 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 Boilermakers? Join me as we feature students, faculty and alumni taking small steps toward their giant leaps and inspiring others to do the same. Wow, what a year to be a Boilermaker. Am I right? From Purdue's innovations to athletics, to traditions and more, it's been an honor to tell these stories of Boilermakers who are persistently pursuing their next giant leap. As a podcaster, I love listening to other podcasts and of course gathering some tips, information and ideas from other shows. One of my favorite podcasts is Dax Shepard's armchair expert. After interviewing movie stars, musicians, screenwriters and even British royalty, Dax and his co-host Monica break down the entire interview in a section at the end called the fact check. So I had an idea. What if I spoke with different members from the Purdue Marketing and Communications team who each had a special tie to these greatest hits episodes? From behind the scenes things you may not have known to setting up for big video shoots to their favorite pieces from the episode, you'll hear a unique perspective from each of these team members in our Boilermaker breakdown. We'll get started with a festive and visual episode. It's a Purdue icon and a Purdue football game can never be complete without it. Notre Dame learned that the hard way. It's produced big bass drum. A little behind the scenes story here. This episode came out on Thursday, September 16th. That morning of the episode's release, the news broke that the University of Notre Dame wasn't going to allow the world's largest drum into its stadium for the football game against Purdue that weekend. It was the first time the band would perform at a football game without the drum since 1979. Twitter blew up with the news. Suddenly our big bass drum was in outlets like the Washington Post, Sports Illustrated, Deadspin, The Athletic and ESPN. And needless to say our podcast episode blew up too. In the end, the drum made the trip to Notre Dame, but just didn't get into the stadium. Here's a snippet from our big bass drum episode. We caught up with Pam Naive, associate professor of bands and orchestras and percussion instructor and the co-captains of the big bass drum crew, Brandon Bledsoe and Hannah Pike at Purdue's band camp in August. What would you say the most rewarding thing about leading this drum line in the big bass drum is for you? The students. No hesitation. That's the best reward. You meet new students every year. You form relationships with them. 18 hours together in a week, you do get to know them. And by the end of their time here, they want my recommendation letter. And I always ask, you know, hey, do you know me as well as you know your chem prof or, you know, physics prof? And they're like, you know, I know them pretty well, but I really connect with you because of music. And so to me it's the students. That's why I stayed at Purdue. They're my focus. They're the reason I teach music. They're the reason I'm here in the hot, 53 years old, sweating, you know, dressed like a kid because I feel like I'm in gym class. This is why I'm still here because of the students and our faculty is spot on. I mean, our faculty and staff in our department, just fantastic people. They're family too. We rely on each other outside of our work. We're all very close. And I actually think the students see that. They see that we're close. They see that we work together well. And we're hoping that they do that too. But the best thing about what I do is the student. And what is it about the All-American marching band that seems to just exude the Boilermaker spirit and that sense of community? I ask Hannah, who is involved in many different clubs and organizations throughout the university, why this Purdue community is so incredibly special to her. It's so special to me that you're so well-balanced. You know, you're majoring in engineering, you're minoring in engineering. You're the only girl as part of the big bass drum. How does this Boilermaker community and this Boilermaker spirit, how does that impact you day to day? Purdue, you know, the Boilermaker community at Purdue has been amazing. I could have gone to school in Michigan, but honestly, I just really like the Purdue atmosphere and everything here, especially the marching band. That was a big pull for me because I really wanted to get involved on campus and that sort of thing. And I thought this would be probably one of the best opportunities to do so. But yeah, I don't know. Purdue is an amazing campus, great community. It's really, you know, compared to schools in Michigan, it's really quiet, which I really like, especially being an engineering student. It gives me a lot of time to study, but then also have time to hang out with friends and that sort of thing. Purdue's just been great. And they've given me so many opportunities regarding, like, I'm a part of the minority engineering department. So they've given me that and I've done a lot of volunteering for them. They gave me band. I've done a lot of volunteering with the volunteer management teams in band. I'm part of the clothing team. So we do the uniforms and we give uniforms to the band. I'm also part of the idea team, which is a new one as of last year. It's the inclusion, diversity, equity and awareness team. So we focus on the diversity within the band department, as well as scholarships. And that sort of thing. I've gotten a couple of band scholarships, a couple of engineering scholarships. So Purdue has given me so many opportunities to do such great things. And they really care about the students that I also really like. There's a lot of study opportunities, help opportunities within all these different departments. And I really like that. Our first Boilermaker breakdown is with Ashley Schroyer. Ashley is our social media manager and she helps run all of our official Life at Purdue accounts. Ashley has also become a great friend of mine. So thanks, Purdue. She came with me to this interview to capture video for TikTok and photos for the other Life at Purdue channels. We discussed our experience at band camp that day. I always knew I wanted to make this episode really visual. I knew I wanted video. The big bass drum is so iconic, such a Purdue thing, a Purdue symbol. That's why I had Ashley with me as our social media manager. And then we also went with our amazing videographers, Ted and Thad. We met the band at a band camp practice in August and it was so hot that day. It was so warm. The back of my neck got thunder. It was toasty. Everyone out there on that black pavement, like marching around and everything. It was so hot, but it was so cool to see all of that and everything in action. Obviously, it's always hot and humid in Indiana in August, but just watching all of the students do all of these drills and all of these movements and practicing the different formations over and over and over in that type of heat. I mean, they just had this love for this band. You just had to be there for five minutes and you could see it. Oh, absolutely. Like the dedication that they showed and just in the tryouts and everything and the people that you spoke to, it really just showed through how dedicated they are, how much it means to them, how proud they are to be part of this historic major organization. Did you know, like, had you heard of the Purdue All-American Marching Band before you started working at Purdue, Ashley? I don't think I had actually. I had heard of the Big Bass Drum, but no idea everything, like how iconic and everything around it and hearing, you know, in the episode, like all the alumni that had been a part of it and all the different awards that they have and everything that they were the first to do. How amazing to have something like that and to be a part of something like that. Yeah. It really is such a symbol of Purdue and, you know, they talked about people think the Big Bass Drum is actually the mascot for the university, which I thought was very interesting because I never thought that when I went to school at Purdue, but I could see where people would think that. I know. I thought the same thing when they said that. I was like, oh, no, people get like three different things confused now because I know that, you know, there's Purdue Pete that people think and then obviously the Boiler Maker Special and then also the Big Bass Drum. So we're keeping people guessing. Yeah. Let's set the record straight. What is the official mascot, Ashley? The Boiler Maker Special. Yes. Not to be confused. I honestly, this is so bad of me, but when I was a student, I thought our mascot was Purdue Pete, but now I know. Dr. Pam Naive, I mean, she's incredible. She had everything down to an exact science. You can tell she's been doing this for years and she was such a leader. Every single student out there knew exactly who she was. So well respected. And I just loved talking to her because you just saw that Boiler Maker spirit and her passion just shine. Oh, absolutely. You can tell she's so like appreciative of what she's helped build here and what they have. So proud of it and that really I think showed Bru in the interview and she spoke about the connections that she has with the student that it sounds like it's something that's very, very unique and special. And she actually surprised me that day because I knew I was going to get to talk to one of the members of the band. I wanted to talk to a student and hear their perspective, but I got to talk to two students, Brandon and Hannah, the co-captains. I mean, talk about impressive people. I was blown away. First of all, I, you know, Ashley and I are obviously not students anymore. We're a bit older. They were acting like our age. I mean, they did not seem like 20 and 21 year old students whatsoever. No, they were so well spoken. And when you were speaking with Hannah and hearing that in person and then again in the podcast, I mean, the things that she's like a part of and already