"Forget the peer
pressure - where do your talents lie and what do you want to contribute to the
world?"
- Col. Eileen Collins
Eileen Collins asked herself this question as she accepted her high school diploma. She attended junior college for two years, and then transferred to Syracuse University where she majored in math and joined the Air Force ROTC. Upon graduation, she went right into officer training and Air Force flight school.
In 1990, while attending the Air Force's elite Test Pilot School at Edwards Air Force Base, California, Col. Collins was selected for Astronaut training. In 1994, she flew her first mission as a space shuttle pilot.
On July 23, 1999, Col. Collins became the first woman in history to command a space shuttle mission.