Alumnus is 'Teacher in Space'
9/11/09
At age 57, Steve Heck can hardly believe he’s realizing his childhood dream of becoming an astronaut. He credits his education from Miami University.
“My degrees got me to the stars. If it wasn’t for Miami, I would not be a teacher. If I wasn’t a teacher, I would not be an astronaut,” said the eighth-grade earth science teacher at Milford Junior High in Cincinnati.
Heck, who earned a bachelor’s in education in 1974 and a master’s in education in 1975, is one of the Pathfinder 7 — seven teachers chosen from thousands of U.S. teachers for the nonprofit, privately funded Teachers in Space program. He and the other six will train during school breaks the next two years to conduct science experiments on suborbital spacecraft.
“I never gave up on my dream,” said Heck, who hopes to inspire students through this experience. “I want them to be the new guys in discovery. Maybe one of the kids that I touch in this area is going to walk on Mars or discover the cure for cancer. Can you imagine if that happens? That would be far beyond any of my dreams.”
Heck came to Miami on a four-year, Air Force ROTC scholarship. While working on his master’s, he was a graduate assistant to Robert Wendel in teacher education. Six months after graduation, he joined the Air Force and became a pilot. Retiring as a lieutenant colonel, he settled with his wife, Donna, and their two sons in Cincinnati.
He returns to the classroom this fall having already earned his astronaut pilot wings after his first training flight.
“The biggest thing for me is to motivate the next generation of scientists, engineers and mathematicians,” Heck said. “That’s what I want to do, to get that new generation going, to invigorate that new generation toward discovery.”