Noah Pumphrey is building his career on a foundation of hands-on learning and practical experiences

Noah Pumphrey, a Purdue cybersecurity student in Indianapolis, has taken a disciplined approach to his education. The result has been a nationally competitive scholarship, a leadership role in cybersecurity and professional certifications before he even graduates.  

“I enrolled at another university right after high school,” Pumphrey says. “But after taking a variety of classes, I still wasn’t quite sure what I wanted to do in the future.” 

Pumphrey pressed pause on his college education and took time off to gain experience. He spent the next four years working full time in the finance industry, which helped him discern his vocation and save money for college. 

“Before transferring to Purdue, I wanted to be really certain of the career I wanted to pursue,” he explains.  

And it became clear to him that cybersecurity was his path. 

A national reputation for excellence 

When Pumphrey was ready to return to college, Purdue in Indianapolis was an easy choice because of the university’s national reputation in cybersecurity. 

“Cybersecurity at Purdue is just different,” Pumphrey says. “It’s the best in the country. I look at my experience and see that they prepare us so well here. You gain fundamental skills that you can actually put to work.” 

The flexibility of the Purdue in Indianapolis program was another important factor in his decision, as he continued to work while taking classes full time.  

He appreciates that the program’s small class sizes have enabled him to form connections with his professors, many of whom are world-class cybersecurity experts. “The professors at Purdue in Indianapolis work hard to set us up for success,” he says. 

Cybersecurity at Purdue is just different. It’s the best in the country. I look at my experience and see that they prepare us so well here.

Noah Pumphrey 
Purdue cybersecurity student in Indianapolis 

National Science Foundation  

Close relationships with professors have also led to incredible opportunities outside of the classroom for Pumphrey, including a National Science Foundation CyberCorps Scholarship for Service (SFS).  

“It’s a full-ride scholarship for those interested in doing cybersecurity for the federal government after graduation,” Pumphrey explains. “And that’s exactly what I want to do.”  

SFS is highly competitive: Only 12 to 16 awards are given out nationally each year. The program provides funds for student scholarships to institutions of higher education, not to students directly. To participate in the program, Purdue in Indianapolis had to provide clearly documented evidence of a strong existing program in cybersecurity.  

“I think it speaks volumes to the kind of faculty we have and the work that we are able to do with them on campus,” Pumphrey says.  

Feng Li, chair of the Department of Computer Information and Graphics Technology, is the primary investigator for the CyberCorps program at Purdue in Indianapolis, and a person with whom Pumphrey works closely.  

“Dr. Li secured funds from the NSF,” Pumphrey says. “And he’s the one responsible for hiring and making sure CyberCorps students are doing what we need to do to get to our full-time and internship positions.” 

The award has made a tremendous difference for Pumphrey, both financially and academically. 

“Since receiving the scholarship, I no longer need outside employment,” he says. “All my time can now be focused on research, academics and certifications.”  

It’s just priceless to be able to put real coding projects on a resume, to tell hiring managers that you have hands-on experience. … You can actually show how you have applied what you’ve learned.

Noah Pumphrey 
Purdue cybersecurity student in Indianapolis 

Hands-on learning, resume building 

Pumphrey starts his academic week with a two-hour Offensive Security class, which teaches him how to use hacking tools. Programming classes in languages including C and MATLAB occupy the bulk of the rest of his schedule.  

“The programming classes are more like engineering classes,” he explains, “but they are also applicable to cybersecurity.” 

The practical nature of what he is learning in class appeals to Pumphrey. He especially appreciates that he is establishing a solid foundation for his future career.  

“I am gaining the fundamental knowledge I need,” he says. “I get to do hands-on things with programming and hacking in the 400-level, and even 300-level, classes that I will be actually doing on the job.” 

As an example, last semester in his Cybersecurity Programming class, Pumphrey used Python to write a program that analyzed a firewall log. A firewall monitors traffic into and out of the environment it was developed to protect; logs provide organizations with information to help investigate after an attack. 

The program Pumphrey wrote parsed a large firewall log. “It would take hours or days for a person to go through that log,” he explains, “whereas I am making it easy to sort through within minutes.” 

Pumphrey put the firewall log program on his GitHub, which was a huge resume builder for him. When he was talking to the federal government about his work, he was able to point them to code he had already written that aligned with projects they are working on.  

“It’s just priceless to be able to put real coding projects on a resume,” Pumphrey says, “to tell hiring managers that you have hands-on experience. You’re not just somebody who has theoretical knowledge stocked up. You can actually show how you have applied what you’ve learned.”

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Cybersecurity club 

The resume building Pumphrey has experienced isn’t limited to the classroom. Cybersecurity students at Purdue in Indianapolis are elevating their knowledge through participation in the cybersecurity club.  

“We have students who really want to go into hacking website applications,” he explains. “There’s not necessarily a specific course for that. Professors will prepare you to do those things, but cybersecurity club is where you will really be able to shine with those skills.” 

Pumphrey is the undergraduate student government senator for the cybersecurity club. The role has opened his eyes to what other clubs and organizations on campus are doing, and helps him see ways in which he can support and promote his own club. 

With many of the cybersecurity club’s officers graduating soon, Pumphrey will be stepping into more of a leadership role. “I’m doing presentations for prospective students or current students that may not know about the club,” he says. “We’re really trying to ramp up our efforts.” 

The club hopes to expand by attending conventions and bringing speakers to campus to talk to students about career opportunities.  

“I am also excited for us to be involved in hands-on cybersecurity activities like Capture the Flag competitions, which are on the attack side, and the National Collegiate Cyber Defense Competition, which is a regional and nationwide competition for the defense side,” he says. 

Pumphrey also is interested in forming connections between cybersecurity clubs on Purdue’s West Lafayette and Indianapolis campuses. “It’s going be an interesting leap for our club,” he says. “I think it’s going to be mutually beneficial. Working together, we can bridge the work we do in our studies and the work we will do in our careers; that is what I’m trying to accomplish with the cybersecurity club.” 

Practical advantages 

In addition to strong academics and extracurricular activities, Pumphrey appreciates the helpful career preparation he has found at Purdue in Indianapolis, especially when it comes to interview skills. He has taken advantage of numerous practice opportunities on campus. 

Another key support has been in resume creation. “Applying for work in the federal government is different,” he explains. “You have to use a federal resume, which can be pages long. Many people, including advisors and staff, have looked over my resume and offered me helpful advice and a second set of eyes.” 

Research alongside world-class cybersecurity experts has been another advantage for Pumphrey.  “I am interested in purple teaming,” he says, “which explores both the attack side (red team) and the defense side (blue team) of cybersecurity.”  

Pumphrey wants to focus on cyber threat intelligence, specifically in a national security setting, which can be hard to do as a college student because the work requires security clearances. Partnering with professors like Li, he is able to gain the knowledge and skills he will need to find threats within a system.  

He also points to the certifications he is earning as a student as a key differentiator. “I have my security-plus certification,” he says. “And I will be working toward the Certified Information Systems Security Professional credential, which is a highly regarded certificate in the cybersecurity domain.” 

Close relationships 

Through classes and the club, Pumphrey has made good friends. And they like to meet at the student center on campus. “Sometimes we’ll just hang out and talk. Sometimes we do homework because we are in a lot of classes together,” he says. “We help each other along the way with the labs and talk about cybersecurity, internships, all the things we’re doing.”  

Pumphrey also has a close relationship with his academic advisor, Kelly Keelan. “I talk to her probably once a week,” he says. “Sometimes I’ll sit in her office for hours and just talk about anything, whether it’s a class, the club or my career.”  

It’s the little things like this that set cybersecurity at Purdue in Indianapolis apart. “The program here is preparing me well for my future,” Pumphrey says. 

Behind-the-scenes experiences at the Indy 500 have inspired Erica Hedrick to consider a career in event management

Erica Hedrick signed up for the Indianapolis Motor Speedway’s event staff college program last summer hoping to land a fun seasonal job where she could work with her friends. What she didn’t expect was an experience that would cause her to rethink her future career.

Hedrick began her time last summer working on the event staff, where she checked tickets for the Pavilion and Chalets hospitality spaces. In this position, she also had an opportunity to work at the Pagoda Plaza Q&A station, where she interacted with colleagues like the famed “yellow shirt” safety patrol.

Those conversations helped her learn why they loved working at the track. Many of the yellow shirts she met brought energy and passion to their daily tasks, helping her recognize that they all shared the same goal of helping their guests have the best possible experience.

“Everything about the place really stood out to me last year, and I said, ‘I’d so come back and work there again if the opportunity was provided,’” says Hedrick, a senior from Martinsville, Indiana, majoring in selling and sales management in Purdue University’s College of Health and Human Sciences.

Sure enough, another opportunity arose at IMS, and Hedrick happily accepted the chance to learn more about the hospitality industry, a field in which she now hopes to work someday. Since January she has been a client services intern at the track. During her time, she assisted guests at April’s Total Solar Eclipse Event, presented in partnership with Purdue. She will continue to work at IMS throughout the summer — including at events like the iconic Indy 500 on May 26 and NASCAR’s Brickyard 400 in July.

“I get a little more behind the scenes of everything,” Hedrick says during a conversation in early April. “I work a lot with our premium guests. We just finished creating our boxes for guests who will be in our suites or hospitality rooms, and I’ve been putting together their tickets, parking passes and credentials. Since we’ve already handed out most of them for May, I’ve also been going into suite spaces and checking to make sure everything’s ready and clean and everything that needs to be there is there.

“Then, I’ll just be in suite spaces, talking to our guests, making sure that everything’s taken care of — drinks, food, credentials — that they have everything that they need and they’re all well taken care of.”

Hedrick actually got her first taste of event planning and logistical work at Purdue while assisting in event operations with the annual Purdue University Dance Marathon, the largest philanthropic student organization on campus. Assisting at the marathon helped her better understand how large events should be run, but nothing could fully prepare her for the massive scale of race day at IMS, when hundreds of thousands of spectators are at the track.

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She describes the experience as somewhat “overwhelming,” but credits her bosses for having plans in place that helped workers tackle whatever issues arose as easily as possible.

“They gave us really good rules and layouts and the time frames of everything,” she says. “So it made it really easy to do the job, and I loved it. I think they did a great job of explaining everything and it was never super, super overwhelming. They gave us a lot of good resources if we ever did have problems.”

She still had a lot to learn, however — for instance, the identity of one of the most famous drivers in motor sports history.

