Mercury Seven a team and solo. Grissom, Cooper, and Slayton were Air Force pilots; Shepard, Carpenter, and Schirra were Navy pilots, and Glenn was a Marine Corps pilot. All seven had attended a variety of postsecondary institutions in the 1940s. Of the five astronauts who had completed undergraduate degrees before being selected, two (Shepard and Schirra) were graduates of the United States Naval Academy. Having earned a Master of Arts degree in 1957 at the Naval War College, Shepard was the only selectee who held an advanced degree. Following a decade of intermittent studies, Cooper completed his degree as a mid-career student
Bunch of Seven The name was invented by Terri Neal as a take-off on the Group of Seven, a group of well-known Canadian artists. Bunch of Seven The Bunch of Seven was a group of science fiction and fantasy writers who met regularly in Toronto from March 28, 1985 until the early 90s to mutually critique manuscripts with the intention of helping each other turn professional—a goal in which several members succeeded. The group's founders were Tanya Huff, S. M. Stirling, Karen Wehrstein, Shirley Meier, Louise Hypher, Terri Neal and Lloyd Penney. Later members included Julie Czerneda, Fiona Patton, Marian Hughes, Stephanie Rendino