No one has ever washed a rented car! Tom Friedman and Lawrence Summers have used this statement often to emphasize the importance of ownership. It originated in 1985 from the response of a military noncommissioned officer to a question from a general officer about aircraft maintenance and the importance of owning the whole aircraft and not just a piece of it – only whole planes fly!
As an engineering educator for over 40 years, I have always felt my responsibility has been to have students first experience engineering – what it is like to be an engineer – and then, if there is interest and the start of passion for engineering, guide students to become an engineer, not just study engineering. Students study to become something – not just take courses, receive grades, earn a diploma, get a job, and make a living.
Becoming something takes passion and, most importantly, ownership. This is a commitment each one of us must make in whatever profession we choose. Once a commitment of ownership happens, an educator can then be the mentor, the guide, to the student’s life-long pursuit of becoming something they are passionate about. There is no secret here – it is all about commitment and ownership. As the famous golfer Ben Hogan once said, the secret is “in the dirt.”
Unfortunately, making a commitment to become something is long-term and does not lend itself to daily postings in social media by which everyone is seemingly. And when trying to attract students to enroll in a university, it always seems to be the newest building or most successful athletic program that gets the publicity. I do not think telling potential students that the answer to their pursuit is “in the dirt” would increase enrollment.
Kevin Craig is Professor of Engineering at Hofstra University. He was a Professor at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (1989-2007) and the Greenheck Endowed Chair in Engineering Design at Marquette University (2008-2014). He is a graduate of Xavier HS in NYC, the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, and Columbia University.