Hedrick has interacted with a handful of current drivers at IMS events, as well as with the recently retired Tony Kanaan, winner of the 2013 Indy 500. But it wasn’t until moments after a conversation with an older gentleman outside the track’s “Legends Day” autograph tent that she learned who Mario Andretti is.

“He just stopped and started talking to me and my friend in casual conversation because we were working. So I was like, ‘Oh, he’s just a part of the team. He was just in there helping one of the legends to make sure they made it to their spot,’” Hedrick recalls with a laugh. “And then he starts walking to this golf cart and people are running up to him asking for his signature. They were saying, ‘Mario, Mario,’ and I was like, ‘Who is Mario?’ And then I went home and told my parents, and they were like, ‘He’s kind of a big deal.’”

Thankfully, knowledge of IndyCar history is not a prerequisite for a successful event services internship. Caring that guests have a pleasant experience is a much more important attribute, and Hedrick feels she has discovered a true calling in that area.

Everything about the place really stood out to me last year, and I said, ‘I’d so come back and work there again if the opportunity was provided.’

Erica Hedrick, senior in selling and sales management

She anticipates an extremely busy month of May while running errands and attending to suite guests’ needs in Gasoline Alley, Hulman Terrace Club and Tower Terrace Suites, but she can’t wait for that exhausting-yet-thrilling work to arrive.

“I’ve really loved getting to know how event operations works and the behind the scenes and planning of it,” Hedrick says. “It’s really valuable to be able to help with one of the largest sporting events in the world and understand the steps it takes to make sure that everyone has what they need to be prepared and know where they’re going on the day of the race.

“I think that’s what I’m taking from it and hope to apply in the future.”

Former Purdue basketball players happy to see Matt Painter, program make long-awaited trip to the Final Four

Matt Painter is not a crier.

Matter of fact, relative to his profession, Purdue’s men’s basketball coach is as emotionless as they come, at least within public view.

He’s an analytic-minded, process-oriented, even-keeled thinker who’s seemed to grow more and more stoic the older and more experienced he’s gotten, always professorial in his approach to his job. Rarely does his emotion show, let alone overtake him.

However, shortly after his team secured its first Final Four berth since 1980 by beating Tennessee in Detroit’s Little Caesars Arena on March 31, he broke. It was the sight of Robbie Hummel that did it.

“He was already crying and that got me crying,” Painter says. “I don’t cry very much, maybe just funerals, not happy moments. I laugh during happy moments.

“But it was just something where seeing how much it meant to him … To know that somebody cares that much was pretty cool from my standpoint.”

Hummel, as personally invested a Purdue basketball alumnus as there is and one of the program’s true favorite sons, was calling the game for Westwood One. Sitting courtside as the Boilermakers salted away the final moments of arguably the most monumental win in school history, Hummel himself choked up, brought to tears by the magnitude of the moment, live on radio.

Family bonds

It was a moment that beautifully encapsulated the bonds that have always existed between the Purdue program’s present and its past, connections the program has always prioritized and worked to build and maintain with those interested in remaining part of its close-knit community.

“It’s the type of people they recruit into the program,” former standout Dakota Mathias says of that collective closeness. “The sort of guys you’re bringing into the program are all very similar in that they’re blue-collar, very hard-working, good people and caring about others.

“We share those values and it’s easy to have (those bonds) that way.”

When Painter — modestly maligned through the course of this season after a “catastrophic,” as he puts it, first-round NCAA Tournament loss the year prior — had shaken Tennessee coach Rick Barnes’ hand (but not before being intercepted by a bear hug from the top player in his sport, Zach Edey), he worked his way over to Hummel to be interviewed for national radio.

At that time, Painter was reminded of 2006 or so, when Hummel and classmates E’Twaun Moore and JaJuan Johnson invested in a struggling Purdue program, a reclamation project taken on by Painter, an alumnus himself. Those players could have gone to any number of other more established winners at that time.

A week after Purdue cut down those nets to win the Midwest Regional, Moore would join many former players — and the tens of thousands of fans — who overtook Glendale, Arizona, for the Final Four. It was a moment Purdue had so long waited for and come so close to so often before finally breaking through.

“It was good to go support the school after all Purdue did for me,” says Moore, now 35 and freshly retired after a decade playing in the NBA. “It helped me achieve my dreams and my goals.

“I know when I was playing (at Purdue), I used to love seeing guys who played before come back, guys I grew up watching on TV, like Kenny Lowe, Brian Cardinal, Brad Miller and David Teague. That they were coming back and sharing some of their knowledge of the game, it was priceless.”

FaceTime from Israel

Back to that scene in Detroit, though.

After the confetti had all fallen and the tears dried, Hummel visited Purdue’s locker room, huddling with former teammate Bobby Riddell (part of the local radio team) and various Purdue coaches when a FaceTime call came in from halfway across the globe. In Israel, where he’s playing professionally, Johnson had been streaming his alma mater’s Elite Eight game.

He called Hummel to share in the celebration with his former teammate and whoever else he may pass the phone to.

“JaJuan was his usual smiley, bubbly self,” Riddell says.

Indeed.

“I was so happy for Coach Painter, for the fans, the staff, pretty much anyone affiliated with Purdue,” Johnson says from Israel. “Having been a part of it, from our (Class of 2007) Baby Boilers to what it is now, it’s incredible with Coach Painter and all those guys to see the work they’ve put in. It was a great feeling to see them get there.

“Losing in the first round last year and all the adversity those guys had to face all season long, it essentially didn’t matter what these guys did; all that mattered was what happened during the NCAA Tournament. They responded.”

Redemption for the near misses

Johnson’s classmate and longtime friend Hummel was one of the faces of Purdue’s redemption on this day. Staff members Paul Lusk and Elliot Bloom postponed their own personal revelry after the Tennessee game to take a moment to recognize the former All-American. Hummel has long been haunted by the thought of what might have been for not just himself but for Purdue had he not suffered major knee injuries his third and fourth seasons in the program, doing irreparable harm to those teams’ credible Final Four hopes.

Those transformational Hummel-Moore-Johnson teams were denied their best shots to earn this moment themselves.

Those were two of the near misses that not only stung Purdue but also created a sense that it was only a matter of time before the glass ceiling broke.

Ryan Cline was part of the team that finished on the wrong end of one of the most improbable outcomes the tournament has ever seen. Purdue was a split second from beating eventual national champion Virginia in the Elite Eight in 2019.

For Cline, at least, he would have loved to play in the Final Four, but it was nevertheless cathartic for him to see his alma mater do it a few years later. It was a feeling of redemption.

Cline says he’s always felt a deep sense of pride toward Purdue and its championship-laden history, but now that the Final Four is part of that (modern) history, he’s walking a little taller around his native Carmel.

“I am definitely walking around with a little more swagger knowing that Matt Painter finally got what he deserved,” Cline says.

Common thread is Painter, Keady

A consensus easily prospered among these former Boilermakers who were part of those signature moments in Purdue’s postseason history. They wanted this for their college coach more than anything. And that’s been part of Purdue’s collective identity — wanting to achieve for the whole and not just the individual.

“We all kind of had that same reaction (as Hummel),” says Mathias, one of the many former Purdue players who traveled to Phoenix for the Final Four. “I think we all probably kind of teared up, just with all we’ve been through the past 10-15 years, the heartbreaks in the Tournament and all Coach Painter’s been through.”

Mathias’ senior year ended in the Round of 16 after classmate and key player Isaac Haas broke his elbow in the tournament opener, undercutting that team’s Final Four chances.

Any coach or player will say that it’s difficult to win in the NCAA Tournament.

So often, it comes down to the simplest element: luck.

To that end, Purdue has generally left much to be desired.

This year, though, it removed luck from the equation. Until its national semifinal meeting with 11th-seeded North Carolina State, the seeds all held around Purdue. To reach the national title game, it beat the best teams in its bracket, mostly decidedly.

And in so doing, it exorcised those demons of the past.

“The best thing about it was seeing it for Coach Paint,” Mathias says. “He’s caught heat for no reason from people who don’t know basketball. I think it was huge for him to be validated, which he never needed. It was awesome to see it for him, but also for the guys on that team. They’re all real Purdue guys. They play hard, they play the right way and they’re good dudes. It was the right group to do it.”

But the redemption dates back generations.

When Painter took over, he succeeded his college coach, newly minted Hall of Famer Gene Keady. It was particularly meaningful that Keady, who turned 88 on May 21, was there to be part of the moment. After Edey cut down his piece of the net, he ceremoniously brought a shred of it to Keady, another nod to the ties that have bound this program together for many years.

Keady came close during his quarter-century at Purdue. In 2000, no one wanted it more for Keady than Brian Cardinal, the consummate heart-and-soul sort of Purdue player who always spoke of Keady as a father figure.

Purdue fell a game short that year.

“It meant the world to me that he got to be there and be part of it,” says Cardinal, a standout from 1997-2000. “I messaged Paint and told him that one of my biggest regrets was not being able to get him there, and I’m so grateful he was able to do it and get him there.”

Former players were invested in this Purdue season as if they were still part of the program. That’s exactly how Purdue wants them to feel. They do.

The common thread among them: Wanting this achievement for Painter, the same way Cardinal long wanted it for Keady.

“He does things the right way, he’s a good person and he cares about his players in a way that’s more than just, ‘I need you to win games for me,’” says Hummel, who once lived in Painter’s house post-graduation while recovering from an injury. “That doesn’t sound like it should be that hard, but in the current landscape of college basketball, that’s definitely not the norm.

“He’s gone above and beyond for so many guys behind the scenes and done so much for the guys he’s coached. When you look at him as a basketball mind, he’s brilliant. The way he thinks (of) the game, he just lives it. … I think he was meant to be this. He was meant to be the coach at Purdue.

“This was something that was always in the cards for him. He’s unbelievable as a coach but even better as a person. And when you treat people the right way, people root for you, and there’s no doubt people were rooting for him and Purdue to do this.”

By Brian Neubert, BNeubert@GoldandBlack.com

Alumni artist Justin Vining believes the bonds people build during the month of May tie into the meaning of life

Artist Justin Vining wasn’t exactly a racing fanatic when he first sought an opportunity to paint at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway during the month of May.

Vining was aware from the very beginning that the Indianapolis 500, one of the world’s most prominent auto races, shapes the identity of the city where he resides and the state where he was born and raised. He correctly believed that it would be a successful business venture to sell the artwork he creates at the racetrack.

