Over the past two weeks, I have mainly been focusing on writing an article about RADM McCandless' son, CAPT Bruce McCandless III, for the Severn Anchor. Given his status as an astronaut, the Severn archives had a lot of information on his life and experiences which proved invaluable in writing the article. I especially enjoyed reading a passage by Roland Teel describing McCandless' work on the Manned Maneuvering Unit (MMU). It is my hope that this article introduces my classmates to the life of one of Severn's most notable alumni, in keeping with the goals of the project. I am attaching a link to the article here: https://www.severnanchor.com/2022/01/severn-school-grad-launches-original-space-telescope/ I haven't been able to do much modelling besides some small detail work, but I came across an exciting find while going for a walk in downtown Annapolis: McCandless' photograph in the 1932 edition of "Lucky Bag," the Naval Academy's annual yearbook. Hearing McCandless described by his friends and classmates, rather than professional historians and authors, offered a fascinating lens into his life. I found a lot of common ground with his love of naval history and strategy, and I enjoyed the humor in his classmates' lighthearted mocking of his rolling walk and nicknames of "Bunge" and "Mickey." Given my interest in modelling, I loved reading that McCandless also enjoyed building model ships and studying the tools of celestial navigation (once a highly important skill set for officers to learn, celestial navigation was abandoned in the 1990s after computers became sophisticated enough to render it unnecessary, but the discipline has returned given the increasing likelihood of cyber attacks forcing officers to rely on the stars to find their way). Given the rarity of 1930s-era Lucky Bags, this find was a special treat, and I'm thankful to continue McCandless' love of history and modelling 90 years later. McCandless' son becomes the first person to make an untethered spacewalk.
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Mary Ellen Carsley
1/20/2022 09:59:54 am
So far so good, Alex! I am looking forwarded to seeing your Mid-Term Review presentation. That presentation should include the following: a summary of your accomplishments to date (summer/fall/winter), an explain of how your project has changed and why (how have you had to pivot?), your plan going forward into the Spring, and what you now hope to achieve as your final goal.
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Alex BreniaMy name is Alex Brenia, and I am a senior at Severn School. I am passionate about military history and service to veterans, as I come from a military family. I see this project as a unique opportunity to combine both of these interests, within the scope of the Severn community as a whole. Archives
September 2021
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