Hi, I'm Kate Young, and you're listening to This is Purdue, the official podcast for Purdue University. As a Purdue alum and Indiana native, I know firsthand about the family of students and professors who are in it together, persistently pursuing and relentlessly rethinking. Who are the next game changers, difference makers, ceiling breakers, innovators? Who are these boiler makers? Join me as we feature students, faculty, and alumni taking small steps toward their giant leaps and inspiring others to do the same. Wow, it's hard to believe 2023 is coming to an end. It feels like just yesterday, the podcast team was working on our greatest hits of 2022 episode. Now, we're highlighting some of our most popular episodes of 2023 to ring in the new year. Part one of our two-part greatest hits episodes focuses on some of the incredible, boiler, maker, Persistence, featured on This is Purdue during the past year. Please join us for this journey as we reflect on six of this is Purdue's most listened to episodes of 2023. Let's start with a truly special episode that we actually kicked off the year with, our very own Purdue University President, Mong Chang. On January first, 2023, President Chang, who previously served as the John A.

Edwardson, Dean of Engineering and Executive Vice President for Strategic initiatives at Purdue, took over for former Purdue President, Mitch Daniels. We had a number of topics in this interview, including the day he found out he would become the next President of Purdue, his family life and hobbies, and the best spot in West Lafayette to grab his favorite sweet treat, ice cream. And spoiler alert, President Chang has a passion for ice cream. We also discussed the meaning behind that special Boilermaker, persistence and humility and why the college experience should be both transformative and fun. Throughout the year, this episode served as a wonderful chance for all of our podcast listeners and viewers to get to know our President on a more personal level. President Chang reflects back on the moment he was announced as the 13th President of Purdue University. Okay, so I want to take you back to a day that was probably a big day, a big moment for you when you were announced President of Purdue University. What were you feeling?

Well, excited, grateful, and very honored. It truly is the most humbling and the highest honor that anyone I think in academia could imagine. Because Purdue is not any other university, this is a special place. And because after the board of trustees, unanimous vote, it just dawned on me the responsibility that not just myself, but the whole team will continue to bear in order to advance this place. Now, for 153 years now, coming 154 years, in this place, generations of border makers are starting here on the Wabash and going all the way out to the surface of the moon. So many border makers have been ever grateful, ever true to this special place, yourself included, doing this podcast now with us. Each generation must carry on, as we would say, one break higher.

Because.

It's already so high. The next break higher is going to be even more challenging. But I'm so confident that together we will be able to Excel and scale and together we'll be innovating continuously into the future. Even when there are substantial changes coming our way, as always, one could argue to American higher education landscape.

Is there a particular moment from that day that you remember best?

Well, I tell you that I went home and told my children, my wife and I have three lovely children. Our eldest daughter, she insisted that it was a beautiful mistake.

She didn't have any faith in.

Her dad? Well, you have to ask her that. Okay. I'm just so glad that the board of trustees did not have to listen to her, unlike me.

She was not part of the vote.

No. But our middle one, he was relieved and excited that we're going to stay in Indiana. And the younger one, she was only six at that time, just turned seven. And I think she on that day decided that Daddy is cool again. That's the goal, right? Well, yes, that is the pinnacle of excellence as a father.

President Chang's family is actually the first to live in Westwood Manor, home of our Purdue University presidents. With young kids, I ask President Chang to share a bit more about his family and how they feel about this new life chapter.

We will be living in Westwood. That is such an incredible blessing and a privilege. It is a university property. We happen to be given the honor to reside in this university property. And I was told, I need to check with the historians for accuracy, but I was told that this is the first time that and the rest would in the past 50 years as presidential residents of this university is going to have young children. So there's going to be a seven-year-old and then a nine, 10-year-old and a 15-year-old. So it'll be interesting to see if they cause a lot of property damage. It will be, I think, a lot of fun to live in the community as a family to serve the community. And my wife, Kay, she is an outstanding real doctor. She is an internal medicine physician and absolutely the smarter one between the two of us and a much better human being as well.

Don't worry, I'll send this to her.

