Boulder, CO, Aug. 20, 2024—Shining Mountain Waldorf School (SMWS) is thrilled to announce that one of its distinguished alumni, Sarah Gillis (formerly Sarah Levine), will soon embark on a historic journey to space. As a lead space operations engineer at SpaceX, Gillis is set to make history as part of the four person crew on the Polaris Dawn Mission, scheduled to launch from Kennedy Space Center(You can watch the launch streaming live on spacex.com).
UPDATE ON LAUNCH DATE: “We received an update on X today that the launch has been moved to Tuesday, Aug. 27 to allow ample time to complete all the needed preflight checks. The launch will still take place during the early morning hours, between 03:38am and ~06:30 am, a time range selected to minimize overall orbital debris and radiation risk.”
Sarah’s path from Shining Mountain Waldorf School to space is a testament to the power of a well-rounded education that values creativity as much as critical thinking. During her years at SMWS, Gillis trained as a classical violinist while she was immersed in the Waldorf curriculum, which emphasizes a holistic approach to learning by integrating arts, sciences, and humanities. This unique educational experience not only nurtured her intellectual curiosity but also fostered the creative problem-solving skills that would later propel her to the forefront of aerospace engineering.
Sarah Gillis (third from left) and her family, including Sue Levine (second from left), former School Director of Shining Mountain Waldorf School, at fighter jet training in Bozeman, MT.
Reflecting on her elementary and high school education, Gillis shared, “One of the really important things you get out of a Waldorf education is curiosity—curiosity to go and learn and explore what’s out there in the world. I fell into engineering and a path that I don’t think I would have anticipated, but having an arts background where you’re bringing creativity and imagination into problem-solving creates a really incredible synergy. Between the ability to learn and the curiosity to use imagination to solve problems, somehow, this is where it brought me.”
Sarah Gillis as a student at SMWS High School, with teacher David Blair, around 2010. Photo provided by Rick Levine.
Meg Gardner, Interim School Director at SMWS, expressed the school’s pride in Gillis’s achievements: “Sarah’s journey from our classrooms to the cosmos exemplifies the impact of a Waldorf education that nurtures both the arts and sciences. Her story inspires our current students to dream big and embrace their unique paths.”
In recognition of this significant achievement, Shining Mountain Waldorf School invites local media to explore Sarah Gillis’s remarkable journey and the unique educational environment that played a pivotal role in her development. Interviews with her former teachers, who nurtured her early passions, are available upon request.
UPDATE ON LAUNCH PREPARATIONS: Jared and Sarah will be doing the first commercial spacewalk during the mission. This has required the development of new suits (modeled here by Sarah) and specialized training, and Sarah and Anna put together this clip to share a back-stage view of their training experience.
The crew finished training last week, and added their mission patch and signatures to the side hatch. The crew arrived at the Kennedy Space Center today, and gave their first on-site press briefings today. Here’s a closeup of one of the jets…check out the stenciling!
There will be lots more coverage coming soon in many outlets…for a quick look today, here is a nice article about Sarah and Kidd, the two astronauts from Colorado in 5280 Magazine, and more information about what they will be doing on the mission from CNN.
Two current SMWS high school journalists interviewed astronaut Sarah last fall. Photo by Joshua Berman.
About Shining Mountain Waldorf School: Shining Mountain Waldorf School (SMWS) is an independent pre-K through grade 12 independent school located in North Boulder. SMWS is an accredited member of the Association of Waldorf Schools of North America and the Association of Colorado Independent Schools. Shining Mountain’s purpose is to unleash the capacities of young people to imagine and create a better world. Our mission is to cultivate intellectually curious students with a strong sense of self, compassion for others, and the tenacity to live to their fullest human potential. Admissions: https://shiningmountainwaldorf.org/admissions/
About Waldorf Education: Based on the education philosophy initiated by Rudolf Steiner in 1919, Waldorf education is a culturally rich, age-appropriate curriculum that educates the body, mind, and spirit of the child. Since the founding of the first school, Waldorf education has become a global independent school movement with more than 1,000 schools worldwide in over 60 countries.
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CONTACT:
Shining Mountain Waldorf School
Meg Gardner, Interim School Director, mgardner@smwaldorf.org
Christie Acton, Marketing Director, cacton@smwaldorf.org
999 Violet Avenue, Boulder, Colorado 80304
303-444-7697 shiningmountainwaldorf.org
