Jonesboro, AR – JonesboroRightNow.com – A former NASA astronaut was in Jonesboro Thursday evening to speak about her experiences and answer questions from the audience.

Commander Susan Kilrain, a retired NASA astronaut and Navy test pilot, spoke at the Valley View Fine Arts Center. She is one of only three women to have piloted the Space Shuttle and has flown more than 3,000 flight hours in 30 different aircraft types.

Kilrain had already been in Jonesboro for a couple of days before speaking, working with Valley View Gifted and Talented (GT) students as part of their Space Camp, providing interactive lectures and mentoring. She came to Jonesboro through STEMaiverse, a nonprofit dedicated to bringing STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) education to students in rural areas.

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During her hour-long lecture, Kilrain told those in attendance how she came from a low-income, rural home and how, with the help of one of her teachers, she came to understand math. She later spoke about earning her private pilot license before deciding to become an astronaut.

“It was one night lying out in the grass in the summer, looking up at the stars and the lightning bugs were twinkling around, and I thought ‘I want to fly up there in space.’ That was it,” Kilrain said.

To get the required flight hours to be an astronaut and spend more time flying, she became a U.S. Navy test pilot. She later applied to the astronaut program and received a phone call from NASA in 1994 for an interview, which was a week-long and involved several physical and mental tests.

“They were interviewing three women pilots that summer, one from the Air Force and two from the Navy, but I was by far the youngest and most junior, so I figured I didn’t stand a chance, and I would have to apply again after I got rejected,” she said. “But as it turned out, I got a phone call Dec. 7, 1994, and he said, ‘How would you like to pilot the Space Shuttle?”

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She later spoke about her experiences in space and landing the Space Shuttle, the scientific work conducted in space, and the work NASA is doing now for future space missions.

Kilrain left the audience with three things to keep in mind if they want to become astronauts: do well in school and major in a STEM field, stay in shape, and have strong teamwork skills. She also told students they could be anything they wanted to be.

“I marched into the kitchen, told my dad ‘I want to be an astronaut when I grow up.’ Thought he was gonna say ‘There are no girl astronauts’ because there weren’t any. I thought he was gonna say ‘You’re not smart enough,’ or any other things,” she said.

“But he looked at me and said, ‘You can be anything you want to be,'” Kilrain continued. “And kids, if you haven’t heard that from your parents, I’m telling you, you can be anything you want to be, OK? I think every kid should hear those words from somebody they trust.”

Jonesboro Mayor Harold Copenhaver spoke before Kilrain came on stage, thanking her for speaking with Jonesboro citizens and awarding her with a city medallion in “appreciation of her contributions to education, leadership, and inspiring future generations.”

“When young people have the opportunity to meet and learn from individuals who achieve extraordinary things, they can see new possibilities in their futures,” he said.

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