A Purdue tattoo that’s a reminder of home

Name: Beth Black
Graduation year: Purdue West Lafayette, 2014, and Purdue Fort Wayne, 2019
Major/Area of Study: Elementary education and Master of Business Administration
Current career: Multiunit store manager for Follett Higher Education
Meet alumna Beth Black, who dedicated a tattoo to her alma mater and home away from home.

1. Tell us about your Purdue tattoo.
My Purdue tattoo is of the famous Motion P with “Ever Grateful, Ever True” circling around it. It is located on my right shoulder blade.
2. When did you get it?
I got my tattoo in 2015.
3. Why a Purdue tattoo?
Because for me, Purdue became my home.
4. What is the meaning/significance of your Purdue tattoo?
The words have so much meaning because Purdue provided me with so much meaning. I know that I will forever be grateful to this university. Growing up, I was a Purdue fan, and it was always my dream to attend Purdue. When my family and I would come down to visit for basketball and football games, I always told my parents that I was going to graduate from here when I was older. Purdue was the college that I set my sights on attending, and even though I took a little longer to get to Purdue, I made it.
I got my Purdue tattoo because when I was a sophomore, my parents divorced, and home no longer felt like home to me. However, being at Purdue and feeling the community around me provided me with a new sense and meaning of home.
It was the place where I felt safe and life wasn’t so crazy. It provided me with everlasting friendships and memories, and it’s a place I love to come back to. It provided me with a place where I could forget about the hardships that were going on at home.
I am forever grateful to Purdue for providing that feeling of home, and I am proud to call myself a Boilermaker through and through.
Purdue provided me with a new sense and meaning of home.
Beth Black
BS elementary education ’14, MBA ’19