When Sian Proctor was a teenager, she found that her eyesight and the loss of her beloved father thwarted the 20/20 vision she had for life: to become an astronaut.
So, who could have guessed that two decades later, this geology faculty member of South Mountain Community College in Phoenix, would be invited to interview for an astronaut position with NASA?
"I am humbled by the opportunity to make it come true," she said.
NASA will interview her for three days this month at the Johnson Space Center. Only 10 to 15 of the 120 final candidates will be selected for the two-year training period to become an astronaut.
Proctor, 38, was born on Guam where her father worked at the NASA tracking station during the Gemini and Apollo missions. After Apollo 13, the family moved back to the United States.
At age 16, Proctor's then-poor vision required her to get glasses. Her father died a few years later, deepening Proctor's belief that she would never be able to fulfill her dream.
"My life was all laid out, or so I thought," she said. "I wanted so much to follow in my father's footsteps. Growing up, I was good at math and science, I was in the Civil Air Patrol, and I wanted to go to the Air Force Academy. My ultimate goal was to fly F-16s and end my career as an astronaut exploring space. NASA had always been a part of my life."
Then Proctor got glasses and her father was diagnosed with terminal lung cancer. Flying for the military was no longer an option. Neither was NASA. Both required 20/20 vision.
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