What he didn’t understand was how much the work would mean to him — because of how much being at the track matters to those who have shared “The Greatest Spectacle in Racing” with friends and family.

“I find a really deep sense of purpose and meaning when I paint out there,” says Vining (BA visual arts teaching K-12 ’04; BA fine arts/drawing ’04). “In a way, it has nothing to do with the paintings themselves and everything to do with the culture of what that place is.”

Vining walks through an RV lot on the way to a practice session and passes a family where a grandfather who has attended the race annually for 60 years is now sharing that tradition with his grandkids.

He overhears a man asking security guards to allow him to sit in some roped-off seats during a practice session. It turns out that the man’s father recently died, and he flew in specifically to sit in the seats where he sat as a child when his dad would bring him to the race.

“I tear up every time I tell that story,” Vining says. “He just sat there all practice by himself in his childhood seats because his dad just passed. And that’s one story that I happened to catch. Hundreds of thousands of people go through that facility every single year. The saying that it’s so much more than racing is so true. The power of that place goes so far beyond cars driving in a circle. It ties much more into, to me, the meaning of life.”

Building a legacy

Perhaps that explains why Indy 500 day has become Vining’s “single favorite day of painting all year, hands down” — as well as why his excitement seems to grow each year.

“The more I do it, the deeper it gets,” he says. “I guarantee I will get chills the first time I walk into that place this year. It seems cheesy, but I’m going to be pumped.”

Since 2018, Vining has been in attendance to paint each time the IMS gates open in May. He carries his materials into the grandstand to paint during practices where available seating is plentiful. For race day, when crowds are much larger, IMS sets him up in an inactive press box to ensure he has dedicated space for his work.

The day after the race each year, he puts the 10 to 15 pieces he painted during the practice sessions up for sale on his website. They sell out immediately.

As for the two pieces he paints each year on race day: one of sunrise on the Pagoda when the cannon blast signals that the gates are open and one of the winning driver crossing the yard of bricks? He’s never sold any of those.

“It’s not lost on me this could all go away. I hope it doesn’t, but right now I feel very, very lucky that I get to do this each year,” says Vining, who has kept those paintings to document his full body of race-day work from the event. “I wouldn’t want that legacy to be spread out amongst random places. I feel like it needs to be protected.”

An unorthodox path

The story of how Vining became an artist who specializes in painting at live events like the Indy 500 is somewhat unusual, full of early career decisions that don’t quite seem to connect. But today he recognizes bits and pieces from each experience that contribute to his current success as a full-time artist.

Vining enhanced his artistic skills at Purdue, where a degree in art education prepared him to teach elementary art for three years in Pendleton, Indiana.

He attended Valparaiso University Law School alongside his brother, Nathan, with plans to start their own practice. Money was tight throughout law school, so Vining sold paintings to classmates to make ends meet, spawning a hustle mentality that still drives him today.

He set an aggressive goal in 2024 to sell 200 paintings in the first 200 days of the year. By early May, he had already sold 175 thanks in large part to an art show where he sold 108 pieces — including 82 on opening night.

“I adopted this mindset (last) year: I could make an excuse every single day not to make a painting, and I just don’t,” Vining says. “It’s not for the faint of heart.”

I adopted this mindset this year: I could make an excuse every single day not to make a painting, and I just don’t.

Justin Vining
BA visual arts teaching K-12 ’04;
BA fine arts/drawing ’04 

The power of networking

Law school also taught Vining about the power of networking — because you never know what promising opportunity might arise once you put yourself out there. Following that mantra actually led to his first opportunity to paint a big, live event.

Back when he occupied a studio space in Indianapolis’ Harrison Center for the Arts, he heard that basketball legend Tamika Catchings was walking through the building. He decided to take advantage of the opportunity to meet the Indiana Fever legend and future Hall of Famer.

Justin Vining’s artwork was on display multiple times in the Indianapolis-based HGTV home-remodeling show “Good Bones.” (Photo courtesy of Justin Vining)

Vining struck up a conversation and learned that Catchings was preparing to open a café, Tea’s Me, just a few blocks from his house. And she just so happened to be looking for a featured artist whose work she could display in the cafe.

“I was like, ‘Hey, that can be me,’” Vining recalls. “I was the first featured artist ever in her cafe, and I helped her source the person (who) installed the hanging system there.”

A short time later, Vining accepted an opportunity to paint live from Catchings’ jersey-retirement ceremony as the Fever raised her No. 24 banner into the rafters of Bankers Life (now Gainbridge) Fieldhouse.

Vining tells a similar tale about how he and his artwork made the first of many appearances on the HGTV home-remodeling TV show “Good Bones.” Producers from the Indianapolis-based show were visiting artist Kyle Ragsdale at his Harrison Center studio, which was across the hall from Vining’s studio at the time.

“I started talking to the producers and next thing you know, I’m an extra on Season One with Kyle in one of the episodes,” Vining says. “I was actually cut out of that whole episode — I don’t think I made TV at all — but then they started using my paintings and they started putting me on TV. Then their designer MJ (Coyle) became one of my friends. MJ’s design office now is in the building I own.”

An entrepreneurial mentality

Barely a year had elapsed between the brothers passing the bar exam in 2010 and Vining deciding to pursue a career as a full-time artist. But a lot happened in a short time.

For one thing, he met his wife, Halie, who was then a junior at Butler University. He also took a professional left turn that helped him build entrepreneurial skills that directly contributed to the success of his art business.

Instead of following through on a plan to open a law practice with Nathan in Warsaw, Indiana, Vining instead accepted a lucrative opportunity to work as an account executive at Protis Executive Innovations (now Protis Global) and helped Nathan land a position there, as well.

Vining’s seven months at Protis, an Indianapolis-based headhunting firm, involved recruiting salespeople in the food and beverage industry. It was at Protis that he gained a direct understanding of the data that moves business forward.

“When we sold 82 paintings on opening night, all of that was from using a data-driven sales pricing that I learned at Protis,” Vining says.

Strategic thinking

It should come as no surprise that Vining is an avid chess player, always trying to think a few steps ahead.

Just as strategic thinking is imperative to succeed at that game, so too is it an essential ingredient in entrepreneurial success. How else could someone who grew up on a farm in tiny Etna Green, Indiana, wind up painting at major sporting events like an Indianapolis Colts football game or at the Indy 500, having his work featured on cable TV and building a successful art business after changing directions multiple times early in his professional life?

Vining acknowledges that he wouldn’t be the artist he is today without the disparate experiences that motivated him to embrace professional opportunities — and occasionally create some himself — and put in the long hours necessary to build an audience for his work.

“How I think about it in the context of my career is whether any singular thing defines my success,” Vining says. “IMS, Indiana Pacers organization, painting at Lucas Oil Stadium, all my work with HGTV — you take any one of these legs from an eight-legged table off and the table still stands. To me, it’s the compounding effect of all of these things individually starting to make real impact on people’s perception of my success.”

Connect with Justin online:
Website
Facebook
Instagram

The power of that place goes so far beyond cars driving in a circle. It ties much more into, to me, the meaning of life.

Justin Vining BA visual arts teaching K-12 ’04;
BA fine arts/drawing ’04

Amber Martin created opportunities for herself and her family with a psychology degree from Purdue Global

Her family would say that Amber Martin (MS psychology ’21, Purdue Global) is one of the busiest people they know.  

She routinely balances jobs, her five kids’ extracurriculars, their homework and her own homework. She started her master’s degree with Purdue Global when the youngest of her children was 6 months old — the same year her oldest graduated high school. Add to that: Right now, she’s halfway through her Juris Doctor at Purdue Global Law School. 

But they’ll also attest to the fact that she always finds time to paint a bedroom if one of the kids expresses a new vision for their space. She doesn’t consider herself too busy to host and cook holiday dinners with her husband, Seth, for their extended family and friends, often upward of 20 people. Or help her fellow football parents serve breakfast for the entire varsity team the morning after a game. Or help her in-laws move, or jump start her brother-in-law’s car. 

If that list gives you heart palpitations, you’re not alone. She gets asked all the time: “How in the world can you make all that happen? What keeps you going?” 

She has one response: Her whole life, as she explored many different careers, the single constant was her dream of raising empowered kids. And now it’s a dream she shares with Seth. For them, everything goes back to that. 

“I don’t want it to be me, the reason the two of us would have to say no to things they want to try. I don’t want their dreams to be quashed because I couldn’t contribute enough,” she says. 

When she looked at her work and felt stuck, she saw opportunities. One, she could make a move that would boost their combined income and help provide the kids with a world full of options. And two, she could show them what it looks like to deal with your ghosts and get yourself unstuck.  

I don’t want … to be the reason we’d have to say no to things my kids want to try. I don’t want their dreams to be quashed because I couldn’t contribute enough.

Amber Martin 
MS psychology ’21, Purdue Global 
JD ’25, Purdue Global Law School 

Building a family and a future 

The journey that led Amber to Purdue Global involved a lot of pit stops. 

Choosing her major out of high school was easy. She’d always been fascinated by psychology, so at 17, she decisively chose her major. She planned to earn her bachelor’s in psychology and then move on to grad school.  

When she discussed her plans to earn a master’s degree in psychology with her academic advisor, she trusted she’d be guided toward resources for the application process. Or advised to take one course over another, or maybe receive recommendations for entrance exam texts to study for.  

She gave Amber none of those things. Unbelievably, the advisor dismissed her plan without explanation. 

Taken aback and feeling utterly betrayed, 20-year-old Amber threw her whole plan away and found comfort in a new major — theater. She’d always had a love for plays and movies, and a shift to something more lighthearted provided relief. 

In the meantime, she was waiting tables to pay the bills. That’s where, after enduring such a blatant display of disapproval from her advisor, Amber found her biggest cheerleader. 

Seth was her manager. When Amber graduated with her theater degree, she became a manager, too. Then he left to go back to school. Then he came back, and they were both managers.  

Then they were more than that.  

And ever since, they’ve been a team. Amber credits her ability to accomplish all that she does to his unwavering belief in her and their shared drive to prioritize family over anything else. 

“He’s such a strong supporter,” she says. “I’m thankful to have a true partner. Not everyone has that.” 

They continued in the restaurant business together, and Amber found a way to carve out a professional niche for herself. 

