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The front page of the Sept. 28 Wall Street Journal featured a photo with the following message above it: "371: A space odyssey ends for NASA astronaut."
The photo was a lead-in to the edition's Page 2 article headlined "NASA astronaut returns after record-setting year."
NASA astronaut Frank Rubio set a record for a space flight by an American, having spent 371 days in space in a Russian spacecraft, along with two cosmonauts.
According to NASA, Rubio went to space as part of what was known as Expedition 68, which studied how spaceflights affect heart health.
NASA Administrator Bill Nelson issued a statement saying Rubio's record-breaking time in space is not just a milestone. "It's a major contribution to our understanding of long-duration space missions," he said.
In addition to its definition of "odyssey" as a "long wandering or voyage," Webster's Collegiate Dictionary defines the word as "an intellectual or spiritual wandering or quest."
What now is happening at Penn State Altoona under its new leadership is evolving into an educational/intellectual odyssey destined to shape the lives of many thousands of young adults for however long into the future that the campus exists.
And the partnership that will remain at the root of all the campus will be able to accomplish, going forward, cannot be ignored or forgotten.
PSU Altoona is successful because Altoona is a successful community. Meanwhile, Altoona and its environs are enhanced by the educational, cultural and economic benefits the campus injects into the community -- all of Blair County and even places beyond the county's borders.
Indeed, many thousands of individuals and families benefit from the campus' presence, even many without any direct associations with the campus or campus life.
The campus' roots are deep and expansive, with much potential on students' part fueling them.
"Changes coming to Penn State Altoona in the next few years have Chancellor Ron Darbeau excited for the future" was the lead paragraph in a September Mirror article detailing some of what lies ahead for the campus under its major, broad-scale initiative being labeled Vision 2030.
The article, which was published in the Mirror's Sept. 23-24 edition, merited attention and a close reading by anyone with sons or daughters still in school or nearing graduation, as well as by merchants and other business people who are as much dependent on business stemming from the campus as the campus is dependent upon them and what they provide.
Already gone are the days when most people looked upon the local campus as merely a two-year school, and "two-year" is destined to become a less frequently used descriptive term with each coming year as more baccalaureate degrees are added and more master's degree options are implemented.
Additionally exciting will be programs allowing students to earn both bachelor's and master's degrees simultaneously, enabling those students to be highly competitive in jobs markets.
To complement the coming academic additions, athletic programs and opportunities will be expanded, and there will be improvements to the campus' already commendable support services. Yes, Penn State's local campus is embarking on a quest that smacks of being limitless.
Just like NASA astronaut Frank Rubio's record-setting odyssey in space, what a wonderful odyssey Penn State Altoona is on course to experience here on earth.