MANATEE COUNTY, Fla. (WFLA) – It was a tremendous loss that captivated and saddened our nation. Thirty years ago Thursday, the space shuttle Challenger exploded just 73 seconds into its flight. All seven people on board were killed.
There were six astronauts. Christa McAuliffe was also on that mission. She would have been the first teacher in space.
Since then, some of McAuliffe’s students have chosen her profession and become teachers. That includes a Tampa Bay area woman.
Tammy Hickey is a physical education teacher at Martha B. King Middle School in Bradenton. You can find her every school day not only teaching but striving to inspire her students to live their dreams, just like McAuliffe did for her.
The tragedy that day turned into a lesson plan no teacher could ever prepare. Hickey said she “would love to” continue McAuliffe’s legacy.
“If i could touch them the way she touched us a whole class of 1986 or anybody that had her, it would be an honor,” Hickey said.
And an honor it has been for Hickey and many of her classmates from their Concord, Hew Hampshire high school.
Those tough times changed them. It would take some time for them to realize just how much significance that life-changing event had on them.
“She was an incredible teacher who made everyone feel important. Now that I chose to be in the teaching profession, I want to emulate that to my students,” Hickey said. “I want them to make a difference in them.”
McAuliffe was one of 11,000 teachers who wanted to go into space. Hickey said she always knew her teacher would be the one.
McAuliffe’s own children have not been very vocal in public throughout the years though they did follow in their mother’s footsteps. They become teachers.
