Dolores Cooper Shockley (MS P’53, PhD P’55) was the first Black woman to earn a PhD from Purdue and the first Black woman in the United States to earn a PhD in pharmacology. Shockley was born in Clarksdale, Mississippi, on April 21, 1930. She enrolled at Louisiana State University in 1947, intending to pursue a […]
When Paula Fontana (M’93) arrived at Purdue after graduating from a small private high school, she expected to encounter a cut-throat environment. But she was surprised to discover a supportive community. A graduate of the Dr. Cornell Business Opportunity Program — “I’m a proud BOPer,” she says — Fontana was grateful for the opportunity to immerse herself […]
Rochelle R. Asberry (LA’85) spent many years in marketing, sales, and branding in a corporate setting, where she grew small accounts into multimillion-dollar territories. With the skills she acquired, Asberry aspired to get to the next level. For Asberry, that meant setting her sights on building her own company. And with hard work and dedication, […]
Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Ginger Thompson found her footing at the Purdue Exponent Ginger Thompson (LA’86) is a senior reporter at ProPublica, a powerhouse in investigative journalism. She came to Purdue to study computer technology. Coming from a “working-class to poor family,” she wanted a sure thing, a career with stability. But Thompson found that Purdue […]
Helen Bass Williams (1916–1991) was a significant figure in the Civil Rights movement before coming to Purdue in 1968 as an instructor in French and a counselor in the School of Humanities, Social Science, and Education (HSSE). Born and raised in rural southern Illinois, Williams earned two master’s degrees, one in public health from North […]
Kassandra “Katie” Agee Chandler (M’80) was born to a blue-collar family from Gary, Indiana. She originally aspired to attend an out of state college following high school graduation. This plan was disrupted when she was contacted by Cornell Bell (PhD EDU’72, HDR M’07). Bell discovered Agee Chandler during her senior year of high school and […]
As a coach, Lindsey Hicks inspires students athletically and academically Lindsey Hicks (LA’04) had no intention of coaching basketball. She’d just finished up playing professionally overseas for six season after college when she received a phone call that would change her life. The call was from Pam Stackhouse, who was an assistant women’s basketball coach […]
What is it like to experience a moment in someone else’s life? We stepped into the shoes of Purdue alumni who have been in history-making, life-changing, or just plain weird moments. What does it feel like to eat fire and swallow swords? Joel Van Auken (S’18) and Troy Deckard (MS -S’04) met in the Purdue juggling […]
Shannon Kang is a sophomore at Purdue University. Like most students, she spends time worrying about grades — but after the local 2019 elections in West Lafayette, she’s also balancing homework with city council meetings and supporting her constituents. Purdue Alumni spoke with her as she assumed office in January 2020. Why run for office […]
We asked Katie Rippel to share some of her insight from her career at Anheuser-Busch, where she started work as an intern in 2001. Rippel started as brewing front-line supervisor, steadily working her way up the ranks in a heavily male-dominated profession. Rippel has incredible insight from her career. We asked her to share thoughts […]
