Kids are often told to “shoot for the stars," and that’s exactly what one Syracuse native spent her life doing. Eventually, she made it to space.
NASA astronaut Jeanette Epps recently got back from a seven-month stay at the International Space Station. Now, she’s bringing her inspirational story to the classrooms where she grew up.
“All these are city lights, those are people,” said Epps, while showing off the view from beyond Earth. “Those are people living in different places.”
Epps spent 235 days in space — an experience that was truly out of this world.
“Seeing the earth from this vantage point, for me, it was life changing,” Epps said.
Epps was a student at Corcoran High School in Syracuse in the 1980s, and now, she’s back at her alma mater to share what she’s learned from her life changing journey — and maybe change a few lives in the process too.
“Well, I was one of them,” said Epps. “So if one of theirs can do it, they can do it too.”
Her main lesson: dream big.
“This whole notion of dreaming big, it’s a real thing,” Epps explained. “You know students don’t have an idea of the impact of just having a lofty goal and trying to achieve that, they’ll go so much further.”
It’s never too late to start working towards those dreams. Epps says she wasn’t a star student when she was at Corcoran, but that didn’t stop her from pursuing her PhD and ultimately becoming an astronaut.
“I was not like the genius in class and everyone knew that I was going to do this, that’s not the case at all,” said Epps. “I did a lot of work consistently over time.”
It is hard work. Epps put in 11 and a half years of school after Corcoran and thousands of hours of training after that. Whether you want to reach new heights as an astronaut or go deeper than ever before as a deep sea diver, Epps says, it’s tenacity, dedication and persistence that’s key to making your dreams come true.
“It was amazing to live out our dream and to finally make it to space,” said Epps.
But the work doesn’t stop there. Epps says that while she was looking back at her home planet from the Space Station, she knew she wanted to come back to help make it a better place — and maybe inspire a little greatness in our next generation.
“We have one planet, we’re all in this together, but we are careless with each other,” said Epps. “And so it made me think of how do we communicate that we need to take care of each other, we need to look out for each other, and you know, I love that the high school has, you know, brought me back here to talk to you guys.”
In addition to her inspiring remarks, Epps was honored for her accomplishments. April 8, 2025, was proclaimed as Jeanette Epps Recognition Day in Onondaga County.
