Astronaut Inspires Students to Reach for the Stars

Santa Margarita Catholic High School was honored to welcome Colonel Nicole A. “Duke” Mann, NASA astronaut, Marine Corps fighter pilot and 2024 Military Times Marine of the Year, to campus. Over 700 students packed the Moiso Family Pavilion during lunch to hear her extraordinary story.

Colonel Mann shared her journey from playing soccer at the U.S. Naval Academy to earning a mechanical engineering degree, completing her master’s at Stanford and becoming a Navy fighter pilot who flew 47 combat missions in Iraq and Afghanistan. She completed astronaut training in 2015, later becoming the first female commander of a NASA Commercial Crew Program launch and, in 2023, the first Native American woman to walk in space.

Students listened as she described the years of training it takes to prepare for spaceflight, everything from learning to eat in zero gravity to adjusting to the vastness of outer space. She painted a vivid picture of daily life on the International Space Station, from floating while eating meals to witnessing 16 sunrises daily as the station orbits Earth every 90 minutes.

Her talk offered both practical insight and profound inspiration. Students could ask questions directly, gaining a firsthand perspective on living and working in space. Colonel Mann encouraged them to stay curious, work hard and remain open to unexpected opportunities.

The event reminded students that with determination and curiosity, anything truly is possible - even a journey to space.

Listen to Colonel Mann's inspiring talk: