These aspiring young cosmonauts were hand-selected by the Russian government to participate in an exchange program with NASA through the US Department of State. To participate, the students had to apply and have their essays and backgrounds judged. Our Rotary District was approached to host the students during their stay because of our involvement with International Youth Exchange. One of the clubs in the district includes the Seabrook Rotary Club which meets at LYC at 7 AM on Thursday mornings. I volunteered to host the female students and when the host parent for the boys had a conflict, I volunteered for all of them. Their first night in Houston, the girls stayed in our home and the boys stayed at my Dad’s. The students spent their first week participating in meetings and touring Washington DC. The following week on June 29th, they flew into Houston to spend the week at ‘space camp’ with Johnson Space Center. Their flights were delayed until late in the evening on the 29th so we started having some fun the following day on the 30th.
We took the kids to Putt-Putt FunHouse for some late morning playtime and pizza which was donated by the owner who happens to be a member of Space Center Rotary. Afterwards, I arranged for some of the students to sail with Sol Zittrer from LYC, which was crewed by our Rotarian Past President Scott Stillman. The balance of the students sailed with Bill and Joan Vanravensway, HYC members, and their yacht was crewed by their Russian American friends. It was exciting for the kids because they had never done anything like this before. The following day, space camp started and they worked on several projects during the day and had free time in the evenings. The remainder of the week was spent in a nearby hotel. On July 2nd we hosted all of the students at our home for dinner and they were to visit the Kemah Boardwalk for rides in the evening. Unfortunately, that event was ‘rained out’ so they returned to their hotel. On the 4th of July, Andrea Todaro, LYC member, arranged to take them all on a cruise with Skip Harrison, LYC member, to celebrate our nation’s independence with us. Everyone gathered at LYC for a swim and refreshments. Then, we set sail with Skip, his Russian American friends, Andrea, Jim, our family and the students for a very special evening on the bay. Russia has no equivalent holiday as ours in the USA. Our Rotary club purchased BBQ for everyone to enjoy during the sail making it a real American treat.
All in all, everyone pitched in – NASA, Dept of State, Rotary (District/Seabrook/Space Center), LYC and HYC members to make this a trip to remember for these aspiring cosmonauts. They were all so lovely and polite; they will not be forgotten. We would host them again and they’re welcome to return any time!
By Kay Schroeder, LYC Member and Rotarian
