Perseverance
A Chapel Talk by Nora Sundar
Thank you , Dr . O ’ Halloran . Good Morning boys , good morning faculty . I am speaking to you from my kitchen table . I did not expect to be at home today , but my daughter ’ s classroom is closed because of a positive Covid case .
A good friend of mine , Kate , grew up in New Hampshire and along with her brothers and friends spent many summer days at their town pool . They made up a game called “ Jump or Dive .” When I met Kate , in college , she introduced me to the game . It goes like this : You stand at the far end of a better . Fewer flops . Even when our skin feels hot and stingy and our ribs ache . We . Get . Back . On . The . Board . PERSEVERANCE . Perseverance is the ability to keep doing something in spite of obstacles . People who persevere show steadfastness in doing something despite how hard it is or how long it takes to reach the goal .
In August 2019 , NASA launched an essay writing contest for students in grades K-12 to name the Mars Rover that would be part of the latest NASA mission . ( The mission
“ Yet I persevere . We all do . We show up . We do our best . And we try to get better .”
diving board and sprint toward the bouncing end , and leap off while your friends , who are on the pool deck , or treading water , shout either “ JUMP !” or “ DIVE !”
You have to listen , and contort in the air so that you either enter the pool feet first if they shout JUMP or hands / head first if they shout DIVE . In order to have a fighting chance , you must leap with your body parallel to the surface of the water in a way that splits the difference , sort of a half-jump , half-dive position . Nine times out of 10 , you can ’ t react in time , and you slap your entire body on the surface of the water in an epic belly flop . It hurts , your friends laugh , and now it ’ s your turn to shout “ Jump ” or “ Dive ” and watch your friend react .
Teaching and parenting for the last 12 months has been one long game of Jump or Dive . It ’ s hard to know what to prepare for , and no matter how you prep , there ’ s a curveball . And you fall flat on your face . And I am over it . I want to stop playing . I would like to either Jump OR Dive . I can do both . I can do both pretty well . A year ago I felt good about my jumping and my diving . But this belly flopping is getting really old .
Yet I persevere . We all do . We show up . We do our best . And we try to get
Nora Sundar at The Edge during the Grade Eight Adventures in New York week .
successfully landed a wheeled rover and an incredible helicopter drone on Mars , last month .) By now , you all know the name of the rover : PERSEVERANCE .
The name PERSEVERANCE and winning essay were penned by Virginia seventh grader , Alex Mather . Alex became deeply interested in Space after attending a Space Camp in the summer before Sixth Grade , and has been passionate about Space and Space exploration ever since . In his essay and in subsequent interviews , Alex emphasized that the name he chose describes the people behind the mission , and not merely the rover itself . Here is his essay :
“ Curiosity . Insight . Spirit . Opportunity . If you think about it , all of these names of past Mars rovers are qualities we possess as humans . We are always curious , and seek opportunity . We have the spirit and insight to explore the Moon , Mars , and beyond . But , if rovers are to be the qualities of us as a race , we missed the most important thing . Perseverance . We as humans evolved as creatures who could learn to adapt to any situation , no matter how harsh . We are a species of explorers , and we will meet many setbacks on the way to Mars . However , we can persevere . We , not as a nation but as humans , will not give up . Even
32 • Saint David ’ s Magazine