JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – He's an astronaut, a retired U.S. Navy captain and one of the country's most experienced pilots. His twin brother is currently spending a year aboard the International Space Station.
But many know Mark Kelly from the attention he gained after the assassination attempt on his wife, former Arizona congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords.
Saturday, he stopped in Jacksonville at Brooks Rehabilitation for its Celebrate Independence event.
Alexander Sessions, 14, had been waiting for the event since he heard Kelly would be coming to Jacksonville.
"I looked right at my mother and I said, 'We're going,'" Sessions said.
Working with the Challenger Learning Center for Space Science Education at Kirby Smith Middle School, Sessions knew all about Kelly's latest project: working with his brother, Scott, to help NASA study the effect of time in space on the human body.
"What inspires me is not only that he has a twin brother, he's part of a great experiment for science that will last a year on I.S.S. and on earth," Sessions said.
While many consider Kelly an American hero, he shared stories of his humble upbringing and journey to become a Navy aviator and astronaut, a journey he said he never expected.
"(It) looked to me to be a lot of fun to fly on and off an aircraft carrier, and it was. Being a pilot in the Navy is actually good preparation for being somewhat competitive in becoming an astronaut," Kelly said.
Kelly not only talked about lessons he learned in the military and as an astronaut, but also what he learned from his wife's life-changing experience.
"When I met my wife, Gabby, for the first time on a trip to China about 10, 11, 12 years ago, something like that, she was your classic overachiever," Kelly said.
Kelly shared personal stories about the biggest challenges in the days and months after the January 2011 assassination attempt on his wife.
"When something like that happens to a person, it's a drastic change. She left her career as a member of Congress," Kelly said.
He said after months in the hospital, she spent a year in a place like Brooks Rehabilitation, which meant everything to them. His wife is still recovering from brain damage suffered when she was shot in the head in January 2011, but she is doing well.
"She works incredibly hard as she continues to improve, and it's a testament (that) not giving up and working hard lead to improvement," Kelly said.
And as she improves, their story inspires others.