accomplished and she set a record, I think she said in their physical fitness test and everything. I'm just like, how impressive she's an inspiration. She really is. She was incredible. I'm so glad we got to hear from her. Brandon knew every fact you could ever want to know about the big bass drum. You could tell that's, obviously he has talked a lot about going to the gym and that's all part of it. And, you know, the drum is 565 pounds. Like he has to be able to handle that, but he also had that whole historical aspect down packed. Like he knew exactly what he was talking about. He knew so much. And who knew, like the physical fitness test, that's the same as the air forces he said that they have to do. I mean, who knew that they had to do all of this? It's incredible. That was one of my favorite facts of the whole episode. When he said that, I kind of said, excuse me, but all of these students are just so incredible. And I really liked how they touched on it's not just doing all the formations and practicing with the music. It's all of these things outside. And of course we need to talk about the drum tricks. We have a little inside info on that. Yes. The tricks. Why don't you tell the story? So I had no idea about any of that. And I had been there, you know, to try and get some TikTok content for Life at Pretty One TikTok to see how we could promote the podcast in this episode on there. So they were going through all their tricks and Brandon was like, well, you know, we do something called a roadkill. And we're like, tell us more, tell us more about roadkill. They run over someone, you know, with a drum and we're all like, okay, obviously this is your chance. Like when can you ever, you know, get this opportunity again? So I might have twisted your arm a little bit to be the one that gets run over by the big big strong. I have to be honest, I was dead set against doing it. I was like, there's no way I'm doing this. I'm sorry. I am not going to. That really freaks me out. But how I did do it. Exactly. And how thankful and grateful are you that you did it? I mean, not many people can probably say that they've been ran over by the big big strong. That is very accurate. I am very glad I did it. My heart was beating, I mean, out of my chest. And I encourage everyone to go back to our YouTube channel, youtube.com slash Purdue University, and check out that video. And if you hear some screams, that was indeed me. The scream is so epic. When I was re listening to the episode, the fact that like Neil Armstrong took his, like his membership pen to the moon. That's, I mean, I imagine you're very limited on things that you can bring with you when you go to the moon. I'm guessing, you know, packing space is limited. So for him to decide, you know, for that to be something that he takes with him, that I think it just shows how much the band meant to him. And I thought that was really cool. The Neil Armstrong piece in that episode definitely resonated with me too. It was something I didn't even know before talking to Pam that day. If you want to hear the full big bass drum episode or see some of the awesome visuals we captured that day, just head over to purdue.edu slash podcast. Next up is our interview with Purdue's men's basketball coach, Matt Painter. And well, let's just say this Purdue team has made history since I interviewed coach Painter back in September. On December 6th, Purdue's team was ranked number one in the nation for the first time in school history. We all knew this team was special and they're proving it game after game. Here's a clip from coach Painter's episode this fall. Coach Painter explains why he chooses Purdue again and again and again. You know, why Purdue? Why have you continued to stay here? If you were a player here, you have a long history with Purdue basketball, but why here? I think it's the best place for me. Anytime you have success, you can't look at it like Bill Walsh calls it the disease of me. When you're in a group or an organization and you run it, there's a lot of people that lead to your success. And you can't look at it. Well, a lot of coaches look at it like, I'm the reason why we've had the success. And you're part of the reason, but you're also a small part of the reason. You know, I'm yet to see a great basketball coach and bad players. I'm just yet to see it. I don't think that exists. So, you know, your product is your players and you have to have good people. You have to have good players around you. And then you have to have the support. So like when you're looking at jobs, you look at Purdue as a job and you say, well, what do I want to do? What do I want to achieve? It's got great academics. It's got great people and they've had a really successful basketball program through the years. And so now you've got to be able to go match that and then raise it the next level to say this job is going to be better than Purdue. I don't think there's a place out there better for me than Purdue University. I'm familiar with it. I understand it. I understand what's important. But I also stay in my lane. Like I'm just the basketball coach. Like I'm not making decisions on campus. I just want to be the basketball coach and that's been very easy and healthy for me in that regard. We have a great president. We have a great board of directors. We have a great AD and Michael Bensky. I always say to other coaches out there and they wouldn't be able to comment publicly. I said, but who can say that in High Major basketball? Like who can say, hey, you guys are going in this direction on campus. You're going in this direction financially. You're going in this direction everything that you do and produce really going in a great direction and having a lot of success. And you're not even talking about basketball. Now when you're in the situation that we are in this state, why would you want to go anyplace else? Like this is just the perfect fit for me. If you caught our full video interview with Coach Painter on YouTube, you saw we were right there on Jean Katie Court in Macchi Arena and there's so much behind the scenes work that goes into these big video productions. So who better to talk to you than one of our awesome videographers himself, our broadcast media senior producer, Ted Schellenberger. Ted has been with me on these podcast video shoots since day one and his attention to detail is second to none. He makes guests comfortable during these shoots as well, which is really important. Ted and I discussed the behind the scenes details and our thoughts on this big interview. The Matt Painter interview I was definitely nervous for because as you know, Ted, I'm not a super sports fan. I don't know that much about basketball or football. And I was definitely really nervous, but excited to meet Coach Painter because he's a big deal. Yes. Yeah, he is. And I'm not a big sports fan either. I'm not one of those people who knows everything there is to know. Going in, I was kind of not knowing what to expect as far as basketball stuff goes. Okay. So this was a huge setup. We really knew that we wanted this to be visual. We wanted that Jean Katie Court look. We wanted to be inside Macchi and take all of our listeners on this journey with us. So tell us a little bit about the setup process, Ted, everything you did prior to the interview. I know you laid out some drawings or sketches of exactly where you wanted us to be seated and the background and all of that stuff. So when I started working with you on these interviews, I kind of had an idea of what I wanted to do. I wanted to be able to show that you and your guests are in the same location because I know you do a lot of interviews remotely. So I think it would be really nice to establish that in this case, Matt Painter are together in Macchi Arena. So I just went on the internet and started looking at pictures of Macchi Arena. It's been a while since I've been inside there. I didn't know if things had changed and I just wanted to make sure that everybody knew where we were when they would see any of the angles where the cameras were placed. I found some pictures to send them to you so we'd be on the same page. And that was my starting point. And then I know we chatted multiple times leading up to this. This was a big interview for us and we had, of course, a couple team members with us, Matt and John. Tell us about the morning of, you know, setting up everything that it took to get this vision that you and the team wanted. One thing that I had realized when we were doing the interview with Coach Fromm was that it takes a long time to set all the stuff up that I want. You know, we could have done this a lot simpler, but that's not how I was envisioning this. So I didn't want any of our stuff, any of the lights, any of the cameras, any of that kind of stuff to be in any of the angles. You know, that was a popular thing several years ago to show all the other stuff that viewers typically don't see, but I think that time has passed. So I didn't want to have any of that stuff cluttering up. Yeah, I think it was three to four hours set up for sure. So yeah, that only gave us four hours. And that sounds like a lot. And we had three people, but there was a lot that had to be done. We didn't know this when we arrived, but we had to put mats on the floor to protect the basketball court. Yeah, I forgot about that. Yeah, we started setting everything up. And one of the guys from the building came and brought us mats. So we had to move things around, put that stuff down, protect the floor, which totally makes sense. And then I remember kind of we were down to what maybe 30 minutes before the interview and we noticed it was in the background of a shot. So we were trying to cover up this signage with black tape or tape something for it. Our co-worker Matt had noticed that he has a great eye for detail for those things. So I just said, okay, Matt, you take care of that. I have other things. So I went back to setting up the lights. Yeah, you guys do a