Victor Glover: Hello! I'm NASA astronaut Victor Glover, and I'm a part of the 2013 Astronaut Class. And I'm here with you today at the "Moving Beyond Earth" Gallery at the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum.
[Text: What's your educational background?]
I went to Cal Poly on a wrestling scholarship and wrestled and played football there for a couple of years. And I graduated with a degree in general engineering. And while I was at Cal Poly, I joined the Navy, and I didn't know if I wanted to be a Navy Seal or a pilot, but I wanted to do something adventurous that captured that team spirit, that high-performance mindset, and I wound up going to flight school and becoming an F-18 pilot and test pilot. And while in the Navy, I've been able to go to graduate school a few times and further my technical education, as well.
[Text: What jobs have you had?]
If you remember an entity called "7-Eleven," I used to stock the cooler! So it was cold, it was cold in there. I worked at a Kentucky Fried Chicken. I worked at KFC frying chicken, I did that for a summer in high school. And then when I was in college, I spent every summer doing something. And one of the things I did the most in college was tutor for a program called MESA: Mathematics, Engineering, and Science Achievement. And I would do outreach and tutoring for high school and middle school students.
[Text: Have you had any influential teachers?]
In fifth grade, I had a teacher, Mr. Hargrove, who told me, "You know, if you work hard, you will be a great engineer." And I have to admit, in fifth grade, I thought that meant driving trains. But it was his belief in me and setting that standard that he lit a fire that burns bright to this day. And I went to college and studied engineering because of what he said to me in fifth grade.
[Text: What advice do you have for middle school students?]
Be a life-long learner and be a good person. Look for challenges, go out and seek those hard things. Learn a foreign language, learn to computer program, go out and do hard things. For example, if giving speeches makes you nervous, you ought to be standing up here right next to me. Start off just like in the gym. You don't go to the gym and put 300 pounds on the bar and try to lift it. You put 10, then 20, and you work your way up. Stand in the mirror and make a speech. Then make a speech in front of your brother and sister, and then make a speech in front of your mom and dad, and then your teacher, and then your classroom. And before you know it, you'll be making an address on the Mall like the President at the Inauguration and you won't be nervous, or at least, that nervous energy, you'll be able to funnel it.
[Text: How important is it to be a good communicator?]
Extremely important. You know, one of the things you learn working around a bunch of engineers is how important it is to be able to communicate. You could have the greatest design, this is going to solve these amazing problems. But if you can't communicate that, you may be the designer but the folks who have to build it need to understand what's in your head. And that's what communication is! So it's extremely important to be able to communicate. And just like you practice football, just like you draft and you practice math and you practice computer programming, you have to do it in order to do it well. Communication, written and verbal, are things that you have to practice as well.
[Text: Have you experienced failure?]
It's interesting. You show up in this flight suit with that title, that job title, and people say, "Hey, you're smart!" and they think about success. But I can tell you, most folks that have that title and wear this uniform have probably failed at more things-- I have failed at more things than your average person. So you're gonna find something in this line of work, or anything in life, anything you really try to step out there and do, you need to step out on faith because at some point you're going to find challenges, but they're not there for us to turn away from-- those are where we get better. You go to the gym, you put weight on the bar. You put on resistance, because that's what makes you stronger.