Elizabeth Saunders connected with her roots while getting involved at the Tumaini Innovation Center and staying with relatives

Halfway around the world, Elizabeth Saunders felt at home. 

Even though she had never been to Kenya before her research abroad program, the Purdue construction engineering student found a room full of new people comforting. 

During one of the first meetings for her research project, everyone at the table was talking about the curriculum — at the same time. The communication style wasn’t what’s standard in the U.S. It was like being at her family’s Thanksgiving table.  

For the last five days Saunders was in Kenya, she sat with her actual family. They were the dozens of people her mother had left when she immigrated to the U.S. decades ago. 

It was Saunders’ first time meeting them face-to-face. The instant security she felt is almost impossible to describe.  

“It all felt familiar,” she says. “I grew up around a lot of Kenyan women — my mom, my grandma, my aunt — and it felt like I was with them.” 

Researching abroad 

Kenya was Saunders’ second time overseas. She first heard about studying abroad from an advisor, Brandon Fulk, and went to New Zealand for the spring semester of her junior year.  

“I love to challenge myself and try new things just for the sake of having more experiences,” says Saunders, who grew up in Greenwood, Indiana. “I’d never traveled that far before and definitely wanted to do it again.” 

Saunders doesn’t hesitate to credit faculty and staff for sharing all sorts of opportunities. She was working at the Office of Future Engineers when her manager, Lindsay Elias, let her know about the six-week summer research opening in Kenya. The National Science Foundation-funded program was led by Purdue’s Jennifer DeBoer and Kirsten Davis along with San Franciso State University’s Stephanie Claussen with support from the School of Engineering Education and Global Engineering Programs and Partnerships. 

The research project took place at the Tumaini Innovation Center, where she worked with an engineering education team to support the teachers in improving their vocational school. They were able to optimize programs by interviewing students, teachers and employers about their goals.  

Interviews at the center were only the start of Saunders’ conversations in Kenya. After her mother helped coordinate plans over the phone with relatives, she was set to meet some of them in Eldoret (where the center is located) and stay with dozens in Nairobi.  

Meeting family 

Anyone who has tried to learn a new language knows how difficult it can be. Where most would hesitate, Saunders dove in — she had to learn Swahili to communicate with her family.   

An American cousin taking Swahili courses gave her tips. For four months, they’d touch base about once a week to go over common terms. When she arrived in Kenya, she told her research team she was trying to learn the language. Some of the teachers then spoke exclusively in Swahili to introduce her to as many words as possible. She also met with a Swahili teacher to round out the informal crash course.   

While those in Eldoret and younger cousins were fluent in English, most of the older generation only spoke Swahili. One aunt was limited in Swahili but used Kikuyu, a Bantu language found mainly in the central region of Kenya. Talking with that aunt was like playing a game of telephone with another relative translating for them.  

“It took five minutes to figure out ‘Would you like any tea?’” she says. “We made it work. It was part of being immersed in their lives.” 

They spent the majority of the time telling stories about relatives she knew, relatives she didn’t. Her family history became both clearer and more intricate than ever.  

“Everyone spoke so highly of my great-grandmother, and it made me miss her even though we never met,” she says.  

The ancestral connection ran deep. She happened to arrive in Nairobi on the anniversary of her great-grandmother’s death. And out of every seat in the house, she happened to favor the one right next to where her great-grandmother always sat.  

Having to leave was more difficult than she could have expected. In a way, it was going away from one home to return to another, and it gave new meaning to what a safe haven is.  

prev

next

Seeing what’s next 

It won’t be the last time Saunders sees her family. She’s already looking forward to the next visit. Now that she’s opened the door, her mom and siblings are also making travel plans.  

The next time she’s there, she’ll have graduated — she’s set to receive her degree in December 2025 and head into the construction engineering industry.  

She’s looking at specialized construction and how buildings can best serve community needs, from hospitals and government buildings to museums and shared spaces. She’s also interested in construction projects for developing countries, where humanitarian initiatives like water collection systems make a big impact. Above all, she wants to make people’s lives better.  

“An alum gave advice that you’re not doing anything if you’re not helping others,” she says. “I know the opportunities are out there for me.” 

An alum gave advice that you’re not doing anything if you’re not helping others.

Elizabeth SaunderS

Senior in construction engineering

Renovating a program takes setting high standards for everyone involved. Second-year Purdue soccer coach Richard Moodie wants the women who comprise his program to aim for the stars and to love the sport enough to make a career out of it.

Therefore, it is not surprising that 10 Boilermakers played soccer for high-level clubs over the summer to hone their skills and compete against the best available competition. Making money isn’t the objective, as typically it only covers expenses and not much else. Having access to worthy competition is key.

“I had exposure to a lot of good players from different schools, like Duke, UCF and Pepperdine,” says Megan Santa Cruz, a Washington State transfer who played for the Santa Clarita (Calif.) Blue Heat not far from her home in Burbank. “It was important for me to get exposure to a different style and keep my fitness level up.”

For Moodie, there is a risk of burning players out by playing too much; that is why placement is so important. The message is simple.

“Go, get your confidence. Go play, go and enjoy yourself,” is Moodie’s mantra when it comes to summer competition. “We are particular about where the kids go to play,” he says. “Are they in a good environment? Are they being looked after?

“Megan may be undersized for her position (the midfielder is 5-foot-4), but the data shows she can play with anybody. And she proves that on the pitch.”

Make no mistake, Moodie is a 21st-century data-driven coach who uses numbers at every turn.

For Allyssa Turner, a freshman defender who played at Wake FC in her home state of North Carolina, it was about getting exposure to new positions and new styles.

“I played center back, outside back, midfielder — a variety of positions,” says Turner. “At this stage of my career, it is important to work on different situations and try different things in games that matter, but don’t matter as much as our matches at Purdue.”

Moodie likes what he sees in Turner and thinks the summer experience really helped her.

“I couldn’t tell you if she is left-footed or right-footed,” Moodie says. “She has excellent ball skills, despite an early season injury getting her off to a slow start. She’s got great energy, and it’s fun to be around her.”

Emily Edwards, in her second season as the Boilermakers’ goalie after transferring from Pitt, was able to take advantage of the proximity to campus while playing not far from West Lafayette for the Indy Eleven.

“The ability to play on a team that’s a high level was great,” Edwards says. “But also being close enough to Purdue, that really allowed me to not only develop my craft soccer-wise, but I was also able to stay here on campus and spend time in the weight room and really hone in on some of the things that I’ve been trying to work on, like my overall athleticism. So, on that note, it was great for me.”

Edwards is Moodie’s type of player.

“She loves soccer and she’s a leader,” Moodie says. “She’s not afraid to say what needs to be said. She is a perfectionist, which is a plus and a minus, but she is a captain, as is Megan, and sets that example.”

For the love of soccer

The summer experiences afforded the backbone members of his team to fit snugly with Moodie’s philosophy. It is critical to the coach, who grew up near Edinburgh, Scotland, that he surrounds himself with a team that aspires to a life in the sport.

“They want everyone to go pro, and that’s always been an aspiration of mine,” Edwards says. “They can help me get there. However, we also want to win tournaments. We want to win championships. Being able to play for a program and staff that share the same desires as I do is something I was looking for in the portal, and I found it here.

“Soccer is everything here, and I really like that. We are trying to build a (winning) culture. It starts with winning games and becoming a championship-caliber team.”

However, that love for the game and desire for success must be embraced by everyone: players, coaches, athletic training staff and administrators.

Everyone.

For Moodie, Purdue’s commitment to women’s sports and to soccer was strong enough to attract him from South Alabama.

“I loved South Alabama and we had success there, making the NCAA Tournament often in my tenure,” Moodie says. “But it didn’t take me long to learn that Purdue was eager to make a jump. It has demonstrated its support for women’s athletics, as seen in successful programs like volleyball, and a further example is the $100,000 investment in our team room. We have what we need here, and (sport administrator) Ed Howat is committed to helping make it all happen.”

prev

next

Embracing change

Moodie believes it is vital to make changes when you inherit a program that didn’t win a conference match for the two seasons before Moodie’s arrival. Purdue won three league contests last year, showing marked improvement.

“You have to make something happen, where they can see change and they can feel change,” says Moodie, who was offered a scholarship at Carson-Newman in Tennessee, enough of an inducement to get him to leave his native country. “Everything is in place.”

However, that doesn’t mean it will be easy. When Moodie took the job in late 2023, the program had only one recruiting commitment. He scoured the transfer portal and signed international players. Just this year, Purdue was able to pick up Ally Lynch from Clemson, Angelina Thoreson from LSU, Irene Campo from South Alabama and Santa Cruz from Washington State — a clear example of the new world of college athletics and the effects of a coaching transition.

Moodie also had to fend off other college programs attempting to recruit players who were already on Purdue’s roster. Add that to the list of challenges.

“We are really young,” says Moodie, who says he wants to cultivate and secure talent from Indiana, especially in talent-rich Indianapolis. But that will take time.

This year’s roster features one fifth-year player, four seniors, eight juniors, two sophomores and nine freshmen. The Boilermakers hail from 10 different countries: Argentina, Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Iceland, Spain, Sweden and Venezuela, along with the United States.

