Alumnus Tim Hughes ’90 serves as Senior Vice President at SpaceX, leading the global policy and government business efforts. He joined in 2005 as the company’s first General Counsel, helping SpaceX grow from a start-up to one of the world’s most innovative tech firms. Tim spoke at Sunday’s Father-Son Brunch after Mass, sharing that he had recently lost his father, a brilliant and loving man, and that his father had been on his mind. He expressed gratitude for the opportunity to speak to Prep fathers and sons. Tim skillfully tied his talk to Prep's focus this year on the Jesuits' Ignatian theme of  hospitality -- welcoming the other -- highlighted by Father Van Dyke in his homily. Tim noted two specific times of being welcomed by individuals that changed his life. 

The first was when he transferred to Prep as a sophomore from living in Europe, feeling out of place in his European-cut clothes. Chris Burns ’90 (a dear friend to this day) reached out to him, welcoming him into the Prep brotherhood. Tim urged the students to take small steps to make others feel included.

The second example was his decision to join SpaceX, a struggling rocket company led by Elon Musk. When Tim met Musk in a DC restaurant, Musk simply asked, “Well, are you in or out?” Tim said he was "in," and Musk shook his hand, welcomed him to SpaceX and then left to catch a flight leaving Tim to pick up the bill. Tim concluded by discussing SpaceX's mission to serve humanity and the importance of learning from failure. He described flight after flight of failure, but calculated failure from which they continually learned. He encouraged the students to pursue meaningful goals with determination and not fear failure. 

We are grateful to Tim Hughes ’90 for his time, commitment to Prep, and the valuable lessons he shared with our Hoyas.