Penn State’s Student Programming Association (SPA) will be be hosting NASA astronaut Colonel Eileen Collins for a Zoom Webinar at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, April 21, the organization announced on Monday.

Col. Collins is best known for being the first female pilot and first female commander of a Space Shuttle, piloting the Discovery shuttle in 1995 and commanding the Columbia shuttle in 1999. Collins’ career also included time as a decorated U.S. Air Force colonel, and an impressive 872 hours in space before she retired in 2006.

Her lecture will focus on her journey as a NASA pioneer, and the various issues she faced along the way. She will also talk about the importance of teamwork and leadership, using her unique perspective to share her success story. The Colonel will also explain her thoughts on the future advancement of space exploration.

The lecture, which is co-sponsored by Penn State World Campus, will be delivered via Zoom Webinar. SPA is working with WPSU to set the virtual lecture up, and they ask that all interested students fill out this form. All students who fill the form out will receive an email with the link shortly before the lecture begins.

Thanks to your student-initiated fee, the lecture is free of charge to all Penn State students.