Auburn teen arranges to have 4-H flag on space shuttle

A four-leaf clover is synonymous with good luck to most people, but for one Alabama 4-H’er, it’s been diligent preparation and planning, not luck, that have made Saturday a reality.
Azeem Ahmed, 17, a 4-H member for more than seven years, has arranged for the organization’s flag bearing its distinctive four-leaf clover trademark to be onboard the Space Shuttle Endeavour, which was scheduled to lift off Saturday (June 13) morning.
Ahmed got the idea while serving as youth representative at a recent national 4-H conference.
With origins that date back to the turn of the 20th century, 4-H has focused on practical, hands-on projects aimed at connecting public school education with rural life. Alabama 4-H is celebrating centennial this year.
“4-H obviously has an extensive ag-heritage background, but as we move into an advanced interconnected world, technology, citizenship and communication have become key skills,” Ahmed said. “It is my hope that by sending this flag up with this space mission, it will draw attention to the many accomplishments other 4-H’ers have achieved.”
Ahmed met NASA astronaut Stephen Robinson, a colleague of his father, Anwar, who is an aerospace engineering faculty member at Auburn University.
Both the elder Ahmed and Robinson, who was instrumental in coordinating efforts to get the 4-H flag aboard the shuttle, worked together at NASA’s Langley Research Center.
The 16-day STS-127 mission will deliver components of the Japan Exploration Agency’s (JAXA) Kibo laboratory to the International Space Station.
“After the 4-H flag returns from its trip to outer space, arrangements are being made for it to be displayed at the national 4-H headquarters in Washington, D.C.,” said Janet L. McCoy, Alabama 4-H program coordinator.
“Azeem hopes that the 4-H flag that’s a part of this space mission will later be sent to states to show other 4-H’ers across the country that if you have the desire and drive to do something, you can make anything happen.”