As the next generation of aviators and scientists ready themselves to discover the final frontier in Huntsville, AL, this June, one young explorer is also continuing a much-loved family tradition.
Raith Monroe, 10, of Hot Springs, AR, is set to graduate from the Mach I program of the Aviation Challenge exactly 23 years after his father, Jason Monroe, on June 21. In celebration of his milestone tenth birthday, Raith will be attending Mach 1 Aviation Challenge for first time this June. A tech whiz, he is eager to put on his jumpsuit and earn his first set of aviator wings!
Raith will be following in the footsteps of both his father, and uncle Chris Monroe, who were five-time Space Camp/Aviation Challenge campers, and earned Outstanding Cadet honors. After standing out in the program, both Jason and Chris were members of the Civil Air Patrol and its Honor Color Guard, and flew planes with their Arkansas Squadron before they had even had a license to drive a car.
Jason has always been a natural-born leader, and Space Camp gave him the opportunity to excel. He also learned that sometimes being a leader means also knowing how to follow. Now working in management, Jason’s lessons from Space Camp still apply into adulthood.
“Space Camp and Aviation Challenge jumpstarted a love of leadership and a desire to serve for me,” Jason says. “It also fostered a burning love for our United States Military. Most importantly, these programs point young people toward their dreams and shows that truly anything is possible with hard work, dedication, and unlimited vision.”
Raith’s Uncle Chris had an especially wondrous experience in Huntsville. As a child, Chris was in and out of the hospital with severe asthma. His dream was to go to Space Camp, and he saved for over a year to make it happen. When the time came, he was sick in the ICU but his doctor made a conscious plan to safely release him for the trip, knowing how much it meant to Chris. One might expect that Chris would be limited during Space Camp, but instead, his team rallied around him. The group leader tailored the lessons to include Chris’ illness, in order to encourage the group to look out for their own. For the first time in his life, Chris felt celebrated rather than different, and that was a defining moment for him.
“I remember how relieved I was when I learned that I was healthy enough to attend Space Camp,” says Chris. “It felt great to be part of the team. I truly appreciated the opportunity to carry on our space mission with a positive focus while adapting to my health needs. My most vivid memory of that was of feeling normal among my peers. I thought I could achieve anything once I slipped on my flight suit.”
Today, Chris is living the dream working at major Hollywood studios, and still relies on what he learned at Space Camp.
“Everything boils down to checklists,” he notes. “Whether it’s a shuttle list, flight list, or inventory list at a Hollywood movie studio, the discipline of creating and following a plan is imperative. You can’t be afraid to map things out and delegate and assign duty stations.”
Jason and Chris not only had the time of their lives at Space Camp and Aviation Challenge, but their math and science grades shot up after realizing there was a real-world application of what they were learning in school. Plus, they made lifelong friends, whom they reunited with each summer in Alabama for the next year’s program. Their love of space, aviation, and science was passed on to Raith, who has proudly worn his father’s old space suits to school, and scores off the charts in science and technology.
Jason’s words of wisdom to his son on the 23rd anniversary of his own Space Camp graduation are that of gratitude and encouragement.
“Raith, don’t be nervous. Just jump in, get busy, and embrace the experience. You are an amazing young man. Be yourself, listen, and have fun. Make friends. Be a leader—you can bring people together. Enjoy every second; it’s a wild and fun ride. I am so proud of you.”
Chris is equally proud of his nephew and can’t wait to watch him have the time of his life in the Aviation Challenge program.
“Have fun. Challenge yourself, make new friends, and don’t be afraid to step into a leadership role. Dream big and soar, Buddy!”
As the Monroe family continues their legacy at Space Camp and in the Aviation Program, they hope others will also pass on this time-honored and exciting tradition to their children, along with a passion for science, math, technology and education. The future of science and our world will be in their hands and there’s no limit to where aviation and space exploration can take us.