That diverse roster has talent with which to work. Edwards, Santa Cruz and junior defender Zoe Cuneio are on Big Ten watch lists, and Moodie likes the makeup of the squad. Moodie’s style is to play aggressively and put the ball in the net.

“We just want to keep our players and keep them engaged,” says Moodie, who is confident that associate head coach Rob Ward will capably handle the defense. “We want to keep the fans on the edge of their seat every time we get on the ball. We want to be on the front foot. We want to score goals. We want to go forward. And for me, that’s the way.”

And, if you ask Turner, Santa Cruz and Edwards, the trio like the makeup of their coaching staff and the tone Moodie sets.

“He doesn’t take himself too seriously, but pays attention to the smallest of details and doesn’t back down from the high expectations he has for us,” Santa Cruz says. “I struggled with my confidence coming from Washington State, and he really helped me with that. That is the relationship he has with his players.

“We work really hard because we want to. We want to be a team that stands out at Purdue.”

From coach to player and all parts in between, the tone has been set.

Written by Alan Karpick, publisher of GoldandBlack.com

Jeremi London’s engineering experience includes three Purdue degrees

Jeremi London knew she had to follow her calling — but what was she supposed to do about the fact that there were two? 

Her first year at Purdue established her love for engineering. At the same time, she had an unwavering passion for education. Combining both became possible with a specially designed graduate program.  

After studying industrial engineering as an undergraduate, she went on to receive her master’s in the same discipline and a PhD in engineering education. An allegiance to lifelong learning has led to her current roles.  

At Vanderbilt University, she’s an associate professor of mechanical engineering and associate provost for academic opportunity. She’s also sharing her STEM expertise as a consultant on the curriculum team for “Weather Hunters,” a PBS KIDS show strengthening a younger audience’s understanding of Earth science and meteorology. The “Today” show host Al Roker created the series.

Learn more about London’s experience at Purdue and perspective on education, plus what it takes to make an all-new animated series.  

Q: What inspired your path as a scholar? 

A: So many Purdue experiences contributed toward where I am today.  

I loved learning in my classes, but I took any chance I could to follow a brewing passion: teaching. The National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE) was founded at Purdue and is an extremely active chapter — I’d tutor peers in it, plus middle school students through their Pre-Collegiate Initiative program.  

Professor Bill Oakes played a crucial role in my decision to stick with engineering and was an unforgettable mentor. During my first year, I told him I was considering switching to education, and he advised that I stick with engineering until I could enter the engineering education graduate program at Purdue, which was brand-new at the time.  

I no longer had to choose between these two amazing things that I loved. I knew from then on that I wanted to earn my PhD. That is the thread of my whole career. To this day, I’m still blending engineering and education.  

Q: How has your role as an educator changed throughout your career? 

A: The traditional view of an educator is someone standing in front of a class, but I have always carried with me that education is about moments of connection. 

When you connect with someone, hard topics become accessible, and misconceptions are disrupted. I’m doing that at different levels.  

At Vanderbilt, I have a faculty appointment as well as an administrative role in the Office of the Provost. This checks a lot of boxes. It gives me the space to be able to work with students while still carrying out a research agenda. 

Right now, my research has led me to audiences I never imagined I’d reach. I’m part of the curriculum team for “Weather Hunters,” from Al Roker Entertainment. As a person who firmly believes students learn more outside of the classroom than in it — partly as a by-product of the amount of time spent in each context — I was thrilled to learn more about this particular setting of informal learning.  

Q: What have been some key takeaways while working on the show? 

A: There are always creative ways to make complex STEM concepts accessible and practical for young learners, but it takes work and a team. Lean into the joy that comes with struggling to find it. The process is worth the reward. 

I have a newfound appreciation for the shows that I watched as a kid. “Arthur,” “Reading Rainbow” and “Sesame Street” were masterful at balancing entertainment and education. Integrating humor and curiosity into a curriculum isn’t easy.  

Creating a series is a long process, and the plot of every show is carefully studied. When introducing a new weather concept, we sat in our weekly meetings and asked, “What story do we want to wrap around this? How do we weave this into a kid’s life? Where would a kid see evaporation or find icicles?” It makes you think differently.

Q: What advice would you give to yourself during your undergraduate years? 

A: There are two messages. First, I’d remind myself that we are complicated human beings. It’s not odd to have interests in things that don’t seem naturally aligned. Don’t give up on finding a way to blend the things that make you whole. 

The second piece of advice is to strive for impact. When I’m asked how I moved from one accomplishment to another, the main explanation is that I am driven to make a social impact. How can I use my gifts, talents and insights for good? That will take you places you couldn’t have imagined. You get tapped for things you didn’t even know existed.

How can I use my gifts, talents and insights for good?

Jeremi London

BSIE ’08, MSIE ’13, PhD engineering education ’14

Q: What did you find on Purdue’s campus that you couldn’t find anywhere else?  

A: Purdue was big enough to accommodate growing interests. I earned all three of my engineering degrees there. That is not the norm. Most people switch up where they go — they have to find someplace new for their next degree. I appreciated that I had so many disciplines to choose from and that there was space for me to pivot.  

Along the way, I learned so much from the people in the organizations I was involved in, like NSBE and Women in Engineering. I had a church group that supported me and a real sense of community. Purdue wasn’t only satisfying my intellectual curiosity. It was a place where I could be a budding person, growing into what I was created to be.

Karen Korellis Reuther aims to help other women build careers in the field where she guided big brands like Nike and Reebok

Karen Korellis Reuther (BA industrial design ’79) remembers the exact moment she decided to become an industrial designer. 

At the time, she was a sophomore in an associate degree program in Purdue’s School of Technology, planning to become an architect who supported her family’s roofing business in Hammond, Indiana. But during a basic drawing course, her professor, Peter Miller, made an observation that changed the course of her life. 

While most of Korellis Reuther’s classmates typically drew flowers and other nature scenes, Miller — an alum of Purdue’s industrial design master’s program — noticed she preferred to draw products like hair dryers, shampoo bottles or deodorant cans. 

“He said, ‘Have you ever heard of industrial design?’ And I said, ‘No, what is that?’ And he said, ‘It’s like an architect for products,’” Korellis Reuther says. “And I still remember that moment. I remember exactly where I was standing. It was at the Michael Golden Labs, which don’t exist anymore. And I said, ‘You can be that?’ And he said, ‘Yes. In fact, there’s a school of industrial design. If you take your drawings over, I’ll call the professor over there and have you meet them.’ And I’ve never looked back.” 

For his part, Miller had no idea what that simple exchange inspired. Korellis Reuther would shift into industrial design, where she advanced to the pinnacle of the athletics industry. Not only did she become a creative director at Nike and vice president, creative direction and innovation at Reebok, but she also worked as a design consultant with other famous footwear brands like Puma, Vans and Timberland. 

Miller carried on with a 40-year teaching career, including 20 years spent at Purdue (1967-87), totally unaware of Korellis Reuther’s accomplishments. At least not until 2019, when David Williams, the chief development officer for Purdue’s College of Liberal Arts, learned of the inspirational role Miller played in Korellis Reuther’s journey and reached out to reconnect the two. 

Nearly 45 years after their pivotal conversation, Korellis Reuther was able to thank Miller for his guidance. 

“We had an hourlong conversation,” Miller says. “It was just like the old expression about riding a bike. We made a connection, and it was just like talking to an old, dear friend. It was just so interesting to hear what her life had become. You have somebody in a class and then they disappear, and for the most part, you just never know these things. So, to find out that she had the success that she had was such a joy for me.”

He said, ‘Have you ever heard of industrial design?’ And I said, ‘No, what is that?’ And he said, ‘It’s like an architect for products.’ And I still remember that moment.

Karen Korellis Reuther (BA industrial design ’79) 

On art professor Peter Miller’s encouragement to consider a career in industrial design 

The encounter was so pleasant, in fact, that Miller and his wife added a side excursion to Boston to visit the Reuthers during a New England vacation in the fall of 2024. At the end of their dinner, which Miller describes as “one of the most wonderful evenings my wife and I remember having,” Korellis Reuther jokes that she and her husband felt a special duty to pick up the check. 

“It was funny, (Miller) said, ‘No, no, no,’” Korellis Reuther recalls with a chuckle, “and I just said, ‘It’s the least I could do for you having given me my career!’”

Designing for women

Long before she became an athletic footwear executive, Korellis Reuther was a product designer at Boston-based computer companies Wang Laboratories and Digital Equipment Corp. In fact, a desktop computer she designed in 1984 made her Wang Laboratories’ first female designer to receive a patent. 

It was a joyous accomplishment, but also a bittersweet one — a running theme throughout her career. She didn’t aspire to be the first or the only woman designer to accomplish something. She wanted to have more women up and down the organizational ladder, including in the boardroom. 

“I always say a couple things: One, we need more women at the table because women won’t forget that women exist,” Korellis Reuther says. “And two, women are not smaller men.” 

That second point has become a focus in the latter stages of her career. 

