When Sadie Tate was a young child, her father often took her outside to gaze out the stars and point out the various constellations, affectionate memories the Monelison Middle School eighth-grader cherishes.
“That was their thing,” Nicole Tate, her mother, said. “He got her interested in it.”
That close bond Sadie shared with her dad, who died unexpectedly in January 2020 when Sadie was 10, was the focus of a recent essay she wrote to Heimdal Science Fiction, a local community-oriented organization consisting largely of Star Trek fans that last year celebrated its 38th anniversary as a local chapter of Starfleet International.
One of the nonprofit’s outreaches is sponsoring a local middle school student to attend NASA’s space camp in Huntsville, Alabama, and Sadie recently was selected to go in June through a scholarship, according to Nicole Tate and Linda Smith, a leader in the organization.
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Sadie wrote that as the oldest of three siblings, she was the first among them to share her father’s love and knowledge of the sky. She recalled the two watching meteor showers and her dad telling her seeing a meteor meant being able to wish for anything she would like.
“Since then, my passion for astronomy, space explorations, and simply looking up at the sky to stargaze has always been what I return to when life gets tough or confusing,” Sadie wrote.
Her dad, Jared Avram Lazarus Tate, was her biggest inspiration and she wants to carry on his memory by going to the stars one day, she wrote. She feels her passion for space has grown stronger in the past three years and she knows he would be proud of her dream of one day becoming an astronaut.
“Even though becoming an astronaut as a female is a hard goal to achieve, I think I would have a chance if I continue to let my knowledge expand and my passions grow,” Sadie wrote in the essay. “I feel that this camp would change the course of my life for the better, and give me the experience needed to further pursue my dream.”
Given the group’s science fiction theme, with a particular emphasis on Star Trek and outer space, sponsoring a local middle school student to attend the NASA space camp program was a natural fit for Heimdal Science Fiction.
Students from eight participating local middle schools are invited to submit an essay to the nonprofit expressing their interest in attending space camp, or related camp programs offered by NASA. A committee reviews each submission, and selects one middle schooler to sponsor. The $1,100 tuition fee is fully covered by the organization, plus an additional $300 for the family’s travel costs and another $100 to buy a flight suit for the student, Smith said in a previous interview with The News & Advance.
Peter Garrison, who just graduated from Amherst County High School last spring, went to Space Camp courtesy of Heimdal Science Fiction in 2018.
Another ACHS alumnus, Adam Bryant, received a scholarship from the nonprofit in 2019 to attend the Advanced Space Academy in Huntsville.
Sadie is following in their footsteps in furthering her goal of one day reaching outer space.
Nicole Tate said Sadie and her dad would set the alarm at 2 a.m. to get up for star gazing.
“It was just theirs,” she said of the mutual passion. “I was not involved at all.”
The family is glad for Sadie’s opportunity to go space camp this summer and further her interests, Nicole Tate said.
“This is a really huge stepping stone and introduction into all of it for her,” she said.
Sadie also is excited for the trip and said she enjoys going to Monelison Middle, which was instrumental in informing her about the scholarship essay.
“I love Monelison,” Sadie said.
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