LYNCHBURG, Va. – Former astronaut and engineer Leland Melvin spoke with elementary school students about fueling their dreams through reading.
Leland shared his enthusiasm for reading with students at Robert S. Payne Elementary School on Thursday. The students eclipsed their goal of reading 100,000 minutes, and to celebrate, he visited to help lay the foundation for their dreams which can all start by opening up a book.
“I think the most favorite thing about coming to a school in Lynchburg where I, where I, you know, I’m from, is that the kids see the possibility. They say that they were in these. He was sitting in these desks. He was walking in this area and he was able to do something. They took him off the planet. So if he can do it, I can do it.”
Leland Melvin, former astronaut and Lynchburg native
Melvin says many of the skills that helped him in space stemmed from reading, playing sports, and playing video games. He attributed his first mission using a robotic arm to grab a two billion dollar laboratory, grab it out of the payload bay of the shuttle, and attach it to the space station.
