NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — For the past week, we have, of course, been focused on this severe weather event. We also wanted to also mention this. As our city worked to recover, we passed the forty-year anniversary of a major moment in US history; the space shuttle Challenger disaster. We have a local tie to the moment.
I was watching a tape from 1986 in the NewsChannel 5 archive when I came across a video. It was of a teacher talking to her class. When I realized what this teacher was talking about, I wanted to find her today; Carolyn Dobbins.
"I was pretty well convinced I had put it aside," Dobbins said, speaking from home. "Oh, was I wrong. How do I feel at this moment? I can talk about it. I'm glad I have not broken down in tears."
Growing up in Eagleville, Dobbins had big dreams, but the thought of space travel was just too big.
"It was so out there," she nodded. "It was untouchable as far as I was concerned. I had no idea that anything like this could ever be part of my life."
A day in 1984 changed that. The Teacher in Space Project was announced. NASA was going to begin taking teachers on space missions so they could share the experience with their students.
There was a huge packet to fill out. How was a teacher like Dobbins going to find the time?
"An amazing thing happened," she remembered of January 1985. "Snow day. Then we had another snow day and another snow day, those snow days were what I needed! It was basically a mini-book about your beliefs, your desire to go into space, getting to the soul of the person."
The day came Dobbins was able to tell her class at McMurray Middle the big news. Out of 11,000 applicants, she'd been chosen as a semi-finalist.
"There was a student, and I can remember to this day her beautiful face," Dobbins said. "She said, 'Mrs. Dobbins, what if you don't ever come back? I said, 'oh, I'll be back.'"
Dobbins was among the semi-finalist teachers invited to Washington D.C. to be interviewed by a review panel.
"I was totally overwhelmed," she remembered. "I have never met such outstanding people in my life. Everybody here is a star! We all felt we would be the one chosen."
The teacher who was chosen was Christa McAuliffe, a social studies teacher from Concord and mother of two children.
In January 1986, Dobbins was watching as seven crew members launched in space shuttle Challenger.
"When I heard, 'we have liftoff,' I sighed a sigh of relief and thought, 'way to go, Christa! You are there!'" Dobbins said.
At that point, Dobbins turned the TV off.
"Within seconds, the phone rang," she said. "It was a friend. I said, 'isn't it great? The shuttle has gone!' She said, 'Carolyn, you don't know.' It was the tone. You don't know. I just put the phone down, flipped on the TV. There it was. Already the footage was going of the explosion. That is still such an emotional moment."
The tragedy of the shuttle explosion was felt across the country. Flags were lowered at the state capital, while resolutions were passed honoring the astronauts. Then-Governor Lamar Alexander announced a scholarship fund in honor of Christa McAuliffe.
"[She was] a teacher whose mission reached every classroom in America and into every family in this country," Alexander said in 1986.
It was then, NewsChannel 5's visit happened to Dobbins' classroom. What's striking is in this visit is Dobbins wanted to try the Teacher in Space Project again.
"It was my love of students," Dobbins said, remembering her perspective from 1986. "It was that same desire to inspire them. If I had the chance, would I be willing? Yes, I would be willing. [The students] reminded me often, 'you are not going into space. You are not going into space.'"
Dobbins taught for metro schools for 28 years and at Brentwood Academy for another 23 years. She said for a long time, students asked her about the experience. As the distance from the event grew, she was asked about it less. Dobbins is again sharing this moment in history, always a teacher.
"I have both gratitude for the life I've been allowed to live and also such deep respect for the families of those seven," she said.
The news surrounding student loan repayment has been ever-changing over the last few years. When it comes to your money, confusion is never a good thing. Thankfully, Robb Coles helps us sort out the path forward. Check out his story for some practical tips and insight behind the latest changes.
- Carrie Sharp
