By Bonnie Fussell news@theportlandsun.com

[Editor’s note: The following article appeared in a recent issue of the Portland (Tennessee) Sun, written by staff writer Bonnie Fussell.

Zac Colovos is the grandson of Jack Pierce and the late Pat Pierce, of Albany.]

Western Kentucky University junior and 2020 Portland High School graduate Zac Colovos has been accepted in the NASA Pathways Internship program at the Johnson Space Center in Houston.

He will be a mechanical engineer intern. He has always desired to work with NASA.

When he first became interested in space, he wasn’t thinking of being an astronaut, but now he is more interested in that possibility.

“I am more interested now but not limiting myself,” Colovos said. “I’m not trying to have a specific goal. I will just go along for the ride now and see how it goes.”

Colovos spent last summer working at Space Camp in Huntsville, Alabama, where he was selected by his peers and the leadership at Space Camp to receive The Right Stuff Award.

He returned to work at Space Camp this summer; but three weeks into the camp he received an email from NASA that he had been accepted in the Pathway Internship program. After giving a two-week notice, he returned home to prepare to leave in August.

According to Colovos, when he read the acceptance email, his reaction was not what you would expect. He said it took several minutes for the news to sink in, and he had to read the email several times before he was able to call his parents and other relatives to tell them of his acceptance. He described himself as speechless at first.

He will be in the Crew and Thermal Systems Division (CTSD), which is part of the Engineering Directorate at NASA’s Johnson Space Center. According to NASA, “CTSD engineers design, develop and test technologies to support humans in space. Systems include environmental control/life support and active thermal control for spacecraft, as well as crew equipment, tools and spacesuits for intra-vehicular activities and extra-vehicular activities. CTSD also provides test capability in both vacuum and thermal/vacuum environments using specialized human test facilities.”

Colovos will be staying with Bill and Evelyn Husband Thompson while in Houston. Evelyn’s first husband was Rick Husband who was the commander of the Space Shuttle Columbia that disintegrated upon re-entry, killing the seven member crew of STS-107.

“I am greatly looking forward to beginning my time in Houston. God has already provided so much for me as there is so much to look forward to both inside and outside of the internship itself,” Colovos said. “I cannot wait to be completely immersed in what has been a dream of mine for a very long time. I am fortunate enough to have a platform such as this article to thank all of those who have helped me along the way. The dozens of teachers, hundreds of friends, and continually loving family members have not gone unnoticed.”

Participating in the program will delay his graduation from college one year. He will alternate semesters including the summer semesters between Johnson Space Center and WKU. If he completes the three levels in the NASA Pathways Internship and graduates from college, he will be offered a full-time job with any NASA location.

Colovos is the son of Tim and Ginger Colovos. He has one sister, Christina, a senior at PHS.