great job of keeping us comfortable, you know, moving things along. A lot of people don't know, but there's a point about halfway through that Ted and the team will switch tapes, I guess it would. Is that the right term, Ted? Yeah, it's more or less. Okay. And they'll stop us. And a lot of times, a little fun behind the scenes thing, the guests are a little bit apprehensive about, you know, are we going to be talking for a full hour? And then when we switch tapes at around 25, 30 minutes, they're a lot of times they say, oh my gosh, we've already been talking for 30 minutes. Wow. Yeah, it's amazing how fast time goes. You know that you're doing a good job when they're engaged and they think the time is also passing quickly. Okay. So the setup happens, coach painter comes down, the lighting looks incredible. I remember after the interview, you sent me a still from, you know, the footage that you were looking at and someone said it looks like straight out of, you know, ESPN or something. I want our product to look as good as it would as if we were from ESPN or CBS. Yeah, Big Ten Network. Yeah, exactly. I like 60 minutes. So I want it to look like a 60 minutes interview or I don't know what the shows are on ESPN. I want it to look like ESPN is sending in their big time people to come and do this stuff. Yeah, I love that. Well, I think it's fun to mention that, you know, as Ted and I talked about, we don't know all the basketball strategies. We didn't play sports in college. So I thought it was really cool, especially with Coach Brahm and now coach painter in this episode. These athletic coaches that, you know, are very well known. Yes, they talk about sports and they talk about their athletes, but a lot of the episodes always center around this Purdue culture and the Boilermaker spirit, what they love about Purdue, you know, what it means to not play sports after graduating. You know, a lot of people don't make it to the pros and what Purdue gives you during your undergrad is so valuable to these athletes that then they can go and, you know, do whatever after graduation. There is so much more to what the student athletes are doing than just the athletics. And same with the coaching staff and everybody else, you know, it's amazing how many people are involved, whether it's in golf or softball or basketball, but there's tremendously a lot of people and talented people involved in the whole program and making sure that everybody is getting a good education. That's a great point as well. I know coach painter talked about Purdue has an unbelievable brand, you know, going to Purdue is a life decision that you should use as a springboard. And he's saying not just to have this great basketball career, but to have a great life. I thought that was one of my favorite parts of the episode. And it again, so few people make it to the pro world and that pro level. So I just love how he knows the value of a Purdue education because he wants to Purdue too. Yeah, you know, that's something I notice everywhere at Purdue is Purdue is filled with Purdue people. I know you've been here a while Ted, did you work here when Jean Katie was here? I did. So when you worked at Purdue when coach Katie was here, was there this electric sense of Purdue basketball? Or did you ever feel that or not really? I could say this growing up in Indiana, there was always a big sense of basketball in Indiana. And I grew up in this area. So most of the people I was around when I was growing up were die hard Purdue fans and they loved Jean Katie. This is such a cool story because coach painter went to Purdue played for Purdue, then he becomes the coach here, you know, he understands the importance of a Purdue education. He loves the Boiler maker spirit. So when he said for me, I don't think there's a place out there better for me than Purdue University. That really resonated with me. This episode is going to be so fun to repromote come March Madness. Don't forget you can watch the full video interview in Mackey with coach painter on YouTube. Just head over to youtube.com slash Purdue University. The next episode was one of my first podcast episodes as host and writer of This is Purdue. I had heard about Purdue Polytechnic High School or PPHS dozens of times just in my first week on the job. And I was really excited to dive into this. PPHS was part of the original Purdue moves initiatives in 2013 under the affordability and accessibility pillar, the goal to build new K through 12 pathways that lead to Purdue, especially for Indiana students who are underserved by traditional high schools and underrepresented in higher education. In June this year, the very first class at PPHS Englewood graduated and received their high school diplomas. For this episode, I spoke with the toy award, the founding principal at PPHS Englewood and Kayla owns the very first student to enroll at PPHS Englewood. Kayla was one of these students to graduate in June and is now at, you guessed it, Purdue University. Kayla first saw Purdue on a sixth grade field trip. She says from that day forward, she knew she was destined to become a boiler maker. Kayla tells us what it was like when she found out she was accepted into her dream school. So, let me be completely transparent. I totally cried because it was so overwhelming because I applied to 10 other schools besides Purdue, but I really was just like those schools don't matter. I just really care about Purdue. I just am waiting for Purdue to let me know that I got accepted. And I was just super excited. My mom was screaming. I was screaming. I was just like, this is amazing. I've been waiting for this moment right here. And here's to Toya with more on how PPHS is reinventing the high school experience. Why do you think that this has gained, you know, statewide attention and even national attention? And why do you think it's important to bring this model all across the country? Man, that's a fantastic question because one, we're reinventing like this is something that we have developed from the ground up. And then second, I like to say that we have transitioned. I used to say we're transitioning. But I think these phones here let us know that we have transitioned from the industrial age to the informational age. So a lot of things that's being taught in the high schools is valuable. However, I also have access to it. And so what the informational age says is we need to not just know this stuff now and learn this stuff because it's available to us. But how do we apply this stuff? Education right now is still kind of stuck in the industrial age, and we're trying to forge our way through to see what an informational age education look like. We want to push our students to innovation. There's no longer a wrong and right answer. There's a best answer, but it's not a wrong and a right answer. And so how do we get to the answers so that we can figure out what's the best one, right? We feel like that that is really important in this time. The pandemic, you know, is unfortunate, but it really sped up a lot of innovation and ideals. And what had been coming in the future has now come. And so we want our students to be prepared for that automation. It's happening. Industry, they're going to look for, I saw I was looking at the floor super rule, you know, they got welders now that's automated. And that's crazy, you know, some of the cars that they're making, they're looking at these machines, that's going to take away a lot of jobs. Our kids need to be prepared for that. And so what does that look like to be prepared for a job that doesn't exist? It means solving complex problems and figuring out how to manage the automation and the informational stage. I spoke with Kelly Hiller, Senior Director of Creative Services, who has been incredibly involved with PPHS from its early days. Here's Kelly with additional background information and her personal experiences when it comes to working alongside PPHS. It's really been an amazing experience to learn more about the school and the people there and the different locations and just the overall philosophy and vision of how it came to be. I guess it was last fall. We had been talking internally and kind of like, what is our focus and some of our storytelling going to be for the next year. And PPHS has been a cornerstone of Purdue University for a while. It's a huge initiative for President Daniels. And it was something that I really felt like I could align a passion with. You know, I have children and they're going through high school. So it's something that education is really, really important to me. And honestly, I was curious, like, what is all this about and wanted to get to know the place. And so started digging in. And the first thing we did was a series of just discovery interviews to really learn firsthand from those involved, what the place is about, what makes it different, why it exists, and all those different questions. And just throughout those interviews, each one, I became more inspired, more in awe, more curious. And that's really how it all started. And from there, you know, the storytelling, it came easy because it's so authentic. You know, people who are involved there, whether it be the students, the faculty, the leadership, the coaches, as they say, are just amazing people with huge hearts. It's a very, very special family and community. You know, when we talk about how PPHS is different from a normal high school, what was your main takeaway from this episode? One of the main takeaways for me is just the description of how their students tackle real world problems. I mean, I think many of us had that moment back in high school, where we're sitting in class, and you're like, why am I learning this? I will never use this. This is pointless. Whereas PPHS, you still have your core curriculum that you need to learn and tackle and prepare you for your next step. But you also have these hands-on projects where you do partner with industry, pursue passions to solve real world