She wanted to be a Naval officer, so that’s what she did. After graduating from the Naval Academy in 2010, Barron, 33, earned a master’s degree in nuclear engineering, became a submarine warfare officer and was deployed three times to the Pacific. Then, she returned to Annapolis to serve as a flag aide, which is a personal assistant to a high-ranking official, to former Superintendent Vice Adm. Walter Carter.
If not for that job, Barron may not have become one of two Naval Academy graduates and former athletes to be selected for the Artemis Team, which “will lead humanity forward to the moon and prepare us for the next giant leap, the exploration of Mars,” NASA says.