Leland Melvin has a unique understanding of facing difficult challenges and persevering. He played wide receiver on the University of Virginia football team, and rose to team captain his senior year. In 1986, he was drafted in the 11th round to play for the Detroit Lions. Unfortunately, a hamstring injury in training camp knocked him out before his first season even began. Given another chance with the Dallas Cowboys, a second hamstring injury kept him off the field permanently. Melvin hung up his cleats and returned to school to earn a master’s degree in materials science engineering. Though space travel was never his life’s ambition, he took a job at NASA’s Langley Research Center and was chosen by the astronaut program a decade later. Although another injury during an underwater training exercise threatened to sideline him again, he overcame this final hurdle and served as a mission specialist on two successful shuttle missions. Melvin later served as the NASA Associate Administrator for Education, and he continues to devote his time and energy to educating the next generation of scientists through various STEM programs.

Nicole Stott is a veteran astronaut with two spaceflights and 104 days living and working in space on both the Space Shuttle and the International Space Station (ISS). Always an artist, Nicole brought a small watercolor kit with her on her mission to the ISS, becoming the first NASA astronaut to paint in space. After 28 years with NASA, she has begun her next adventure as a full-time Artist and SciArt Education Advocate. She is also actively working to inspire student, educator, and general public interest in S.T.E.A.M. (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Math) that comes wonderfully through the integration of Art and Science.