problems. And I think that hands-on experience and preparing students for what is going to be a very innovative, technology-focused workforce is going to be a game changer for those students and give them a leg up as they enter the world. And when I hear Shatoya talk about that, it just resonates with me so much because, you know, those students get to experience success, they get to experience failure through those projects, and teamwork collaboration, those are just huge qualities that I think are going to really serve them well long term throughout their lives. You know, in high school, I had seven periods. The same class is the same teacher as every day, and that doesn't really prepare you for college when you have, you know, a class Tuesday, Thursday, and then you have different classes Monday, Wednesday, Friday, and you have the schedule. But PPHS is already ahead of the game on that and is, you know, kind of past that college schedule so that students can get used to that if that's the path they're going to take. So I thought that was a really smart idea as well. It is. I tell you, you know, until you really go to PPHS, it's really hard to wrap your brain around like, what does that mean? What is the place like? And I will never forget the day I was on PPHS on site for the first time. I walked in and first the announcements were playing, and it was Shatoya. And just the energy and the positivity and the joy in her voice as I was walking up the stairs, I just had the biggest smile on my face. And then as I got to the top of the stairs, the office is all glass. And so you could see Shatoya doing the morning announcements. And I mean, it was a performance. Like it was, it was a performance. Just her positive energy is just absolutely contagious. And then as the day went on and just kind of observing everyone, it's almost like you're immersed in a co-working space. Teachers and students are walking about working together. You know, the bell's not ringing. You know, it's a very productive space, but it's definitely a busy space. And people are enjoying each other. I think one of the most critical things if you are going into college is being able to have time management skills. And these students really have to have time management skills because they have to manage their time of getting their core curriculum classes done, meeting with their teammates, their teammates being able to depend on them for projects, being to fulfill their projects, present their projects. And plus they have that personal relationship with their assigned coach that they can go to at any time, whether it be, you know, a challenge with class, a challenge with a topic, anything at all. So it really is a family atmosphere there. And like I said, it's very, very interesting to observe, way different from a traditional high school setting. Yeah. And I remember Kayla talking about how, you know, her mindset wasn't, I have to quick finish this homework assignment because it's due tomorrow morning. She's like, I'm working on a project that involves real world things and it's due at the end of the semester. So I can spend my time on it. And that's, you know, a lot like a college life balance as well. So this episode celebrated the first graduating class, which Kayla was part of. Did you go to the graduation? Were you there for that? Yes, I would not have missed it. Okay. Tell us, like describe that feeling. I can't imagine, you said just walking in there, you had these great vibes. What was it like on graduation day? I mean, everyone was just beaming. The students were beaming. The faculty, the coaches were beaming. You know, this was a huge milestone. All of these students, all of these coaches, they have been through a really unique journey of not only establishing a high school, but reinventing the high school experience. And in this moment, that vision, those dreams, everything came to fruition. And just to see those students walk across the stage, their families and the audience, so excited. You know, many of the coaches were emotional. Many people giving remarks were emotional. And then, you know, President Daniels was emotional. This was a big day. This was a day that we had been talking about, I think he said for six years now. And the moment was happening. And it was just absolutely phenomenal to see those students, to see them celebrate together, like I said, with their families and with the coaches. Students were able to kind of select what coach they wanted to go with in the processional that would kind of represent their cohort. And those students and their coaches, it was very, very evident that the bond between all of them was so strong that this was really a huge celebration for everybody. I'm sure it was a day to remember. So Kayla Owens graduated June 2021 this year. And now she officially goes to Purdue. She's dreamed about going to Purdue for a long time. Is there anything that really resonated with what Kayla said in the episode or even Kayla's experience at Purdue today that you want to touch on? I think Kayla Owens is one of the most phenomenal young women I've ever met. I mean, she was our first student enrolled in PPHS. And that was because she's a risk taker. And she knew too that she was a boiler maker. So when it came time to attend a Purdue high school, she was all in. And just to have someone with her drive talk about an ambassador, not only for the school, but for Purdue University, she has her eye on the prize. And I think it's going to be just so exciting to see where she goes during her time at Purdue. And then just after Purdue, because she really embodies that Purdue spirit, that persistence, that grit. Nobody's stopping her. Nobody's getting in her way. And she's going to do great things. I just love listening to her story that Purdue was her goal. That was her goal. And she's achieving it. I think all of us at Purdue, everyone who has been along her path feels honored to have come across her during her journey. And I'm so excited to see what's in store for Kayla and where she goes from here because I think the sky's the limit for her. So I know you and a lot of our team members have worked really hard on these new PPHS documentaries that are following students from PPHS to their time at Purdue. So tell us a little bit about those because I want people to go check them out. Well, as we were thinking through, how do you bring PPHS to life? Because this is something new. It's not the traditional high school experience. It's a high school being founded by a university. So very new models. And unless you bring someone inside into the walls, how do you bring that to life for them? You can tell the story. You can do student profiles, coach profiles, you know, you can write stories. But really, you have to immerse someone in experience to see the transformation that takes place in a student's life. And that's really what we wanted to do with these three students. They're very different personalities. They have different interests. And that was intentional. We wanted to show different sides of different journeys at PPHS for students and how each one of them, despite different passions, that could be channeled in a positive and productive way and be a part of their educational journey and ultimately lead them to the path of Purdue University. So it was really, really exciting to take on a project like that. And then luckily, you know, the students are phenomenal. They were very patient with us as we invaded their lives for a little while to show their story. And, you know, what you see is real life. It's them figuring out different projects. It's them having moments of struggle. It's them having moments of triumph and ultimately leading up to the big moment, which was graduation for them, but preparing them for their small step to their next giant leap, which is Purdue University, where they are all students now. So we'll continue to follow them. But I encourage parents and just others to check out the documentary series to watch the episodes. And it really gives you the opportunity to immerse yourself into PPHS and see what it is like to be a student there. Shatoya is just a phenomenal human being. Many times, whether I'm hearing her interviews or when I've been at the school watching her interact with students or parents or coaches, fellow leaders within the school, she's doing what she was born to do and to just watch someone live out their life with such impact on others and to make a difference is so inspiring. I wish we could bottle, you know, clone her. And you just think to yourself, if Shatoya's could multiply across the high school system in the United States, what a different place it might be. She's changing lives day in and day out. And it's amazing to have a seat and get to watch that. She's a really phenomenal person. Again, if you'd like to see the PPHS documentary series that Kelly and the Purdue Marketing and Communications team worked on, go to purdue.university.pphs first class. Next up is a new member to our Boilermaker community. Dr. Jerome Adams was named Purdue University's first executive director of health equity initiatives in September. Dr. Adams was the 20th U.S. Surgeon General and before his service as our nation's doctor, he served as the Indiana State Health Commissioner from 2014 through 2017. A little background here. This interview had to come together fast and it was all top secret until we could make this big announcement. Dr. Adams' new role is just one of the many ways Purdue is supporting the strategic initiatives set in Purdue's next moves. One of these next moves is the equity task force, which Purdue has committed $75 million to sustaining an equitable environment at Purdue with a focus on representation, experience, and success for Black Boilermakers. Myself and our video crew of Ted, John, and Thad searched for a few different filming locations before we landed on a beautiful room inside the historic Purdue Memorial Union. Ted, who you heard from earlier this