Mostly Cloudy / 55° F
Story has message for all [UPDATED]
Published 9:37am Thursday, August 16, 2012 Updated 11:38am Thursday, August 16, 2012The significance of the story on Heidi (Kennedy) Manning’s work with the NASA space rover is three-fold, actually. The first important point is that an interest in the sciences can lead to important work that could impact humanity’s future, and it just sounds like a pretty cool job.
Manning received her education in Fergus Falls, graduating in 1986. Her interest was in science and she has gone on to do great things that will have far-reaching ramifications.
Secondly, the story reflects the importance of teachers and their influence on students. Manning’s physics teacher, Loren Woolson, taught students some complex concepts, which touched at least one student — Manning.
While she is a shining example of Woolson’s instruction, hundreds of kids across all academic disciplines have been excited by their teachers. And make no mistake, Fergus Falls has an abundance of enthusiastic, caring and competent people leading students to learn. Our hats are off to them all.
The final point of importance regarding Manning’s story is that one doesn’t have to be from a metropolis to do great things. Small towns also have smart kids, with talent and ambition, and Manning’s story should serve as an inspiration to those students that they can achieve their dreams, no matter how “out there” those dreams may be.