“I worked my way up to a regional director role that included promotions and marketing,” she says. It was the early 2000s, and she took advantage of the moment — websites were just starting to become a necessity for businesses to remain competitive, so Amber learned how to update them. 

Then, babies two and three came along. 

Team Martin held steady to their goals, and Amber’s tech savvy proved useful. She discovered the world of institutional review boards (IRB), which work to ensure scientific studies of humans are held to a high ethical standard, when she found that a local IRB was looking for help updating their website. The job was hers, but working closely with the IRB’s mission inspired her. She eventually became certified as an IRB professional herself, but even so, Amber started to realize she’d need a master’s degree to continue moving forward.  

Then, babies four and five.  

Finally, in 2019, when their oldest started her own college degree, Amber landed on a plan. By then, she’d realized she was being haunted by the ghost of the psychology degree she never finished. She knew what she had to do.  

“I don’t like people telling me I can’t do things,” Amber says. “But when I’m told I can’t do something, it gives me the motivation to prove them wrong.” 

It was time. 

I asked myself, ‘Why can’t I do this? What’s stopping me from studying psychology?’

Amber Martin MS psychology ’21, Purdue Global
JD ’25, Purdue Global Law School 

A master’s degree to move her forward 

Purdue Global was at the top of her list. The master’s program in psychology looked doable for a working adult, run by highly skilled faculty and backed by a respected university — all major selling points for her. 

“I asked myself, ‘Why can’t I do this? What’s stopping me from studying psychology?’” Her journey had taken her across different kinds of work, but maybe she could lean into the multidisciplinary nature of her resume. 

“Forensic psychology interested me because it’s not just helping to solve crimes, like you’d see on TV,” she says. “You have a lot of options, like serving at state institutions or as an expert for family court and speak to what you know about relationships, and how those things affect children developmentally.” 

This degree from Purdue Global would pull together all her experience. The public speaking from theater. The people skills from waiting tables and managing restaurants. The ability to assess the quality and ethics of research processes, along with their effects on people, which she developed working with IRBs. Even the experiential understanding of child development she’d earned from parenting five kids.  

‘You can change your mind’ 

As she neared graduation, she wondered what was next, until Seth suggested Purdue Global Law School. The idea didn’t click right away — she couldn’t picture herself as a litigator — but he held steady in his belief that she’d be great at it. 

Eventually, she started to see what he meant. Her degree in forensic psychology dovetailed nicely into law, and career path options were not limited to litigation. In fact, it built on what they were trying to accomplish all along — keeping as many options open as possible. Understanding of the law would only expand what she could do. 

“It’s exciting to know it’s not lost, what I worked so hard for,” she says.  

And she pushes forward, both inspired by her family and empowered by them. 

“Seth and I want the kids to be able to achieve everything they want to achieve and have the world open to them,” she says. “We try to teach by example. I want to show them that they don’t have to settle with one thing or another, and if they change their minds, if they want to go from theater to forensic psychology to law, they can do it and be successful.” 

Sarah Papabathini is making a difference every day — as a mentor, researcher, volunteer, princess and AI major

When your schedule is as packed as Sarah Papabathini’s, only a pink weekly planner can contain it. “My planner is the Holy Grail,” she says. “I carry it with me everywhere and am constantly referring to it. Always asking myself, ‘OK, what’s next?’”

It turns out that “what’s next” is quite a lot. Papabathini, a Purdue AI student in Indianapolis, takes advantage of all the city and university have to offer, whether it’s community engagement, academic research or just fun with friends.

Indianapolis involvement

Growing up in Chicago, Papabathini learned firsthand the value of meaningful after-school activities. “My dad worked late when I was younger, so I was enrolled in after-school programs,” she says. “I really appreciate what they did for me and am especially grateful for the people who helped run them.”

It was a given for Papabathini that she would pay that gratitude forward by becoming involved in her college community. “I’m a mentor within high schools and middle schools here in the Indianapolis area,” she says. “I stay in regular contact with my students — meeting with them in person, sending them texts, asking about their days. I especially like to check in when I know they have a test or a big assignment.”

Papabathini started volunteering with DREAM Alive — a youth mentorship program founded by former Indianapolis Colts offensive tackle Tarik Glenn and his wife, Maya — during her first year at Purdue in Indianapolis. DREAM Alive is incredibly successful; it has a 100% high school graduation rate for participants.

“This program encompasses so much,” she explains. “We play games and do activities together when classes are over, but we also have lunch and learn during the day.”

Mentors eat a meal with students and then lead a lesson about career and educational opportunities or topics such as mental health and how to identify a trusted adult. “We’re trying to help them imagine their futures,” she says.

Papabathini’s Indianapolis involvements also gave her a chance at becoming something unexpected — royalty.

I am so proud of where I live and of my university. I am excited to talk up Indianapolis, the 500 Festival and Purdue in Indianapolis with everyone I meet.

Sarah Papabathini Purdue AI student in Indianapolis

500 Festival princess

As a 500 Festival princess, Papabathini has distinguished herself as one of Indiana’s most community-oriented and academically accomplished young women. She is responsible for being an ambassador for the festival and for Purdue in Indianapolis. It’s a role she leans into.

“There are 33 wonderful women who have been selected this year,” she says. “We all get to do exciting community outreach.”

One of Papabathini’s favorite activities is going to local elementary schools and “spreading the magic of the Indy 500.” She especially appreciates that this program allows students to have experiences that might not otherwise be available to them.

“We get to bring a pace car to students who likely wouldn’t have the chance to see one,” she says. “We get to show them what drivers wear. It’s so much fun, especially for kids who live a bit farther away and those who don’t get to come to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. It’s cool to bring some of that experience to them.”

Papabathini is enthusiastic about sharing her love of Indiana with others. “I am so proud of where I live and of my university,” she says. “I am excited to talk up Indianapolis, the 500 Festival and Purdue in Indianapolis with everyone I meet.” As busy as she is in her city, Papabathini is just as immersed in life on campus.

Clubs and organizations

Papabathini’s interest in extracurricular activities at Purdue in Indianapolis ignited when she was still a prospective student. Several older cousins, who are alumni, strongly encouraged her to take a campus visit. She was impressed right away.

“My cousins had nothing but great things to say about the university while I was growing up,” she says. “They really encouraged me to visit campus. So when I was in high school, I toured the engineering school and loved it. I actually work in the engineering and technology office now as a peer mentor, student ambassador and at the front desk. It’s very much a full-circle moment.”

One of her primary extracurricular commitments is as vice president for the Indianapolis chapter of the Black Data Processing Associates (BDPA), which is a national organization. “My role within BDPA is connecting local companies in Indianapolis to our chapter here,” she says, “providing students with professional opportunities.”

A recent BDPA event on Purdue’s campus that Papabathini helped organize was an Eli Lilly and Company panel.

“We got some people from Eli Lilly to come to campus and speak with us about what they are looking for in a job candidate. They also discussed resume reviews.”

BDPA leadership meets weekly to discuss upcoming competitions and events. Papabathini, a self-described “people person,” appreciates that the work she does for BDPA connects people.

“I’ve loved forging connections with these great companies here in Indy,” she says. “I appreciate the professional networking that this position has granted me.” In addition to the BDPA, Papabathini is involved in numerous other on-campus clubs and organizations, including the Society of Women Engineers, Women in Technology, the National Society of Black Engineers, Asian Student Union, Black Student Union, Cru ministry, two honor societies and more.

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AI and zombies

Papabathini’s campus visit also helped her identify her future major. “After taking the tour, I thought that I could really see myself here, on this campus,” she says. “And my first year was the year the AI program was rolled out.”

Papabathini thought the major sounded interesting. She also noted that there weren’t a lot of other universities offering this type of degree program at the time.

“Introduction to AI my freshman year is what encouraged me to fully dive into the major,” she says. “We had the opportunity to train a system to distinguish between various objects and facial expressions, similar to facial recognition.”

The hands-on learning in her AI class involved training a computer model over and over and over again. “For one project, we were trying to make the program differentiate between a banana and an apple,” she explains. “This involved putting many bananas and apples in front of the machine and trying to get it to correctly say, ‘This is a banana’ or ‘This is an apple.’ My group was pleased to end up with 90% accuracy.”

She is also taking courses like Calculus III, which supports her minor in mathematics, and Neuroscience, where they are mapping parts of the brain to explore structure and function. She especially enjoys her Data Structure class, which is the study of design and analysis of abstract data structures and algorithms.

But it’s not all STEM for Papabathini. She is also taking classes in writing, golf and the zombie apocalypse.

“The title of the class is actually Zombie Apocalypse and Doomsday Infections,” she explains. “During the first half of class we explored various cultures and their representations of zombies. The second half of class looked at infectious diseases and how humanity can survive them.”

I want to see what impact I can make in the field. How can I contribute to the curve and empower learning for everyone? What can I do to contribute to the next evolution in AI?

Sarah Papabathini
Purdue AI student in Indianapolis

Academic research

Zombie apocalypses aside, Papabathini’s experiences in the classroom sparked a desire to conduct research. As a second-year student, she gained career-ready research skills by participating in a multidisciplinary program.

Currently, she is in the Navy Engineering Innovation & Leadership (NEIL) program, which helped prepare her to publish her co-authored research this semester. Every Monday, she meets with her NEIL research advisor to discuss what they have been working on and what stage they are at in their projects. “We also talk about challenges we’ve had,” she says. “It’s really an open meeting to see how we can help each other.”

What next?

From an early age, Papabathini has loved technology. In high school, she participated in the Girls Who Code club, which provided a foundation she has continued to build upon.

“I am interested in exploring the curve for technology,” she says. “Where is AI leading us? What’s on the horizon?”

She says the career possibilities are endless, and she can’t wait to explore them. But as someone who deeply invests in her communities, Papabathini is looking for even more.

“I want to see what impact I can make in the field,” she says. “How can I contribute to the curve and empower learning for everyone? What can I do to contribute to the evolution of AI?” No matter how Papabathini answers those questions, one thing is clear: She’s going to need more pink planners.

With strong support from many mentors, motorsports engineering graduate Lizzie Todd is living out her dream as a racing engineer

For the most part, Lizzie Todd’s memories of her first Indianapolis 500 are somewhat hazy.

She remembers watching most of that 2006 race from the railing near her family’s seats because the man sitting in front of her was so tall that 8-year-old Lizzie couldn’t see the track.

She describes her older sister Annie crying because Sam Hornish Jr. won the race, not Marco Andretti, who Annie thought was cute.

