That rings a bell by Elijah T. '11

Nearly fourteen years after graduating, I still wear my Brass Rat every day. It feels strange when it’s not on my finger. I panic when I can’t find it. (That was a long lonely month when I thought I lost it for good, only for it to ultimately reappear under the couch.) I don’t know how long alumni typically wear it – I’ve spotted it on the fingers of a few others my age – but it has been present in all aspects of my life ever since leaving MIT. And it’s a constant reminder to me (and others) of my time there.

My Brass Rat

As a Course 1 (Civil Engineering) alum, I moved west to Palo Alto for my master’s and decided to stay when I realized I never want to have to shovel snow again. While I’ve seen others tempted by the fruits of Silicon Valley or otherwise find their passion elsewhere, I have stayed as a civil engineer throughout my career, working on a variety of projects – bridges, automated trains, ports, etc. During interviews, or sometimes just casually at work, my time at MIT still comes up (while I blush at them saying how impressive my academic background is). One can of course see that from my resume, but the ring has occasionally been a talking point as they recall colleagues or friends (or him/herself) having gone to the Institute.

After several study and work abroad opportunities at MIT, I thought those travel days were over once I began working. Somewhat to my surprise though, despite having a full-time job, I have continued to travel frequently, even working in South Korea for a year and, more recently, Singapore for over two years (until the pandemic happened and they reconsidered whether it was the best time to be building a new airport terminal). During one of those adventures, at a restaurant in Rome, a man spotted my ring from another table and struck up a conversation. He was an MIT graduate from the 1970s, and even decades later the ring was identifiable.

Cloud Forest, Singapore

Back at home in San Francisco, I went to pick up a robot vacuum for sale on Facebook Marketplace. As is often the case, there is that worry about me being scammed or walking into an axe murderer’s lair. But I felt a sense of trust when the seller saw my ring and related how she also was an MIT graduate. She passed two-factor authentication when she described her major by her number. (So I wasn’t too concerned when I discovered shortly afterward that the vacuum wouldn’t charge; she promptly sent me a refund without even taking the vacuum back. Not a scam!)

And these don’t even consider the many other times it has been a source of instant connection. I attend many board game and gaming meetups (think Blood on the Clocktower, not Dungeons and Dragons). At one such event, a fellow alum gasped in excitement when she saw me wearing the ring in the wild (and I gasped in despair at how old I was when she talked about how she endured the pandemic lockdown during her freshman year). At other times, it’s an impetus to talk about Mystery Hunt or some other aspect of MIT culture (or legend).

My partner has also asked me about it, wondering whether it’s common for Americans to wear college rings. No, I don’t think so. (Is that lore comparing the Brass Rat to the Super Bowl ring still out there?) But I long ago resolved to continue wearing the Brass Rat daily – at least until I get another ring…