Students from Florida Catholic school help honor Columbia astronauts

Published: 2003-11-18

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (CNS) -- Almost nine months after the tragedy of the shuttle Columbia, 13-year-old Drew Urbanek was able to personally console a loved one of a lost astronaut. The teen, president of the Young Astronaut Club at Divine Mercy School in Merritt Island, escorted Evelyn Husband, the widow of shuttle commander Rick Husband, during a private ceremony Oct. 27. More than 300 family, friends and colleagues, including 20 students from Urbanek's school, gathered at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex for the hourlong outdoor ceremony in which the seven Columbia astronauts became permanently memorialized on the National Space Mirror Memorial. "It was an honor to be here and I felt privileged to be part of such an event," Drew told The Florida Catholic, newspaper of the Orlando Diocese. "The families said they felt our being here helped a lot."

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