After successfully applying to Harvard University’s Advanced Leadership Initiative, where she was a fellow in 2021 and 2022, Korellis Reuther joined the faculty as a design critic (essentially an adjunct professor) in Harvard’s Graduate School of Design, teaching in the school’s Master in Design Engineering program and personally concentrating on ending gender bias within the built world. 

Translation: Male and female bodies are not the same. When designing for women, it’s not good enough to simply “shrink it and pink it” — to produce a smaller version of an item built for men’s use and manufacture it in a stereotypically female color. For example, the auto industry’s historical failure to account for gender differences during seat-belt design and safety-testing procedures results in women being far more likely to suffer injury or death in a crash. 

“I believe that in the feminist fight for equality, sameness was emphasized and biological differences were minimized largely due to the fear of these differences being held against women,” says Korellis Reuther, who is in the process of writing a book about this topic titled “Man Made” that Harper Business will publish in 2026. The book is an inside look at how design has left women out and the steps that are necessary to make it right. 

One way to create change is to increase the number of women not just graduating in the field — and others like it, including architecture and engineering — but remaining in it beyond the first few years after graduation. 

So, she decided to do something about it. She and her husband, Dieter, decided to endow a scholarship at Purdue for promising young women in industrial design. The couple offers not only financial support, but mentorship, career advice and professional connections in hopes of building a network that improves retention rates.

“The first patent, although I was very proud of it, also drove what I’m working on now in that the number of women in industrial design and architecture and mechanical and civil engineering as women in practice remains very, very low today,” Korellis Reuther says.

Paying it forward

When the Reuthers launched the scholarship ahead of the 2022-23 academic year, they simply wanted to do something to help the next generation thrive in a field that enabled them to design products for some of the biggest brands in the world. The first scholarship recipient, Isabelle Urashima, is an innovation designer at IBM today. The 2023-24 recipient, Cecilia Sanchez, is now an industrial designer for White River Marine Group. 

Entering the third year of the scholarship’s existence, the Reuthers had no clue — nobody at Purdue did — about the stressful circumstances Anna Blessinger and her family faced when the industrial design program’s leaders selected Blessinger as the 2024-25 recipient. 

Anna’s mom, Tara, had been diagnosed with lymphoma only a month before the family learned about the scholarship that would cover nearly all of the costs associated with Anna’s senior year at Purdue. The unexpected gift allowed them to focus solely on Tara’s care without taking on the additional stress of student loans to cover Anna’s college expenses. 

“She has a rare form of cancer that is incurable, so she will not have any remission. She can go into chemo, and then it will decrease some of the cancer, but it will never eliminate it,” Blessinger explains. “We’ve been trying to get her into different studies, and there has been quite a bit of a financial burden on the family, but everyone’s been handling it really well. And I told Karen that as well: For that (scholarship) to have happened was such a blessing for our family. It saved us from a lot of struggle going into my last year at Purdue.” 

While this was a different occupational barrier from what the Reuthers envisioned when they endowed the scholarship, the circumstances still fell very much in line with the message of persistence that the Reuthers hoped to convey. 

“Although I had never experienced what Anna did during my studies at Purdue, I could relate,” Korellis Reuther says. “I’ve had moments that made me pause and wonder if I should keep going. Experiences like that can cause you to stop. It may cause you to question whether you’re talented enough to do this, whether you’re strong enough to do this. 

“All I knew is that through the scholarship and the support that Dieter and I provided to Anna, we wanted to give her more reasons to say yes than no. What she accomplished and her level of talent is really amazing. I can’t wait to see what she does next.” 

After all, you never know what a bit of encouragement might spark. Korellis Reuther is living proof.

A world of possibilities

At Nike, Korellis Reuther felt like she received a PhD in brand-building thanks to the company’s universal focus on athlete performance. At Reebok, she helped prove the value of a well-defined brand mark when she led a redesign of its corporate identity using a single, established logo — a change that contributed to a 20% sales increase in the very first quarter. 

She and Dieter want to share such industry knowledge with young designers capable of changing the field for the better. Designers like Anna Blessinger. 

Blessinger interned last summer at Wilson Sporting Goods in Chicago, where she first gained an awareness of the design possibilities that exist within the athletics realm. She went on to design a marathon running shoe as part of her award-winning senior thesis, prompting Korellis Reuther to observe that she has the chops to work in athletic footwear design if she chooses to do so. 

And perhaps she will someday. But for now, the spring 2025 graduate is focused on her first job at Whirlpool, designing mixers for the company’s KitchenAid brand at its headquarters in Benton Harbor, Michigan. 

She loves working in a field where she could design either shoes or mixers, or countless other products, over the course of a long career. Korellis Reuther’s accomplishments prove that point, revealing how far designers can go when they bet on themselves. 

“Having her as an example for saying yes to opportunities, it helps me want to say yes to the opportunities that I am getting now,” Blessinger says. “She’s just been a great example for what life could be.”

Barry Odom is a man in motion. He looks at his watch. He checks his buzzing phone. Competition for his time and attention is fierce.

“What time do I get up?” says Odom, repeating a question. “The alarm usually goes off at 4:30 in the morning. And always to music.”

Odom sips his coffee. He’s trying to kick Diet Coke.

Breakfast? There’s no time. But Odom always says a prayer and reads from the Bible.

“I’m trying to read it in a year,” Odom says. “I’ll send both of my sons a scripture and what I thought of it. And I tell them I love them and to have a great day.”

Odom is out the door and whirls down the hall of the Kozuch Football Performance Complex. He has a meeting — he seemingly always has a meeting — in a tightly orchestrated daily schedule that leaves no room for fluff.

That blue-collar mindset was hatched during a meteoric rise through the coaching ranks that has him already working on his third head coaching job at only 48 years old.

Odom has been there and done that, working as a high school coach, grad assistant, director of recruiting, director of operations, assistant coach, and coordinator — not to mention his roles as a father, son, brother, husband, and friend.

His new label: Head Coach of Purdue Football.

“I just really think that the way Barry goes about his work, the way his staff will go about their work, the personality that our program will take on immediately will resonate with the type of young players and young guys that will ultimately lead us to success,” Purdue Executive Vice President and Director of Intercollegiate Athletics Mike Bobinski says. “And that’s how we get it done here.”

Odom has work to do. He knows it. You know it. We all know it. There’s no sense in rehashing the details of the 2024 season. Odom won’t go there. His eyes are forward. And he likes what he sees — even if he doesn’t quite know what to expect from a roster chock-full of questions as the 2025 season dawns.

At the top of the queries: How will Odom blend a roster dotted with more than 80 newcomers?

“It’s exhilarating,” says Odom with a smile.

Covering his tracks

For a man to know where he is going, he has to know where he has been.

Barry Stephen Odom traces his roots to the dusty plains of Oklahoma, the second of Cheryl and Bob Odom’s three sons, each four years apart: Brad (Purdue’s director of recruiting), Barry, and Brian (inside linebackers coach at Washington).

“I look back now, the opportunities they provided for us were unbelievable,” Odom says. “We didn’t have any money. I didn’t know that. But we always had what we needed.”

Bob Odom worked in the oil industry until a recession led to his job loss, after which he became a teacher at an alternative school. Cheryl was an elementary school educator and principal.

“It was a very disciplined household, but it was also a loving household,” Odom says. “I knew my parents loved me, but you knew what you’re supposed to do, when you’re supposed to do it, how you’re supposed to do it. There were no gray areas.”

Young Barry was precocious, always trying to keep up with his older brother Brad.

“There was always something going on at our house,” Brad Odom says. “We lived on a hill and had a lined 50-yard field we called ‘Odom Field.”

They played tackle football. (Did you really think they played touch?)

“Everyone played there,” Brad Odom says. “We played until it was dark or someone got hurt.”

On Sundays, the Odoms cleaned up and went to church. You could find the family at First Methodist Church. Mom played the piano and organ. The Odoms always — always — sat in the third pew from the front on the right-hand side of the church.

While his parents taught him right from wrong, and the church had its set of lessons, Barry still veered off course at times.

“I got in lots of trouble, but not nearly as much trouble as my older brother,” Odom says. “So, I learned from him how close to that line you could get, but not to touch that line.”

Odom came of age in tiny Maysville, Oklahoma. You have to squint to see it on a map. The family moved to nearby Ada — an hour east on Highway 19 — for his senior year of high school.

“It was a bigger school, more opportunities,” Odom says.

By the time Odom hit Ada — a town of 16,000 located 51 miles southeast of Oklahoma City — he was a known commodity across the state. Odom was a hard-hitting linebacker and rugged running back with exceptional speed, which allowed him to double as a track star who competed across the nation.

“Barry could run a legit 4.4 (40-yard dash),” Brad Odom says.

Rival high schools, Ardmore or McAlester, had no chance vs. Odom and Ada High in 1994 during a dominating run on the gridiron that resonates among locals today.

“Undefeated against them, in case anybody’s wondering,” Odom says. “State champs, too.”

When he wasn’t beating Ardmore or McAlester, Odom was dreaming of beating Nebraska and Texas as a member of the Oklahoma Sooners. Odom loved Barry Switzer’s Sooners. Every kid in the state who buckled a chinstrap and played on Friday nights did.

“Brian Bosworth was my guy,” Odom says.

