Zena Cardman, a graduate student at Penn State, said she’s always been dazzled by the world above.

“Of course I loved, you know, going to see meteor showers with my mom and always looked up at the stars and just thought space was amazing,” Cardman said.

She has a Bachelor’s and Master’s degree under her belt, and experience with field work in remote locations; tools she hoped would help her qualify for a career with NASA.

Throughout the application process, she said she was hopeful but indubitably nervous.

“The phone call itself was totally overwhelming. I had prepared myself to get a ‘no’ answer,” Cardman said.

Actually she said it was a lengthy process, about 18 months of interviews, medical tests and waiting.

On May 25th she finally got her answer.

“When I picked up the phone and they said ‘we’d like you to come to Houston, you’re joining the astronaut core,’ I just I was smiling, there’s a photo of me with my hand over my heart because I’m just so overcome with absolutely joy and surprise and i will never forget that moment.”

She’s one of 12 of people selected to be an astronaut candidate.

She’ll go through a 2 year training period where she’ll learn Russian, how to fly super sonic jets and space walking techniques.

“I’m excited to be able to ride that experience and I know all of us are really feeling like ‘is this really happening?'” Cardman said.

After those two years, she’ll officially be a NASA astronaut.

“It’s still is very surreal. Even when I zipped up that blue flight suit for the announcement, it just, it didn’t feel real. And from what I hear it continues not to feel real until you are on top of a rocket, blasting off,” Cardman said.

Penn state is no stranger to NASA.

Four Nittany Lions have already flown in space.

Cardman said she has some studying to wrap up in State College, but on August  21st she officially starts her new adventure in Houston.