Yes. Well, honey, if you are listening to this podcast, I just did state the fact that you are the much better human being between the two of us. And you got to be nice to the boss. And she is looking forward to this role as one that's called the first lady, Purdue, and being in Westwood, not only living there, but opening up the Westwood as a place for community engagement. She looks forward to, as a physician, serving and helping the local community, but also as part of our bordermaker family to engage with many different neighbors. She's clearly excited about it. As to the three, just mentioned that there are different reactions to the news. But one thing I made it clear to them now is that now you've got to behave even inside the house. Folks will be watching and they're going to tell me. So I hope that they will enjoy it and live their normal, regular life as kids growing up, but also recognizing what a special privilege it is to be there. And they're already all very much... Well, have been for years now, big Boarmaker fans. My son, for example, once said something funny.

I was bragging about, Oh, I'll produce ranking. We're our most innovative. We are top 10 public university. Engineering is ranked top five, and in fact, the largest ever to be in some ranking, be in the top five in the country. And then he pat my back and said, Dad, it's okay. Don't be sad. I say, What do you mean don't be sad? We're our final four. There are 300 of them out there saying, Yes, might be number four, but in my heart, Purdue is number one. That's what he said. I said, Well, there you go. That's a boiler maker.

When it comes to the word persistence, many of our This is Purdue guests have all different types of creative and profound answers to what that specific word means to them. Here's what it means to our Purdue University President.

I'm sure there are dictionary definitions on Wikipedia we can... I should ask a Siri. Siri, what does persistence mean? I would give a perhaps a somewhat unusual definition, a short one. Persistence to me means chasing after the infinite with what is merely finite.

Expand on that a little.

I know that confuses me too. A lot of what we pursue as a university of knowledge, the creation of new knowledge and the broad dissemination, and I really mean broad for a place like Purdue, dissemination of knowledge, that is an infinite pursuit. It shall never end. There's always something new we can do. And anytime, border makers are tempted by complacency. We always have chosen to aim even higher to touch the surface of the moon. Yet we only have finite amount of time. Finite, whether it's big or small, finite amount of resources. So how do we pursue dreams that are infinitely far with what is merely finite? That, I think, is persistence.

Okay, so I mentioned President Chang has a special affinity to ice cream. Here's his go-to-desert favorite on Purdu's Campus.

I just prefaced my answer by saying that there are many different wonderful places, and to each person there's a particular favorite spot and particular flavor. There's no right or wrong here. Now, having said that, I do like the gray Coffee House.

Okay.

gray House? Gray House. Okay. Now, say that's a coffee house. They do have gelato. See? Now we're talking about something I'm revealing about our community. They have a gelato counter to the side. And my favorite is what they call Affogato. Somebody gave me a lesson some years ago that is apparently Italian that says you are drowning gelato, a flavor of your choice with Espresso.

Now.

The nice thing about that, if we're talking about chemistry now, we're talking about usually Espresso, you want some sugar, you want some cream and you want to cool it down a bit. Well, you've got all three in ice cream already, so you don't have to add anything, and you're drowning gelato with Espresso. And I usually will pick a gelato because you got to do the pairing right. Right. Yeah. So what's the flavor? Without Espresso, the flavor could be I say I like dark chocolate. Okay. But that doesn't quite work for my taste buds. It might work for yours with Avogad. So I usually go with very plain one. Say vanilla. Okay. Fruity ones doesn't work so better it doesn't work. So say a vanilla bean, gelato, drowned by a double Espresso, that's going to get you going for the rest of the day.

We can't thank President Chang enough for spending time with us on our official university podcast and sharing more about his family and what Purdue University and this Boilermaker community means to him. Remember, you can listen to the entire episode if you go to purdu. Edu/podcast or you can watch our full video interview with President Chang on our podcast YouTube channel. Youtube. Com/as sign, this is Purdue. Next up is an incredibly unique story that is sure to give you goosebumps. What you are about to hear is like a story straight out of a movie, but it's the story of a real life boiler maker. Our podcast team had the opportunity to interview former DC Air National Guard fighter pilot and Purdue College of Liberal Arts alumna, Heather Penney, inside a Purdue airport hangar. When she was just 26 years old, Heather embarked on a flight on September 11th, 2001, that would ultimately change her life. You'll hear a piece of her story here soon. But first, Heather shared her gratitude for her time as a student at Purdue, where her passion for flying blossomed further and her experience training to become one of the nation's first female fighter pilots.