episode, even had to request that all of the construction happening in the Union had to come to a halt during this interview. Here's a segment from Dr. Adams' episode. When you watched Purdue from afar, what were your impressions of what this institution stood for and what we were doing here? Purdue has always stood for excellence from my standpoint, but I'll be honest, the focus that I always heard about was in engineering, astronauts, Neil Armstrong, and also agriculture in the veterinary schools. So if you're on a farm and you got a sick animal, you want them to go to Purdue. And so that's what I traditionally thought of, but what a lot of people don't know is that Purdue's Pharmacy College is the third oldest here on campus, goes back to the 1800s. They've got a tremendous legacy here of success in the sciences beyond engineering. And I'm really excited about learning more about that and being a part of that. My family feels like Indiana's home. So we wanted to be in Indiana number one. And that caused me to have to say no to a lot of opportunities where they wanted me to move to New York or to California or to Minnesota. But then there's the legacy of Purdue. And what's great about Indiana is you have some fantastic institutions. You don't have to leave to be able to do great things. You've got Cummins, you've got Eli Lilly, you've got Purdue. You have these brands that are known, Neil Armstrong, you've got these brands that are known across the world right here in Indiana. And so to get a call from Purdue, that's something that you have to say, I've got to listen to, I've got to consider. And then finally, President Daniels. And President Daniels is someone who people highly respect. And I don't think people on Purdue's campus even know how highly he is respected for his leadership, for the way he moves the ball on important issues. And so Mitch Daniels, Purdue, Indiana, it was something that I had to consider. And so I started talking to folks because of those reasons and got to find out about all the great things going on on campus in the health equity space already. And I said, if I could be a part of that, on top of this cluster higher, they're about to hire 15 new faculty to focus on house equity across the entire campus. So that's just an energy and excitement that really sealed the deal for me. And again, I couldn't be more pleased to be starting here. And for what comes next, I chatted with Tim Doty, director of media and public relations at Purdue about this episode. Tim has a number of years in media news and PR under his belt. And his dry sense of humor is an office favorite. So this episode came together really quickly. It was kind of a top secret thing at first. And I got the call from Ethan and he's like, can you do this interview next week? Let's make this announcement kind of a big flash because Dr. Adams is a very well known figure. We made it happen. We got to meet him and talk to him. And he was just so right off the bat engaged, you know, asking about our video team, just such a really uniquely genuine person. I agree. And you and I both are in the need to know business. We get information when we need to know it and we get just the right amount of information that we need to know. So we don't get too far out over our skis. So I heard about it probably a little before you did. Hey, they're talking about bringing in Jerome Adams. What? Okay, I will wait and see what happens with that. And yeah, you guys did a big to do over there in the Purdue Memorial Union with photo shoot. You had protect Purdue ambassadors. He was shaking hands, kissing babies, getting photos, getting videos, doing that podcast. And what a great interview it was. And what a great story this is a man with a list of credentials a mile long. And yet he's willing to chat with those students. He came into my office a week or so ago for the first time actually meeting him in person sat down, we had a chat. And as I walked him out of the building to go conduct an interview with one of our local media members, he said hello to everybody. He chatted with everybody, even people sitting inside their own offices at their desks. He made sure to greet them with a smile. He's definitely a magnetic personality, as I'm sure you experienced for a longer amount of time than I did. Yes, absolutely. I mean, it's also so much easier to talk to people like that and get into these sometimes deeper conversations when they have this amazing attitude and they genuinely right off the bat, he's like, are you married? You know, it's just asking me about my life. And I'm like, wait, I'm supposed to be asking you about your life. So such a sweet man and obviously extremely intelligent. He's an absolute expert at what he does. And I can't wait to see, you know, what he's already brought to Purdue and what he'll continue to bring. Well, yeah, when you have somebody who is willing to have a conversation, that makes your job very much easier. And my job in my past life, where I did interviewing as well, when you have somebody who doesn't want to be there, or just wants to give the yes and no answers, it's drudgery, it's a slog. But when you have somebody who's willing to have a genuine exchange, that's when things really get off on the right foot. And he's somebody who puts you at ease when you first meet him. This guy is a big deal. He's a massive deal. He's a giant deal. Having him at Purdue is a huge thing, saying we've got the former surgeon general working with us, working for the state of Indiana. And he puts you at ease right away. I really enjoyed something that he said. He said I was Dr. Box before Dr. Box. So everybody knows who Dr. Chris Box is from watching the state health department updates during the pandemic. And instead of saying, hey, I'm a big deal, he put himself in perspective by referencing the current person in the job. So I really got a kick out of that. That shows you what kind of person it is. And the fact that he tells stories, very detailed, very personal stories about his own life, about his family struggles, I heard him tell some of those stories when he came into the university. Previously, he gave a speech over at the active learning center, the Wilmeth Active Learning Center. And I remember standing outside the room and listening into some of that. And he doesn't sugarcoat anything. He says, my family had substance abuse issues. While I was in this position, my brother was dealing with it. So somebody who is willing to be open, somebody who is willing to not put themselves up on a pedestal, really makes for a good interview and makes for somebody who's going to be good to work with. So if I get requests, hey, we want to interview Dr. Adams, I have a pretty good idea that he's going to be willing to do it. Or he's going to give a good interview. He's not going to just say, well, if I have to, I guess I'll do it. He's somebody who's willing to put himself out there for the benefit of Purdue, for the benefit of the state of Indiana, for the benefit of the country, as he noted in your podcast. You know, obviously the podcast, we want to touch on Purdue topics and, you know, everything that's going on at Purdue, but we also want to get to know our guests. So when Dr. Adams was bringing up his family so much, I just loved, you know, hearing about his kids. He brought up his kids very frequently. He brought up his brother's story. And, you know, I just think that helps our listeners get a better idea of, you know, who Dr. Adams is. And you can kind of, as you're listening, see how dynamic and genuine he is as well. And he brought up that you and he had crossed paths in previous lives. That's a big one. Somebody remembering something like that, whether it's your interview with Dr. Adams or with Coach Painter. Think of how many hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of interviews these people have done. They truly could sleepwalk through the interview and just give the greatest hits and give the answers. That would be a fine, serviceable podcast. But the fact that they're willing to open up like that and the fact that he asked about your family, what's your situation, that great exchange showed a personal touch, a personal connection right there. And as you mentioned, his family and his children, on social media, he gets, he lays it all out there on social media. He's terrific in that he pokes fun at himself. He pokes fun at his kids. He points out, hey, my wife told me I can't keep bringing my cruddy lunch pail or my lunch in a grocery bag to my job. So they had to go out and get me a lunch pail to bring to my job. I really got a kick out of that. And it's authentic. It's real. It makes you more willing, I think, at least in my opinion, to listen to what this person has to say. This is a doctor. This is a surgeon general. This is somebody who could be as aloof and as distant and as high and mighty as they want. And yet we'd still listen. We'd say, well, they're a surgeon general. Of course they can act that way. Or this person's a surgeon. They're a doctor. Of course, they're smart and distant. They got a lot on their mind. But the fact that he's relatable and he's able to poke fun at himself, he's able to keep it real, so to speak, is a lot more impressive to me. Yes, I agree. I think, Tim, you've been in media and PR for so long. And the way that he uses social media, and I said this in the episode, I looked at his Twitter and I was a little bit surprised. The former surgeon general, that's a big deal, as we've said, is tweeting some of this funny, witty kind of making fun of himself, like you said. And I found that so refreshing. But what did you think when he was touching on a lot of the audience out there now in the world is going to find health information on social media? So that's where I need to be. Well, number one, that's a scary thought that people would use social media as their deciding factor in anything in life. But sadly, it's the truth. It's what we deal with in strategic