No Way! Steven Swanson is in the house!

     Steven Swanson, the three time NASA astronaut, that is.  And guess who's teacher has the clout to get Dr. Swanson to come to our leadership class today.  Yea, that's me and my teacher.  (It never hurts to have a vise president of the university as one's professor)

     Steve Swanson was the commander for Expedition 40, consisting of 6 months on the International Space Station, with an international crew.  Talk about leadership!  And he's a Trekkie and a Brown Coat (Think Firefly).  What's not to be awed about!  He even designed this official Klingon patch for the mission.  He's such a blessed dork!  And have I ever used three exclamation points in one paragraph before?  I don't think so.

  

   

     He gave an amazing presentation on leadership today.  I'm still spinning about it.  Turns out, leadership principles in space translate to about the same things needed right here on earth.  Perhaps a bit more intense, given that you have Russian astronauts floating a few feet away from you...always.  He had great storries about dealing with different personalities and cultural diversities.  When it comes to leadership, relationship building and trust are paramount way up there too.  I have it on good authority that great amounts of vodka are needed to build these friendships with the Russian crew - in Russian - before the expedition.  Not to worry, no drunken astronauts post lift off.  But he did show us a handy trick next time you find yourself drinking with a Russian cosmonaut.  You do this quick flick of the wrist, dumping the contents out of your glass before pretending to drink it.  This must be done because, and I quote, "they will drink you under the table".  I love how this man can be funny, and how he taught us to use humor to be a better leader.  I have fantastic notes!

 Now that's a selfie!  And he's the first person to send an Instagram from space.  
Yea, I know him.

https://youtu.be/plOUjapKUxI

Here's a Utube video of Commander Swanson being interviewed
 while floating in the space station.