“There’s lots of Prin in my story,” begins Sara Nelson (C’95). The International President of the Association of Flight Attendants has been called “the country’s most prominent labor leader” by Forbes, “America’s most powerful flight attendant” by the New York Times, and “workers’ great hope” by Fast Company–and has harnessed the power of personal narrative as well as anyone in modern public life.

Nelson’s work as a flight attendant has spanned some of the most consequential, not to mention turbulent, times in the aviation industry, and her union members are on the front lines of national and global issues—from terrorism, to bankruptcies and bailouts, and a worldwide pandemic.

But her Principia-inspired mission enabled her to persevere and overcome. “The Education department pushed me further than I could ever go, and made it clear that my mission in life was to lift people up wherever I saw them on unequal ground,” Nelson says.

From bankruptcy to public safety–from good governance to best behavior–she has made air travel more safe, secure, and sane.

“My education at Principia—around finding a story and identifying urgency—that was fundamental to my understanding the world,” Nelson asserts. “One of my most important lessons goes back to my drama training from Richard Morse: If you are on the stage, you’d better have a reason to be there. If you don’t, get out and come back when you figure it out. You’re wasting everyone’s time if you don’t have a purpose.”