Never in his wildest dreams did John Derda think he would become an astronaut.
Currently a high school biology teacher in Raleigh, North Carolina, the 1992 Highlands graduate has been selected for the Level 2 division of NASA's Educator Astronaut program. This means that for the next several years, Derda will hold community outreach speaking events and science demonstrations alongside his regular teaching schedule, attempting to raise awareness and interest in NASA and outer space.
He will also continue his training for Level 1, which includes marathon-running and the mastery of fluent Russian, preparing to become a full-fledged mission specialist astronaut.
"I am incredibly excited about the opportunity," Derda said. "I've always been fascinated by space and NASA, so this is really wild."
Derda was selected for the program out of thousands of applicants from across the country. The requirements were a strong undergraduate math or science degree, and a current teachership at a middle or high school. There were also myriad letters of recommendation and essays to be written, as well as an age limit, which Derda just barely met. When one of his students brought the program to his attention, Derda was cautious about his chances of acceptance.
"I thought, I'm just a biology teacher," Derda said. "With so many thousands of applicants, it seemed like such a long shot for me to get it, so I didn't want to tell anyone about it at first. I really didn't think anything would come of it."
When Derda received a letter notifying him of his status as a "superior candidate," the penultimate level to actual acceptance, he and almost 80 others were flown to Houston for a week of training. This included a thorough briefing on current NASA programs and future goals, as well as a flight in a space simulator, which Derda calls the experience of a lifetime.
"There wasn't time for everyone to do it, so I was lucky to get my name drawn," Derda said. "It looked like a ride at Kennywood. You're hanging upside down most of the time, strapped into flight seats. All the switches are real, you're moving around the entire time. To simulate the affects of different g-forces pulling you back, they pull the straps tighter and tighter as you go. It was quite a ride."
Derda's goal is to advance to Level 1 status in two to three years. Those in Level 1 are fully-trained, professional astronauts, leaving education to work as full-time mission specialists. Derda can reapply for Level 1 status in two to three years.
In the meantime, Derda has plans to incorporate his new experiences into his biology courses, studying such things as NASA's development of fast-growing plants, which would produce food and oxygen for long-term space missions.
"I only got the chance to tell the kids a little bit about it before I left for training," Derda said, "so I'm looking forward to next school year."
Derda's mother, Karen Derda of Natrona Heights, is proud of her son, though the idea of space travel still makes her a little nervous.
"He was always a curious person, the unknown was always really important to explore," she said. "It still causes my heart to beat a little faster when I think of it, but my pride in his accomplishments overrides all that."
Jeff Derda hopes to be able to make it into space within the next five years, and holds out hope for those who dream of doing the same.
"The neatest thing about all this is, it's realistic for almost anybody to do if you work for it," Derda said.