And she recalls tracking the leaders on a scorecard every 10 laps, hoping that her favorite drivers like Danica Patrick or Tony Kanaan would emerge victorious.

Alongside those vague recollections, Todd also has a crystal-clear memory from that race week — an inspirational moment that helped racing become a personal passion and, years later, her career.

She remembers arriving late to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway for the Carb Day practice session the Friday before the race. Her dad was annoyed, worrying that their tardiness might prevent the family from getting good seats. But it turned out to be the best thing that could have happened for the precocious 8-year-old passenger in his car.

The green flag fell just as the Todd family vehicle emerged from a tunnel alongside the track, so Lizzie was at eye level with a race car as it rapidly launched into a practice lap.

“This car went from 60 to 220 (mph) in the most insane amount of acceleration that I’d ever seen,” she says. “I never heard an engine like that in my life before, and we were so close that I felt it in my chest. I just fell in love.”

Right then and there, a future race engineer was born.

Todd put in lots of hard work since then — studying, internships, networking, real-world experience — helping her turn a childhood obsession into a position as systems engineer with the Arrow McLaren IndyCar Team. Along the way, she received guidance and support from a mentor she met during an Indy 500 a few years after that influential Carb Day: Terri Talbert-Hatch, co-founder of the IUPUI motorsports engineering program that is now under the Purdue University in Indianapolis umbrella.

A supportive mentor

Todd and Talbert-Hatch’s friendship dates back to Todd’s eighth-grade year, when she emailed one of Talbert-Hatch’s colleagues requesting information on the motorsports engineering program she read about on indycar.com.

Talbert-Hatch responded and eventually invited Todd and her family to a sponsor event at driver Sarah Fisher’s shop during race week. She remembers 14-year-old Lizzie being somewhat timid at the event, afraid of doing something wrong in front of the industry bigwigs in attendance. But she also wanted to take every opportunity to motivate a bright, young go-getter to pursue a career in a business that had long been dominated by men.

“The motorsports engineering program was pretty new at that time, and to get a female especially, I was going to do whatever I could to encourage her,” says Talbert-Hatch, now an adjunct professor with the motorsports engineering program and administration consultant at IndyCar race car builder Dallara.

Such encouragement has become a running theme throughout their relationship.

Each summer during high school, Todd returned to Indianapolis to participate in the program’s Preparing Outstanding Women for Engineering Roles (POWER) camp. The camp typically exposed participants to opportunities with company partners like Rolls-Royce, Allison Transmission, Cummins Inc., or one of the many biomedical engineering companies in the area. But whenever Todd was in attendance, Talbert-Hatch made sure that she also got to meet with motorsports engineering students or participate in a racing-related activity, like the time she got to take a tour of Dallara’s production facility.

There are a lot of full-circle moments between when I think back to middle school to where I am today.

Lizzie Todd (BS motorsports engineering ’20) on the mentorship she has received from Terri Talbert-Hatch since middle school

“Terri has been monumental in helping me get to where I’m at. We still stay in touch, and we’re actually going out to dinner next week,” Todd says. “There are a lot of full-circle moments between when I think back to middle school to where I am today.”

Moments like when Todd decided to enroll in the program, graduating in 2020 from the only ABET-accredited motorsports engineering bachelor’s degree program in the U.S. Or when Talbert-Hatch offered guidance on internships that might help her get a foot in the door in the IndyCar circuit. Or even today, when she provides counsel and emotional support to a former student whose job can be extremely demanding.

“She’s my Indiana mom. That’s what I call her,” Todd says.

“So I just make sure I talk to her as a mom would,” Talbert-Hatch adds. “It’s just being a sounding board and sharing her ups and downs.”

Building experience, making connections

Only 26 years old, Todd has already squeezed a lot of ups into a relatively short time as a racing engineer.

As a college freshman, she was a member of a Society of Women Engineers team that earned a second-place finish at the Purdue Grand Prix. A year later, she began working on the IUPUI racing team, whose Mazda Miata competed in the Sports Car Club of America’s F-Production series.

Looking back on those extensive hands-on experiences, Todd recognizes the importance of other skills she didn’t even realize she was building.

“It mirrored what I do now: a lot of late nights in the shop, a lot of time spent with the same people. You’re building relationships with all these people,” Todd says. “Motorsports is so small that I work with people that I was on the motorsports program and in the motorsports club with every single day, whether they’re on different teams or not, but I see them all the time. It’s been really cool to know that you’ve got friends all across the paddock who went through the same kind of things you did, who went through the same struggles you did in the classroom.”

That’s an endless source of pride for Talbert-Hatch, who says she lives vicariously through the former students she frequently sees as an Indianapolis Motor Speedway regular during teams’ preparations for “The Greatest Spectacle in Racing.”

“It’s so fun in May to walk up and down pit row and say, ‘There’s one of ours, there’s two of ours, there’s three of ours,’” she says.

As her college career progressed, Todd expanded her knowledge base and her professional network through three important internships: as a member of the IndyCar accident investigation and tech inspection team; as a data engineering intern at Juncos Racing; and finally, as an engineering intern at Team Penske’s North Carolina headquarters.

“Our students get tired of hearing this from all our guest speakers: it’s networking, networking, networking. That’s how you get into motorsports,” Talbert-Hatch says.

Todd took that advice to heart, staying in touch with many established veterans who helped her build a career in the racing circuit she grew up following.

Career progress

Todd accepted the Penske internship in hopes that she might parlay it into a full-time job after graduation. While that didn’t pan out, her experience there did help her land a gig as a systems engineer at Andretti Autosport before she had even graduated from college.

She spent three seasons working on the No. 28 car driven by Ryan Hunter-Reay — incidentally, the winning driver in 2014, the only Indy 500 Todd has missed since attending the race for the first time — before accepting an opportunity to work at Arrow McLaren alongside another mentor, Kate Gundlach, whom she has admired since they met during Todd’s IndyCar internship.

“She was working at Ganassi at the time and came over and introduced herself and was like, ‘Whatever you need internship-wise, if you need any help, if you just want to go get dinner and ask me questions, I’m here for it. I’m here for you,’” Todd recalls. “To have that kind of mentorship right off the bat was incredible. And so I stayed in contact with her while I was in college, and she was super excited for me when I got my job at Andretti, and I always liked the idea of working with her.”

The opportunity arose during the 2022 season, when a systems engineer left the Arrow McLaren team where Gundlach worked. Todd accepted an offer to discuss the position with team leadership, recognized growth opportunities and was happy to have a chance to work alongside several friends she’d made during her first few years in the paddock.

For two seasons, she worked under performance engineer Gundlach (now Arrow McLaren driver Nolan Siegel’s race engineer) and race engineer Will Anderson on the No. 5 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet driven by Pato O’Ward, in a role with more responsibilities than the one she held at Andretti.

“I’m still responsible for all the electronics, radios, telemetry in the car, but I calculate fuel mileage now, which is a role that is done by the performance engineers at Andretti,” Todd says. “Now I have a much bigger responsibility car-side in practice, qualifying and, of course, the race because that is all strategy. So I work very closely with the strategist, and I definitely feel like I have a voice and an active role in the outcome of how we finish every race weekend.”

Another aspect of working for Arrow McLaren that initially appealed to Todd was its organizational reputation for creative thinking, for hiring from within and for providing practical opportunities to develop new skills.

Todd has already benefited from such an opportunity when she got to try her hand as a performance engineer — a position she hopes to occupy as her career progresses — during an offseason testing session.

She has made it so far so fast that Todd admits it can be frustrating to wait for that promotion to come. When those frustrations arise, she has the luxury of leaning on strong mentors who understand how hard the business can be and often have been in the very same position. They help her maintain a healthy perspective, knowing that if she keeps working hard and learning, more opportunities to advance will naturally arise.

“I have this specific idea of what I want. I know I want to be a performance engineer. I want to be a race engineer. I want to go into upper management,” Todd said during the 2024 season. “But timeline-wise, I want it to happen naturally. This is my fifth season as a systems engineer, which can be frustrating, but it has been really cool to kind of realize how far I’ve come and how much I’ve learned over the last five years. I know generally where I want to go and what it takes to get there, but I’m not going to put deadlines on myself and then be disappointed by it.
 
“I really want to be put in a position where I’m given a promotion because the people around me think I’m ready for it, and they know I’m going to succeed in that position.”

Spoken like an engineer who listened to mentors’ valuable guidance along the way.

Our students get tired of hearing this from all our guest speakers: it’s networking, networking, networking. That’s how you get into motorsports.

Terri Talbert Hatch,
co-founder of the motorsports engineering program

Dillon Thieneman is walking to class. The students lugging backpacks as they trudge past Jimmy John’s, Von’s and Harry’s don’t seem to notice an All-American is in their midst.

Thieneman carries his backpack strapped over both shoulders. His destination is Rawls Hall for Management 254, the Legal Foundations of Business class. It’s a chilly Wednesday, but Thieneman isn’t dressed for it. He has no coat, just a white T-shirt and black pants.

“Have to take care of the books,” he says.

In the spring of 2023, Thieneman was trying to find his place amid the hustle and bustle of Purdue’s red-brick campus. He had arrived early from his Indianapolis-area home, wanting to get a jump on his football career.

It worked.

He’s a freshly minted All-American, coming off arguably the best true freshman season in school annals. Thieneman is already a BMOC (Big Man On Campus). So much, so fast. How did he arrive at this moment?

The brothers knew

If anyone was listening, former Boilermaker Jake Thieneman was telling us about his youngest brother.

“We all knew it a long time ago,” fessed Jake.

The oldest of the three Thieneman brothers, Jake became convinced of Dillon’s prowess when his kid brother played grade school flag football for Saint Maria Goretti in Westfield, Ind. Here’s where Brennan Thieneman, the middle brother, picks up the story …

“Dillon took the ball and juked eight players, every guy on the field,” he said. “Jake and I were refereeing, and we high-fived each other. It was unbelievable. I had never seen anything like it. They used to limit how much Dillon could carry the ball because he’d have three carries, three touchdowns.”

It just wasn’t fair.

“It was absurd,” said Jake. “He was always the most athletic kid at whatever he did.”

Jake and Brennan—who each played safety at Purdue, too—have had a front-row seat for the development of the “little Dillon.” They are eight (Jake, 1996) and seven (Brennan, 1997) years older than Dillon (2004), often de facto parents.