He even had the Boz’s signature Mohawk-style haircut.

“Absolutely,” Odom says. “I know it’s hard to believe now.”

Odom raises his hat to show a mostly bald head.

Timing is everything in football recruiting, and with Oklahoma and Oklahoma State being in coaching transitions, neither wanted Odom. Arkansas became a top option, but the Hogs passed as Odom was coming off a knee injury in his senior season.

That left Missouri, which would take him as is. And it was a prescient choice that changed Odom’s football and personal life forever.

The way that returnees have come back and worked, the additions that we’ve made to our team, the opportunity is there for us to create momentum early on.

head coach barry odom on the 2025 Boilermakers, who lead the FBS with 54 incoming transfers

Romance in Columbia

Credit a former Missouri teammate with sparking the romance between Barry and his now-wife, Tia.

Tiger defensive tackle Jeff Marriott — who also lived with Odom — had a class with Tia Trump as a freshman. Odom noticed the two together once and asked to be introduced.

“She eventually decided to go on a date with me,” Odom says. “Took a while.”

The first date?

“There was a mall in Columbia, and attached to the mall was a movie theater, and then close by was a Chili’s. It was perfect,” Odom says. “We went on Thursday night because it was $1 night. We saw ‘Dante’s Peak.'”

Odom and Tia have been together ever since, raising three children: JT, a student at Purdue, Garyt, a freshman quarterback for the Boilermakers, and Anna Lockwood, who is entering the fifth grade.

Home is Odom’s getaway.

“He has to be super organized running a football program, something as big as that,” Tia says. “But at home, when he’s here, he’s here.”

An escape from football for Odom: cooking.

“It began with smoking meat,” says Tia. “And I got him a Big Green Egg smoker. He likes that. He likes cooking outside.

“And he loves a good crayfish boil.”

While cooking, Odom may listen to music. It could be classic rock, or country, old or new.

“He likes Chris Stapleton, Joe Purdy, Jamey Johnson,” says Tia.

Tia Odom can appreciate it. She grew up in Kahoka, a small town in northeast Missouri.

“I am fortunate in many ways,” Barry Odom says. “One of them is because our kids are healthy and happy, and I’ll never lose sight of that.”

Hard, smart and tough

A thin smile creases Barry Odom’s face as he discusses his past. He’s a wedge of man who still looks capable of stuffing a running back in the A-gap on 4th-and-1.

Odom often did that as a powder keg linebacker at Missouri from 1996-99. He always says he’s six feet tall.

“Get a driver’s license, I’d say I’m six feet tall,” says Odom, trying to extinguish any doubt.

He’s not six feet tall. But Odom compensates with cast-in-fire will. He’s the epitome of an underdog. Just ask him.

“Every day of my life, I’ve taken that approach,” he says.

The late Larry Smith and Gary Pinkel both saw it. The two Mizzou head football coaches helped forge Odom’s life on and off the field. What you see today is mainly because of Smith and Pinkel.

It was Pinkel who gave Odom his breakthrough in college coaching in 2003 as a graduate assistant for the Tigers. And it was Smith who signed Odom to play at Missouri in 1996.

Odom is hard-wired with Pinkel and Smith. Each was forged in a bygone, black-and-white era. Each was proudly old-school and uncompromising in their beliefs.

Hard work gets the job done. But there is also a loving touch, too. Odom cares.

“Players will respect him, and he’s very sincere about how he takes care of all his players … meaning he’s like a father figure,” Pinkel says. “That’s the way he is. That’s his personality.”

And then there is the grind of the profession. Odom loves the grind he learned from Smith and Pinkel, the endless hours, long days.

The Odom way can be summed up succinctly: hard, smart and tough. It’s the mantra he brands on anyone who crosses his path.

Smith and Pinkel formed the man now prowling the Purdue sideline. This is the same too-short-for-the-Big 12, thick-necked, barrel-chested linebacker who wrung every last tackle out of his football soul.

Odom has a legacy of helping Smith pull Mizzou to respectability after years of languishing. By the time Odom bit down on his mouthpiece for the last time, the Tigers were a two-time bowl team.

Smith took a chance on Odom, signing the Oklahoma roughneck and quickly moving him from running back to linebacker.

“I saw how Coach Smith changed the narrative of the program around the way he recruited and the toughness and discipline and consistency,” Odom says. “He was able to capture momentum in the locker room with a lot of like-minded guys that got it going.”

Pinkel? He’s the man who gave Odom a chance to work as a college coach.

“Gary Pinkel was as disciplined and as consistent as anybody that I’ve ever had a chance to be around,” Odom says. “If he came in and went to our staff meeting this morning, it would be exactly like his was …

“There’s a way, a structure, and if you’ll do it and you’ll live by it and you won’t cut corners, the process ends up taking over and winning. And that’s where I learned this.”

Stacking days

Barry Odom stares out the window of his office in the Kozuch Football Performance Complex. From where he sits, he has a good view of his other office: Ross-Ade Stadium.

He’s taken off the lid on his tenure as the Boilermakers’ 38th head coach. There is no remaining shell from the team that, just three scant seasons and two head coaches ago, played for the Big Ten championship. The roster? It’s been gutted, stripped down to the studs.

Can Odom — the only new coach in the Big Ten in 2025 — surpass pundits’ low expectations and reverse a losing tide that has seen Purdue produce just four winning records since Joe Tiller retired after the 2008 season?

“This team is completely different than anybody on the outside knows,” Odom says. “The way that returnees have come back and worked, the additions that we’ve made to our team, the opportunity is there for us to create momentum early on.”

Odom is just what this program needs, trying to move past the last two seasons. He personifies Purdue — a school whose reputation is rooted in working-class disciplines like engineering, agriculture and science.

Since his boots hit the ground in West Lafayette in December, Odom has been chirping about “stacking days.” Ask anyone walking the halls of Kozuch, strolling through Mollenkopf Athletic Center, hanging out in the weight room or walking through the Village on State Street.

“Day one, practice one, everybody’s going to be excited to go practice, go to meetings, and everybody’s gonna be attentive,” Odom says. “Can you capture that and do it day after day, day after day, consistently at the level we need to win?”

It’s all about putting in the work to get better one day at a time … every day.

It’s about stacking days.

“We’re ready,” Odom says.

Written by Tom Dienhart, who has covered football for GoldandBlack.com since 2019

Be there for the dawn of the Barry Odom era! Single-game tickets for the 2025 Purdue football season are still on sale. Click here to find a price or plan that works for you.

Boilermaker and sports leader Kara Allen has met senseless tragedy with courage and a relentless drive to help others

In 2025, Purdue celebrates 50 years since the launch of its women’s athletic programs. As a part of that important milestone, the university spotlights Boilermaker women and alumni and their contributions in the sports industry: 

What does it take to lead in times of crisis?   

Empathy. Proximity. Strength. Humility. Joy. Purpose. Urgency.

For Kara Allen (BA child development and family studies ’05), these are the guiding principles that have helped her support communities in leadership roles for almost 20 years.  

“It’s not about who talks the loudest; it’s about who shows up. It’s about who listens. It’s about who stays when it’s hard,” she says. 

As a founding board member and director of strategy and impact for Playmakers Nashville, these are the values that continue to shape and inspire her work in sports. She says, “Playmakers allows me to use years of experience building, strategizing and leading programs to help create a community dedicated to igniting the power of women in sports on the field, behind the scenes and every level in between.”  

This role is a culmination of Allen’s experience in sports. From the beginning, sports — basketball, in particular — have shaped much of her life.

Boilermaker, born and raised 

Growing up near Greenfield, Indiana, in a family of Boilermakers, Allen became immersed in both basketball and Purdue from an early age. She had the opportunity to attend multiple basketball camps at Purdue, where she was coached by Boilermaker athletes like alumna and current head coach of the Indiana Fever Stephanie White. 

As a teenager, Allen was the captain of her state championship-winning basketball team at Cathedral High School, led by Linda Bamrick. This experience taught her about leadership, trust, consistency and showing up — attributes reinforced by her coach’s supportive, accepting mentorship style that Allen has sought to emulate.  

“I think that playing basketball, and winning state championships, specifically, was about understanding that winning was very little about bringing a group of the best players together and very much about bringing a group of people together that brought out the best in each other,” she says.  

Later, Allen attended Purdue as a proud third-generation Boilermaker. Majoring in child development and family studies was a pivotal choice from the get-go. 

Through her freshman-year classes, like an introductory communication and public speaking class, she learned the power of storytelling — a skill that helped her become a better leader. 

She says, “I have a deep respect for legacy and tradition and an insatiable appetite for finding new, different ways to do things for social good.” 

This drive and Allen’s interest in storytelling were further reinforced that year, when the tragic Sept. 11 terrorist attacks took place. 

“I asked myself, ‘How do I make sense of something that was so senseless?’” Allen says. “Voice is such a powerful thing to have. Our word is maybe the only thing we have, and so we have to use it very, very carefully and very intentionally.” 

Showing up for Uvalde  

After Purdue, Allen went on to receive a master’s degree in social work from the University of Southern California and a doctorate in educational leadership for social justice from Loyola Marymount University. She also held various roles in education and nonprofits — like working as a special education teacher in the Oakland Unified School District — leading youth and communities through hard transitions and recovery.  