communications. You have to reach people where they are. And if I'm dealing with media responses or somebody who saw something on social media, the odds are they just read the headline. They didn't dig in. They didn't get into it. So the fact that he's willing to do that, again, back to what I had said previously, nobody would fault him if he said, I'm a surgeon general. I'm a doctor. I'm not going on social media. If people want to hear what I have to say, they can read this 25-page paper I wrote. But no, he's boiling it down. And as I said, he's keeping it real. He is speaking in a way that people can understand. You do not need to be a doctor. You do not need to have a PhD or even a high school education to understand what he's saying because he is saying it in a way that is easy to understand. And in my world and in your world, with some of the interviews and the topics that you get into, there's nothing that's better than that. Speak in the way that everybody can understand it. And if you can't make it understandable, then it's clear that you don't understand it. So that's kind of what we tell our experts, explain it to somebody as if they were a fifth grader and Dr. Adams can do that. He explains things so you don't have to really think about it. You get it on the first reference. The fact that somebody at his level, somebody of his status is willing to meet the people where they are is very impressive. And that's one of the things he's going to be doing as he looks at public health in the state of Indiana. He's somebody who probably, like President Daniels when he was governor, has been to every county in the state. And he's going to be talking to those people in the far reaches, whether they're in the Fort Wayne area where they're in Elkhart or in Richmond or Jasper or something like that. He's going to be talking to those people. And it's really going to be a benefit that he's able to speak the language of the people in the state of Indiana. He's not an outsider coming in. As you said in our discussions before this, he's an adopted Hoosier and he has Hoosier status now. He's got credibility. He's got credibility on a national level, on a state level. Yes, yes. And I think it takes a special person like Dr. Adams who can explain it at a normal level of really high, complex health, whether it's about vaccines or about the pandemic or anything that could be very highly technical and complex. He can explain it in this way that like you said, everyone understands. So I want to touch quickly on the Hoosier status. So we'll give it to him. Dr. Adams is a Hoosier. But I loved how much respect he has for President Daniels. He said, when you get a call from President Daniels, you listen. That's a sentiment that is echoed by people all across the country. As I deal with national media, I was at a conference recently and there were many other universities present. And when these journalists saw Purdue University, they would say to me something about President Daniels. You know, from the podcast interview that you did in his office, how impressive it is. And again, very similar to Dr. Adams in that he's able to communicate in a way that does not seem like somebody who holds the office of the president or who has been the governor or who has been in high level federal office. So yes, he is very well respected. And Dr. Adams is right. If Mitch Daniels calls and says, I'm interested in blank, you're going to listen. You're going to hear what he has to say because nothing is impulsive. Everything's been researched. It is being done for a reason. So having two people like that just increases the status of Purdue even more. And Purdue is already such a trailblazer, whether it's the tuition freeze or it's work on national defense topics or it's opening up during the pandemic and remaining open. Purdue really is a leader and adding Jerome Adams, the former Surgeon General, is just another arrow in the quiver of things that we in our job in marketing communications can brag about. Absolutely. And I also loved how he talked about, you don't have to leave Indiana to do great things. We have Cummins. We have Eli Lilly. We have Purdue, the brand of Purdue. And that was something that really struck me because I grew up in Indiana. I went to college obviously at Purdue. I didn't realize maybe at the time what a massive institution and brand that Purdue has all across the world. So I loved when he kind of put that into perspective, even for me who works at Purdue and loves Purdue. But wow, wait a minute, this is a big deal that I work for Purdue. I agree. Some would say Purdue is a brand that matters. Right, Kate? Fast Company Magazine said Purdue is a brand that matters. And it's funny you brought up the word brand because I was taking some notes knowing that you and I were going to talk about Dr. Adams. So when I listened again to the podcast, I was jotting some things that jumped out to me. And here's a quote that I wrote down. Dr. Adams said, the brand of Purdue can help Indiana, the brand of Dr. Adams can help Purdue. And if that doesn't sum it up, I don't know what does, but he was very clear in his interview with you and in the stories about public health, whether it's iHope or the cluster hires or some of the other things that have come out in early November, it's that we have the clout. We have that brand. And yes, we are very close to it. Kate, you went to school here. You're from Indiana. And frankly, when you go to college, you're probably not thinking about those things. But the rest of the state really does get that. Even those who went to other schools or have affiliations, it's grudging respect. They say it's the engineers. It's those smart people at Purdue. It's the astronauts. It's things like that. And what Dr. Adams is doing is saying, hey, it's not just engineering. It's not just STEM. We can really do it for the state of Indiana in public health. We can use that brand. We can use that name. We can use that motion P to reach people because it's recognizable. It's not some startup. It's not some small company that really does good work that nobody knows. You're getting that foot in the door. Mitch Daniels may not know Jerome Adams, but you know of Mitch Daniels. So when you get that call, you're going to take it. So that's the foot in the door. And that's what Purdue's brand is doing. It's getting that door opened up to get people to say, you know what? I will listen to what they have to say. So when you add Purdue and Jerome Adams, you're already ahead of the game in trying to reach people and get them to listen and pay attention. Now, speaking of Dr. Adams getting that call from Purdue University President Mitch Daniels, it wouldn't be a greatest hits episode without our most popular episode of 2021. Here's an incredible moment from the interview with President Daniels. Boilermakers have always had a special affinity and pride for this place, and that would be a natural thing. I'm sure people at every school will feel that way, but this has been measured. And there is a statistically significant difference has been people's sense of loyalty and so forth. I've always assigned a lot of that to the fact that this is a place of upward mobility while land grant schools were created. But I think in Purdue's case, it's especially pronounced. I say all the time, I've now had a chance for a decade to meet so many tremendous Purdue alums. Almost none of them came from privilege. This is the place where the young woman or man from the farm or the small town or the inner city came from. And then over and over by the now hundreds of thousands who were launched on great lives, we've always been proud. And I think that's part of it. I've talked to so many people and it starts the same. For me, it started at Purdue. I owe it to Purdue, if not for Purdue. That's the thing I love the very most about this place, as you can see from my sniffles. And I hope the last year added a layer on top of that for all the reasons we just discussed. Absolutely. It's like the couch. Somebody said, well, that's a Purdue thing, you know, tinkering around and bending something that works. I'd like to think that our navigating through this difficult circumstance expressed something that's always been there about this place. There was nobody better to speak to President Daniels leadership throughout the pandemic and the Protect Purdue initiative than Ethan Braden, Senior Vice President of Marketing and Communications at Purdue University. As you know, this was our first podcast episode that we really did a lot of video production for, which was really exciting. We got to go into President Daniels office to record this interview and all the video, which was awesome to see. And this was the first time the president came on the podcast, which was a really big deal. And I think we saw the growth and how many people wanted to listen to President Daniels on this is Purdue. So that was really exciting as well. And let's kick it off just talking a little bit about that our president led Purdue through this pandemic and the Protect Purdue campaign, you know, you were very involved from the beginning in all of this. So tell us a little bit of the behind the scenes on what went into President Daniels decision on leaving the campus open and having all the students come back. I'll start with an interesting piece, which is, you know, my predecessor, Dan Hasler, retired in the month of March of 2020. And so I slotted over to that chief marketing officer role days or weeks into COVID. And why I tell you that is when Dan was getting ready to leave, I said, Hey, what am I getting in Mitch as a boss? And I'll never forget the answer. He said, you're getting a role model and you're getting a leader. And that was never more exemplified, I think, than especially the early months of Protect Purdue, but certainly throughout, right? He was the first major university president to come out and say, based on my understanding of the situation, and based on my dedication