Jonny Kim, a remarkable individual who boasts an impressive background as a highly decorated Navy SEAL and a Harvard Medical School graduate, has always harbored a lifelong ambition to journey to the moon.
Now, at the age of 39, Kim finds himself among the elite group of 18 individuals selected by NASA to undergo rigorous training for the Artemis program. This program aims to send the first woman and possibly the first person of color to the lunar surface by 2024, potentially making Kim the first Korean American to set foot on the moon.
Reflecting on his childhood aspirations during an interview with Good Morning America as part of the Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) Heritage Month celebration, Kim fondly recalled the Apollo 11 poster that adorned his bedroom wall. The poster, featuring iconic astronauts, fueled his passion for space exploration. Kim expressed in the interview, “The first dream I actually had was to enlist in the Navy and be a Navy SEAL and become the strong person that I wanted to become.”
Throughout his military career, Kim fulfilled various roles, including combat medic, navigator, sniper, and point man, completing over 100 operations and two deployments in the Middle East. According to Next Shark, it was during this time that fate intervened, as an individual suggested to Kim that becoming a NASA astronaut could fulfill his aspirations of inspiring and positively impacting people’s lives, much like being a doctor.
Kim hopes that his transformative path from Navy SEAL to doctor and now astronaut can serve as a powerful source of inspiration for young AAPIs. He aspires to unlock their potential and empower them to become the best versions of themselves, based on information sourced from Next Shark.
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