Astronaut and aerospace engineer Jeanette Epps told 2026 University of Maryland graduates on Thursday that a strong support system can help them push through challenges and achieve their dreams.
During her speech at the university’s main commencement ceremony at SECU Stadium, Epps addressed thousands of family members, alumni and graduating students in plastic ponchos who braved the weather to celebrate the end of their college careers. She said the “launch complex” she built while earning her master’s and doctorate degrees at this university helped her navigate hardships during her career.
“You are sitting on your launch pad right here today,” Epps said. “This university has spent years building part of your launch complex with you, faculty who pushed you, friends who carried you through all nighters you did not think you would survive and your family – they have sacrificed in ways you may not fully understand for another 20 years.”
Epps is the first doctoral aerospace engineering graduate of this university to become a NASA astronaut, according to the engineering school’s website.
In 2009, she was selected as one of 14 candidates to join NASA’s 20th class of astronauts, according to a university news release earlier this month. Epps spent nearly eight months in space as part of a NASA expedition in 2024, where she served as a flight engineer aboard the International Space Station.
But getting there had its challenges.
Five months before its launch in 2018, NASA removed Epps from the mission without explanation, she said.
The university’s main commencement ceremony was previously scheduled for Wednesday, but was postponed a day due to forecasted severe weather.
[UMD postpones main 2026 commencement ceremony to Thursday]
In an interview with The Diamondback before the commencement ceremony, Epps said she knew she had to keep moving forward instead of being “reactionary,” though it was a difficult experience. She continued to study Russian, fly in jets and worked in mission control so she could eventually travel to space.
“I could be consumed by anger, or I could keep showing up,” she said during the speech. “Sometimes, in the face of injustice or setbacks, that’s what you do. You just keep showing up every day, you keep doing the work and you keep moving forward.”
Saanchi Desai, a graduating aerospace engineering major, told The Diamondback seeing someone who has navigated challenges in the field she wants to work in gives her the confidence to pursue her goals.
“Having her speak is so inspiring,” Desai said. “It’s something that kind of sticks with you.”
Graduating bioengineering major Raifah Alam has been involved in Women in Engineering, a program in this university’s engineering school that helps support women in the field, since her freshman year. She and Desai, who is also involved in the program, both said it was meaningful to have a woman who has set records in the engineering field give the commencement speech at their graduation.
“I really feel like her journey demonstrates how much she excelled and how much she really pushed those barriers,” Alam said. “And how engineering is not limited by gender or background, but really kind of strengthened by diverse perspectives, like hers.”
Epps was in space for 235 days during her 2024 expedition, breaking the record for the longest a Black astronaut has spent in orbit.
[Astronaut Jeanette Epps to be UMD’s 2026 commencement speaker]
In her interview with The Diamondback, Epps said that while she hadn’t seen many others who looked like her at the start of her career, she felt she belonged because she was passionate about reaching her goals. She said she hopes students who feel underrepresented in their field know they belong because they’ve done the work and put in the time needed to get there.
“If you have to be the first, so be it.” Epps said. “Do it if it’s your goal, if it’s your passion, if it’s your dream. You have to just do it.”
Epps told The Diamondback the most important advice for graduates in her speech is to bring what they are learning at this university to do good for others.
Epps concluded Thursday’s speech by telling students that despite any obstacles they might face in the future, they can bring the knowledge and experiences they gained earning their degrees to make the world a better place.
“Today is your lift off,” she said. “Light your fires and launch your rockets. I’ll be watching for them.”
Contact news editor Mayah Nachman at mnachman@terpmail.umd.edu.