See, in 1996, the DC Air National Guard invited Heather and nine other pilots to interview out of a field of more than 300 applicants. From there, they selected only two, and one of those two was Heather Penney. Heather went on to train to become one of the first American women to fly the F-16 and her training class's only woman. Heather shared her 9/11 story with us during this interview. She reflects on the events of that historic day.

That morning on September 11th was like every other American that morning. It was totally ordinary in every day. I woke up, put my flight suit on, ate my cheerios, I kissed my dog goodbye, and I drove off to work. There was nothing special about that day. But I do remember on the East Coast in DC, and it was in New York as well, how crystal blue the sky was. Not a cloud, no haze. It was deep and blue as far as you could see.

No idea what was about to happen.

No one had any idea what was going to happen.

Tell me about when you got that call. What were you feeling? How did that obviously change your life?

We were in a scheduling meeting. I was not scheduled to fly that day, although I desperately hoped that I would have because I loved flying. I was a young wingman. It was my job to fly, fly, fly. But I'm in scheduling meeting. One of our enlisted troops, David Chunks Callaghan, just comes walking in and says, An aircraft hit the World Trade Center. And so we all got up and we walked to the squadron bar where our television was, and that's where we saw the images that everyone else saw, of the towers burning and the replay footage of the airlineers hitting the towers. We knew we had to get airborne and we knew we had to protect. But the problem for us was that as the DC National Guard, we didn't have the chain of command that could authorize us to launch. And the other problem is that because we were not an alert unit, the United States, after the fall the Soviet Union, had just cut the Air Force in half, literally, and dropped all of our alert units. We didn't have any missiles. We had no live ordinance on board. So we had two problems.

We had to get the authorization to launch, and we had to get live weapons on the aircraft.

Did anyone ever think it was an accident, maybe, that someone flew into the World Trade Center? Or you guys knew?

When Chunk said the first time, Hey, an airplane flew into the World Trade Center, we looked at each other and we're like, How does that happen? We thought it was a light aircraft, like just flying up and down the Hudson and took a wrong turn and bounced off a building. We didn't take it seriously until he came back the second time and said it was on purpose. That was when we saw the images. It was very clear this could not be an accident. It was very clear that our nation was under attack.

And how did they choose who was going to go up there? How were you chosen to do that?

In the squadron that morning, we had a very skeleton crew because we had just come back from a long deployment. And as a guard unit, most of our pilots were part timers. So they're airline pilots, they were off on their jobs. As a matter of fact, we only had enough personnel in the squadron to send a three-ship. We normally send eight ships. We would be off to train that morning. Mark Saseville was our Director of Operations. He was our senior leadership within the squadron that morning. And he was not going to let anyone else lead that mission because when the call came, we knew it was going to be a suicide if we were successful. And he has a gorgeous wife and wonderful, adorable children. But he was not going to lead from behind. I would love to think that he picked me because I was a good wingman. But I think honestly, he probably picked me because I had no family. I didn't have a spouse. I didn't have any children. All I had was my dog. I think that was why he chose me because he told Raisin, Dan Cain, and Brandon Rasmason, his callsign was Igore, and they both had families.

They were to wait until they had missiles on board. I believe that's why Sass selected me.

How did you feel when he selected you? What was going.

Through your mind? I did not want to get left behind. None of us did.

So.

Everyone was eager to go. Everyone was eager to protect and defend. That is our oath. That's why we exist. I was grateful that he selected me.

What did it feel like getting in that plane that day?

Can I say this?

Yeah.

Don't fuck it up. If anything mattered at that moment in time, it was getting it right. I wasn't trained for this. I mean, we don't train to do suicide missions. I had never been taught how to scramble an airplane. And since then, obviously I have because we now have an alert unit. But the airplanes weren't ready. They weren't hot-cocked. So we had to make up our procedures on the fly. I was taxing. I had no... My radar wasn't awake. My missiles weren't awake. I didn't have the navigation platform. I wasn't even strapped into the jet. I couldn't have ejected, right? I didn't even have my seatbelts on. But all that mattered was that we got out there as soon as we could and that we found the airlineer that we believed was inbound. Unfortunately, the passengers on flight 93 had already taken control of the airlineer. It had already crashed it.

What was going through your mind when you knew that it was a plane crash and you couldn't do anything more about it?

