Everyoneās daydreamed of flying in space, but Will Kirby was raised to it. He credits his father, an industrial scientist with a PhD in chemistry, for his early inspiration.
āHe was consciously nurturing a scientist inside me,ā Mr. Kirby recalls. Even as a kid, he couldnāt fathom other children not sharing his passion.
āI loved Bill Nye. There were kids who didnāt love Bill Nye. I was very, very confused about it.ā
Before we get into the acceptance speech territory, an explanation is in order.
Mr. Kirby ā now finishing his undergraduate degree in biology at ×īŠĀŠÓ°ÉŌ““ ā recently became Halifamous. Heās a finalist in Metro News and Space Expedition Curacao (aka SXC) āRace for Spaceā contest, which gives one lucky winner a trip to the starsāand a guaranteed fifteen minutes of fame.
Mission to Mars
āWhy I want to be an astronaut has to do with what I think will be the next big scientific revolution,ā Mr. Kirby says, namely, a manned mission to Mars and a renewed interest in space exploration.
In keeping with his extraterrestrial aspirations, Mr. Kirby plans to pursue a PhD in astrobiology, the study of the conditions needed to create life on other planets.
āIām really hoping to accelerate myself to the top of the field, the best astrobiologist in the world, so when the manned mission to Mars comes along, theyāll ask me to go with them.ā
He pauses, grinning sheepishly. āItās a bit hopeful,ā he admits.
But at the end of the day, however, Will Kirbyās interest in visiting the stars isnāt so much a career goal as a lifelong dream come true.
āA lot of the astronauts say they go up for the first time and theyāre just dumbfounded by it,ā he notes. He doesnāt expect to react any differently. āYou get to see earth as so few people have. It must be magical.ā
Reaching for the stars
Mr. Kirby, who left his hometown of Acton, Ontario four years ago to attend ×īŠĀŠÓ°ÉŌ““, found out about the contest thanks to an 8:30 morning lecture.
Heād go in early and pick up a Metro to pass the time. When he discovered the āRace for Spaceā contest, he penned an impassioned spiel on the Raceās website and enlisted an army of friends and family to vote his name into the finals.
He received in impressive 80,000 votes online. āMy mom got all of her friends, and old women are excellent voters,ā he says.
Mr. Kirbyās competition included Picnicface comedian Cheryl Hann and Trailer Park Boysā actor Mike āBubblesā Smith (a Canadian finalist). When the space-dust settled, and the votes counted, he was still standing.
An end to the space race
The worldwide winner was announced by Metro on April 26, but unfortunately, Mr. Kirby wonāt devlier any grand speeches or Nobel-winning photo-essays.
The content winner is Justin Dowd, an American math and physics student from Boston.
āIām glad the guy who won deserved it,ā says Will. He's disappointed, but remains undaunted. āThis changes nothing. I still have these big plans and I will continue pursuing them to the best of my abilities.ā
Heās learned a lot from the experience and feels his notariety will also help him in his career. Also, his runner-up prize will give him cash to either some skydiving or flying lessons.
Not quite space, but itās a close second.