Now, the rest of the nation knows: Dillon Thieneman is good. Very good. All-American good. The final stat sheet from 2023 says he led the nation’s freshmen in tackles, interceptions and forced fumbles.

The All-American honors poured in …

• The Football Writers Association of America
• The Athletic
• 247
• FWAA Defensive Freshman Player of the Year
• Big Ten Freshman of the Year

Dillon shrugs his shoulders. He’s unphased. It’s as if he expected it. You could say that, to a degree, he did. He’s been on this path since middle school when Jake typed out a workout program at Dillon’s request. He just wanted to keep up.

“Brennan and I were going to give him the answers to the test,” said Jake. “We were going to take everything we learned and just pass it on to Dillon to get him started earlier.”

Agility work, position-specific drills, speed training … Jake and Brennan devised a comprehensive plan.

“He was doing ladders,” said Jake. “He was doing different footwork stuff. He was doing bodyweight stuff. And he was doing his defensive back drills.”

Dillon also did daily push-ups and pull-ups. This single-minded focus left Brennan and Jake shaking their heads.

“He was always very diligent even though he was younger and kids his age weren’t doing that stuff,” said Brennan.

Soon, Thieneman found himself starting as a freshman at Westfield High. Schools wanted him. Northwestern sniffed around. And so did Duke and Minnesota, which really wanted him. But Thieneman was in the bag for Purdue all along, really. He committed on June 14, 2022, before his season season.

“Most felt I was going to go to Purdue, so they backed off,” said Dillon.

Thieneman was a Boilermaker, just like his brothers and father, Ken. His mom, Shannon? She went to Indiana.

“But she’s converted,” said Dillon, smiling.

Banner day

Dillon Thieneman is the kid next door who cuts your lawn, shovels your driveway and bags your groceries. He is also really good at football. How good? He received the ultimate Purdue honor on the first day of spring ball following his freshman year when an All-American banner bearing his image was unfurled in the Mollenkopf Athletic Center.

“I knew he was going to come in and ball out,” said Brennan. “I had no doubt about that. But at an All-American level? I don’t know if I had expectations there. I’d say that that did exceed my already high expectations.”

There’s Dillon, up on the wall with Boilermaker luminaries like Rod Woodson, Drew Brees, Mark Herrmann and Ryan Kerrigan.

“(My teammates) are the real reason that I was able to play to get up there,” said Thieneman.

There’s that maturity. He’s 20 going on 35. And his work ethic? It’s described like this: He combines a walk-on mentality with an All-American’s ability.

“It’s like he was created in a lab somewhere,” Ryan Walters said. “You try to find things in his game, his personality, things in his life where you’re like, ‘Oh, he needs to pick it up in this area.’ We get the (academic) grade report; his lowest grade right now is 99.

“Have I coached anybody like him before? No, I haven’t. Not at (his age). Not as talented as he is. Not with the work ethic and the hunger that he has. If I were a betting man, I would say he’s got a long time to play football.”

Purdue safeties coach Grant O’Brien shakes his head at his gift from the football gods. He knows he’s lucky.

“He’s got a mental skill set to do something special because of how he approaches a simple task,” said O’Brien. “Last spring, I was like, ‘this guy might have something special,’ and then it obviously translated to production on the field.”

How did this happen? How did Dillon Thieneman—who turned 20 in August—get here so quickly? And what’s next for a player who, as just a sophomore, already is the face of Purdue Football?

Learning the hard way

Throw me the ball! Throw me the ball!

Dillon Thieneman could be a pest as a kid. You know how little brothers can be.

“He always has been extremely competitive,” said Dillon’s mom, Shannon Thieneman. “He wanted Ken and Jake and Brennan to throw him the football or basketball or whatever it is … just keep throwing it to him.”

So, they would throw it as hard as they could at him.

“And he didn’t always catch it as a little kid and then it would hit him in the face,” said Shannon. “So, he learned the hard way.”

Brennan often paid for it: “He’d cry to mom, and I’d get in trouble.”

Through that veil of tears, Dillon got tough. And better.

“He’d want Brennan and I to throw him into the couch harder and harder,” said Jake. “It usually ended up with Dillon crying. But he asked for it.

“But that was just Dillon.”

Brennan was especially hard on Dillon during a game they invented called “The Return Game.” It was pretty simple: Brennan would boot the ball to Dillon, who would earn points based on how far he ran back the ball. It often wasn’t too far, with Brennan having no mercy on his young brother.

“They played a lot of games together,” said Shannon. “But he didn’t let (Brennan) get away with anything because he was the younger brother. He was tough on him.”

Jake and Brennan quickly saw what the rest of the Purdue fans saw last fall: Dillon Thieneman is more athletic than you think.

Ask anyone on the Purdue team and they’ll tell you. Thieneman is a legit blazer, one of the two or three fastest players. The only one on defense on par is defensive back Kyndrich Breedlove. On offense, wide receiver CJ Smith is all gas. But Thieneman is right there, fast … and fearless.

“At four years old, we teach them how to do a front flip,” said Jake. “So, he nails the front flip off the diving board the first time. Brennan and I don’t say a single word as he gets out of the pool, goes back on the diving board and immediately does a backflip. We didn’t tell him anything. He’d just been watching us that entire time.”

Dillon was always watching, observing, listening and tagging along. He wanted to be like Jake and Brennan. He watched each star at Guerin Catholic High in Noblesville. Dillon saw their work ethic, their drive and motivation, which propelled both Jake and Brennan to Purdue as walk-ons who developed into key contributors and scholarship players for the program in the Jeff Brohm era.

“He started seeing Brennan and I play, which pushed him to go even harder,” said Jake. “It’s like he’s been training hard on his own since seventh grade.

That work ethic and supreme athletic ability launched Thieneman to a stellar career at Westfield High, and on to Purdue.

“I kind of knew from the spring what he was,” said fellow safety Sanoussi Kane, a senior on last year’s team. “It’s awesome to see all this hard work pay off. He’s one of the hardest workers on the team, if not the hardest.”

Knowing what he wants

Want to see Dillon Thieneman smile? Put a plate of pasta in front of him.

“Homemade sauce, chicken, that’s what he always asked me to make,” said Shannon. “That’s his favorite, and he likes to help me. He’s not a junk food eater. It’s all part of the training.”

Shannon would prepare a pasta bar for her children, including sister, Kiera.

“I loved it,” said Dillon.

Thieneman has always known what he wanted. He played basketball, and he was a pretty good baseball player. But football was his fixation and sole focus in high school. He knew. He knew he could be special. Mom and Dad knew, too. They had a transformative talk with Dillon before he entered high school.

“We told him he had to put in the work now, not wait until you get to college or get into high school,” said Shannon. “You have to be prepared by the time you get into high school. That’s why he was able to start at a 6A program as a freshman; he was willing to put in the work.

“He’s doing what we always knew he could do. He did it as a freshman. And I don’t think we were expecting him to be an All-American as a freshman. We knew he would be at some point, but that was a wonderful surprise.”

Thieneman now finds himself as a respected leader on the 2024 Boilermakers, trying to set the tone for a program in Year Two under Walters. The goal: flip the script on last year’s 4-8 season.

He’s grown into a 6-0, 205-pound all-muscle man. Thieneman cinches a headband around his noggin after pulling on his No. 31 jersey. He surveys the field from a perch high above the defense, setting up roughly 20 yards from the line of scrimmage, almost seemingly out of place.

Is it too deep? Nope.

From that distance, Thieneman is asked to scan the field. In football parlance, he can play “downhill,” breaking on plays quickly, reading schemes, moving at top speed and attacking.

He announced his presence in the season opener vs. Fresno State when he picked off one of his freshman-record six passes on the year. It was a beaut. But he delivered a hit in punt coverage—leveling a Bulldog—that resonated and perhaps personified what Thieneman is all about, doing blue-collar work usually reserved for walk-ons.

“He loves being on punt coverage,” said Purdue special teams coach Chris Petrilli. “He never wanted to come off.”

And he probably won’t. Thieneman may even end up running back punts this season.

“I knew he was going to be a special player just based on how he carries himself, his character, his work ethic, what he pours into his craft every single day on and off the field,” said O’Brien. “You never envision exactly where a young man will be at his freshman year or even his career as far as being an All-American. But I think it’s just a testimony to what he’s about from a character standpoint.

“People have mentored him; his work has just spoken for itself. That established him as a starter after the spring when he first came in. It continued through the summer and (he) had a phenomenal year as a true freshman.”

Academic expectations

Jake Thieneman majored in engineering. So did Brennan and father, Ken, who owns Thieneman Construction. Smarts run in the Thieneman family. It’s not all about PBUs, INTs and TFLs.

“Our parents put a huge emphasis on academics,” said Jake. “It came before anything else –  sports, training, playing outside. The biggest thing my parents did was instill in us very high standards for ourselves. A’s were expected.”

Achievement was celebrated in the Thieneman house. Kitchen cabinets were adorned with tests that earned an “A.” Report cards that glistened with good marks were also on display as the kids ate their cereal and Pop-Tarts in the mornings.

“It became a competition with Brennan and me to hang as much as possible,” said Jake. “We completely covered the kitchen.”

Of course, Dillon had to keep up. And he did. His goal at Purdue is to graduate as soon as he can. He enrolled a semester early and was in the School of Engineering for the first two semesters before switching to management.

“I did feel some pressure, but in the end everyone wanted me to do and study something that I wanted to do, so I got tons of support when I was considering and making the change,” said Dillon.

Thieneman’s schedule was loaded with five classes during the 2024 spring semester: MGMT 254, MGMT 200, ECON 251, ECON 252, EAPS 106 … He piled more on, taking a course in May and two more over the summer in advance of his sophomore season.

“Academics were always a heavy emphasis for our family,” said Brennan. “My dad, being involved in managing construction, told us from a young age, ‘You can spend the rest of your life working with your back, or you can study hard, go to college, and work with your brain.’ So, good grades were not only significant to my parents but were also incentivized.”

Peer review

Cam Allen smiles as he considers the question: What makes Dillon Thieneman good?

“My man Dillon, coming in, in the weight room, on the field, however you look at it, he’s already on top of the boards in everything,” said Allen. “Looking through my eyes, there’s a lot of things he does that I (haven’t) seen a true freshman do in a long time.”

Players four and five years older than Thieneman took cues from the new kid, the youngster inspiring oldsters.

