Captain Jim Lovell, whose famous space mission was depicted in the film “Apollo 13,” will speak at Georgia Southern University’s Performing Arts Center, Wednesday at 6:30 p.m.
Lovell will present his lecture, “A Successful Failure”, and will share tales from his 11-year-career with NASA, tracing the history of America’s space program and drawing on his experience as a successful telecommunications executive.
Lovell said he starts his talk with what to expect out of college and what to get out of college besides the academic side of the experience. He said some of the traits that are important to be successful are picked up in college, such as leadership, teamwork, initiative and self-reliance.
“I always enjoy talking to young people especially college kids, because I don’t think they realize it’s part of the best times of their lives,” Lovell said.
He then will wrap those ideas into the context of the Apollo 13 mission, specifically how leadership and teamwork were utilized during the crisis management of the flight to successfully return the mission back to Earth.
Regarding the movie “Apollo 13,” Lovell said the screenplay stayed true to the real story, with a few minor exceptions. However, he had someone else in mind for his part, played by Tom Hanks.
“Tom doesn’t look like me. I really thought Kevin Costner was a better guy in the beginning,” Lovell said, laughing. “Tom always chastises me when I say that because he always wanted to play the part of an astronaut.”
The lecture is sponsored by Georgia Southern’s Office of Student Leadership and Civic Engagement as part of their Spring Leadership and Civic Engagement Week. This event is free and open to the public.
After a brief question and answer session with the media, Lovell will be available in the lobby to sign copies of his book or the movie “Apollo 13.” However, he will not be signing any NASA merchandise.
Lovell will present his lecture, “A Successful Failure”, and will share tales from his 11-year-career with NASA, tracing the history of America’s space program and drawing on his experience as a successful telecommunications executive.
Lovell said he starts his talk with what to expect out of college and what to get out of college besides the academic side of the experience. He said some of the traits that are important to be successful are picked up in college, such as leadership, teamwork, initiative and self-reliance.
“I always enjoy talking to young people especially college kids, because I don’t think they realize it’s part of the best times of their lives,” Lovell said.
He then will wrap those ideas into the context of the Apollo 13 mission, specifically how leadership and teamwork were utilized during the crisis management of the flight to successfully return the mission back to Earth.
Regarding the movie “Apollo 13,” Lovell said the screenplay stayed true to the real story, with a few minor exceptions. However, he had someone else in mind for his part, played by Tom Hanks.
“Tom doesn’t look like me. I really thought Kevin Costner was a better guy in the beginning,” Lovell said, laughing. “Tom always chastises me when I say that because he always wanted to play the part of an astronaut.”
The lecture is sponsored by Georgia Southern’s Office of Student Leadership and Civic Engagement as part of their Spring Leadership and Civic Engagement Week. This event is free and open to the public.
After a brief question and answer session with the media, Lovell will be available in the lobby to sign copies of his book or the movie “Apollo 13.” However, he will not be signing any NASA merchandise.