traveltalk

Any `Graduation’ becomes an emotionally charged event, especially when there are parents and children involved. Irrespective of the age of the child and the circumstances of the event, the accomplishment and validation of an activity by any authoritative body is fraught with significance and sentiment. So much so that even onlookers,  even though neither kith or kin of the people involved, find themselves applauding and cheering without being necessarily briefed about the antecedents of the event or its participants.

Imagine us then, 46 people, having travelled thousands of what started off as Kilometers but then quite unconsciously became Miles, waiting to see these children graduate on foreign soil, hoping they would be acknowledged, recognized, appreciated and even commended for all the little things that they did for this one big moment.

And they were. Our Kids did us proud. They ranked amongst those teams that walked away with the

_Mission Patch Award

_Space Bowl Award

_Outstanding Team Award

_Area 51 Award and the

_Space Bowl Award (Advanced)

Not just that `Heyma and her team from Bangalore, India’  were also acknowledged and we along with these wonderful children , were part of the Graduation Day  graduates.

The ceremony itself was without fuss but did not want for dignity or a sense of something special. Samantha Peterson, one of the Managers of the Camp did the honours of introducing the many activities, the teams and the Winners along with the Counselors, who in turn introduced their team members individually, She also introduced the Chief Guest of the day, Col Bob Springer, a  `Top Gun’ Vietnam war veteran , and a NASA Astronaut, who with a few choice words made the audience realize it’s not the fanfare that precedes his name that makes a person important but what he’s done and how he is remembered that counts.

Our kids got to wear their Indian costumes after all. The bond they shared with their Counselors one could see, was spontaneous and completely genuine. It was also clearly reciprocated. Dhiren told me that some of the Counselors were close to tears and their own words when they introduced their teams were testimony to this fact.

The teams were awarded simply but tellingly with Diplomas, Certificates, Medals, Badges and in some cases T Shirts. The applause each time was however the same, pretty heartfelt.

It has been all in all a very exciting and fulfilling journey. I spoke to Ms Kami Davis at the Camp about the possbility of some more children from our school coming again in October and she  more than welcomed the idea. You will all hear all about it from the movers and shakers, all 37 of them, yourselves.

And from that will be born the next group of NASA Camp enthusiasts.

While I celebrate the whole idea, I look forward to the day when ISRO will host its own Camps and we will all stand up along with students from all over the world when the Indian National Anthem is played.

It will happen. It may even start with one of these 37.

Till we meet again after many flights short and long,

Signing off from Huntsville, Alabama, on our last day here,

hemaa narayan

 

 

 

~ by svmastrorockers on June 6, 2008.