A record-breaking NASA astronaut is taking the stage at the University of Maryland’s commencement ceremony Thursday evening, and her message to graduates is rooted in years of waiting.
Jeanette Epps, who spent a record 235 days in space in 2024, is the commencement speaker at Thursday’s graduation ceremony. The mission put her in the record books, but getting there took far longer than she expected.
鈥淚 waited 15 years to fly to space despite knowing, looking at all the things that I had done 鈥� successfully is the keyword there 鈥� and trying to figure out, well, why am I not flying? Patience is a key ingredient in that, and knowing when to be very proactive in a situation and not pointing fingers or anything like that at people,” Epps said. “None of that would have helped my situation.”
She’ll pass on lessons learned from her journey to the Class of 2026, speaking to them about the importance of patience and how to deal with setbacks.
鈥淚f it is linear, great. The chances are it won’t be linear,鈥� Epps said. 鈥淭hat’s OK. Sometimes when you go off schedule, off plan, you end up in a better place. And I happen to think that I ended up in a much better place, having gone through some of the things I did.鈥�
Epps was replaced from space missions twice before finally getting chosen to go into orbit, and talking about her setbacks has not only helped those in her audience, it’s helped with her own confidence in her qualifications and abilities.
When she did finally fly to space, she thought the long wait wouldn’t be worth it. She turned out to be wrong.
鈥淚 had a wonderful time in space. So, I could say that, for me, despite everything that happened, I’m a better person for it,鈥� Epps said.
鈥淚’ve seen solar eclipse from space. I’ve seen 16 sunrises and sunsets every day, looking out the window and seeing new things on the surface of our planet,鈥� she said. 鈥淒oing the work in space was sometimes difficult, sometimes it was super easy.鈥�
Those challenges also taught her the importance of teamwork. She credited her team members with helping her get to space and succeeding on the mission.
鈥淵ou don’t launch alone. You can’t go through life alone,鈥� Epps said.
When Maryland students graduate, they鈥檒l receive a special patch, similar to what astronauts get when they go to space. It has a graduation cap and rocket with a star for each college in the university. There鈥檚 also a terrapin shell that looks like a bright star.
Epps said she’s hopeful students will leave with the same optimism she has about the future, and that space exploration can help with that.
鈥淟ook at what happened when the Artemis II mission occurred,鈥� Epps said. 鈥淔or 10 days 鈥� instead of hearing about wars and rumors of wars and things like that, we were looking at something that was bringing the world together.”
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