NC State pays tribute to alumna Christina Koch with building name, ice cream flavor
NASA astronaut and NC State alumna Christina Koch visited her university to celebrate her historic Artemis II mission. The university honored her by renaming an engineering building to Koch Hall and releasing a commemorative ice cream flavor.
Why it matters
Recognizing alumni achievements in STEM fields encourages academic engagement and highlights the real-world impact of space exploration on public education.
NASA astronaut Christina Koch visited North Carolina State University, her alma mater, on Monday for a "welcome home"-style event.
Koch, who became the first woman to leave low Earth orbit and the first woman to travel to and around the moon, spoke at a sold-out event in her honor titled "Around the Moon and Pack Again" on NC State's Centennial Campus.
Koch spent an hour answering questions from the media between noon and 1 p.m. at Duke Energy Hall. WRAL meteorologist Elizabeth Gardner was there.
You can watch Koch's complete address on YouTube. Students, space lovers and science fans came to support Koch. Students like Bell Long were inspired by what Koch and her fellow Artemis II astronauts did when they flew around the moon, the farthest anyone has ever gone.
Get smarter about the news
Sign up free for a feed built around what you actually care about, Dive Deeper research on any story, and the full text of every article.
Create free accountAlready have an account? Sign in