 Purdue alumnus Captain Chesley, Sully Sullenberger, never expected to make the giant leap he did during his famous flight landing safely in the Hudson River. But the accomplished pilot, instructor and aviation safety expert continues to leave footprints worldwide. The international hero praises Purdue for supporting his early passion in understanding people, becoming a lifelong learner and influential safety advocate. Well, I'm Sully Sullenberger. I think I'm best known as the captain of the US Airways Flight 1549, which of course has been called the Miracle of Hudson. Well, after I graduated from the US Air Force Academy, I had the opportunity to go to graduate school and I got to choose Purdue. And I thought it would be a perfect fit. There was a professor there who was a real mentor and great influence on me, Ernest J. McCormick, and he was in charge of the industrial psychology department, which is what they called the precursor to human factors. It was a wonderful foundation for everything that was to follow in my safety work. It was a smaller university then, in a more intimate one. And I really got a great sense of the power of knowledge. And so that was something that helped feel my passion throughout my life for learning. I think I had already a great deal of intellectual curiosity and I was able to pursue that to a great extent at Purdue. And now as a speaker in applying aviation safety methodologies that we've used with such great effect to other industries, including medical practice, including manufacturing, chemical energy, and a variety of others, I've had a chance now to talk to audiences around the world, deeper understanding of the interconnectedness of much in the world, much in life, and concentrate not just on what to do and how to do it, but why we do what we do. But it shouldn't be surprising that our challenges are so similar, because what we're all trying to do ultimately is find ways to improve human performance in complicated systems that all involve inherent risk. But I'm a very proud Purdue alum, and I had a wonderful opportunity a number of years ago to meet an even more famous Purdue alum, Neil Armstrong. It was an honor to be in the same company as someone as illustrious. I think, like most people, I didn't expect that there would be a giant leap. I had hoped that at the end of my life I would have done enough things that in aggregate they would amount to something, they would lead to having a life well lived. But of course, life can throw you a curve. And on January 15, 2009, I think our giant leap was a group of strangers, passengers, crew, rescuers, first responders, rose to the occasion and made it their mission in life to see that everyone was saved. So perhaps that was my giant leap. It's interesting that six months before the famous flight, as I was nearing the end of my airline career and having been a safety advocate and safety expert and act investigator for decades, I felt like I had made a difference in changing the cockpit culture of my airline from the bad old days where captains didn't build and lead their teams who were autocratic and arrogant, they were solo acts who didn't listen to others and the accident rate reflected that, unfortunately, to where now we teach them the human skills, the team building skills and not just the technical skills, to take a team of experts and form an effective team, which is a different skill set. So we changed the cockpit culture. I was a pioneer in that effort of my airline. But I felt like if I worked hard and was particularly diligent and a fortune smiled on me that my greatest contributions might even still lie ahead. Of course, I had no idea that this famous flight was going to be one of them. But I still feel that way, even after the famous flight. If I'm hardworking and if I keep on pushing the limits and continue to be a lifelong continuous learner, then I may still make other contributions that are worthwhile and significant. I think the best each of us can do is to try each day to do what's available to us right in front of us and with some specific goal in mind to do more than just do a job to leave something significant behind, whether it's in terms of personal relationships or advancements in science. We have an obligation to keep on learning, growing, and doing the best that we can, serving a cause greater than ourselves. That was Captain Chesley Sullenberger. Look for more stories at purdue.edu slash footprints.