We didn't find out that flight 93 had been downed. Sas took us out, I don't know how far because I didn't have navigation, it was probably a little over 100 miles. We went out to the northwest over the Pennsylvania countryside. We didn't see any smoke, which is surprising because we should have. But I don't recall seeing any smoke. And then turned us around because we had sanitized the airspace and we couldn't afford to go any further up because if we were even just a little bit off on our axis, we could have allowed the airline to flank us. And we didn't know that it was down. So once we had sanitized the airspace from the direction that we believed the airline was coming from, SAS took us back to DC to fly the combat air patrol. And then we set up a combat air patrol with a counter-rotating cap centered over Reagan National. And then the quits from Langley, some F-16s were flying alert from Langley showed up. They capped up at 18,000 feet and they had missiles. So then my anxiety started to go down. And then I-gore and Raisin got airborne. And so then we switched the cap from there.

Potomac approach was phenomenal. This is just an amazing story of how ordinary people rise to extraordinary circumstances, stealing that quote from Admiral Halsey, Bill Halsey from World War II. Potomac approach is air traffic control, and their normal job is to separate air liners and put them all on little highways to take them down for safe landing. And now here, Sass and Raisin are asking air traffic control to bring aircraft together and start talking fighter-pilot language and using military speak. And they pivoted and did that immediately. They were so mentally agile. And then they started calling out tracks and telling us who they were and where they were going. So they helped make sense of what was a confusing airspace, and they were just utterly fantastic. So how people pitched in and began to make it all work, even though none of it was planned, it was all ad-hoc, but people just did what needed to be done.

I'm sure after hearing this, it wouldn't surprise you that our entire podcast team was in absolute awe of Heather and her story. It was so silent in that airport hangar, you could hear a pin drop. We were all mesmerized. And we can't thank Heather enough for sharing her story on This is Purdue. To end our conversation, I ask why this brave, relentless, heroic Purdue alumna was proud to be a Boiler maker.

Why wouldn't I be proud to be a Boiler maker? I mean, all the things that we've talked about, what a Boilermaker means, what Purdue means, everything that we stand for, the excellence, the research, the innovation, the creativity, and the thought. Also, if you look at just how Purdue is trying to make education affordable to the broader population and keep being the cost down. That, to me, is an important piece of the legacy as well as just that pragmatic view of how we can take education, make it available and accessible to people so that they can grow in theirtheir own lives and their own future. So there's so much about Purdue that is meaningful to me, not just because of the legacy and the heritage that we've come from, but what they've done since I've graduated and the direction that Purdue is going. So it's exciting to be able to call this my alma mater and exciting to be here being honored by Purdue, by the College of Liberal Arts as a distinguished alumna, and exciting to see where the university is going. It's like you go out and you meet these kids and you go, man, they're going to go do great things for this world.

Heather shared so much more in this episode about her BoilerMaker experience, her call sign, Lucky, and her feature as part of the Big Ten Network's Trailblazer series. And you truly don't want to miss out on watching this airport hangar interview experience with Heather. Head over to our podcast YouTube page, YouTube. Com/asign. This is Purdue to see the full video interview. Our next episode features something we can all relate to, food. David Graves, President of Pizza Hut US is a Mitchell E. Daniels Jr. School of Business alum. Okay, this was one of my favorite episodes of the year because our podcast team got to take a little field trip. The team went to meet David in his element, right inside a Pizza Hut in Lebanon, Indiana. So not only did we get to chat with the President of Pizza Hut US, we also got to watch him in action, helping to make his favorite pizza back in the kitchen. Here's David on how he got involved in the food and restaurant industry. Plus, you'll hear the behind the scenes details of Pizza Hut's history and David's favorite pies.

I think everybody loves food, right? I love food. We're in a restaurant. Think about it. I'm blessed to sell pizza. When you talk to people, I tell people, Hey, I sell pizza. I have an 11-year-old daughter and her friends come over and they think that I work at pizza is the coolest thing. And we talk about new pizzas that could come out. So everybody loves food, and I'm no different. I love cooking. I have a bad habit of collecting cookbooks and reading them like real books. I think my wife would like me to have a few less cookbooks.

