Santa Monica students get opportunity to speak with astronaut and alum from space

SANTA MONICA, Calif. (KABC) -- It was an out-of-this-world thrill for students in the Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District as they were able to speak with Dr. Jonathan Kim, an astronaut and Santa Monica High School alum -- while he is at the International Space Station.

Dr. Kim did not have a traditional pathway to space. He first became a medical doctor and then a Navy SEAL, serving more than 100 combat missions. He's also the first Korean-American astronaut to journey to space.

"It really gives them a sense of belonging... It's a, 'Hey if he was here and he did'... You see a pathway, and then it's a sense of inspiration of, 'I can do that too,'" said Marae Cruce, the principal at Santa Monica High School.

"Seeing someone that has been on the same path as us is very inspiring," said 7th grader Sophie Johnson.

Dr. Kim answered dozens of student questions live from space.

"I felt like he was very articulate in his response and just the fact that I was speaking to an astronaut, and especially someone who had come to this school, and when he mentioned like, you know, how his experience, like, running on the Greek Theatre, and those are things that I've done before, and it felt really personal," said 10th grader Nam Do.

The event was meant to empower the students to dream big and fuel their curiosity in science, technology, engineering, and math.

"What Dr. Kim said creates an avenue for kids to understand that you don't have to have everything planned out... that if you start to say 'yes' to opportunities that are presented to you, that the opportunity beyond that is limitless," said Dr. Antonio Shelton, the superintendent for Santa Monica-Malibu USD.