spare time he enjoys activities with his family and pastimes such as jogging and backpacking. As an Eagle Scout, he is heavily involved with the Boy Scouts of America (BSA) as well as the Order of the Arrow and is the Scoutmaster of Troop 1598 based in Webster, TX. The BSA has honored him with its Distinguished Eagle Scout Award. On May 30, 2007, Fossum was invited to be the keynote speaker at the opening ceremony at Philmont Scout Ranch, starting off the ranch's 2007 season by relating to the staff there how his experiences both in scouting and at Philmontn helped him overcome many challenges in his life. He still keeps a close affiliation with Texas A&M University and the university's Corps of Cadets, from which he graduated in 1980. Since returning from his first mission in 2006, he has been involved in many different Texas A&M speaking events, including Elephant Walk, Aggie Muster, JCAP (Corps of Cadets), and the presentation of an Aggie flag flown on STS-121 at a Texas A&M football game. On March 6, 2010, Fossum became the youngest person inducted into the Corps of Cadets Hall of Honor. In 2011, NASA worked with the Texas A&M School of Engineering to host a live interview from the ISS between Fossum and Aggie students. A junior high school in McAllen, Texas, has been named after Fossum. Fossum resides in Houston, Texas. Awards and decorations References External links Interview Spacefacts biography of Michael E. Fossum The STS-121 Mission 1957 births Air Force Institute of Technology alumni U.S. Air Force Test Pilot School alumni Living people People from Sioux Falls, South Dakota Systems engineers Texas A&M University alumni University of Houston–Clear Lake alumni Commanders of the International Space Station United States Air Force officers United States Air Force reservists NASA civilian astronauts American people of Norwegian descent Space Shuttle program astronauts Recipients of the NASA Distinguished Service Medal Spacewalkers