Really, for me, I had been at Procter and Gamble for a while. I was starting to think about doing something different. And this opportunity came up back in the Midwest at KFC, which is this iconic brand that I had grown up with, and it was this opportunity to go reimagine this brand. I just thought like, That sounds cool. That's really fun. And I love food. Let's go for it. And so that's how I ended up coming into the restaurant industry. What I'll say that I don't think I appreciated fully at the time is the restaurant industry, a lot everybody loves food. Lots of people that come into the restaurant industry, they love food. But it's really a people industry. You have this incredible opportunity to impact people both through giving them delicious food and connecting people through the joy of food, but also building careers and developing people. When you talk to people that are in the restaurant industry and they've been there for a long time, the thing that you will find is the thing that keeps people there is really the people, and it's a people industry. Frankly, that's what makes it a lot of fun because you can connect with people, impact people, and build incredible relationships.

David's right. Most people love food, including me. I love the connection you feel going to a restaurant to catch up with friends or having a fancy date night to celebrate something big. And most people out there love pizza. There's usually so many memories tied to pizza too, when you really think about it. Childhood birthday parties, going out for a good report card, late nights in college, and then much earlier nights in adulthood when you simply just don't feel like cooking. As I mentioned previously in this episode, our This is Purdue podcast team had the chance to go behind the scenes in this Lebanon Pizza Hot kitchen with David himself.

Should we go back and.

Check these.

Things out?

Good. We got a large tea and half cheese half of a piece.

Of just coming out of top.

We got a large hand-past wine down here for a.

Little bit. That's yours. There you go. Pineapple belongs on pizza. That's what you said.

I agree, yeah. I'm a connoisseur.

I would have.

Agreed if it.

Would have had barbecue, it.

Would have.

Been better.

There's a big New.

Yorker coming out. We put a big New Yorker out there for you, why not do that? And then I.

Heard this one is your personal favorite with the.

Pepperoni and the.

Lapinae, and.

Lots of.

Cheese for you.

Look at.

It when it comes to... See, this is why you got to get it.

Right out of the oven. You see it?

Oh, my goodness.

Okay, a little background on Pizza Hut. In 1958, two brothers borrowed $600 from their mom to open a pizza place in Wichita, Kansas. They named it Pizza Hut because their sign only had room for eight letters. Today, this iconic pizza brand has more than 16,000 restaurants and 350,000 team members in more than 100 countries. David had the team try a few different pies, including the 16-inch New York style pizza, The Big New Yorker, which recently returned to their menu after its initial launch 24 years ago. From thin crust to hand-toss to the iconic pan crust to new innovations like their Pizza Hut melts, a cheesy crispy melt loaded with toppings and paired with a dipping sauce. Our team had the chance to sample quite a bit. Oh, and by the way, we were eating these delicious creations at around 10:00 AM, but nobody seemed to mind. This is.

Probably the earliest you've.

Ever eaten pizza. Amazing.

I'm going to try this one too, because this is the… We just launched this yesterday.

-. -oh, is this the new work? -yeah. Thank you.

So much. You're welcome. People are loving it, but I haven't been home, so I haven't tried one from the store yet.

Look how big that piece is. Now, all of it was delicious, but when I had a bite of that simple, classic cheesepan pizza, the memories came flooding back. Does anyone remember Pizza Huts Booket Program from elementary school? I sure do. The Booket Program is the nation's longest running corporate-supported literacy program and impacts more than 14 million students each year. So what's the crust difference between when we're looking at all these?

So this is a hand-tossed, like a hand-stretched, hand-tossed dough. So thin crust is obviously like a really thin crispy crust. So this is stretched by hand to the side. So this is a 16-inch pizza that they stretch. And then that's pan dough. So pan dough is proof dough that raises. So they put in a proofer, it raises overnight. And then that's how you get this big, big.

Pan dough. This reminds me of childhood.

Yeah, this is like the iconic Pizza Hut Pizza. But what people don't know is that that and personal pan pizza is right through Booket. But the Thin Crust is the original pizza that started. The very first Pizza Hub in Wichita that the Carny Brothers started on was the Thin Crust Pizza.

And why is this Purdue alum proud to be a Boiler maker?

It's an incredible place that prepares incredible leaders. And you look at the types of things that have been accomplished by Boiler Makers all over the world. To be able to be a part of that community is really a privilege.

