Melissa Yung, 12, left, and Stephanie Lawrence, 12, assist in an antennae demonstration with Nick Lance during a mini-course at Westbrook Intermediate School.

Nick Lance arrived in Clear Lake just before the first manned Apollo mission and went on to spend 40 years with NASA before retiring last August.

But when he wasn’t doing his day job as a project manager in advanced life support technology, Lance, 59, was pursuing his avocation as a ham radio instructor.

“Most people probably don’t know that quite a few famous people are hams, including Walter Cronkite, Joe Walsh of the Eagles, and even some heads of state. Ham radio is probably one of the only ways one could talk with these people,” said Lance, whose call number is KC5KBO.

Besides using his radio license for supporting charity events and emergency service training, Lance has used ham radio to talk to, and instruct, about 80 astronauts over the years.

“I’ve also met some of the nicest people in ham radio,” he said.

Fifteen years ago, Lance and his daughter, Erica, who was 8 years old, saw a sign on the door of a local Radio Shack offering free ham radio license classes. Lance said it reminded him of his attempt to get his radio license with his own father as a youngster.

“I have fond memories of the two of us studying for the exam and practicing Morse code in our basement,” he said.

But Lance was busy with sports and other activities. He and his father never completed their studies.

“When my dad passed away in 1975, I felt bad about not having earned the license with him,” Lance said. “So when I saw the ham radio classes advertised, I asked Erica if she wanted to get a license.”

She did.

Together they took, and passed, their tests in 1994. Son Nicky followed two years later at age 7, making the Lance children two of the youngest people to get ham operator’s licenses. His wife, Renee, passed her test a year later.

Teaching his kids, Lance discovered he enjoyed the role of instructor. So when a friend asked for help in 1996, Lance developed an accelerated class.

“An astronaut friend told me, ‘If you can teach your 7-year-old son, you can teach us’,” he said.

Then, nine years ago, Lance was approached by Clear Creek Independent School District administrators who asked him to teach the amateur radio license class in their gifted and talented program. Lance agreed.

He now teaches mini-courses at Westbrook Intermediate School in Friendswood.

This semester, his class of 22 students meet three days a week, spending 90 minutes learning about FCC rules, antennas, auto patching and other hands-on lessons.

The sixth, seventh and eighth graders must learn a total of 391 facts and be tested on 35 of them to receive their technician class licenses. During one recent class, the students used hand-held radios and key pads to patch into phone lines.

Two students successfully completed a call home.

Corinne Lane, 13, said the class interested her because it gave her a chance
to learn about radios and technology.

“I enjoy it because I love to communicate with people around the world,” added 12-year-old Karan Kathuria.

Classmate Ashton Duke didn’t need to reach as far afield to see the benefits of the class.

“My grandfather has his radio license and this is a good way to get closer to him,” the 13-year-old said.