Earlier this week I had the opportunity to witness Buzz Aldrin share his life’s memories. He spoke on Wednesday night, reliving the events of his time with NASA and his journey to the moon. It was so cool to simply hear such a great man speak. But it was also amazing to see Buzz’s humanity. I, as well as many other students, was lucky enough to be invited to a luncheon with Buzz on that same Wednesday. The luncheon was intended to be a Q & A. However, following the first question, Buzz’s response was nearly 40 minutes long. He spoke of his adolescent years, his time as a fighter pilot, working toward his doctorate at MIT and finally being selected to join NASA.
Buzz’s life hasn’t been flawless, but it’s been perfect. He made plenty of mistake and bad decisions in his time, which he admitted to us. But what I took from his talks was the notion that courage, hard work, integrity and opportunity will take you to anywhere you want to go. To know that someone who literally walked on the moon is just as human as you and I was pretty inspiring. A lot of cool events, such as the Buzz Aldrin lecture, happen at Wofford every now and then. Like I’ve always said, every experience is a learning opportunity.
