Training to Begin for Local Teacher Turned Astronaut Dominican Republic RPCV Joe Acaba
Training to Begin for Local Teacher Turned Astronaut
5/27/2004
By Mike Price, Marion County Bureau Reporter
"That's always been my dream," says Dunnellon Middle School teacher Joe Acaba. "To go up in space."
And earlier this month, NASA made it official -- they'll train Acaba to fulfill his dream as a member of their 2004 astronaut class. It's the next logical step in the life of a thrill-seeker -- who for four years -- has used his extreme hobbies to connect with local kids while teaching science. A school video featuring their new celebrity shows him bungee jumping and even letting a martial artist chop a potato in half while on his stomach with a samurai sword.
"I'm not as adventurous as the video made me out to be," Acaba says. "The samurai sword was for the kids -- a motivational speaker that came out . . . I just like doing things outdoors."
Nearly a year after applying to NASA, Acaba got his acceptance call in the middle of a school day -- and as you can imagine -- struggled to make it through the day calm. Now, with the attention surrounding a future astronaut and the stress of moving in just days, he says his life has turned upside down.
"I've been signing a lot of autographs lately, my name appears to be worth something to them (his students)."
Acaba will head to Houston next month and split the next four or five years between Texas and Pensacola training underwater and on planes for his mission.
"I'm ready for the challenge, but I'm a little nervous. You don't know what they're going to throw out at you."
Acaba says the move from Dunnellon will most likely be permanent, but wherever he lives after blasting off he knows what his true profession is.
"I definitely want to come back to the classroom," he says. "And I've asked my students to send me their high school and college graduation announcements because you take personal interest in them and I want to stay part of their lives."
Mike Price can be reached at mprice@wcjb.com.
