Connor is known as an entrepreneur, most notably as founder of The Connor Group, the Dayton, Ohio-based real estate investment firm he started 30 years ago. He’s also a nonprofit activist investor who recently launched an innovative private school for under-resourced students.

But he could also fittingly be described as an “avid adventurist.” In his free time, Connor might be found at a race track with his Trophy Truck Spec team, climbing some of the world’s highest mountains, exploring the deepest parts of the world’s oceans or rafting down some of the swiftest rivers. Or in space: In 2022, he completed a 17-day mission to the International Space Station as the first-ever private citizen to pilot a spacecraft to the station on Axiom Mission 1. The Journal spoke with Connor about the mission and how the Fraternity prepared him professionally.

You’ve already achieved so much. Why go to space?
It was the challenge and the opportunity. But along with that comes the responsibilities to do it right and train to the professional standards of astronauts so there can be future missions. The 10 months of training were much more difficult than I thought it would be. Getting through it required a lot of perseverance, dedication and hard work.

Did the experience live up to your expectations?
It’s difficult to have expectations when you have no frame of reference. I’d say the most memorable moment was probably the reentry. You’re literally in a capsule on fire falling out of the sky. That was the most exciting part of the whole mission. The time on the ISS was also extraordinary. Floating in zero-G, working there, sleeping there, the views of Earth. We also had great interactions with the NASA Crew-3 astronauts and the Russian cosmonauts.

Did any lessons from your experience as chapter president during college carry over to your career?
Yes. I learned any time you’re in a leadership role, you’re going to get some things right and some things wrong. The key is understanding that the things you do wrong — the mistakes, the failures — can all be great teaching tools. But you’ve got to identify the problem, own it and commit to making changes.

Are you in touch with any of your chapter brothers?
There’s a group of us who have stayed connected. And I had the good fortune in 2018 or 2019 to go down and reconnect with around 15 brothers. Four or five brothers showed up for our launch.

What’s next? Or, have you finally done it all?
I have plans to do a high-altitude jump above 35,000 feet with Operator Solutions, a group of former U.S. Air Force pararescue jumpers. We’re partnering with the Special Operations Warrior Foundation to raise awareness and funds for their work. And there are a couple of other ideas in the hopper.