Wally Funk Returns To OSU For First Time Since Historic Space Flight

Wally Funk, the famed aviator and current world record holder as the oldest person to reach space, returned to Oklahoma State University.

Funk attended OSU for advanced flight training on her way to a breakthrough career as a woman in aviation. Funk has now flown into space, after being trained as an astronaut in the 1960s, but never getting a chance to fly.

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Funk's return to the Oklahoma State campus comes out of her connection to the flight training school, where she said she advanced from student pilot to flight instructor. She arrived at Stillwater’s airport in a jet from Dallas, to an orange carpet and marching band reception.

Funk has a lifetime of accomplishments in aviation, capped off with a short trip to space in July. The OSU alumni magazine predicted she would go into space - in 1961.

“And it talks about in here, when I want to get into space, and it's taken this long to get it done,” she said.

Funk was one of the earliest women in the aviation program at OSU. Clair Reader, a sophomore member of the OSU Flying Aggies from Dallas, got a brief chance to speak with her.

“I didn't realize how much energy she had, and it's contagious. I was already excited coming into this because she's a legend and just the legacy," Reader said.

Funk is an ambassador for aviation everywhere she goes - though now all the questions are about space - and she's still got a goal to reach the space station.

“I didn't make it because I didn't get an engineering degree,” she told the students. “So I'm telling you if you want to make something of yourself, get an engineering degree.” 

Funk said she was eager to see how the campus had changed since she left Stillwater in 1960.

“I just loved it here, I loved Oklahoma State," Funk said.

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