In recognition of his achievements the college named Dr. Feustel its outstanding alumnus for 2003. He was also a featured speaker at OCC’s 37th commencement exercises on June 6.

A former Lake Orion resident, “Drew” Feustel attended the Auburn Hills Campus where he earned an associate in science degree, with concentrations in the unlikely combination of earth sciences and industrial design.

“Coming out of high school my SAT and ACT scores weren’t great," Drew says “and I wasn’t ready for university. Besides, I didn’t know what I wanted to do, so OCC was convenient, gave me a chance to work while I went to school, and enabled me to find out where my interests lay.”

Drew recalls his years at OCC with affection, especially his classes with industrial design instructor Ray Katz and physics instructor Spencer Martin, whom he characterizes as “one of the best teachers I ever had – he helped me develop my sense of curiosity.” While attending OCC Drew put himself through school as a skilled mechanic restoring 1950’s-vintage Jaguar automobiles, and considered a career as an automotive designer.  Graduating cum laude, he won the prestigious C. J. Newby Scholarship to the only school he wanted to attend, Purdue University. Completing his bachelor’s of science in solid earth sciences, Drew entered the master’s program in geophysics at Purdue where he also worked as a research and teaching assistant in the department of earth and atmospheric sciences. In 1991 Drew moved on to Ontario’s Queens University to begin a doctorate in geologic sciences, with a specialty in seismology.

After receiving his Ph.D. in 1995 Drew was employed for two years as a geophysicist installing and operating microseismic monitoring equipment in mines throughout eastern Canada and the United States. In 1997 he was hired by the Exxon Mobil Exploration Company as an exploration geophysicist, designing and overseeing land, marine and borehole seismic programs across the globe.

“The work was challenging”, Drew says “but I had the idea of becoming an astronaut from an early age”, so he decided to apply to the space program. In July, 2000 Drew was selected as a mission specialist by NASA, and began his astronaut training the following month.

Of the initial draft of 3,500 applicants, 120 were interviewed over a four month period. Drew’s 17 member team, the 18th formed since the program began in 1962, was chosen from that group of 120.

Currently, Drew is occupied in technical assignments while waiting to fulfill his lifelong ambition – assignment to a space flight. When will Drew get his chance? Certainly the Columbia tragedy has brought delays in the exploration of space, but Drew is confident that the time will come when he can apply his skills to the mission for which he has trained so arduously.

At the beginning of his speech to the OCC graduating class of 2003 Drew said “I know that it’s possible to get there from here…because I did it”. Given his record so far, he’s bound to go farther still – after all, for Drew Feustel and his fellow astronauts, not even the sky’s the limit.