QHS Alumni Spotlight: John Baird & Beth (Baird) Buck ’85

By: Katie Rodemich ’02

The Baird family boasts a legacy of academic excellence in physics and astronomy, with John Baird dedicating nearly three decades to teaching at Quincy High School as a teacher. His daughter, Beth (Baird) Buck ’85, continued the tradition with a career in aerospace engineering, and the family’s passion for learning endures with Beth’s sons, who are currently innovating strategies for the future.

Beth: “Dad’s love of astronomy taught me that there’s so much more beyond here and his love of physics influenced me my entire life. He loves all things related to both. I’m told that when I was a baby, he would even sit me on his lap and read his physics plans to me. So maybe that rubbed off somewhere along the line too. “

John and Beth enjoyed a multifaceted relationship, cultivating mutual appreciation for their diverse experiences.

Beth: “I was the last class that attended QHS I as a freshman and then switched over to QHS II. I loved high school and there were so many things to do with the different clubs. I was in band, Beta Club and student council. I have a lot of great, great, great memories from those activities. I also had the pleasure of having him as my physics teacher, so that was really cool!”

John: “Not as cool as it was for me!”

QPS provided Beth with a comprehensive education that had far-reaching effects on her career and personal development.

Beth: “I felt like QPS did a really good job of offering all kinds of different opportunities. I had figured out I liked math and science. The fact that we were able to take advanced classes for math, science, physics, chemistry, and calculus gave me a great foundation to be able to step right into an engineering program. I think it was great to be in different clubs. Beta Club gave leadership opportunities which helped me, especially as a female, going into engineering where there were few females at the time. The leadership skills I developed helped with student activities in college, which all prepared me for the workforce because the job is never just about solving a mathematical problem. You’ve got to be able to influence people: the customers, the people who work for you, and the people above you.”

In 1986, John was presented with the opportunity to join the Space Challenger mission, but ultimately fate had other plans that John and his family were grateful for. On January 28, 1986, the Space Shuttle Challenger mission met with a devastating accident just 73 seconds after launch, resulting in the loss of all seven crew members aboard. The spacecraft disintegrated over the Atlantic Ocean at 46,000 feet off the coast of Cape Canaveral, Florida, at 11:39 a.m. The mission was significant not only for its tragic outcome, but also for its high-profile nature due to the inclusion of schoolteacher Christa McAuliffe as part of the Teacher in Space program.

The Teacher-in-Space program was an initiative by NASA to promote STEM education and inspire students. Ronald Reagan announced the program in 1984, which selected teachers as Payload Specialists to fly into space and share their experiences with students. The program received over 10,000 applications and John was chosen as one of the Illinois state finalists.

John: “You asked for memorable moments. My dumb way of saying it, ‘it’s the best thing I ever lost’. The superintendent came to my classroom to let me know that I had been selected. Beth was in my class at the time, and I called her up quietly and I told her. I also told her ‘You can’t say anything to anyone about that spot’.”

Beth: “That was really, really amazing, but obviously we were very sad he wasn’t selected until events unfolded as they did, and in that case, we felt very fortunate.”

John: “It really was the pinnacle of being able to coordinate with people from across the country that had an interest in coming up with student activities for science. NASA literally brought us out to Washington DC for about 5 days. Then, we had meetings at the Cape, and we had other meetings in New Orleans, and so on. It was just a wonderful experience. The sad thing is that we were all there for the week before the Challenger was supposed to be launched, but on Monday, they thought it was too cold to launch it. We had 102 people and some of them were able to extend their stay another day. However, many of us had to go back to our classrooms. Those that stayed felt sorry for us who came home. Those of us who came home felt sorry for them when they were there on Tuesday morning.”

Beth: “That was so very close. By that point, I think when he was going to the finals, they were calling him and doing all kinds of articles. By the time the actual launch happened, when we knew he wasn’t part of it, I was actually at college. I was having to hear about the explosion with people stopping me because they all knew that my dad was close to this and telling me what had happened. It was also really interesting in terms of my career, which I didn’t know at the time, that this shut down certain aspects of space travel for a while for NASA to figure out what happened. It also said we can’t rely on just one rocket in the future either. This event developed more aerospace jobs, in some ways for the future, which is probably one of the reasons I got a job right out of school.”

