When established alumnus Sean O’Keefe said he was glad to be back at Syracuse University on Thursday during the Orange Central Showcase event, he really meant it. Fifteen months ago, O’Keefe suffered a near-death experience.

O’Keefe, a national security expert and former administrator of NASA, spoke to Jeff Glor, broadcast journalist and SU alumnus, at the Joyce Hergenhan Auditorium about the plane crash that nearly claimed his life. O’Keefe, a 1978 graduate alumnus, reflected on his life experiences in public service and the importance of space explorations in the United States. About 100 people attended the event Thursday.

‘Just a normal fishing trip in Alaska’ turned deadly when, for some unknown reason, the plane he was on with nine other people crashed into a mountain, killing five, O’Keefe said. After 18 hours waiting for help, O’Keefe and his son, Kevin, a junior at SU, were finally rescued.   

‘I am forever indebted to the National Guard and the Coast Guard for showing up that day when they did,’ O’Keefe said.

The most serious injury O’Keefe said he suffered was the same injury as that of actor Christopher Reeve: both men fractured their C-1 vertebrae at the base of the skull. The only difference between the injuries, O’Keefe said, was that Reeve’s vertebra broke inward, affecting his spinal cord and paralyzing him, while O’Keefe’s broke outward, allowing him to live a relatively normal life.

‘It’s that kind of situation where an inexplicable condition motivates the experiences you have on a day-to-day basis a little more extensively,’ O’Keefe said. ‘Because of it, I have now been doing things that I have always wanted to do.’

Transitioning from ‘commercial aviation to a different kind of exploration,’ Glor asked O’Keefe about NASA and the program’s upcoming plans. O’Keefe commented on NASA and its plans to send the space capsule Orion out to space in early 2014.

O’Keefe said the purpose of Orion, which is a part of the constellation program, is to retire the spacecraft and develop a machine that is similar but without ‘all of the moving parts.’ He said NASA hopes to achieve the capacity to go to any destination within our solar system with the Orion.

Glor then broached the idea of NASA’s budget and how many Americans believe the money provided to NASA by the government can be directed toward a better place.

Immediately, O’Keefe rejected that idea and said, ‘It’s a human desire to want to know, it’s something we’re born with.’ He added that the money NASA spends on technology to explore amounts to about $20 million on a good year.

‘I’m not calling $20 million pocket change, but it is a very small investment in comparison to what we invest as a nation,’ O’Keefe said.

O’Keefe said that, as a graduate student at SU, the university shaped the way he viewed public service and gave him the motivation to pursue it. He is also a former professor in the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs.

‘Teaching at Syracuse was a magical time,’ O’Keefe said. ‘The atmosphere here is about community. There is a common bond that is quite remarkable.’

Brenna Wilson, a senior broadcast journalism and political science major, said she found it interesting to gain more insight on where the U.S. space program is headed and the goals it has for the future. But most importantly, Wilson enjoyed hearing from the two alumni.

‘It was great to hear them speak because I grew up in Boston, so I knew a lot about Jeff Glor since he was a local reporter, and I’m also kind of a space nerd,’ Wilson said. ‘It was really cool see the two of them interact.’

mhnewman@syr.edu

Published on November 13, 2011 at 12:00 pm

Contact Meredith: mhnewman@syr.edu | @MerNewman93