Col. Chris Hadfield has been doing his duty as a Canadian, to put Canada on the world radar, for many years now. Chris is one of those guys who is cool without trying, who you feel like you know even though you’ve never met them, who’s lectures everyone at Waterloo should be able to go to… no, is that just me? Well, even without ever having met him, I still feel like we could be best friends and I know I’m not alone in this sentiment, I mean he made a music video in outer space!
It’s undeniable that Chris Hadfield is a really great character, not to mention, he pretty much sums up “Canadian” in one guy. He grew up on a corn farm in southern Ontario, joined the Royal Canadian Air Force, studied here at Waterloo post-grad, became an astronaut for the CSA, made a video with his brother about living in Canada at their cottage up north, and he’s a really nice guy from everything I’ve heard (and I never hear wrong).
At last, Chris Hadfield has been awarded the Order of Canada in recognition of all his work to make Canada look really cool to the rest of the world – also for promoting an interest in aviation, space exploration, and scientific inquiry if you want to get technical. To those of you unfamiliar with this particular award, it’s something like the Order of Merlin, but it’s even better because it’s for Canadians, not just wizards. The Order of Canada was created in 1967 to recognize individuals for their “outstanding achievement and dedication to the community and Canada”, and Hadfield certainly has had some outstanding achievements; spoiler alert if you haven’t read his book, but he won U.S. Navy Test Pilot of the Year once, because he’s that good.
The investment ceremony took place just over a week ago and Hadfield, along with 45 others, was given a snazzy medal by our Governor General. Congratulations Chris Hadfield, keep shooting past the stars!
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