In 2021, she became the chief impact officer for the NBA’s San Antonio Spurs — a first-of-its-kind role in U.S. professional sports. This role aligned her experience in sports leadership, love of basketball, educational background and passion for community impact work. 

“I do really like to win, but I don’t just really like to win games — I want to win at what really matters,” she says. 

For Allen, that meant serving San Antonio and its surrounding communities in their greatest times of need. Just a year after she joined the Spurs, that community was Uvalde –– a town that faced immense grief and shock after the devastating mass shooting at Robb Elementary School, where 19 schoolchildren and two teachers were killed and 17 more were injured.

In response to this national tragedy, Allen and her team led the creation of the Sport for Healing Fund, aimed at investing in and providing long-term trauma and healing-centered care for youth and families in Uvalde. The Spurs were recognized as the Humanitarian Team of the Year at the 2023 ESPY Awards for their timely efforts.  

“It was such an honor to be a tiny seed in that healing,” she says. “The young people in Uvalde remind us that legacy isn’t what you leave behind; it’s what you build together.” 

Making space for future leaders 

Now at Playmakers, Allen continues to show up with this same tenacity — for women like her who want to advance in the sports industry. 

“I think if we’re serious about building a future where the game lasts, not just grows, and not just for this moment, we have to make different choices about who we invest in to lead it,” she says. “Playmakers lets me plant seeds for the future I believe in.”

Allen also believes that her background and foundation in social work have been incredible tools to help her influence change.  

“My ability to lead in times of crisis is more important to me than anything else, both for community and for people,” she says. “Community can mean my team; it can mean the organization and the community yet to be defined. I did not choose between heart and strategy. I built a career that proves that those belong together.”

Purdue and The Children’s Museum of Indianapolis are both essential to the Dodson family’s story

Purdue is proud to sponsor The Children’s Museum of Indianapolis during its centennial anniversary — together, we celebrate 100 years of joy, wonder and curiosity. 

For the past 20 years, Jim and Dori Dodson have had at least one family member at Purdue each semester.  

It started with their eldest son, Patrick, in 2005. All four of their children plus nieces and nephews have passed the baton since. Soon, their grandchildren could continue the legacy.  

“Purdue has played an important part since the beginning,” Jim says. 

Jim and Dori both graduated from the university with business degrees in 1983. They met while volunteering for a club during their freshman year and have been giving back ever since.  

“I always tell people, ‘The more you give, the more you get,’” Dori says. “My advice is to be involved.” 

With decades of experience volunteering in the Indianapolis community, the Dodsons inspire others to work hard and help their neighbors. They’ve worked with leading organizations like The Children’s Museum and the 500 Festival, started a foundation and raised a family full of Boilermakers.

“We both believe that the giver always receives more than the recipient of a gift,” Jim says.

Lending a hand at the world’s largest children’s museum 

Raised in homes that prioritized service, both Jim and Dori were encouraged to pitch in from an early age. For Dori, one of the most influential volunteering opportunities was at The Children’s Museum.

2025 marks the museum’s 100th anniversary. Without the help of volunteers, the past century wouldn’t have been possible — and they’re the driving force behind what the next 100 years look like at the institution. Dori grew up watching her mother, Rosie Semler, work with the museum, and eventually she became president of The Children’s Museum Guild. The Guild is an all-volunteer organization that’s supported efforts since 1933.  

Every year, the Guild presents the museum’s biggest fundraiser: its haunted house. Specially designed to offer spooky surprises for visitors of all ages (including well-lit areas and milder scares for young kids), the haunted house takes a village to put together. Semler was the haunted house head witch, and Dori eventually took on the same role. Jim served on the museum’s board of trustees and has also done his fair share of haunting at the fundraiser.  

“One of the reasons we love the museum is because of the friends we’ve met volunteering,” Jim says. “You connect with other people who want to make sure it’s always a resource for the community.” The museum is ever evolving. Dori introduced an exhibit in the Playscape area. Another Guild member suggested a collaboration with artist Dale Chihuly that resulted in the museum’s iconic glass sculptures. Since their daughter has joined the Guild and continued their legacy, they’re still close to the collaborative effort required to keep everything going.

So many people work together to bring the best exhibits to Indianapolis.

Dori Dodson

BS marketing ’83 

As much as the Dodsons enjoy volunteering at the museum, they also enjoy engaging with its contents. Every year, they take their children and grandchildren to the WinterFaire, where they race down slides and see different exhibits. “So many people work together to bring the best exhibits to Indianapolis,” Dori says. “Everyone in this area has a stake in it, from scientists to sports teams.”  

One of the family’s contributions is kept safe in the museum’s collection of over 130,000 artifacts. Jim’s aunt gave a hobby horse that once belonged to his great-grandfather. It’s now part of the museum. “They take care of things,” Jim says. “The museum is an amazing place to go.”

Contributing to the Indianapolis community

Around Indiana’s capital city, Jim and Dori have built a life they love. They’re close to extended family — Dori is from Indianapolis and Jim is from Westfield. Their local network is made up of relatives, friends and colleagues from their many pursuits.  

Jim is the CEO of locally based The Dodson Group Inc. and Spendbridge, and Dori is celebrating 27 years teaching preschool and helping their church. Following lifelong passions for building businesses and giving back, Jim started the Sycamore Foundation, a nonprofit organization that helps other nonprofits succeed.  

Since 1992, the Sycamore Foundation has set the stage for other volunteers to thrive. For the first 20 years, it hosted a golf tournament where 10 nonprofits could register volunteers to raise money. The Sycamore Foundation covered the golf course, meals and event logistics, and the nonprofits only had to find participants. After outgrowing the golf model, it switched to a walking event, “Walking for Dreams.” This year, over 1,000 walkers represented 20 nonprofits and raised almost $1 million.

In addition to serving on the museum’s board, Jim has been director of the 500 Festival, Indiana Philanthropy Alliance and Catholic Community Foundation, and board chair of the Central Indiana Police Foundation, Indianapolis Young Life, Day Spring Homeless Shelter and Bishop Chatard High School. He was selected as the recipient of the Michael Carroll Award from the Indiana Business Journal in 2009. His momentum started at a young age. When he graduated from Purdue, he received the G.A. Ross Award, given annually to an outstanding graduate. 

When they’re not busy in Indianapolis, the Dodsons love to visit another important place in their story — West Lafayette.

Coming back to Purdue

Both say that Purdue was their first choice for college. Since Dori’s parents and grandfather were alumni, it was all she knew. “When you start going to football games at age 5, you never look anywhere else,” she says. “You feel comfortable, and you feel at home.”

During their undergraduate years, they spent a lot of time together between their shared business classes, participation in the Greek community and membership in organizations like Omicron Delta Kappa and Mortar Board. They started dating their senior year.

Now they return to campus for tailgates and to see their family forming its own memories at the university. It’s a legacy wrapped up in old gold and black and one that continues to instill the importance of lending a hand.

“Volunteering is ingrained in us,” Dori says. “Give back and make places even better than how you found them.”

Leighellen Landskov’s communication degree helped turn her love of books and a successful Instagram page into a career. 

Leighellen Landskov is a social media superstar.  

Her bookstagram account, her Instagram page dedicated to book recommendations and author interviews, has amassed over 26,000 followers, and Landskov has been featured on Oprah’s Book Club. She has built a thriving online community from the ground up. 

But when she decided she wanted to work in publishing, she quickly realized neither her experience nor her degree in marine biology were enough to get her there. She needed a degree in communication. Enter her son, Jacoby, a fellow Boilermaker studying at Purdue University, who told her about Purdue Global.  

Read, in her own words, about her journey earning her bachelor’s in communication and how it helped turn her passion into a career.

It has been such a cool year. I can’t believe it all happened.  

I had a unique perspective on this journey because, first of all, my son attends Purdue in person, so I knew his experience. I have another son who attends a different online education program, and I saw him struggle with how solely online it was. There weren’t textbooks, live lectures with professors or any classroom time. I loved having those things with Purdue Global. Purdue Global is magical. It’s perfectly done.

From marine biologist to Instagram influencer

After high school, I wanted to be a marine biologist without knowing that most people sit in a laboratory doing research. I thought, “That’s what I have to do?” After graduating, I went on to do marketing. I ended up making it all the way to national merchandising manager. 

Once I had kids, I opened my own photography studio. I also started a Bible study out of my house, and I was always recommending books. One of the teenagers in the Bible study told me, “You should start a bookstagram.” They even helped me come up with the name and logo. 

In 2020 the world shut down and I wasn’t able to photograph any events. But people were on the internet and were reading again. My bookstagram took off in a way I never expected. It was perfect timing.  

In 2023, as my kids were graduating, I knew I didn’t want to do photography anymore. I chose that when it allowed me to stay home during the day, but with my kids grown up, I didn’t want to work evenings and weekends.  

I decided I wanted to work in publishing. I started applying, but employers were asking me, “Do you have a communications or English degree?” All I could say was no — my bachelor’s degree was in science. Despite the fact that I have a lot of experience in the literary field, I needed to have that degree.   
 