Be sure to check out this full video interview on YouTube to see our interview with David right inside Pizza Hut. Plus, he dives into how Purdue prepared him to work on global brands such as Pampers, Pantene, and KFC. His favorite advertising and marketing initiatives over the years, including working with actor Craig Robinson of the Office and using Pizza Hut's brand Nostasia to bring its marketing into today's modern age, you don't want to miss it. Next up is our now annual Indianapolis 500 themed episode. You may remember our interview back in May of 2022 with Purdue Mechanical Engineering alum, Angela Ashmore. This spoiler maker made history as the first woman to win the Indianapolis 500 as a member of the winning cars crew. After driver Marcus Erickson won the 106th running of the Indy 500 in the Chip Genasi racing number eight Husky Chocolate Honda. So this year for 2023, we knew we had to interview another Purdue alum who was involved in the IndyCar Circuit. And we actually had the opportunity to interview two alum, Mike Konygs and Matt Kuberl. And okay, can I just put this out there? I truly think this podcast is good luck because you guessed it.

The IndyCar team Mike and Matt work for the legendary team, Pensky won the 2023 Indy 500 with their driver, Joseph New Garden. So this is Purdue is two for two here. Matt, who graduated in 2022 with his mechanical engineering degree, and Mike, an aeronautical and astronomical engineering alum who graduated in 2003, discussed their Purdue College of Engineering journeys and what it's like working for one of the most well-known iconic teams in motorsports. These two Boiler Makers worked on all three Team Pensky Indy car entries that competed in the 2023 Indy 500 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Joseph New Garden, Will Power, and Scott McLaughlin. Here's Matt, who is a design engineer for Team Penkie, on the emphasis placed on the Indy 500.

I do.

Know that.

It means.

A lot to a lot of people to win the 500. It is.

Just such.

A special thing. And for it.

To be in Indiana.

The historic factor of the 500.

Just.

The worldwide, well-known aspect.

Of it.

You could talk to anybody in.

The motorsport world.

Not even US.

But they know about the Indy 500.

They will know who wins the Indy 500.

To be on a team that has a chance.

To win the.

Indy 500 is just...

It makes me feel very...

It makes me feel really good. I definitely wouldn't have got here if I.

Wouldn't have chosen to go to Purdue.

And here's IndyCar veteran and team Pensky aerodynamicist, Mike, explaining why the Indy 500 is the pinnacle of professional motorsports races.

Indy 500 is a special race. And of it is how hard it is to win and how many people try. And the amount of effort and work that goes into it is pretty intense. So one, we are successful, and I've been successful a handful of times. It is pretty special in terms of which driver wins it because we know them personally. And you know that a lot of them have been striving for a long term in their careers, and basic. Especially here, it can be a career pinnacle achievement. It's special for everyone, but here has that little bit more of a significance and just knowing the amount of work that all the guys do. I don't know what other teams are, but we have a fair amount of interaction with mechanics and the truck drivers and all sports staff and everything that goes into the car, from people in the car shop to our payments. So from that standpoint, every day you see how much work everyone puts into it. It is a truly collective effort. So from that standpoint, it is really satisfying. Sometimes you may be completely exhausted as you watch the race with all the effort you put into it, and you may not have the right perspective in what you've done or whatever and feel satisfied, but you are always satisfied for everybody else, and you're always happy for everybody else as well.

It is a large amount of celebration for it. And personally, it's been a pretty high pinnacle, even for me, and to be happy to be part of so many wins. But then at the same time like I was saying, we essentially turned the page Monday and start focusing on next year and try to figure out what we didn't do right this year and try to improve upon that. And what we did right, we try to magnify, amplify for the next year. Be sure.

To go back and check out the full episode so you can hear more from these BoilerMaker IndyCar engineers. You'll hear more about the persistence, grit, and attention to detail required to be part of a winning Indy 500 team and how their Purdue education set them up for success in the professional motorsports world. And stay tuned for who we interview in 2024 because you never know. We just may feature someone from the Indy 500 winning team for a third year in a row. Our next episode features a woman whose Boilermaker Pride shines every day. Tiffany Grimes is a proud Purdue alumna and Purdue's deputy athletics director and senior woman administrator. In this interview, Tiffany shared more about her career journey as she made her way from law school and then worked in athletics departments for universities like Georgia Institute of Technology, Penn State University, University of Alabama, and finally back home to Purdue. Tiffany, who was named part of sports business journals 40 Under 40 Class of 2022 and part of the athletics College sports 40under 40 Under 40 list, shares advice on what she would say to other women who are pursuing careers in fields that are still traditionally male dominated.