As an aerospace engineer, Beth was tasked with utilizing her knowledge and skills to drive innovation and progress in the field of robotic spacecraft.

Beth: “I worked primarily with robotic spacecraft. We were set in place because it was much easier to send a robot out to somewhere when it doesn’t have to be brought back as with humans. There is more room for equipment on a spacecraft when there are no humans because of the weight and fuel. My sons have been working on other programs that will take humans back to the moon. The goal is also to get humans to Mars and learn more about Mars, which is a planet that could be Earth’s future if we lose atmosphere. They are trying to make sure we will understand how not to have that happen here. I think exploring is so important and I’m anxiously waiting to see when we can do the new things that we haven’t done before. We’ve been to the moon but not the way that they’re planning to do it now. It’s all setting up more ways to refuel so that we can go further in the space with humans.”

Beth’s accomplished background in engineering and astronomy and physics, combined with her keen understanding of the intricacies involved, enables her to offer authoritative guidance to those pursuing a similar path.

Beth: “There are so many different types of engineering, but aerospace engineering led me. I chose aerospace engineering because I really wanted to do something with space and beyond Earth. There is a little bit of everything and there’s so many different systems involved. I’ve had a great opportunity to work with what I find fascinating and really cool projects. I have had the opportunity to study more of the solar system, how it formed, and how that influences the past as well as the future of Earth. I’ve sent spacecraft and controlled missions all over the solar system, from Jupiter to asteroids, and to Mars as well as things that were around Earth. You couldn’t ever tell me when I was in high school, that this is where my career would end up leading and to be able to have  the opportunity of being involved in the first US mission that went to an asteroid and actually got a sample of it or to land on the surface of Mars and that I would be in mission control working these missions. You never know what the future can lead to. So, keep challenging yourself because there’s so many more things out there. It’s a big world and getting the opportunity still fills me with awe and amazement of who I’ve been able to work with and what I have been able to see and hopefully, continue to inspire others to do to do even more and learn even more.”

John and Beth may have retired but they continue to flourish and actively contribute to shaping the next generation.

John: “What I’m very happy about is that we have started a local astronomy club in Quincy. We have grown from a small number of about 10 or 12 to where we have monthly meetings and now there are about 40 people involved.”

The Astronomy Club conducts its meetings at John Wood in collaboration with the Quincy Park District, which also offers summer classes for children aged 6-12 and 12-18. If interested, please attend the meetings held on the last Thursday of the month. There are no membership fees.

To join the Astronomy Club, please visit John Wood Community College | Quincy, IL – JWCC website or message the Facebook Group.

Beth: “What has been fun occasionally is that I try to do a lot of STEM things. Trying to inspire kids of all ages, especially young girls. The kids keep getting smarter because of all the things they are exposed to. I’ve had a lot of classmates and even some a few years younger than me that I have known and still reach out. Some of them are teachers and I’ve taught or talked to their classes.  Some up near Chicago or friends in Colorado have had me talk to their classes. So, there are those Quincy High connections that still have us influencing kids even if it’s not necessarily here at Quincy Public Schools.

“I volunteer with STEM activities in an organization in Colorado, called Girls Inc, that encourages girls to continue to stay involved with math and science. I think studies have shown that often after around the junior high time frame that somehow girls don’t stay as involved in some of the math and science. Possibly, it is because they have not seen women in the professions as role models which would make sense for them to stay. I think it’s important to have representation and see someone who looks like you and be encouraged to believe in themselves that they can do it too.”

Beth and John share similar perspectives on guidelines for current students.

Beth: “Continue to challenge yourself your whole life that nothing has to be final right now. I know that as a high school student, you feel like it’s the biggest decision of all trying to figure out what’s next, but nothing needs to be permanent. Do challenge and push yourself because you can do more than you’ll ever know you can do. Until my senior year of high school, I never even heard of aerospace engineering. It was only because I started to look at different things. You are responsible for your path in life. Take those opportunities, challenges and build upon them, and you’ll become the best you in that way.”

John: “I think it’s just another way of saying what she said. Don’t always choose the easiest path.”