That’s when my son noticed an ad during a Purdue basketball game for Purdue Global. He said, “Mom, you should go back to school.”

Purdue Global is magical. It’s perfectly done.

Leighellen Landskov

BS communication ’24, Purdue Global

How Purdue Global made it possible

I kept saying to myself, “How am I going to do this?” I was unsure and nervous because I hadn’t been to school for what felt like 100 years. I was overwhelmed, but Purdue Global’s advisors were amazing. I thought it was going to be impossible, and they made it possible. They were able to get in touch with the university I attended years ago, and I got credit for everything. Instead of having to go for four years, I was able to finish in two. 

It’s easy to think you’re stuck where you are or you’re too old to change or try something new. But if you have the drive and the commitment and the desire, you can do it. 

Purdue Global allowed me to be a good mom and employee and still get my degree. I got everything I dreamed of getting, and I got it faster than I expected. There’s a team of people at Purdue Global encouraging and helping you along the way, and I never felt alone.

I got everything I dreamed of getting.

Leighellen Landskov

BS communication ’24, Purdue Global

A powerful graduation and starting a new job

Graduation felt remarkably inspiring. Realizing you’re in this room with all these people and you know that they were managing a full-time job and raising kids, too. I love how they shouted out graduates who were in the military and who were the first to go to college in their whole family. It was powerful. 

The whole weekend was special. They had events planned and photo ops set up around campus. The ceremony is a legit graduation ceremony. I was even in the same auditorium as my son when he graduated from Purdue University a few weeks later. 

My plan was to put my résumé together after graduation and go back to all the contacts I had at the publishing jobs I was initially rejected from. But while I was earning my degree, we moved to Texas. There is a local bookstore here, and a book buyer position opened. I decided to throw my hat in the ring. After interviewing, they created a whole new position for me based on what I know and who I know. 

Now I could continue here or take these skills to a future job. I get to combine my online life with my in-person life. It wasn’t something I expected or planned, but it’s a great way to be immersed in my community while sharing books I love. I have a degree in the field, and now I’ll have book buying experience that can move me forward. 

It’s been great to show my kids the importance of higher education — that you can have a startup and be creative. But when you want to go farther, whether you want to be a manager or an executive, you need a degree. I’m showing my kids it’s never too late to figure out what you want to be or do, and go after it.  

I have another son who’s still figuring it out. I’m his biggest cheerleader. I say to him, “You can do this. If I can do it at my age, you can do it at your age.” I hope my journey has inspired my kiddos to not give up. I’m so proud of all of them.

The legendary Purdue astronaut inspired people across the globe — and countless Boilermakers — to achieve the impossible

Only a few events are so important that all of humanity uses them to mark time. 

Purdue astronaut Neil Armstrong (BS aeronautical engineering ’55) played the leading role in one such milestone — when his first steps on the moon during the Apollo 11 mission inspired awe and wonder across the planet. 

“Neil spawned lots of aerospace engineers on that day,” says Purdue professor emeritus Stephen Heister, former lab director at the university’s world-renowned Maurice J. Zucrow Laboratories. 

Like virtually everyone else who was alive at the time, Heister can tell you exactly where he was and what he was doing on July 20, 1969, when Armstrong first set foot in the fine lunar dust. Heister vividly recalls, as a 10-year-old, watching along with friends and family on a night where a full moon made it easy to see that same heavenly body where Armstrong and NASA colleague Buzz Aldrin had temporarily taken up residence. 

Their achievement was, in Armstrong’s famous words, a “giant leap” that the entire world could share. An estimated global viewing audience of 650 million — roughly one in five people on Earth at the time — watched live as Armstrong landed the Eagle lunar module at Tranquility Base and then took his first steps on the moon several hours later.

Never before had a singular achievement so thoroughly reframed humankind’s perception of what was possible. Armstrong himself thought it seemed “almost beyond belief, technically” when President John F. Kennedy in 1961 announced America’s goal to land an astronaut on the moon by the end of the decade and return them home safely. Eight years later, Armstrong became that astronaut, completing a national quest to win the space race. 

“It stamped an indelible mark on my life, on my imagination, and frankly, on the imagination of my generation and every generation since,” former Vice President Mike Pence said at the 2019 unveiling of Armstrong’s Apollo 11 spacesuit at the National Air and Space Museum. “It was a contribution to the life of this nation and to the history of the world that is almost incalculable.”

Boundless inspiration 

Indeed, it is impossible to measure the full impact of the Apollo program, where courageous astronauts accepted life-and-death stakes while “sitting on top of a Roman candle, waiting for someone to light the fuse,” as author Tom Wolfe described liftoff in his book “The Right Stuff.” 

However, a mountain of evidence reveals these pioneers’ vast influence. 

A few months after sitting spellbound in front of his television while watching the lunar landing, Mark Brown (BSAAE ’73) was a Purdue freshman watching in person as Armstrong accepted an honorary doctorate from his alma mater before a packed house at Mackey Arena. 

In the coming years, Brown followed Armstrong into stints as a fighter pilot and astronaut who flew aboard two NASA missions. But at that moment, Brown felt encouraged that this plainspoken engineer from rural Ohio had once walked the same Purdue hallways and had gone on to participate in the most extraordinary technological achievement in history. 

“It was so wonderful because here’s a brand-new aero engineering student watching probably our most famous alum be recognized for having come in the door as just a normal kid and eventually walking on the moon,” Brown said in a 2009 interview with Purdue. “It just doesn’t get any better than that.”

Letters preserved at Purdue  

That sentiment is shared by legions of others who may not have gone so far as flying to space, but who were inspired by the astronauts all the same. 

Many everyday people found something admirable in the quiet confidence and Eagle Scout’s integrity that they observed in Armstrong. Their adulation is evident in the more than 70,000 pieces of correspondence that Armstrong and his family donated to his alma mater as part of the Neil A. Armstrong papers that document his pre- and post-NASA life. 

Most of these letters, forever preserved for public access at Purdue Archives and Special Collections, came from schoolchildren seeking photos, autographs and answers to simple questions about what space travel was like. However, many other pieces memorably exemplify the pride that so many derived from his feat. 

A father in Paraguay wrote to share a picture of his daughter Luna (or “moon” in Spanish), who was born during Armstrong’s moon walk. 

The children of Philip Nowlan, the sci-fi writer who created space hero Buck Rogers, wrote to say they watched Armstrong’s spaceflight and were thrilled to see “Buck Rogers finally coming to life.” 

An artist from Beirut, Lebanon, wrote: “You were not alone in space. Millions of people were accompanying you with their hearts and souls while you were putting your foot on the ground of that white planet. The moment I saw you getting down from the module and stepping on the surface of the moon was the happiest and most pleasant moment of my life.”

prev

next

And a letter from a female Purdue aerospace student and NASA co-op participant sought guidance on how she could also become an astronaut — seemingly a long shot in the early ’70s since no American woman flew to space before Sally Ride did so in 1983. 

“I certainly have no doubts about women in space; I believe that to be inevitable,” Armstrong wrote back. “I hope you’ll speed the process along.” 

This encouraging tone is present in many of Armstrong’s replies to his fan letters — particularly those from young people who hoped to follow in his footsteps someday. Although Armstrong was intensely private in his post-Apollo years, he enthusiastically supported his successors’ efforts to push the boundaries of human knowledge or accomplish the next ambitious goal that was once thought to be impossible.  

“Neil was obviously very conscious of what he did. He knew what it meant to the country,” fellow Boilermaker astronaut Eugene Cernan (BS electrical engineering ’56) said in an interview with Cathedral Age after delivering Armstrong’s eulogy in 2012. “But I believe he personally wanted to focus on the future by trying to inspire young kids. He wanted to share himself in a way that they could relate to — not as this iconic figure who was the first human being on the moon. 

“He had a way of delivering a presentation that I often called ‘Vintage Neil,’ as only he could do it: candidly, off the cuff, meaningful,” Cernan continued. “Sometimes I would listen to him and be amazed myself because this guy had done what people on this planet had only dreamed of doing for centuries.” 

A humble engineer 

Armstrong’s understated demeanor was among the key traits that made him an ideal candidate for the historic task he would eventually carry out. 

He viewed himself as a test pilot and engineer, forever working to solve the next vexing challenge, but never as a celebrity who should have buildings named after him — not even at his beloved alma mater. 

“He was such a humble and wonderful guy. I think that NASA absolutely made the right choice about who was going to be the first to set foot on the moon because he’s someone that we all can look up to,” says Heister, who jokes that he was uncharacteristically speechless the one time he met Armstrong as a Purdue professor. “He was not arrogant. He was not all about Neil. In fact, when Purdue went to design the (Neil) Armstrong Hall of Engineering, we said, ‘Neil, we’re going to name this Armstrong Hall.’ He goes, ‘Oh no, you don’t need to do that. Don’t do that.’ And it was like, ‘Neil, we’re going to do that.’”

