Quote of the Day

(H/T to Ryan)

“Yes, of course I want to come back to Detroit and work for an auto company after college,” I told a perplexed neighbor at my high-school graduation party. A little background might help.

At the height of the Roaring Twenties, my great-grandfather, living in Rhode Island, was an unemployed immigrant from Quebec. Desperate and looking for a way to achieve the American Dream, he turned to the “Paris of the Midwest” for hope. In a letter to Henry Ford, my great-grandfather said he was a hard worker and wanted to come to Detroit for Ford’s new $5-a-day jobs. Ford wrote him back and hired him; my family planted its roots in Detroit.

My great-grandparents endured the mass layoffs of the 1930s, they became U.S. citizens in Detroit in the 1940s, and they died in Detroit. My grandfather did his time at Ford and moved on to other sectors of the automotive industry. My father currently works for Pacific Insight Electronics, an automotive supplier that deals almost exclusively with Ford.

It was my family’s history with the blue oval that prompted me to choose Ford for my senior project. My former high school offers seniors the opportunity to take the month of May off school to study an industry.

[….]

Participating in an activity for a higher purpose is what Detroit needs if it is to truly reinvent itself. Of course, the poor economy and some poor choices made by the Big Three damaged the city’s status, but there is a lot to learn from companies like Ford. Communication, passion, sacrifice and, most importantly, hard work have reinvigorated Ford. The same traits can help reinvigorate the Motor City.

Although I am going away to college in the fall, to Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Md., I believe my professional aspirations will eventually bring me back to the city that made me possible.

Detroit gave my forefathers hope and prosperity; I believe it is my responsibility to return the favor in whatever way I can.