to the residential experience here at Purdue University and based on who we are, we're coming back, you know, leaders lead the way and leaders always have arrows in their back too. But I think it was that line in the sand, it was planting that flag to say now we have a North Star, now we have a goal. And that orchestrated a group of people to bring their collective expertise and their collective care to the table each and every morning to protect and reopen this place, right? It was exhaustively studied. Will they read and Dean Hummels, Dean Reed and Dean Hummels, you know, in their safe campus task force, exhaustively studied the recommendations that came to that group in the end to say, here's the 150 things you need to think about. And from there, we were off and running from an implementation standpoint of what do we have to do. And I think he says in the podcast, you know, we left no stone unturned. We know we left no expense, you know, unconsidered to do a few really important things, which is what he said from the very beginning, we were going to protect the vulnerable first and foremost, we were going to de-densify the place, and we were going to figure out a way to reopen in a safe and manageable fashion, one which was going to manage the curve, not one that was going to have the peaks and valleys that we saw at other campuses, the stops and starts, et cetera. So from the very beginning, he was leading the way toward a very clear North Star, which was to open Purdue back up the way we know Purdue would do, and do it safely, do it open, do it active, and do it protected. Yeah, I think one of the quotes that really stuck out to me was when he talks about the essence of difficult decisions. And he touched on this too, you know, in his commencement speech in May of this year, you know, he's like, if you try to wait until you think you know everything, it's usually too late. And he talks about he didn't want to leave 35,000 students just, you know, hey, figure it out, figure it out yourself. And he made that commitment to the Purdue community. And I just think it speaks volumes of his character. And like you said, a leader and a role model. It was just done in such a Purdue way. I've talked on this a lot. And we just did it so in brand. And I don't mean that logos and colors, et cetera. I mean, we did that the way anyone would expect a Purdue University would approach this, especially with his leadership. If we think back to the 150th commercial, it says at one point in time, we run the numbers, and then we jump. And I think that's so important, right? We talk about practical solutions applied to the world's toughest challenges. We, I think enable and we embrace the mantra of Nike, right? Just do it. And so there is this application, there is this let's get down to business, there is somewhat of a ready fire aim, not frivolously, very well studied. But I remember a talk he gave previously where he said, hey, some people say that speed kills. Now oftentimes speed saves. The greatest errors are made by those who are too slow, too hesitant, too timid. And he thought to be too slow in this instance for our students would be a significant disservice. Absolutely. I mean, the whole protect Purdue initiative, I've seen it throughout my time at Purdue. And of course, you've helped build it up into what it is today. And it's just, like you said, so in brand, you know, so powerful. And another thing that I thought was interesting was how clearly proud he was of the students and how they followed everything. You know, they're for the hand sanitizing stations and there's social distancing in classrooms and masks everywhere. And students really did follow it. No, you're absolutely right. He knew. And I think we all did too, right? Walk the campus. I got a load of flak in a newspaper in June of last year, when I said we have a very special set of students. But I believe that I believe our culture at Purdue University is different than other places. And he said it very early on, he said there would be nothing more important than the near universal embrace of the protect Purdue pledge. And if we got that, not that, you know, anything else would be easy, but that that would be the nucleus to our success. And so the protect Purdue ambassadors, the student government, our athletes, our coaches, you know, everyone rallied in a very together, you know, fashion that we'd expect from Purdue. And I'll go back to your point of those that were coming together to protect Purdue as well. He talks about it every morning for months on end, we were there at 8 30 together, bringing our best, as we say in our essence, to change the world, to protect Purdue. John Gordon says driving a positive high performing culture requires more than words. And everyone's got a mission statement, but only the great organizations also have people who are on a mission. We were on a mission every morning at 8 30. And actually we were on the phone at noon on Saturday and noon on Sunday as well, looking at the data, adjusting our approach, making decisions, collaborating, leaning on those, you know, with their subject matter expertise, always having a finger on the pulse. So I really appreciate, you know, all those that were on a mission that came to the table to protect Purdue. And you're right, first and foremost, the spirit, the essence, the ethos, the commitment, the culture of protection and togetherness and sacrifice, and care and concern of our students on campus was paramount. You know, in your role, you can explain to us further, what does it mean having Mitch Daniels, like lead Purdue University? I have a dear mentor and coach. And when we talk about my development, about my strengths and weaknesses, he'll often remind me that, you know, every other week in a one on one, and more frequently than that, especially with these protect Purdue meetings, I'm working for a president who could have been president. And I catch myself at times, you know, thinking about that when I'm sitting across the table from him, and thinking about the experiences that he had at Lilly, that he had in the White House, that he had as probably the most famous and accomplished governor of our state, and now is one of the most accomplished and certainly famous presidents of Purdue University, the experiences he's had, the lessons he's learned, the decisions he's made, the leaders he's developed, the teams he's built, like I'm part of that. So when we're talking serious things, I have great admiration. And when we're talking about couch carts and t-shirt guns, I kind of catch myself and say, where am I? How am I talking to Mitch Daniels right now about a t-shirt gun or whatever it may be? So it's a pleasure. It's an honor. And Dan's right. Every day, I work for a role model. And I work for an individual who as I watch him, as I admire, as I learn from him, I'm learning at the highest levels of leadership. Yeah. And I thought it was so special when he said, you know, I wouldn't have missed this opportunity for the world and how fulfilling this role is for him. And his love for Purdue was just like shining in that moment for me and everyone in the room. And how special is it that, you know, someone who could have been president, like you said, and has worked at all of these high level offices is so proud to be a Boilermaker. It's so cool. You know, David Brooks wrote a great book called The Second Mountain. And I think Purdue, for Mitch, in many respects, is the third mountain, right? He talks a lot about the first half of your career being around accomplishment, on wealth generation, on, you know, racking up the resume, whatever it may be. And the second mountain, that second part of your career, that second part of your life, being more around purpose. And I think, you know, certainly Mitch's contributions to this state, you know, as governor, we're all about purpose. And boy, did he plant the seeds for the shade that we're all enjoying in this state right now, especially. But his third mountain has been doing the same thing I think at Purdue University and the care and the commitment and the concern that he brings every day of this job. His love for the students as he talks around, you know, getting out, getting to the gym, funding around in his words, his impact is monumental. And I think it's been with great purpose. And I'm so thankful. I can only imagine what all he could have done in 2012. But to choose to come to Purdue, to choose to be here almost now a decade, the tuition freeze and everything else that he's inspired and accomplished through, I think, great team members, looking up to him and wanting to do right by him, quite frankly, has been incredibly purposeful, both for him, but also for all of us and this great university. Yeah, absolutely. Okay, I want to just lightly touch on this, you know, when he's talking about what he's looking forward to this year right now, he talks about Purdue's basketball team. And I have to just shout it out. We're number one in the country, the first time in our school of history, like looking back, what an interesting thing that he said back in May when we interviewed him and now come December, here we are. Yeah, no, it was a great prophecy. But I think also like protect Purdue, it was, it was grounded in understanding. He knows how hard this team has worked. He knows how hard Matt Painter and his team and his coaches and Mike Babinski, etc. have not only worked, but recruited and envisioned and planned, you know, to make a day like this past Monday, now ranked number one possible. I think of a couple of things. I think the Lionel Messi saying it took me 17 years and 114 days to become an overnight success. And I think of James Clary said, whenever you see an overnight success, your eyes deceive you, what you're witnessing is the hour of opportunity unleashing the potential energy of previous choices. Our number one on Monday is a function of many, many, many previous choices by those players, by Coach Painter and his