BETHLEHEM, Pa. — The term that comes to mind: Impossible.
Honestly, how could it be that a teenager could simultaneously be seated in an auditorium and also be strapped inside a rocket blazing to the other side of the universe?
When the speaker is billionaire businessman and record-setting commercial astronaut Jared Isaacman, and the 16-year-old is space-crazy Thomas Lay, possible eclipses impossible.
Isaacman was Lehigh University’s inaugural Future Makers Speaker Series guest at Zoellner Arts Center on Tuesday night.
The Future Makers Speaker Series will provide the Lehigh Valley community with a window into the early stages of important societal, economic and industry changes.
Isaacman, 42, was the first civilian to perform the first commercial spacewalk during the SpaceX Polaris Dawn five-day mission in September 2024.
“It’s not just what we can accomplish in space. But it’s also about what we can do on Earth. We have to do both. We have to make investments in space for a brighter future."<br/>Jared Isaacman
The Summit, N.J. native is founder of Shift4, a provider of software and payment processing solutions, and Draken International, an American provider of tactical fighter aircraft for contract air services including military and defense industry customers.
“I’ve had a lot of luck in my life,” Isaacman told the audience. “Lots of things have gone my way. But you will have opportunities even when the deck is stacked against you.”
And as for having become a billionaire despite having dropped out of school at age 16, Isaacman had a message for the Lehigh students on hand.
“Stay in school,” he said.
Lay is homeschooled in Hellertown, but he gets the point: learn, study, apply, dream, reach for the stars.
As Isaacman was interviewed about business and space travel for 45 minutes by Nathan Urban, Lehigh’s provost and senior vice president for academic affairs, Lay was invested.
Wearing a Mission to Mars T-shirt and clutching a Polaris Dawn mission patch, Lay watched wide-eyed with his family from the third row of Baker Hall.
He nodded and mouthed “Yes” several times as Isaacman spoke about his incredible trip into space.
He even got to speak with Isaacman during the question-and-answer segment.
Later, Lay was asked if he’s planning a career in aerospace.
The Hellertown resident’s response: “Yes, some day.”
The kid has his feet on the ground while reaching for the stars.
Just like Isaacman.
With the Future Makers Speaker Series, Lehigh seeks to bring to campus individuals recognized as innovators and disruptors, those whose work is actively shaping the future of critical industries, disciplines and sectors of society.
Few fit better than Isaacman.
Isaacman’s talk about going from a 16-year-old high school dropout to an accomplished pilot and record-setting astronaut proved most interesting.
He earned a B.A. in professional aeronautics from the online campus of Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in 2011.
“The space industry was undergoing a transformation when I was a teen,” he said. “But I told my teachers when I was young that I wanted to be an astronaut.”
Isaacman became a commercial astronaut by financing and commanding the Inspiration4 mission in 2021, which was the first all-civilian orbital spaceflight.
Isaacman’s space exploits also created an impact on Earth.
Isaacman and St. Jude Children's Research Hospital partnered for the Inspiration4 space mission, which raised over $250 million for the hospital.
Isaacman personally donated $125 million, and he challenged others, including SpaceX founder Elon Musk, to match his contribution.
The funds raised support St. Jude's mission to treat childhood cancer and other life-threatening diseases.
“It’s not just what we can accomplish in space,” Isaacman said. “But it’s also about what we can do on Earth. We have to do both. We have to make investments in space for a brighter future.
“When I was in school, I was worried we’d already done it all — sailed all the seas, landed on the moon, it’s all done. But we’ve only scratched the surface of exploration.”
“It’s not just what we can accomplish in space. But it’s also about what we can do on Earth."Jared Isaacman
Isaacman said among the keys to future space exploration is finding better technology, including materials that will reduce the exorbitant cost of rocket launches “so space will go from the few to the many.”
Isaacman was nominated by then-President-elect Donald Trump in December 2024 to become the NASA administrator.
But the nomination was later withdrawn in May amid a falling-out between Trump and Musk.
However, reports are that Isaacman has met with Trump recently to discuss another nomination.
Not bad for a high school dropout.
Asked if he had advice for Lehigh students with an eye on a career in space, Isaacman said coupling engineering with artificial intelligence is the wave of the future.
“Everything going with space will be married to A.I.,” he said.
Isaacman was asked by Provost Urban how going to space changed his perspective and how the world might change if everyone has an opportunity to go.
“There are reflections from astronauts about how deeply they were changed,” he said. “My impact is akin to the Apollo astronauts. All the convictions and beliefs they had in life were reinforced in space.
“Being in space shows you how small we are in the grand scheme of things. The journey into space exploration is one of wonder and the greatest in human history — and we haven’t even dipped our toe into it. We can do great things.”
It's not impossible.