Best of the American character 

This was a brilliant aviator who obtained a pilot’s license before getting a driver’s license and who flew his preregistration papers from Ohio to the Purdue campus at age 16. He flew the first of 78 combat missions in the Korean War at 21. He was 30 when he began flying the X-15 hypersonic rocket-powered aircraft as a test pilot, reaching the edges of outer space at speeds up to 3,989 mph. And at 35, Armstrong saved his and astronaut David Scott’s lives by calmly activating Gemini 8’s reengagement thrusters, regaining control of the spacecraft after a malfunctioning thruster had caused it to violently spin out of control.

All of this before 38-year-old Armstrong took control of the lunar lander — the guidance system was carrying the Eagle toward the slope of a crater covered in huge boulders — and manually completed the Apollo 11 landing that made him arguably the world’s most famous person. 

And yet anytime someone attempted to place Armstrong on a hero’s pedestal, he was quick to share credit with the 400,000 fellow Americans whose work helped him travel to the moon and back. 

“Science and engineering isn’t about getting the accolades. It’s not about the ribbon cuttings and the high-fives, and it’s not even about getting credit,” historian Douglas Brinkley said during a 2014 lecture at Purdue about Armstrong’s legacy. “And that’s what he was always worried about: It’s about doing it and doing it right. An engineer can’t afford to mess up because lives are at stake. And so he really was the best of all things that I would call the American character.” 

As well as one of history’s greatest examples of what a motivated group of engineers can accomplish. 

“At the dedication of Armstrong Hall, he talked about his personal definition of engineering: that engineering is about what can be,” Purdue engineering’s former dean Leah Jamieson said in her introduction to Brinkley’s 2014 lecture. 

“It is the single best definition of engineering that I have ever heard,” she said. “And Neil Armstrong, more than anyone in memory, gave us an unforgettable image of what can be.” 

Thanks to Guild and Team USA Learning Network, Lauryn DeLuca is the first Team USA athlete to graduate from Purdue Global

Watching Team USA compete on the world’s stage is inspiring for millions. Countless children watch, glued to their screen, experiencing their first hopes that maybe someday, when they grow up, they’d be the ones representing their countries with pride. 

U.S. Paralympian Lauryn DeLuca was one of those kids.  

“I remember watching fencing for the first time in 2008,” she says. “Something just clicked.” 

But even after becoming Team USA’s youngest parafencer at 17 and competing at the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games, DeLuca still felt uncertain about her future after high school. 

“I changed my major so many times while in undergrad,” she says.

She started out in engineering. Then she tried math education, then elementary education, and then child and youth studies. Eventually she realized all her attempts to find the right fit had a common thread: she wanted to help equip other people for success, similar to how she’d been supported through the years.

As an athlete living with cerebral palsy, DeLuca is no stranger to the persistence and dedication it takes to succeed. But she’s also a fervent believer in the possibilities that come from right-place-right-time moments. In fact, she would say her life changed when someone helped her find a path where she could thrive. And she wants to pay it forward. 

“More than anything, I want to help others find ways to live successful lives,” she says.  

Although DeLuca sustained a career-ending shoulder injury at the age of 20, she never stopped seeing opportunities. She’s looking to the future now — thanks to the Guild and Team USA Learning Network, DeLuca has become the first member of Team USA to graduate from a Purdue Global program. 

Advancing the path to success 

Since DeLuca is considered ambulatory (able to walk), she learned her sport alongside able-bodied peers. Cerebral palsy, she says, manifests in various levels of functionality and a combination of early intervention, intensive therapies and a leg brace is what’s worked best for her.  

“I say only half of my body works,” she says with a laugh. “I typically use the right side of my body more than the left, and in daily life, I get more pain on my right side from compensating for it.” 

Despite competing with a limp and without the equal strength on the left side of her body, DeLuca held her own against fully able-bodied peers. It wasn’t until she approached her teen years that it became more difficult to keep up. Then it became evident that her time as a fencer was coming to an end.  

But a chance encounter gave her more time. 

“I was competing at a tournament in Columbus, Ohio, and a Paralympic coach happened to see that I was limping. He went right up to my parents and said, ‘Your daughter … she’s disabled, right?’ They looked at him for a minute and were like ‘… Who are you?’” she recalls, laughing. 

As badly as that could have gone, it didn’t. 

“He asked them if they knew I could do parafencing. They were skeptical about my eligibility since I don’t use a wheelchair full time, but he encouraged them to send me to his camp to meet the national team and see what comes of it.” 

prev

next

It changed everything. She confesses there had been a gaping hole in her ability to picture her future — simply because she had no point of reference. 

“It was the first time in my life I saw a grown woman with a physical disability. At 13, I’d never seen anyone that I could imagine as a future me. It changed my confidence and my direction,” she says.  

That single experience was the difference between quitting a sport she loved and competing at the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games. 

Empowering contenders 

When DeLuca retired from parafencing, she still had a couple years left of her undergrad degree. After graduation, she spent some time working in adaptive sports, advocating for other athletes. Eventually, in 2024, she accepted an athlete fellowship through the LA28 Olympic and Paralympic Organizing Committee, where she completed two six-month rotations in Los Angeles. One of the functional areas she learned was in human resources. 

“HR gets a bad rap, but I started to understand how someone’s experience with HR really informs the rest of their employee experience and development. And I’m an educator at heart,” she says.  

While she worked one of her rotations in Los Angeles — a fair jog from her home and husband in Cleveland — the partnership between the Guild and Team USA Learning Network and Purdue Global was announced and she made a connection right away. 

“Through the Guild and Team USA Learning Network, I found that Purdue Global has a certificate program in HR and I saw the opportunity to learn how to retain employees, train them and set them up for success,” she says. “That’s what education is for.” 

So as she equips herself for her own future success, she’s learning how to do that for others, too. And she sees countless opportunities to build a future she’s excited about. 

“This certificate I’ve earned with Purdue Global has given me skills I can offer to organizations when it comes to building their onboarding process and materials. It also informs the experiences I have with my national governing body (USA fencing),” she says. 

“And I’m investing in my future too,” she says. “My husband has always toyed with the idea of building his own company, and now I know how to set up those systems if we should decide to do that at some point. I’m a firm believer that throughout this life, you collect tools. And those tools will give you an advantage in any setting.” 

More than anything, I want to help others find ways to live successful lives.

Lauryn DeLuca

Graduate certificate in human resources, Purdue Global 
U.S. Paralympian, Parafencing 

DeLuca advises those who are thinking about expanding their education, a certificate program is a great lower-commitment path to getting back into the rhythm of school. 

“Purdue Global made it easy for me,” she says. “A program I could finish by the end of my yearlong fellowship was something that worked really well. I was able to live my life and not have to put everything on pause. It just worked. In fact, I often stress to others that if I can move across the country twice during my certificate program and complete it successfully, everyone can do it!” 

And the investment in herself, DeLuca says, is worth it. 

“Do it!” she says. “Talk to people in your life; get their opinions on jumping in but have a stubborn edge. You’re going on an adventure, and you know it’s not going to be all roses, but it’s worth it. It’s all worth it at the end of the day.”  

Did you know that credits earned in Purdue Global’s Graduate Certificate in Human Resources can count toward your master’s degree? Find out more about our certificate and degree programs at purdueglobal.edu.

Purdue Global Law School graduates make historic strides with Indiana bar success 

As a child, Abby Strehle dreamed of becoming a physician. She started her health care career after graduating from Purdue University in 2003, while also working for an attorney in Lafayette.  

An elective course on science and law taught by an attorney piqued her interest in a legal career — something she kept in the back of her mind.  

Strehle became a nurse practitioner in 2011. Watching her own grandparents deal with health issues and end-of-life legal decisions, Strehle knew she wanted to do more with her career — and that’s where Purdue Global Law School entered the picture. 

“Going to law school and combining my health care experience with the law was part of my long-term goals. A physician colleague who had also attended Purdue Global Law School encouraged me to enroll,” Strehle says.  

In 2019 Strehle enrolled at Purdue Global Law School, the nation’s first fully online law school, because of the program’s flexibility — all while working full-time and raising two children.  

“I listened to recordings while I was driving or at kids’ soccer practices. I was able to utilize an app to read and progress through the modules,” Strehle says. “This was crucial for me to stay caught up and try to maintain some balance in my life.”

Strehle persevered, earning her Juris Doctor in 2023. However, at the time of her graduation, the rules in Indiana prohibited Strehle from taking the bar exam. She passed the California bar exam in 2024.  

“I am a lifelong Indiana resident,” Strehle says. “There was never a question of moving out of state to practice law. I was just going to have to adapt my practice to fit within the rules.” 

Licensed in California, Strehle began practicing elder and health care law — a branch of federal law — at the firm she founded, Encompass Legal Services.

Breaking barriers and making history 

Lindley Jarrett, a 2013 graduate and fellow Indiana resident, echoed similar sentiments. Though he never planned to leave Indiana, he was long restricted from practicing law due to accreditation rules that barred online law school graduates from sitting for Indiana’s bar. 

That was until an Indiana Supreme Court ruling in July 2024 established an amendment to Admission and Discipline Rule 13, creating a path for graduates from Purdue Global Law School and other non-ABA accredited schools to become eligible for the state’s bar exam.  

