Student profile: Linda Nyakundi taking first steps towards becoming an astronaut

Linda Nyakundi, sophomore, has already taken off in her passion for being an astronaut.

Nyakundi has the dream of becoming an astronaut ever since she was a child. Her aunt had a huge influence on goal on becoming an astronaut, as she worked at the Kennedy Space Center located on Merritt Island, Florida. The site is very well known in the U.S and continues to be NASA’s primary launch center for human spaceflight.

Kennedy Space Center has been apart of ground breaking history ever since the bold effort to get the first man on the moon was achieved in 1969 when Neil Armstrong and his two Apollo 11 crewmates touched foot on the moon. Nyakundi also hopes to be a part of something just as big when she follows her dream in some day working at the historic site.

“I hopefully want to make history in some way shape or form, I definitely also want to do some spacewalking but the ultimate goal is going to Mars,” said Nyakundi.

Nyakundi is ambitious and is already preparing for her future goals as she continues to keep up with NASA projects and on track with new updates as far as what is going on down at the space center.

“My aunt working at the Kennedy Space Center is really cool because she gets to work with astronauts and aerospace engineers and I get to hear about all the cool things she experiences,” said Nyakundi.

Some of Nyakundi’s favorite memories are hearing all the fascinating stories her aunt has to tell. Nyakundi wants to be an astronaut for many reasons but having an exciting, history making job definitely tops it off.

Nyakundi will continue to make new goals as she furthers her journey in following in her aunt’s footsteps and hopefully someday make history.