“‘I must credit USD 259 and my incredible K-12 teachers in Wichita, Kansas,’ he said.

“Barber said working for NASA’s Jet Propulsion Lab is his dream job he’s held for more than 30 years.

“’I’ve always said hard work trumps intelligence and opportunity every time,’ he said. ‘If you just put the work in, you end up with jobs like this that feel like passion projects.

‘”Barber hopes missions to Mars inspire others to work hard to reach their dreams.

Watch the news clip from KWCH12: “https://www.kwch.com/…/wichita-southeast-hs-grad…/

Originally posted to Facebook 2/22/2021.