Meet Jonny Kim: the Navy SEAL, Harvard trained physician, and NASA astronaut whose life proves that grit and service can take you from the battlefield to orbit.
Born in Los Angeles to Korean immigrant parents, Kim enlisted in the US Navy after high school in 2002, became a SEAL, and completed more than 100 combat operations in Iraq as a medic, sniper, and point man.
He later earned a mathematics degree from the University of San Diego and a medical degree from Harvard Medical School, became a rare dual-designated naval aviator and flight surgeon, and in 2017 was selected by NASA from more than 18,000 applicants.
In April 2025 he launched aboard Soyuz MS-27 to the International Space Station, where he spent 245 days as a flight engineer, orbiting Earth 3,920 times and traveling nearly 104 million miles while conducting science for future exploration.
After nearly a decade at NASA, Kim departed the agency in August 2026 to continue serving as a lieutenant commander in the US Navy.
His journey, from a self-described low confidence kid to elite warrior, doctor, and astronaut, remains a powerful example of what hard work and dedication can achieve.
Respect.