Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy has written an opinion piece explaining a family motto he and his wife have long repeated to their nine children: "My job is to get you into heaven, not Harvard." He notes the phrase proved unexpectedly controversial after he shared it publicly this week, prompting him to elaborate on its meaning in the context of raising a family focused on values rather than academic prestige alone.

The piece ties into the launch of Duffy's new YouTube series, "The Great America Road Trip," which follows his family travelling across the United States at a time when he says many Americans feel disconnected from their country and their families. During one leg of the trip, the family visited Boston, touring both Boston College and Harvard University, the latter being the first-choice school of his daughter Paloma.