I don't think it should be a barrier. And sometimes I wonder, we talked about this at the Purdue Women's Network breakfast, and I wonder at times if the barrier is in our own mind. And part of it, and again, I credit my parents because I didn't even know that that should slow me down. Not that I haven't faced it, and not that I haven't seen it as plain as day, but in my mind, I think that's a you problem. That's not a me problem. I can sit at the table. I'm going to be just as prepared as my male counterparts. I'm going to be just as cerebral. I'm going to be just as innovative. And in some cases, probably more. You have to make sure you come to the table with substance and credibility. And so anyone who thinks that I shouldn't be there because I'm a woman, that's a them problem. That's not on me. And that's how my family taught me to think. But I also think that plays into not taking no for an answer. It really plays into a competitive mindset and a championship spirit. And so you lose a game.

That doesn't define who you are. That means we work harder. We find another way. We don't get complacent. And so I use all of those thoughts and that perspective to forge me ahead. What I will say is that I take the responsibility with great honor. Just because I feel that it's not a barrier doesn't mean that the next woman does or that that individual is at a space in her career where she could say something about it if it became too much of a barrier. And so making sure that I'm always checking in on the women in our department and finding and trying to identify opportunities for them to develop and grow is something that I take very, very seriously. I will say this. What I have found in the past seven years is that actually being a woman is my superpower. There is not one table that I feel like I don't belong at anymore. And part of that is the confidence that Purdue instilled in me and my family instilled in me. But when I sit in these spaces, what I realized is that there are things that I can say to our male coaches and staff members and our male student-athletes that my male counterparts just can't.

Another theme Tiffany touched on was the balance between Purdue's world-class academics and excellent athletics culture.

We play sports for the day that we can. And this is a talent that a lot of young people, we have over 500 student-athletes, is a talent that they have, and they're able to utilize their talent to obtain what I believe to be the best education in the country in the world for that matter. And then when the ball stops bouncing, when you're not on the track anymore, when you're not taking a lap in the pool, what do you stand with? And I think a Purdue degree is a pretty great thing to have to forge you ahead the next 40, 60, 70 years of your life.

As for being back at Purdue, surrounded by the Boilermaker spirit, Tiffany shares her thoughts on why Purdue is such a special place.

The people. It boils down to the people. Never before have I seen or worked at an institution where the line for students is two hours backed up before gates open. Never before have I worked at an institution where you aren't trying to strategize with marketing on how to get your students to stay for four quarters. It's just the Purdue way. Our students and our supporters are kind and good fans. A lot of sportsmanship at Purdue, a lot of class at Purdue. But we're going to be unapologetic about cheering on our team. We're not going to disrespect your, but we'll cheer for ours louder than you ever imagine. And I think that's what makes it really special. I'll add to that. It's also a special place when you see alums that are bringing their families back for the first time and introducing their children into a place where they had so many amazing memories as a student. And I also think it's great when we gain new fans that have no prior affinity or connection to the institution, but athletics has this ability to be, for lack of a better phrase, the front porch of the institution.

Every time the black and old gold is on display in whatever sport it is, that's a national audience. And if our number one ranked men's basketball team can introduce Purdue to some young person who's looking for a top national university, then I mean, that's a lot of pride. It's a lot of pride and a great responsibility that I think we have, we feel honored to hold.

Check out Tiffany's full episode by visiting purdu. Edu/podcast to hear more. She discusses the deep pride she feels in pursuing her next giant leap at her alma mater. Why working with Purdue's student-athletes on their experiences both on and off the field is so special to her and much more.

Sweet home at Purdue. Where the.

Sky is awesome blue.