“I would say just the level of his preparation,” fessed defensive lineman Isaiah Nichols when asked what makes the precocious Thieneman special.

“He’s a lot more mature than his age and his experience. We’re in the hotel, and I come off the elevator before the game, and I see him going over his tip sheets and everything.”

Remember: Jake Thieneman was trying to tell us how good his kid brother was. What’s next?

The secondary must replace Allen and Kane. The search is on for two new tackles. And who will rush the passer with Nic Scourton having transferred and Kydran Jenkins now playing linebacker?

“I’m still working toward (being a leader),” said Thieneman. “It’s a new thing. But I think people think of me as a leader, and I’ve got to step up into that leadership role.”

Thieneman will grow into a leadership role vocally. He’s already leading by example. He’s the first guy at practice, and he always lingers afterward doing extra work, fine-tuning his breaks, back-pedaling… always looking for an edge amid his nuanced work. It has commanded the respect of peers.

“It’s really still the beginning for him,” said O’Brien. “It’s about where he can take his game next.”

By Tom Dienhart, who has covered Purdue football for GoldandBlack.com since 2019. He earned a B.A. Communications degree from Purdue in 1987.

Betsy Parkinson and Lindsey Payne recognized for excellence in and out of the classroom

Betsy Parkinson and Lindsey Payne, winners of the 2023-24 Exceptional Early Career Teaching Award, embody the ideal that the “teaching responsibility to students does not stop at the classroom door.” They persistently demonstrate their “readiness to aid and motivate students in a counseling and advisory capacity” through distinctive strategies and simple acts of kindness.

Purdue University began offering the early career award to honor outstanding undergraduate faculty members on the West Lafayette campus with the rank of assistant professor. Of the hundreds of Boilermakers eligible, Parkinson and Payne have distinguished themselves not only as skilled educators, but also as remarkable human beings.

Betsy Parkinson

Betsy Parkinson, assistant professor of chemistry and medicinal chemistry and molecular pharmacology, fell in love with both science and teaching at an early age. Her experiences growing up on a farm in Mississippi inspired, in part, her current research on soil-dwelling bacteria and medicines based on natural products (molecules made by living organisms). Her passion for sharing knowledge is something that has always been a part of her, too.

“I’ve loved teaching for a long time,” she says. “Even in middle school, I was the annoying kid who was trying to tutor her friends. I was like, ‘I can tutor you. I can tutor you.’ Being honored with the Early Career award for doing something that I love is so special to me. I really appreciate it.”

Parkinson’s path to Purdue started with her undergraduate education at Rhodes College in Memphis, Tennessee, where she majored in chemistry and participated in undergraduate research at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.

“I was in a molecular pharmacology lab at St. Jude,” she explains. “So early on, I was at the interface between biology and chemistry.”

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Parkinson’s research interests grew, and in graduate school she explored nature-made medicines at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.

Parkinson started at Purdue in 2018 and since then has taught organic chemistry to more than 2,000 undergraduates. She takes the pulse of her students on day one of classes.

“I give students a survey about their feelings toward organic chemistry,” she explains. “Right off the bat I acknowledge they might be scared or nervous. But I reassure them that, although we cover a lot of content, if they study 30 minutes a day, they will be fine. They may not get an A, but they will be totally fine.”

Parkinson has implemented other strategies too, like “Friday Fun Lectures,” which help students connect organic chemistry concepts to their other academic interests, and “Chill With a Chemist” meetings with students outside of class. Supporting struggling students with extra help sessions and promoting on-campus mental health resources are just a few of the ways Parkinson is making a difference in the lives of her students.

“I am so appreciative of my students,” Parkinson says. “There are many fantastic professors on Purdue’s campus, and it’s just a huge honor to receive this award.”

Having the Early Career award be student-centered makes it especially meaningful for me. Knowing that those I am directly impacting are advocating for me reinforces that what I am doing is working. And I really appreciate that.

Lindsey Payne

Director of service-learning and
assistant professor of practice in environmental and ecological engineering

Lindsey Payne

Lindsey Payne has been the director of service-learning for Purdue’s Office of Engagement since 2015 and assistant professor of practice in environmental and ecological engineering since 2021. Her teaching experience began long before that, though.

“I taught high school for four years,” she says. “Biology, earth science and even PE.” Payne also worked for a variety of nonprofits as an educator. 

When one of Payne’s colleagues recommended she consider Purdue’s PhD program in ecological sciences and engineering, her career in education moved in a new direction.

As a graduate student at Purdue, Payne worked in the teaching and learning center, and when Larry Nies was looking for a teaching assistant for an environmental and ecological engineering class, her name came up. Payne worked with him in that role for four years, advancing to co-instructor of the class and eventually assisting with redesigning the course.

Nies also gave Payne the opportunity to develop her own service-learning course and to serve as the instructor of record. “And I realized at that point that I truly loved teaching at the college level,” she says.

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Payne currently teaches an introductory environmental and ecological engineering class for second-year students, an upper-level service-learning course and an experiential education course for seniors.

“My focus is not just on getting students to become impressive practicing professionals,” she says, “but also on getting them to engage in their communities, to do more than just go to work.”

Payne’s longstanding partnership with the Wabash River Enhancement Corporation enables her students to make community connections with underserved populations and local nonprofits. Students gain professional engineering experience — design, communication, teamwork, grant writing, budget management and leadership — as they oversee a project from inception to implementation.

“They support the implementation of rain gardens and native plantings to capture stormwater on various community partner properties,” she says. “All with the goal of increasing the health of the Wabash River.”

The health of her students is equally important to Payne, and she has mental wellness check-ins with them every other week via Brightspace. She says that in final course evaluations, students express how much they appreciate her concern for them.

“Having the Early Career award be student-centered makes it especially meaningful for me,” she says. “Knowing that those I am directly impacting are advocating for me reinforces that what I am doing is working. And I really appreciate that.”

The university’s highest undergraduate teaching honor recognizes accomplished educators across campus

This year’s recipients of Purdue’s highest undergraduate teaching honor have not only bettered Boilermakers’ educations but have influenced today’s teaching environment and tomorrow’s workforce. They’re shaping the future from their classrooms. Meet the 2024 Charles B. Murphy Award winners:

Kendra Erk

How do Purdue engineering students learn best? Associate professor Kendra Erk knows from her own experience — she earned her bachelor’s degree from the university. She joined the faculty in 2012 and began leading Boilermakers in materials engineering (MSE).

As an instigator of improvements, Erk has positively impacted Purdue students, as well as the future of education across the state. In addition to ensuring students receive a world-class education in the classroom and research lab, as well as leading the MSE Safety Committee, she has also collaborated with the engineering department at Ivy Tech Lafayette to enrich its curriculum. She has promoted engineering education through her work as a developer and coprincipal investigator on Project UPDATE, a program funded by the National Science Foundation that integrates engineering design principles into soon-to-be teachers’ science lesson plans.

Every day, Erk prioritizes three themes, whether she is instructing students, developing plans or pursuing goals: Be respectful, resourceful and resilient. With the confidence and credibility brought by the Charles B. Murphy Award, she can pursue even more of her ideas. “It provides a platform to make our curriculum better,” she says. “It means so much to me as an educator that this award will help us improve what our faculty delivers and what our students gain.”

Dino Felluga

Professor Dino Felluga leads English courses, study abroad programs and research projects, adhering to a principle from Leonardo da Vinci: “Knowing is not enough; we must apply. Being willing is not enough; we must do.” His students engage in hands-on lessons that leave them with widened perspectives and deepened understanding.

While instilling curiosity in others, Felluga has invented his own resources and revised classes. His active-learning assignments encourage students’ creativity, from recreating “Citizen Kane” scenes for a film class to presenting on the streets of Italy during a study abroad trip. When he is unable to find the right tools, he builds them himself, including the online resources Introductory Guide to Critical Theory; Britain, Representation, and Nineteenth-Century History; and Collaborative Organization for Virtual Education. He has also written “Critical Theory: The Key Concepts,” “The Encyclopedia of Victorian Literature,” “The Perversity of Poetry” and “Novel-Poetry,” set to be published in September 2024 by Oxford University Press.

“Novel-Poetry” was cowritten with Emily Allen, Felluga’s wife. Allen is an associate professor of English and founding director of the John Martinson Honors College’s Blue Sky Teaching and Learning Laboratory — as well as a 2002 Charles B. Murphy Award winner. “We’re the only couple to both receive the Murphy in the history of the award,” he says. “Purdue’s been supportive of our efforts, and the Honors College has allowed both of us to really engage with the rest of the university.”

Stephanie Gardner

Approaching teaching and mentoring from a student-centered perspective is essential to supporting Boilermakers in the classroom and beyond — like in research laboratories, which make a biology student’s undergraduate experience more meaningful. “It’s so important to their education,” says associate professor Stephanie Gardner. “Research is where they strengthen interpersonal skills, spark up interests and learn how new knowledge forms.”

Since arriving at Purdue as a lecturer in 2007, Gardner has prioritized evidence-based instructional practices and equitable access to research. She has provided for students on campus by developing Course-based Undergraduate Research Experiences, funded by the National Science Foundation, and training instructors as part of the program. As a coprincipal investigator of Partnering in Research Mentoring for Minoritized Students in STEM, she has helped mentors and mentees at Purdue and Chicago State University. In 2024, she was selected to become a fellow of the Partnership for Undergraduate Life Science Education, a national program that aims to support departments and instructors in improving undergraduate learning of life sciences and other related disciplines.

Serving students not only at the university but across the country is always Gardner’s goal, and the Charles B. Murphy Award is a message to keep going above and beyond. “What drives me is helping students feel like they belong,” she says. “I want them to feel valued and like they have the capacity to master anything they’re trying to learn.”

I want them to feel valued and like they have the capacity to master anything they’re trying to learn.

Stephanie Gardner

Associate professor of biological sciences

Amy Sheehan

What do pharmacists need to know? Understanding medical literature, thinking critically about research, and communicating with peers, physicians and patients are only a few of the role’s many responsibilities. Professor Amy Sheehan prepares Boilermakers for their careers by continuously providing real-world practice.

Sheehan has introduced practical activities, revised review processes and integrated new technologies since joining the Purdue faculty in 1998. The developments of a mock drug question assignment and a drug formulary monograph, which integrate examples from her own work at Indiana University Health’s drug information center, have taught students how to effectively respond to drug-related questions and patient-specific situations. She has also incorporated constructive peer reviews and encouraged student-to-student mentorship to start building networks.