staff, by Mike Babinski, by Mitch, the board, the fans, etc. So I think we're thrilled to be where we are. I think Mitch knew that though. I think he knew, again, that we were going to reap what we had sowed over the last months and years with these players and this team. And right now it's paying off. Now I know they're also incredibly focused on April, not December. And that's the heart of a champion. It's wonderful to be number one and we should cherish it. You know, Jim Collins talks about the genius of the and let's cherish this right now, but let's not lose sight on March and April and the real prize. Nobody wants to win warm up. They want to win the game and these guys want to win in April. So it was a great prophecy and he knows, right? He's tight with Mike and Coach Painter and he knows these teams and what it takes and he's seen it. He's a big basketball fan. But boy, there's a whole lot of hard work that has made that canon that has just recently been lit and lit with a number one ranking. And what do you think when we see recently he was right there in the student section with all these Boilermakers at the IU Purdue game. Why in your opinion do you think it's so important for him to be involved with the students and to just have fun? And like he touched on, you know, in the podcast and how he said he missed, you know, seeing the students and interacting with them. Yeah, I think he says it. It's why he's here, right? I think he takes greatest joy in our students and who they are, where they've come from, what they have to share, what they're going to accomplish, where they're off to. I think he enjoys them as much as anybody and that's why the last year has been hard is because you've just been a little bit more separated from them in the gym and the dining halls, you know, the talks or the interactions that he might be asked to give, whether it's a fraternity house or sorority or club, whatever it may be. So he loves our students. He's got a big heart and great sense of humor when it comes to them. And I think back to the T-shirt gun and the T-shirts that we produced for him a couple of years ago and firing those into Mackie, you know, the couch cart and other things to come that the shark suits most recently. He's, I don't know how to explain him other than to say he's a really good sport. Yeah. He was his governor and he is our president, but especially when it comes to our students and when it comes to a student request, the couch cart coming from the students, the shark coming from the students, when they request, he's a very good sport about the things that they want to do with him. And I think that speaks to a really positive culture around here, right? The students want to be around him. Yes. The students want to interact with him. They want him near. Not every university can say that about their president, but we can. And so I think that's really a special piece here. And you see that play out on social media with the students, with the parents, with the alums and his fans. They see him as a man of the people, as a man of the students. Yeah, absolutely. It takes a special president. Like you said, not every university has that president who has this relationship with the students. Is there anything else that really stuck out to you in the episode? I think the ending is just so powerful. I think a couple of things. Number one, just kudos to you, Kate. And that is, I think your podcast, unlike athletics, not ours, unlike, you know, the ESPNs of the world or, you know, whatever radio show where they come and they talk about the X's and the O's. I think what's so special about your podcast is that you are helping others get to know these special human beings. You're getting to the person, you're getting to the humanity, you're getting to the soul. And when they listen to you, they get to know individuals better. Coach Brahm, David Badiah, Briani Horgan, Mitch Painter, et cetera. They get to know their essence, what makes them tick, who they are, why they're at Purdue, why they think Purdue's special. And there's probably no greater example of you accomplishing that than this podcast. You prepared like crazy for it. And it wasn't about the X's and O's so much as it was about Mitch's leadership, the decisions he made, what he learned from it, what he wanted us to learn from it, what would he have done differently? Was there any times of anxiety? Was there any times of second guessing? But I think what was most special personally was the end. You know, what he shared with you on the podcast is similar to what he shared during the PPHS graduation speech. And I just think it's so incredible that he continues to come back to what we called in marketing speak, you know, with our work with brand trust on the brand, this notion of accessible prestige, that our prestige here at Purdue University is not a function of scarcity or private rarity. It's a function of excellence, sustained excellence, sustained commitment, sustained grit. He says, you know, these aren't the privilege necessarily that are coming to Purdue and accomplishing all of this. This is the kids from the farms. These are the kids from the inner cities. These are the kids from the small towns that come and they accomplish and they work their tails off. And they go out in the world to do big things, but they come back and say it all started at Purdue or thank goodness for Purdue, or if only everyone had their Purdue experience. So I think that ending where he shares just how important what we are doing and what we do is by far my favorite piece. It speaks to the land grant mission. It speaks to us taking education and practical application to the masses. And it speaks to I think what can be accomplished in the way that he wants to see it accomplished, which is again that persistence, that innovation, that collaboration, that grit, that tireless commitment to get up every time you fall down. And it is those kids from the inner city. It's the kids from PPHS. It's the Tyler Trent Scholarship Award winners. It's the kids from the farms that we see at Purdue go on to do amazing things. They put their head down and they do their best. And when they look up, oftentimes they are the best. And that's so special. And I think that you brought that forward and you made that very, very apparent in podcast that he was willing to go there with you was just an incredibly special, I think piece of Purdue content. Yeah, it was definitely a popular episode and listening to him at the end, I think all of us in that room were just in awe. Honestly, we were like, can we keep going? We don't want this to end. But that ending, I agree, was such a special piece. And everything, you know, I've talked to so many guests now, and you'll hear some of this in the upcoming episodes in 2022. But it's all about how Purdue is this institution that, you know, when you're from Indiana, it's like, okay, yep, I'm going to go to Purdue because it's really great. But then these people across the world know Purdue and know its brand. And you don't always realize how incredible it is to have this Purdue degree and have this Purdue experience, like you said. So you'll hear a lot of that in our upcoming episodes. But it's the same theme over and over with all of these guests who are affiliated with Purdue. Like, this is such a special place. And we're so lucky to have these experiences here. Now, you're right. And we hear it. You know, I've been here three years now, my wife's a boiler maker, and I've certainly drank the Kool-Aid. It is a special place. I've been on many campuses. I've, you know, I've attended two other schools, including Notre Dame up North. This is a really special place in that nexus, again, of these incredible people. And the incredible research that's taking place here in that spirit. You know, it is brand speak. But I think we got it right, that nexus is the persistence of these folks, the persistence of the boiler maker, the innovative nature of it, and the way that they do it together. That is special. And that's distinct. And that's unique. And it's differentiated versus some of the places that we might call pier. And when that combines, that's where the magic happens. And we're really lucky to have Mitch leading that charge. And we have been for the last 10 years. And then when you couple the value with it, it's unbelievable, right? You got this incredible numerator. And then you look down at this very, very acceptable, very, very worthwhile denominator that spits out an equation of incredible value. And that's the Purdue experience both while you're here and thereafter as you enter into Purdue for life. So I'm a big fan. I have a get to job, not a got to job. And coming here to work every day is incredibly special. I couldn't agree with Ethan Moore. I know we covered just five interviews in this celebratory episode, but each and every episode we produced in 2021 was incredibly special. A few other honorable mentions for me personally was our interview with former Purdue and NFL quarterback Jim Everett. That was such a fun, lighthearted interview that was filled with Purdue pride. It was as if I was catching up with an old friend. And of course, our old golden ticket vaccination drawing episode, which featured the behind the scenes stories of how we awarded one year of in-state tuition to 10 lucky Boilermakers who got their COVID-19 vaccine. Be sure to go back and check those out as well. There are endless Boilermakers stories of persistence and we're only getting started. We want to hear from you though. What was your favorite episode this year? Share a review on Apple podcasts or tag us on social media at life at Purdue and use the hashtag this is Purdue. Happy holidays Boilermakers and we'll see you in 2022. Thanks for listening to this is Purdue. For more information on this episode, visit our website at Purdue.edu slash podcast. There you can head over to your favorite podcast app to subscribe and leave us a review. And as always Boiler up.