Meet the 2021 Springfield Public Schools Hall of Fame Inductees

Lynn McGrew

Did you know Springfield is connected to Mars? NASA Aerospace Engineer–Flight Mechanics Lynn McGrew may have gotten her start developing a love of learning in Springfield Public Schools’ WINGS gifted education program, but today she is helping land research rover missions to the red planet.

In fact, McGrew has worked on five Mars landing missions. After graduating high school, she earned a bachelor’s degree in aeronautical and astronomical engineering from the University of Illinois–Champaign and a masters degree in aerospace engineering from University of Michigan–Ann Arbor. In 2002, she started working at the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Pasadena, California, and quickly got involved in the Mars exploration missions, including the Spirit and Opportunity twin rovers that landed on Mars in 2004. Then she also worked on the Phoenix rover that launched in 2007 and arrived in 2008.

After a move to the JPL location in Houston, Texas (where she currently resides), McGrew started working with the Curiosity rover that landed on Mars in 2012. Today and for the past eight years, she’s been focused on the newest rover: Perseverance. It landed in February 2021, and its purpose is to collect samples from Mars, searching for signs of past or present life on the planet.

When she isn’t exploring the cosmos for NASA, McGrew enjoys running and cycling. She says her biggest personal accomplishment was qualifying for the Boston Marathon in 2019. Now she has set her sights on completing an athletic event in each of the 50 states. As of right now she has completed 28 states.

Next up is the Mars Sample Return Mission to gather and study the samples Perseverance collects. This mission is scheduled to launch in 2028 and samples will be brought back to Earth in 2031.

McGrew says that she was honored to be nominated for this award, and it allowed her to reflect on her time in Springfield. During her time at Springfield Public Schools, she especially valued her time in the district’s WINGS program. This helped further expose her to new subject matter that augmented her experience in school and helped shape her future. A teacher in the district who had a big impact on her was David Johnston, who taught AP Chemistry.

Brandy Harris

Brandy Harris is well-known around Springfield for the work she's done as Chief Executive Office of Boys and Girls Clubs of Springfield, especially in the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic. She was even named Captain Springfield in 2020. But Harris wasn’t always a Springfieldian. She lived all over the country before landing here in 1999.

She says Springfield is the first place she has been able to call home—and she credits that to Springfield Public Schools. After having to grow up at a young age, she finally felt noticed and was able to be a kid. At Hillcrest High School, Harris took part in speech and debate, was recognized as a leader and nominated for homecoming queen. She said many of her teachers had a meaningful impact, but it was her speech and debate coach Chad Bruton who allowed her to be authentically herself.

Harris, a first-generation college student, received her bachelor’s degree at Drury University and was a part of their speech and debate team there as well. She earned her master’s degree at Missouri State University before coming full circle and returning to Hillcrest to serve as speech and debate coach for three years.

Wanting to become an advocate for the youth and kids, Harris eventually landed a job at the Boys and Girls Club in Lawrence, Kansas. She knew she wanted to pour herself back into the community that gave so much to her and eventually moved back to work for Boys and Girls Clubs of Springfield. It was a space where adults could be passionate about kids and help change the trajectory of their lives. She has since worked her way up to becoming the first female Chief Executive Officer. During her time there she has helped open eight locations, hired more than 150 staff members, and served 1,500 club members and 8,000 youth in the community.

Harris is now working toward opening three more locations within the SPS system to work toward removing the barrier of transportation for kids who need services. The goal within three years is to have a teen center for kids ages 13 to 18 and eliminate the cost. Harris hopes to be able to incorporate a possible medical clinic, mental health services, a state-of-the-art kitchen and basketball courts as the organization grows.