Across the nation, Boilermakers are at the heart of America’s democratic process. Ensuring fair elections. Getting out the vote. Running for office on local, state, and national levels. We go behind the scenes and beyond the partisan divides to hear from individuals who work tirelessly to live up to and preserve the noble ideals of democracy […]
Rise to the occasion Prentice Parrish (MS M’00) is a commissioner for the Mayor’s Commission on African American Affairs in Washington, DC When Prentice Parrish joined the Mayor’s Commission on African American Affairs in November 2019, he knew he had a big job ahead of him: the commission focuses on areas ranging from policy to […]
Purdue Pete flipped his lid. Literally. In 1983, Purdue’s athletic mascot took off the boxy hat he had worn at a jaunty angle atop his raven hair for two decades and donned a new skimmer — a construction hard hat. Manly, yes. But what spawned Pete’s millinery makeover? Edward L. Neufer (A’59) had a light […]
When COVID-19 shut down America, Danielle Render (T’17, EnE’17) was ready. Her custom clothing company Divine Creations, known by the brand name DVN Co., had already seen the worst before word ever hit American media. She started feeling the pinch in January because DVN’s raw materials come from China, where the first cases of coronavirus […]
Megan Finnerty (LA’02) knew well before she came to West Lafayette that she wanted to be a journalist. But the classes for her mass communication and media studies major weren’t like those of a traditional “J-school” — and that’s precisely why she says she’s found success. “The whole communications approach was theory based, not occupation […]
Animal sciences alumnus drafted in WWII, six credits shy of graduation Born and raised on a farm north of Knightstown, Indiana, Russell “Doc” Hardin (A’65) began milking cows at age 9. During the Depression, Hardin recalls, the only income for the family came from milking their 20 head of cattle. Hardin remembers the country veterinarian […]
James Franklin Sharp (MS IE’61, PhD IE’66) graduated from Chester Grade School in Chester, Illinois, in 1950. As eighth grade class president, he addressed his fellow graduates during the ceremony. Seventy years later, the school invited Sharp to return to Chester and give a talk to its 2020 graduating class, but the coronavirus pandemic forced […]
The Purdue Women’s Network connects alumnae around the globe with opportunities to share their skills, knowledge, and leadership to uplift and inspire other women. In this ongoing series, we check in with Purdue alumnae who run their own businesses and are looking to connect with others. How are you navigating these uncertain times? I launched […]
5 questions with Dallas Woodburn (MFA’13), author of The Best Week that Never Happened What inspired you to be a writer? It’s difficult for me to remember a time before I loved writing; I gobbled up books from an early age. My dad is a writer, and I often saw him working, so I knew […]
In high school, Brad Ruder (T’93) carefully researched college options across the country from his New Jersey home and chose Purdue for its outstanding construction engineering and management program. Building was his first love, and he wanted a curriculum that covered all aspects of the construction process. Little did he know then that his life’s […]
