Twenty-five years ago, UMN alumnus Tom Burnett Jr. and his fellow passengers on Flight 93 were just ordinary people facing an extraordinary decision: to sit idly as hijackers took over their aircraft, or to “do something.” Burnett and others took action, keeping Flight 93 from reaching the hijackers’ intended target and saving countless lives in their heroic sacrifice.
Burnett’s family worked with the Office for Student Affairs to establish the Tom Burnett Leadership Program (TBLP) in his honor just five years after his loss. The program encourages participants - 300 and counting - to consider leadership and the option to make a difference as an everyday practice, just as its namesake did.
Earlier in September, Burnett’s family joined alumni from all 20 cohorts of the TBLP to mark the 25th anniversary of his act of heroism. During the reception, UMN staff member and co-creator of the program, Aaron Asmundson, reflected,“from the very beginning, as we developed this program we’ve centered Tom’s story, and not just the story of 9/11, but the person that Tom was that allowed him to act on 9/11. Which is to be an ordinary citizen who does extraordinary things, and to think about how we can consider that in our own lives and how that feels present in our own journeys.”
A guiding phrase of TBLP is, “Do something”. This call to action comes from Tom’s final correspondence to his wife while aboard Flight 93, when he told her, “Don’t worry, we’re going to do something.”
“Do something” means something different to everyone, so we asked TBLP alumni to tell us what it meant to them:
- Trey: “Live life not out of fear, to be able to do just go and take action and do what you want to do and not let fear overcome you, and stop you from living your life to the fullest.”
- Emily: “Something you can say to yourself if you are afraid to take the next step and go out on a limb, and try to do the next thing even if you are a little bit scared.”
- Justin: “Have the courage to do the right thing, whatever that is, I think there are a lot of moments in life where we get scared or afraid and deep down we know what to do. Trust your gut and do something.”
- Sadhika: “Grown up with the concept that initiative is rewarded, and I think that is what I channel when I hear that. That when we take initiative to do something good with good intent, there is always going to be a proper reward at the end.”
Each year there is a new group of students who get to participate in TBLP, adding to the ever growing number of alumni who integrate principles of the program into their everyday lives. This year’s event, which brought together alumni from all years of the program, including the original two, was incredibly moving and meaningful.
Participant Seth Normington shared in a LinkedIn post, “it was amazing to be in a room with so many people who were shaped by Tom’s story and by his family’s decision to turn an unimaginable loss into a legacy of service and leadership” they also added “this weekend reminded me of a simple but powerful lesson: change can start with one person deciding to do something.”
Another participant, Jessica Chung, added, “To be in that room with so many who have been part of that story in some small way warmed something in my heart in these times. It continues to be so incredibly important for us all to live out Tom's motto -- do something.”
Tom’s legacy and story have continued to help develop new leaders for many years, and the effects of his actions forever remain an illustration of the man he was. In the spirit of Tom’s own leadership, each TBLP cohort reflects together on leadership in transition, including personal strengths, values, and impact. Each member also gets to their learning in a practical context through a mentorship program. Outstanding undergraduate student leaders can be nominated for participation in TBLP by University staff, faculty, and program alumni. In the program, students can maximize personal strengths, and find alignment between self-perception and personal impact, while hopefully becoming more like who Tom was: an ordinary, extraordinary human being.