Working with the Innovative Learning hub, Sheehan is implementing artificial intelligence into the peer-review system while educating students on ethical AI usage. “I’m really excited for its impact on teaching and learning,” she says. The Charles B. Murphy Award is a motivator to keep going. “I want to continue to offer the best learning experience for my students.”

Jennifer Smith

When clinical associate professor Jennifer Smith finished her first day of student teaching, she called her mom and said she knew it was what she wanted to do for the rest of her life. Fifteen years of working in elementary schools and almost five years of educating at Purdue have only brightened that innate spark.

In the College of Education, Smith has illuminated ways for future teachers to connect with students. Focusing on special education curriculums, she has prepared Boilermakers for excellence by improving courses, researching teacher-student dynamics and cofounding the Center for Research and Equipment for Assistive Technology in Education (CREATE) and the Accessible Creative Teaching and Inclusive Opportunities Now! Research Lab. Her involvement in national conferences helps her share ideas across the United States.

CREATE empowers the next generation of learners with accessible resources like software and equipment. Since its establishment, the center has inspired students to create practical solutions. The Charles B. Murphy Award is a recognition for her accomplishments — and encouragement to keep building. “Innovation is one of Purdue’s values, and students are representing that at CREATE,” Smith says. “Now we’re looking into how we can expand and capitalize on all of the amazing progress.”

Linda Haynes has served students with care and innovative solutions for over 30 years

Linda Haynes, a senior lecturer and associate director of introductory composition in the College of Liberal Arts, considers teaching her students to find reliable sources to be one of the most important things she does. It’s during those lessons that she experiences one of her favorite educational moments, when she senses a shift in the energy of the classroom as evidenced by a particular, surprising sound.

Silence.

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“There’s something about that quiet, that intense work they’re doing. You can almost hear their brains working, those synapses firing,” she says. “When they get like that, I know I’ve hit something, they’re really understanding what it is to enjoy the treasure hunt of research.”

It’s this devotion to her students’ learning that earned her the prestigious 2024 Excellence in Instruction Award. This award is presented annually to a lecturer or senior lecturer who has gone above and beyond for their students during their years of service to the university. Haynes received a surprise presentation in her classroom by Purdue Pete, family and colleagues.

Since she began her teaching and advising career at Purdue in 1993, Haynes has played a pivotal role in advancing the university’s educational mission by delivering innovative, high-quality writing instruction to thousands of undergraduate students, both in her instructional role and her administrative role as assistant director, and now associate director, of the Introductory Composition at Purdue (ICaP) program. She’s taught 16 different courses for the Department of English, seven of which she helped to design or redesign. Since 2004, she’s offered hands-on writing instruction to over 1,200 undergraduate students in 56 separate sections.

Haynes — known for her devotion to setting up students for success, as well as her innovative approach — put both on display at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. She was conducting an early pilot of Purdue’s new learning management system, Brightspace, with a mentor group of graduate students when learning abruptly shifted to an online model, making the pilot more urgent. Over the summer of 2020, Haynes trained directly with D2L, the developer of Brightspace, to understand the software so that she could then introduce and translate the information to all ICaP writing instructors.

Despite tremendous accomplishments throughout her decades of service, Haynes is unassuming. “I have no expectations for winning anything like this,” she says of the award. “But when 20-30 people suddenly burst into your classroom with photographers and balloons and Purdue Pete, it really brings out the community aspect of the job. You realize you don’t simply teach your class and go home. It has lasting effects.”

There’s something about that quiet, that intense work they’re doing. … When they get like that, I know I’ve hit something.

Linda Haynes

Senior lecturer and associate director of introductory composition
College of Liberal Arts

Tony Jackson earned his Executive Juris Doctor degree online, and it’s empowering his entrepreneurial journey 

Millions of young men across the United States might say a professional football career is the ultimate dream. And after a successful college career at the University of Iowa, Tony Jackson (Executive Juris Doctor ’21, Purdue Global Law School) did earn himself a spot with the Seattle Seahawks in 2005 as a sixth-round draft pick. 

But he always knew he was made for more.  

In his life after pro football, he’s still adding achievements to the trophy case, and these post-athletic accomplishments mean even more to him. He’s created and run multiple successful companies, launched several passion projects and earned a law degree with Purdue Global Law School while running a business and starting a family.  

Jackson was an entrepreneur before he decided to go back to school for an advanced degree, but he says his executive juris doctor exponentially evolved his business and his abilities as a professional — fast.  

And yet, Jackson is remarkably humble about it all.  

“If I had to brag, one thing I’m very good at is surrounding myself with people who are better and smarter than me, and I learn from them,” he says. “One of my favorite quotes is by Sir Isaac Newton: ‘If I’ve seen further, it’s because I’ve stood on the shoulders of giants.’” 

The giants in Jackson’s life lifted him up so he could see the possibility of a future of his own making. In fact, Jackson’s story is less about football than it is about the men who taught him. Now he’s paying it forward. 

The power of a chosen family 

Their names were Sandy Sanders and Rufus Pipkins. 

“It wasn’t exactly the mean streets of downtown Detroit, but socioeconomically, there were some challenges,” Jackson says of his hometown. “I didn’t know many men growing up — especially Black men — who had graduated from college.” 

That’s why Sanders (one of his elementary school teachers and the father of two of his good friends) and Pipkins (his high school football coach) had such a tremendous impact on him. Sanders, who had a master’s degree in education, served as a father figure for many years.  

When Jackson was in high school and starting to get some publicity as a football standout, Sanders was still checking on him. But he was less concerned with his athletic plans and stressed academic pursuits. Sanders regularly riddled him with questions. What was Jackson’s GPA? What classes was he taking? Was it the right load? Are they the right ones to prepare him for the academic rigor of college? 

And Pipkins, who had an engineering degree, was there at one of the most crucial moments of Jackson’s life. He took Jackson into his home when he lost his mom during his senior year. And in addition to the support a teenager needs from a loving adult, living with Pipkins also gave Jackson an insider’s look into the life and career of an engineer. 

Those men, Jackson says, shaped his outlook of academics over athletics — which ultimately ensured his success in both. After finishing his college football career strongly, he graduated from the University of Iowa with a BS in economics and a minor in business. 

“My relationship with these two men gave me the confidence that not only was I going to attend college, I was going to succeed and graduate,” he says. “Many college athletes don’t make it past their freshman year because they aren’t prepared to be independent and academically successful. But I felt prepared.” 

An off-the-field comeback 

When he left the NFL, Jackson was often asked, “Don’t you miss playing?” While it felt like the answer should have been yes — it was an experience of a lifetime — he didn’t, at all. It made him realize it wasn’t really the sport itself that he loved. It was, perhaps, its parts. 

“Football was my ticket to education. It allowed me to change my environment and create my own future. But I’m not sure how much I liked the game. It was the team aspect of it that was impactful to me,” he says. 

He also was discovering that corporate life was definitely not for him. The atmosphere, after spending most of his adolescence profoundly united with his teammates, felt disconnected. 

“Having a co-worker and having a teammate are completely different things,” he says. “I was used to having teammates who were like brothers. You’d do anything for each other.” 

So Jackson and his wife, surgeon and dermatologist Dr. Mercy Odueyungbo, opened their own dermatology practice. 

Jackson says that getting out of corporate life felt like the complete answer he’d been looking for. It was everything he loved about football, without being football. 

“The thing I loved most about playing was the teamwork,” he says. “As an entrepreneur, you can set the vision. Everybody’s working together, and it makes the day fun. You’re competing. You keep a scoreboard; you have an objective. It’s not simply getting up and ‘making the doughnuts’ every day and not seeing or feeling passionate about what you’re working toward.” 

But soon, he sensed they were at a crossroads. 

“I started to feel a bit stagnant,” he says. “I wanted to do something bigger, something more. I wasn’t quite sure what that thing was, but I was certain it had to come about by additional education.” 

But it wasn’t an MBA he went back for. 

“I never intended to be a lawyer. But learning the law is learning the rule book of business,” he says. “The executive juris doctor I got from Purdue Global is what made me an executive.” 

Moving toward a passion 

With a degree in economics and business, Jackson was used to information being presented conceptually, and he didn’t feel like it had much practical application — at least not in any way that interested him. 

But Purdue Global Law School was different. 

“I started law school right when we were working to expand our company. We were going from a small, niche market — five or six people — to tripling in size,” he says. “I suddenly had HR duties; I had to know employment law; there were contracts being negotiated and signed. I was learning those things at Purdue Global at night, and then I’d actually do it during the day.” 

Now, as an alumnus, life is different. 

First, he’s a dad, which is the greatest joy of his life.  

“As a person who grew up without a father, being a dad was always something I wanted to excel at. It’s almost like the competitive mentality I had with sports,” he says. “Being a dad is a badge of honor for me.” 

Serving as a role model for his daughters is a lifelong dream come true, but he wants more role models, more inspirational humans, more visible giants for everyone’s kids. He knew he could have an impact in media by holding up one example after another. 

“Typically, what we see is the entertainers — musicians, athletes, performers. They’ve ended up being the spokespeople for African Americans, but they don’t represent the true demographic. There are far more Black doctors than there are Black NBA players; there are more Black accountants, lawyers, engineers, writers and other professionals. That’s why we create content that shows African Americans in a different, more accurate light than what’s commonly portrayed.” 

It was to fill this need that he founded Jackson Media Group, which operates several media properties he also owns. Its first project was a reality television series featuring his wife that aired on TLC. “Dr. Mercy” told the day-to-day stories of treating patients in their dermatology practice. Jackson says there was an immediate, positive outpouring. 

“Seeing a Black, female doctor on TV impacted a lot of people. Little girls were dressing up as her for Halloween! It meant something, to kids especially, to see that it’s clear she’s a normal person. She’s not normal — she’s exceptional — but she’s showing little girls that you can be a Black woman and achieve what she has without having to be on a stage,” he says. 

So he comes full circle, back to his childhood and the giants who offered their shoulders to stand on. And he thinks about the profound impact a single visible role model can have for Black children who might not otherwise see the possibilities. 

“For our kids, our ceiling is their floor,” he says. “Wherever we stop off, that’s their beginning.” 

For our kids, our ceiling is their floor. Wherever we stop off, that’s their beginning.

Tony Jackson 

Executive Juris Doctor ’21
Purdue Global Law School