Christa McAuliffe Vice President George H. W. Bush announced that she had been selected for the position. Another teacher, Barbara Morgan, served as her backup. According to Mark Travis of the "Concord Monitor", it was her manner that set her apart from the other candidates. NASA official Alan Ladwig said "she had an infectious enthusiasm", and NASA psychiatrist Terrence McGuire told "New Woman" magazine that "she was the most broad-based, best-balanced person of the 10." Later that year, she and Morgan each took a year-long leave of absence from teaching in order to train for a space shuttle mission in early 1986.
Callan McAuliffe Callan McAuliffe Callan Ryan Claude McAuliffe (born 24 January 1995) is an Australian actor, known for his roles as Bryce Loski in "Flipped" and Sam Goode in "I Am Number Four". He appeared as young Jay Gatsby in the 2013 film "The Great Gatsby". As of 2017, he has appeared on "The Walking Dead" as Alden. Callan McAuliffe is a native of the Sydney suburb of Clontarf. He is the son of Claudia Keech, and author and journalist Roger McAuliffe. His cousin is actress Jacinta John. Two of his grandparents were Irish. McAuliffe attended Scots College, an all boys school