Hall of Famer Osterloh offers wisdom

By Willis Patenaude, Times-Register

In a celebration befitting the times, Central’s Homecoming Hall of Famer, Michael Osterloh, delivered a message of faith, friends and family live via Zoom from Florida to the student body on Sept. 25, as part of the Homecoming festivities. Osterloh, a graduate of the Class of 1980, was chosen for his vast knowledge, experience and involvement with modern rocket technology and being at the forefront of space travel-related science.

From the moment of graduation, Osterloh has taken lessons learned from Central and applied them to every academic and career pursuit, which includes a four-year military career where he earned his “jump wings” (parachutist badge), was stationed in Panama and met his wife, Teresa. 

In 1986, two things happened that changed Osterloh’s life: the birth of his first daughter, Stephanie, and a career with Boeing that included upgrading missile silos and control centers for the Peacekeeper missile, which Osterloh described as “a deterrent during the final years of the Cold War.” This was the first stop in a long line of space-related jobs that has included work on the Titan IV, Delta II/III/IV and Falcon 9 rocket programs as well as the International Space Station Processing Facility. It was also during this time that his second daughter, Michelle, was born. 

Fast-forward to 2008, and Osterloh found himself working for a new startup rocket company, SpaceX (Space Exploration Technologies). At the time, he was the 323rd employee with the company founded by Elon Musk, who had the ambitious goal of going to Mars. Osterloh quickly progressed within the company, holding multiple positions from technician and lead technician to supervisor and lead pad engineer. He’s currently the pad lead, which is responsible for the day-to-day activities required to keep the pad operations moving forward safely and efficiently.

It’s important work, what SpaceX does, which will impact everyone’s daily lives. According to Osterloh, whose passion is unwavering, the satellites SpaceX has put into space will increase the communication capabilities of the world. The Starlink program will provide low cost internet access at low latency to communities that do not currently have that ability. 

“This should be a huge help for small communities and farmers and anyone who lives in the country,” he said. 

Most of all, SpaceX has “greatly reduced the cost of space flight” and is working on sending people to other planets to enhance knowledge of the cosmos. 

As the day grew closer, with the moment of recognition and the speech, Osterloh reflected on the tremendous honor of being this year’s Hall of Famer. The intervening years since 1981 have led to an increased reverence for the time he spent at Central. 

“It was such an honor to even be considered that I can’t put it into words…I have become very fond of my time spent at Central…and reflect back on those days and how they have had an impact throughout my life,” he said.

Perhaps the biggest impact from Central came from former history teacher Wayne Mager, who imparted “great lessons” that Osterloh has used throughout his life. The lessons of “be prepared, listen to what is being said and take good notes” have stayed with Osterloh over the last four decades, as have memories of those history classes. 

Of course, it wasn’t just education at Central that put Osterloh on the path to success, but also his faith, family and friends. “I owe it all to them,” he said. 

In praising Central, Osterloh also commended the town and community where he spent the latter half of his teenage years. Admittedly, he doesn’t return as often as desired, having last visited in 2015 for his 35-year class reunion. The visit brought back memories and attachments to the “small town life” he really misses. 

“The amount of stress in daily life is so much less when you have the small-town kindness and trust in the community. I had that growing up. I hope to regain that again when I retire,” he said. The message, simply stated, is be proud of where you came from because it represents who you are. 

That message flowed into Osterloh’s overall message to the students, which was to never give up and to learn from your mistakes. “As Elon Musk says, ‘failure is an option. If you are not failing, you are not innovating enough,’” he said. 

He continued, “the main objective is not the challenge, but rather how we face the challenge and if we learn from the challenge…experience, good or bad, is a wonderful thing. It is what you do with that experience that makes it one or the other.” 

Additionally, Osterloh advised Central students to value their education because, “without a quality education as a tool,” it becomes impossible to accomplish your goals. 

In closing, Osterloh offered a few more things for Central students to keep in the backs of their minds as they head toward graduation and life outside of high school: “First, you get out of anything in life what you put into it. Second, don’t be afraid of failure. Learn from it. Third, don’t forget to enjoy life while you are living it. Fourth, faith, friends and family will always be an important part of your life. And, finally, be thankful for the wonderful opportunity that you have by growing up with the community and education that you have been given.”