Remembering Michael Anderson, classmate

On February 1, 2003, at 9:00 am central time, the space shuttle Columbia exploded over the state of Texas. I remember waking up that morning, turning on the television, and was horrified to learn the space shuttle was lost and there were no survivors. I went to high school with one of the crew members on that shuttle. Michael Anderson was a classmate of mine. Cheney High School, Cheney, Wash., Class of 1977.

The following was published in the Whitman County Gazette, Feb. 6, 2003

Remembering Michael Anderson, classmate

By Stacy Zuger

In high school, Michael Anderson was a short guy with a big Afro and an even bigger smile.

There were 215 of us in the Cheney High School class of 1977. He was an important part of that class.

We won the spirit award all four years during homecoming week. Our class motto was “Oh, Thank Heaven for ’77!” Our mascot was the Blackhawk and our school colors were black and red. We weren’t good athletes, but we were friendly. We were thankful for graduation so we could move on to bigger and better things.

Michael Anderson certainly did.

Even in high school Mike stood out. He was voted third runner-up in the “Biggest Brain” category (we were nice enough not to call them nerds) and first runner-up in the “Most Likely to Become President” category. A classmate, Mike McKinley, now a Cheney-area rancher and farmer, remembered how Mike Anderson knew everything about airplanes and would bring model airplanes to class. “He knew tire sizes, the speeds they flew, everything. He was passionate about planes even in high school.”

Mike was quiet and shy, but he was definitely part of us. He was a role model and outstanding person. We knew it even then.

Despite his many accomplishments and his many honors after graduation, he would return to Cheney and talk about science and being an astronaut to schoolchildren. He remained through his short life a role model and outstanding person.

I see pictures of him now, as America pays tribute to the dead astronauts of the Columbia. Age changed him, but I still see the short friendly kid with the big Afro and the even bigger smile. In a class the size of ours, there are classmates I cannot place and classmates I have forgotten. Mike Anderson stayed with me, and I remember him fondly.

We lost contact after graduation, but he was always part of my pleasant high school memories. We all know him now. He went on to help make the world a better place for us all. I am proud to say he was a high school classmate and I value his accomplishments.

Many people are giving eulogies to Mike. They knew him as an adult, astronaut and scientist. He deserves the praise. However, these people remember him differently than I do. To me, he will always be the nice kid with a big smile. That is high praise, too.