Five graduates submitted waiver petitions to sit for the February bar exam — the first exam they would be eligible for — and were approved. All Purdue Global Law School alums who sat passed on their first attempt, including Strehle and Jarrett, along with Joud Elias, Jeff Kraft and Daniel Stahoviak.  

The Indiana Supreme Court’s decision to allow a pathway for these graduates was a historic moment. 

“It was a proud moment to be sworn into the bar,” Jarrett says. “It’s a dream come true. The closed door has finally opened.” 

With years of experience in environmental and occupational health and safety, Jarrett plans to pivot into legal practice within his areas of expertise, aiming to support both corporate initiatives and underserved communities through pro bono work. 

“Purdue Global Law School gave me a high-quality legal education with academic rigor and real-world application,” Jarrett says. “Our achievements not only validate the Indiana Supreme Court’s decision but also underscore that the law school is on par with brick-and-mortar institutions.”

Purdue Global Law School turned out to be the best decision for my career.

Jeff Kraft

Purdue Global Law School, ’24 

Perseverance paying off 

Martin Pritikin’s unwavering advocacy played a key role in opening Indiana’s bar exam to Purdue Global Law School graduates.  

“Indiana allowing our graduates to sit for its bar exam benefits not just our graduates but those that they would come to serve,” says Pritikin, dean and vice president of Purdue Global Law School. “Indiana, like virtually every state, has an access-to-justice problem, especially in rural and other underserved areas. I’ve long believed that the best way to get more lawyers into underserved areas is to make it easier for people who already live in those areas to remain there while they go to law school by going online, and this is a first step in the ability to prove that’s true.” 

“Dean Pritikin was a constant presence throughout our journey,” Elias says. “Even after graduation, he continued to host review sessions for the bar. That’s the measure of this man.” 

2024 graduate Elias, who works as a government contracts manager at General Motors, earned one of the highest bar exam scores in the nation (top 6%).  

“My Purdue Global law degree was transformative,” Elias says. “People underestimate online legal education, but it pushed me harder than most traditional schools ever could.” 

The Indiana Supreme Court’s decision, paired with Pritikin’s tireless efforts, has further validated the argument that the online law school is producing capable, court-ready attorneys as well as any traditional law school — it just needed a chance. 

“The accomplishments of these graduates show what’s possible when we give dedicated individuals a fair opportunity,” Pritikin says. “Their success is a win for Indiana — and for the future of legal education.” 

On May 20, all five graduates were sworn in at the Indiana Bar Admission Ceremony. 

Kraft, a 2024 graduate, attended the ceremony and said the experience was the culmination of a long, hard road. 

“Being a member of the Indiana bar is a validation of the quality of education we received,” Kraft says. “Purdue Global Law School provided me an amazing opportunity — and it turned out to be the best decision for my career.” 

“It was very special to be a part of this ceremony, to see our graduates standing up there, shoulder to shoulder with graduates of traditional law schools, taking that same oath in the presence of the Supreme Court justices and the other leaders of the Indiana bench and bar,” Pritikin says.

Forward momentum  

With the opportunity and success in Indiana, Pritikin sees this success as a springboard for additional states to follow Indiana’s lead. In October 2024 the Connecticut Bar Examining Committee voted to allow graduates of Purdue Global Law School to sit for the Connecticut bar exam upon graduation. 

The school is seeing the fruits of Pritikin’s labor, and the Indiana Supreme Court’s decision has positively impacted Indiana’s enrollment numbers. In the past three enrollment cycles since the court’s decision last July, 62 Indiana-based students have enrolled at Purdue Global Law School. 

Of the 78 Indiana-based students currently enrolled, nearly half are in rural or small towns and about 10% are in the northwest corner of the state, which, while not rural, has had a lawyer shortage since Valparaiso University School of Law’s closure. In all, about half of the state’s law students are in underserved areas.  

“They’re coming from small towns. They’re coming from underserved areas that don’t have access to law school and often don’t have access to lawyers,” Pritikin says. “When these students start graduating in the next few years, we hope and expect that we really will see Purdue Global Law School making a big dent in the state’s access-to-justice crisis.” 

Jonathan Bailey began his career touring with Kenny Chesney, Luke Bryan, Eric Church and the Eagles before coming to Indy

Purdue is proud to sponsor The Children’s Museum of Indianapolis during its centennial anniversary — together, we celebrate 100 years of joy, wonder and curiosity. 

What’s it like to be behind the scenes where the most fun memories are made? 

It’s definitely not a typical desk job. Jonathan Bailey is usually running around, building exhibits and managing tech for the world’s largest children’s museum.   

Before he joined The Children’s Museum, he began his career operating cameras for some of the biggest names in music. Opportunities to tour with recording artists Kenny Chesney, Luke Bryan, Eric Church and the Eagles came from the connections he made during his time on campus.  

“I wouldn’t have been able to do this if I hadn’t gone to Purdue,” he says. “I got plugged into this network because of the friends and professors I met and the skills I learned.”  

Getting that first gig (for Alan Jackson) 

Attending Purdue was an easy decision for Bailey, who grew up hearing stories about the university from family and visiting during the summers for 4-H programs.  

Because of his interest in movies, he decided to pursue a degree in film and video studies in the College of Liberal Arts. A lot of his classes focused on live events, and he found himself doing video shoots for the Big Ten Network. He was on the sidelines of basketball and football games with friends from the same major. What started out as coiling cables behind the camera guy soon turned into something bigger than he could have predicted.

An instructor, Bill Callison, asked Bailey and one of his best friends if they’d be interested in running cameras and cables all day for a concert. This show had its own unique set of parameters — it was a lakeside performance by country music legend Alan Jackson. The stage was on the edge of the water and the audience was on boats. It was a long day of hard work, but Bailey experienced an energy you can’t get anywhere other than from a live performance.  

During his senior year, he decided to pick up a second degree in communication and added an extra semester. That summer, he was working a job cleaning apartments (and ended up meeting his wife!) when he heard from a friend and fellow film and video studies major, Austin Smith. There was an open spot on one of Kenny Chesney’s tours. Was he in? 

Touring the world full time 

Joining three Purdue grads, Bailey became a part of Chesney’s “Brothers of the Sun” tour. He loved it and met even more alumni on the road, including Chesney’s longtime video director Jay Cooper. An awesome crew, unbelievable venues and that inimitable live-band energy were the components of a dream job. After the last show of the tour, he was on one of the buses going back to Nashville and cracked open a book to finish his homework. 

“It was a surreal feeling,” he says. “They offered me a position on the next tour, and I knew then exactly what I wanted to do after I graduated.”

I wouldn’t have been able to do this if I hadn’t gone to Purdue.

Jonathan Bailey 

BA film and video studies, BA communication ’12 

He worked as a camera operator for shows in all 50 states and in different countries, visiting every major arena and stadium imaginable. It was strenuous work, using over 20 trucks at times to haul everything needed and having to set up all the video gear, like LED screens, cameras, cables and video processing equipment. 

It was also a ton of fun. Chesney treated people well, taking everyone on the crew plus their significant others to the Virgin Islands several times. Whenever there were two shows in a row somewhere and they didn’t have to pack up right away, the stage manager would have a grill onstage for a crew party. “The crew becomes your second family,” Bailey says.  

After six years of touring, including working with Luke Bryan, Eric Church and the Eagles, Bailey and his wife wanted to move back to Indiana and find a career that didn’t involve as much travel. That’s when the opportunity at The Children’s Museum opened up.   

Joining The Children’s Museum staff 

The Children’s Museum goes beyond dictionary definitions of what a “museum” is — instead, it’s a place for immersive, innovative indoor exhibits; acres of outdoor sports experiences; and countless special events. While the job is more rooted than his previous role, it’s anything but traditional. 

Coming on board at a managerial level, Bailey arrived at the museum to help lead AV services. He’s since been promoted to the director of AV and creative technology design and development. His team is in charge of the sound, lighting and interactive tech in galleries and during events.  

A lot of skills from time on the road have directly applied to what he does now. Many departments have to work closely together to hit deadlines and troubleshoot problems as they arise. “It’s been a good transition,” he says. “The museum has a family vibe just like what I experienced before this — a lot of people stay here for years. We all rely on each other.”

Since the museum is constantly rotating galleries and hosting events, he’s always engaged in what’s happening now (and what’s happening next). One of his most memorable projects was renovating the Dinosphere® exhibit in 2021, where teams turned a space that wasn’t built for galleries into a captivating exhibit to spotlight two dinosaurs the museum found at its dig site.  

As the museum celebrates its 100th anniversary in 2025, Bailey has a lot to look forward to and oversee. Even though he’s a director, he still likes to get out on the floor, install tech and do hands-on work. 

Next up is the new Take Me There®: Peru exhibit, which changes countries every four to five years. A team of people visit a country to establish contacts with families and study the culture. Then they return to Indianapolis to create an interactive experience reflecting that destination. Starting this summer, the space will highlight Peru, complete with a captivating rainforest simulation and detailed sound and light show.  

The best part? When Bailey takes his 2-year-old daughter with him, he gets to see the museum through her eyes. Generations of visitors have enjoyed everything the museum has to offer, and he’s ensuring future visitors of all ages are just as inspired. “The most rewarding thing is when I can watch other people get excited in the galleries,” he says.