Dean welcomes Commander John B. Herrington (Chickasaw Nation), former NASA astronaut to campus
Introduction
Dean Crespo introduced Commander John B. Herrington (Chickasaw), a former NASA astronaut, who presented the keynote address at the UIC Native American Support Program Fall Lecture Series on November 2 in a co-sponsored event between the UIC Native American Support Program (NASP) and AHS. Dr. Herrington shared his inspirational journey from his undergraduate years through his time serving as a U.S. Naval Aviator, engineer, and NASA astronaut. Dr. Herrington was the first enrolled citizen of a Native American tribe to fly in space and perform a spacewalk. Following his time at NASA, Dr. Herrington earned a PhD in education and has since pursued a number of opportunities to inspire youth and promote education in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM), such as publishing a children's book, Mission to Space. He also embarked on a 4,200-mile bike ride across America - "Rock Trek" visiting schools and Indian reservations while posting daily math and science problem-solving challenges on his blog. Most recently, he completed a documentary exploring America's remote and natural landscapes called Into America's Wild.