On July 20, 1969, Buzz Aldrin and Neil Armstrong stepped on the moon, changing space travel forever.
On Tuesday, the second man to place his feet on the moon made his way to Lethbridge. Buzz Aldrin, along with Canadian astronaut and social media darling Chris Hadfield, were the main attraction at the Greatness in Leadership Conference at the Enmax Centre. Needless to say, it was a hot ticket event.
“I’m just super excited for everything,” Lethbridge College student Sierra Garner said. “They’re incredibly inspirational people.”
Her sentiments were echoed by another event attendee.
“When I heard that the astronauts are here and the man that sang Space Oddity in space was going to be here, I was overjoyed,” Grade 10 Chinook High School student Brit Illeman said. “My mom and I, we love that stuff. The chance to be able to hear him (Hadfield) speak, I’m so excited to be able to come.”
They are two of the most well-known astronauts in the world.
For Hadfield, his journey to space began when Aldrin and Armstrong walked on the moon.
“It was like giving permission, because now this was a thing that human beings could do, that used to be impossible,” Hadfield said. “I just thought, I’m going to be something when I grow up. Why not that?”
Each had the chance to share his experience with those in attendance.
For Aldrin it’s been quite some time since he was in southern Alberta.
“I came here before, through Calgary late 70s early 80s for an air show in Moose Jaw,” he said.
Their accomplishments are many, their journeys vast and what they’ve done serves as inspiration for people today.
“They all started at my age – 19 years old,” Garner said. “They had a dream and they just went and followed their dream and worked super hard, and it shows that I can become just like them one day.”
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