Tabor Lands Astronaut as Commencement Speaker

On June 1, the Tabor Community will have the rare treat to see the world through the eyes of someone who has seen farther than most. Story Musgrave, a NASA astronaut for over 30 years, will be the Commencement Speaker for the Class of 2018.

As a member of the space shuttle Challenger’s first flight, Musgrave performed the first spacewalk and was the lead spacewalker on the Hubble Telescope repair mission. Between his six space flights, he was the communicator in mission control for 25 missions.

“Not only does Musgrave’s story resonate with our mission because of his high level of achievement and impact, but because he is a clear example of a life-long learner,” said John Quirk, Head of School. Today, at 83 years of age, Musgrave is a producer/director of multimedia, a landscape architect, a heavy equipment operator, an innovator with Applied Minds Inc., and a professor of design at Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, California. Musgrave also performs multimedia corporate presentations on the topics of design driven innovation, project management, operations, human performance, reliability, quality and safety.

According to his biography, from an early age, Musgrave showed signs of independent learning and innovation, building and floating rafts down the rivers near his home as early as age 5, and learning about engines and their maintenance on his parents’ farm. Leaving school to help the Korean War effort, he joined the Marines where he enjoyed putting his mechanical skills to work on aircraft electronics and engines. “With six graduate degrees in math, computers, chemistry, medicine, physiology, and literature, and twenty honorary doctorates, he has shown throughout his life the value of persistently engaging with our individual curiosity and building knowledge in order to make a difference in the world around us. I am eager to have our students and guests hear Musgrave’s stories and perspective to learn what drives this incredible man,” said Quirk.

Tabor Commencement will be held under the Great Tent on the Tabor Waterfront at 10:00 am on June 1.

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