Leland Melvin, "Chasing Space"

After an outstanding career as a wide receiver in college, Melvin was set to continue playing football with the Detroit Lions, but injuries cut his dreams short. So he went back to school, earned an MS in engineering, and prepared to become an astronaut. Though he suffered another injury during training, he didn’t give up, and ultimately served as a mission specialist on two flights of the Space Shuttle Atlantis. Later he was named the NASA Associate Administrator for Education and developed the nation’s five-year STEM education plan. Melvin recounts his life as a series of opportunities and fortuitous meetings with generous and dedicated mentors, demonstrating the spirit that made him an ICON MANN, chosen, along with Quincy Jones, Forest Whitaker, and others, as someone who has inspired people of all ages through his vision and commitment to making a positive change in the world.

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Produced by Tom Warren