The former astronaut finds herself on a different mission these days.

Dr. Bonnie Dunbar no longer orbits the Earth aboard a NASA Space Shuttle, but follows an important course today as community leader and mentor to deserving youth.

“The mission is so critical right now as we look at the future of our nation,” said Dunbar, a veteran of five space missions aboard four different shuttles. She returned to her native Washington three years ago to lead the Museum of Flight as president and CEO.

“It doesn’t matter if they are not all going to be scientists, engineers and astronauts,” she said. “What matters is we help shape them for the future and give them an inspiration, a goal, an opportunity and a chance at success.”

Dunbar expressed the importance of supporting youth as the keynote speaker at the Federal Way and Auburn Boys and Girls Club and EX3 Teen Center’s annual “Breakfast for Kids” fundraiser at Emerald Downs.

Brock Huard, former Seattle Seahawk and University of Washington quarterback, delivered a similar message as guest speaker.

More than 400 community members attended the April 8 event, raising a record $55,000. Proceeds will aid student scholarships as well as educational, cultural and sports programs that benefit more than 3,500 youth in South King County.

“Given the economic times, we were cautious about expectations. $55,000 is a testament to the commitment of the people of this region to the Boys and Girls Club mission,” said King County Council member Pete von Reichbauer, also a guest speaker at the breakfast.

For Dunbar, kids need considerable care and guidance to succeed in today’s challenging world. As a girl growing up in a large family on a cattle ranch in the rural community of Outlook, Wash., Dunbar received a strong foundation that launched a distinguished career.

“I learned very early on that it’s not what you have in terms of material wealth that makes a difference in your life,” Dunbar said. “It’s the people who help inspire you, who believe in you as you come forward.

“I had an experience that many of our youth I think today don’t have.”

From an early age, Dunbar had a dream to build spaceships and explore the stars. That dream eventually became a reality.

She went on earn bachelor’s and master’s degrees in ceramic engineering from the University of Washington and a doctorate in mechanical/biomedical engineering from the University of Houston.

She held research and engineering positions with The Boeing Co., Harwell Laboratories and Rockwell International until 1978, when she joined NASA as a flight controller. Two years later, in 1980, she was selected as a NASA mission specialist astronaut.

Dunbar has logged 1,208 hours — more than 50 days — in orbit aboard the space shuttles Atlantis, Challenger, Columbia and Endeavour.

For her, it all started with the support of a strong family and influential teachers. The most important thing throughout her entire career has been the investment that others have made in her, she said.

“I realized you had to start early. And it wasn’t just about the education, it was about the inspiration,” Dunbar said. “I didn’t have anything to lose and everything to gain by trying.”

Effort and playing in a “healthy sense of competition” were important to Huard, who went on to build a successful football career at Puyallup High School, the UW and in the NFL.

Huard competed long and hard as one of Mike Huard’s three boys. The father, who coached his sons at the high school, made sure they had a place to go and the chance to compete. He often left the keys to his gym in the house. Brock often was the first to grab them.

“Those keys were opportunity for Damon, Luke and I to go play,” Brock Huard said. “We didn’t have all the things in the world, but we had everything when we had those keys to the gym.”

Huard chose to follow in the footsteps of his older brother, Damon, and attended UW. After six seasons in the NFL, Huard has spent the last three years in local sports broadcasting.

Brock Huard once backed up Colts quarterback Peyton Manning at Indianapolis.

“I can’t run but I could outrun him,” he recalled. “And you know what? I didn’t really have the muscles, but I looked better than him.

“But the bottom line, none of that really matters,” he added. “That guy had a will to compete. He graduated from college (Tennessee) in just over three years. He had the will to be the best he could be.”

Huard, who works with youth through his summer football camps, urges kids to play and compete. One day they might be playing in the NFL, he said.

“Of the 32 starting quarterbacks last season, two were from Pierce County,” said Huard, alluding to Damon (with the Kansas City Chiefs) and Jon Kitna (Detroit Lions). “And Jon, who is a good friend, competed in Boys and Girls Clubs in Tacoma. That’s where he learned his trade.”

Mark Klaas is editor of the Auburn Reporter, a sister newspaper of The Mirror.E-mail comments to editor@fedwaymirror.com.