
He described Glover as, " Curious, capable and compassionate."
All along his life's path, people were impressed with Victor Glover. Dr. Walsh told Diaz that Victor was perfect for the mission. Walsh described being "a little puddle on the floor" when the crew entered the Space Station. He looked up and saw that his former student who worked so hard, had finally achieved his lifelong dream.
Get your top stories delivered daily! Sign up for FOX 11’s Fast 5 newsletter. And, get breaking news alerts in the FOX 11 News app. Download for iOS or Android.