Love you, Boiler Makers. And finally, you didn't think we could have an episode of our greatest hits without including Purdue's Piano Man, did you? Our Bruce Barker episode came out in October, and it was an extra special episode for a few reasons. One, the podcast team was able to go on site and interview Bruce and his element at the Neon Cetus. Two, our team also got to attend his live show later that night. And three, this Boiler Maker legend is retiring at the end of 2023. So we had the chance to celebrate his career and the impact he's made on so many Boilermakers over the past 30 years. Now, if you haven't been to one of Bruce's shows before, or maybe it's just been a while and you need a refresher, this Purdue alum plays the piano and sings popular songs from pop to country to rock and roll. But these aren't your average throwback songs. See, many of them have a Bruce Barker twist, like Wagon Wheel, for example. There's an edition that showgoers to add to the course.

So rock and roll, mama, like a wagon wheel. Rock and roll, mama any way you feel okay. Who's that?

Rock me.

Mama like the wind and the rain. I think they're saying about your David there, Kate.

Yes, you heard that right. I just got very publicly shamed by the piano man himself for marrying an IU Hooser. Yeah, I guess I deserve it. Then there's the late Jimmy Buffett's Margaritaville.

Wasted away again in Margaritaville. We're all clapping. We're clapping and singing. Search for my eyes on a shaker of salt.

Salt, salt, salt.

Some may claim, there's a lot of them.

But I know.

Whose fault is it? Fall, fall, fall.

And another one of Jimmy's songs, Come Monday.

California has worn me quite thin. I'm just glad you came back to the Cactus, my friends. Come Monday, it'll be all right. Come Monday, I'll be holding you tight. I spent four lonely days in a Brown Valley Hays. I just want you back by my side. I've spent four lonely days in a Brown, Lilley, Hays. I just want you.

Back by my side.

In this episode, Bruce reflects on the time he realized his shows at the Neon Cactus were becoming quite popular.

It used to be like the first night when I made $17. You hoped that people would just keep trying you out, right? But there became a time when you get here at seven o'clock and the lines are already formed and you're like, They're not here because of the drink special. I don't know if you've seen someone try to talk about their toes or they want to run to the dance floor. What an amazing... I know you don't know me very well, but I hope that I come across as humble because I've always just been so thankful and appreciative that a thousand people on a Thursday planned their night around me. What an amazing gift and blessing.

Bruce also shared his thanks to his beloved fans as he reflects on retiring at the end of this year.

Again, there's no way to say thank you enough. There's no words, but I hope that I have conveyed to them just how much I'm thankful. I am a Boilermaker. I bleed golden black. I will die a Boilermaker, and I'm so blessed to be a real maker. I really can't say thank you enough to them for accepting me and giving me the best job ever.

Be sure to check out this full episode wherever you get your podcast to hear more about Bruce learning to play the piano for the first time, his Varsity Glee Club experience, favorite moments performing at the Cactus throughout the years, and so much more. I hope you all enjoyed reflecting on some of our favorite moments from the past year as much as our podcast team did. Now, be sure to tune in to part two of our greatest hits of 2023 on Thursday, December 21st. That episode will highlight our inaugural research series, so you'll hear snippets from each of the four research series episodes. And we want to hear from you. What was your favorite This is Purdue episode from the past year? Share a review on Apple podcasts or tag us on social media @Lifeat Purdue and use the hashtag This is Purdue and you could be featured in an upcoming episode. This is Purdue is hosted and written by me, Cate Young. I want to give a special shout out to every Purdue team member who was a part of the podcast throughout this past year. Our podcast videography is led by Ted Sch Allenberger in collaboration with John Garcia, Thad Boon, Zach Morgensen, Ali Cheney, Matt Kirkoff, and Jonathan Hoard.

Our social media marketing is led by Maria Welch and Ashley Schroyer. Our podcast distribution strategy is led by Theresa Walker and Carly Eastman. Our podcast photography is led by John Underwood and Rebecca Rubinos. Our podcast design is led by Caitlin Freeville. Our podcast team project management is led by Rain Gu and Emily Jesselitis. Our production assistants is led by Delaney Young. Our podcast YouTube promotion is managed by Megan Huskins and Kirsten Bowman. Additional writing assistants is led by Joel Meredith. Podcast research is led by Sophie Ritz. Our This is Purdue intern is Carolyn Kym. Thanks for listening to This is Purdue. For more information on this episode, visit our website at purdu. Edu/podcast. There you can head over to your favorite podcast app to subscribe and leave us a review. And as always, Boiler Up.