To the Stars & Back

In 1964, Major General Charlie Bolden was a black high school senior living in a starkly segregated South Carolina. When he applied to the Naval Academy, Senator Strom Thurmond and the other white legislators told him there was no way they could nominate a black. Bolden found another way, through then Vice President Lyndon Johnson. He would go on to graduate from the Academy, become a decorated Marine Corps pilot, an astronaut, and in 2009, NASA Administrator.  In this 20018 Distinguished Graduate profile for the Naval Academy alumni magazine, Shipmate, I hoped to convey Bolden’s wonderful spirit that helped him break barriers in everything he did.