SAN ANTONIO — New dreams may take flight thanks to a NASA trailblazer who now calls San Antonio home. Local Girl Scouts participating in the Girl Scouts Metro camp from Girl Scouts of Southwest Texas got the chance to hear from Colonel Eileen Collins, a former Air Force colonel and an astronaut who became the first female shuttle commander.
The "Space Odyssey" themed camp included summer camp staples- with a STEM-inspired twist.
"We learned about the stars, we learned about the planets, we learned about the solar system," said camper Sylvia Hernandez.
Thursday, a legend landed in the scouts' orbit. Collins answered questions about how her own career lifted off.
"I think the kids are gonna wanna grow up to be what they see and what they’re exposed to," Collins said. "So the reason I do talks and interviews like this is I want the young people to see they can bean astronaut someday but they can also work for the space program, they can do so many things associated with space."
You can read more about Collins' biography from NASA here.
While Collins is well-known for her success in space, she began her career in flight serving in the Air Force- which took her to San Antonio.
"My first assignment was at Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio, I also had an assignment at Randolph and I remember thinking, I really like it here, maybe I’ll meet a guy from here and marry him- and I did," Collins said.
She says Girl Scouts first sparked her love for science and serving.
"I was a Girl Scout and I remember scouting taught me some of the principles I needed in the military," Collins said.
As she shared her story, she showed girls like Hernandez that the sky's the limit.
"I either want to be a doctor or lawyer but I’ll definitely consider being an astronaut now," Hernandez said.