 Today, we are gathered in formal convocation to celebrate the 242nd Commencement Exercises of Purdue University. Please join in singing our national anthem, followed by the invocation, offered today by Rabbi Michael Harvey of Temple Israel. Flexion or Meditation? Awesome and compassionate God, as we gather here together this morning, our hearts are filled with gratitude at reaching this sacred moment. From the time these precious students were entrusted to our care, we have prayed to see this day. We thank you for inspiring them with the value of learning and for blessing us with the opportunity to share their accomplishment. We sense the caring spirit of those parents and loved ones who are not able to be with us in person to experience our pride and joy. We give thanks for the commitment and dedication of the faculty and administration of Purdue University, which has served the academic community for generations. Please continue to be with them in their holy work. We pause to reflect on the troubled world these graduates inherit. Grant them the vision and resources to be your hands and your hearts in our troubled world, to be agents of healing. May they always be cognizant of their responsibilities as leaders. Bless them with health and wholeness in body, mind, and spirit. May they go from strength to strength. And let us say, Amen. For the third time in this unprecedented year, we're welcoming the latest Purdue graduates to a virtual commencement ceremony. Of all the events we've had to cancel or postpone or move to the virtual environment, this one, to me, is by far the most disappointing, and it's my fondest hope that we'll be able to resume our incomparable commencement tradition soon. Today, despite the different delivery method, our pride in your achievement and our belief in your ability to accomplish your dreams is as strong as ever. It's my pleasure to introduce today's guest speaker, John A. Edwardson. John is one of our nation's most successful business people and among the College of Engineering's most celebrated graduates. In the nearly four decades since his graduation from Purdue, John has distinguished himself in growing and managing large organizations, including Fortune 500 companies, Ameritech, United Airlines Corporation, and CDW Corporation, leaving a lasting impact on the global industrial landscape. He's also a devoted altruist and supporter of organizations and causes ranging from Habitat for Humanity, the Art Institute of Chicago, the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, the advancement of women in STEM and, of course, our own Purdue University College of Engineering. John earned a Purdue Bachelor of Science in Industrial Engineering, served as a Purdue trustee from 1995 to 2005, and has received from Purdue the Outstanding Industrial Engineering Award, the Distinguished Engineering Alumnus Award, and in 2006 an honorary doctorate. Please join me in welcoming our distinguished alumnus, John Edwardson. Mitch, thank you for your kind and most generous introduction. Last January, when you invited me to give this commencement address, COVID had not yet arrived in the United States, or at least we didn't know that it had, and we certainly didn't know how long it would be with us. I had looked forward to greeting each of you in the hall of music. I had attended many events there as a student and as a Purdue trustee. I'd sat on this stage for 10 years of commencement ceremonies, but I never imagined I would be dressed up in a cap and a gown with nowhere to go. So welcome to my home in Florida that with the magic of technology makes it look like I'm on the stage at the Elliott Hall of Music. Congratulations on this most happy of days to you Purdue's newest alumni. And also to your parents, your siblings, your grandparents, and those gathered around you to celebrate this day. This day is a most unusual graduation at a most unusual time in the history of our country. You should be proud to receive your Purdue diploma, and I applaud you for the years of work it took for you to be here today. And as you know full well, this day would not have happened without the help of those gathered around you. I hope you have said thank you to each of them. So what is next for you? Given the economic difficulties we are in as a result of the COVID pandemic, it's likely a number of you don't yet know what is next for you. For those of you who don't, you have something that gives you an edge in this very competitive world, your Purdue degree. Employers around the globe know the value of a Purdue education, and what you learned here will be a value for you for the rest of your life. I don't want to diminish in any way what this pandemic has done to the families of many in our country, but this will not be your last major challenge or likely even your most difficult one. By the time I graduated from Purdue, five of my high school classmates had been killed in the Vietnam War. Life is difficult. But Mitch asked me to discuss with you today some lessons I've learned that I thought might be helpful to you as you start your careers. So let's begin. Many of you will likely end up in jobs that have seemingly little to do with what you study at Purdue. However, if you are a STEM major, you now understand and have often used the scientific method of problem solving. And guess what? It isn't just for scientists or engineers, but is applicable to many problems you will encounter for the rest of your years. And if you are not a STEM major, you surely had a philosophy course or two where the art of problem solving was discussed. But regardless of what you studied, it's unlikely that you took a course in listening or collaborative leadership, both of which are now offered at Purdue. However, listening may be the most important skill you'll need to learn to be successful. Most of us in our first full-time job have been trained to be an individual performer, even though most work in the world is done by teams. The transformation from individual performer to team player to manager and then leader was a hard one for me. At age 34, I was named the Chief Financial Officer of Northwest Airlines. I was the youngest CFO of any Fortune 500 company in America. And I was pretty full of myself. After a few months on the job, the CEO of Northwest walked into my office, closed the door, and sat down. This was most unusual because every meeting we'd had before was either in his office or his conference room. So I wondered what he wanted to talk about. He got right to the point. He said, John, I know you want to be a head coach someday. He had played fullback at Notre Dame, and he liked the term head coach better than CEO. He went on to say that I was giving my direct reports too much direction, too quickly, and listening too little to what they had to say. He said it wasn't my job to solve their problems, but to listen, to nudge, and to explore with them what the best solutions might be. I took his coaching to heart, but it was not easy for me to change, as I'd always been that person in the classroom that all of you know who wanted to come up with the answer first. Fast forward 10 more years to 1994. I was then president of United Airlines. In that job, I typically travel around 80 to 90 nights each year. And for those of you who have traveled that much, you and your family know how difficult it is to re-enter family life after having been gone so often. One night, having just come back from an overseas trip, I was having dinner with my family at home. After receiving some solicited advice from me, my oldest daughter blurted out saying, Dad, just because you tell people what to do all day long at work doesn't mean that when you get home, you get to tell us what to do. I responded to her and her sisters that I hardly ever told anybody what to do at work. And that was why when I got home from the office, I was ready to tell them what to do. My three daughters were puzzled by that statement. So I explained to them that if I told people what to do all day long at work, that no one would want to work with me, let alone for me. My oldest daughter's response was something like, well, Dad, I then went on to explain that parenting was quite different from being a company president. She now understands that a little better as she has a 12-year-old at home. Experience, though, taught me and research has shown that most decisions reached by a group are better than those reached by one individual. Input from others helps. Listening to others helps. And brainstorming about options helps. Sometimes one person does have to make the decision, but I usually thought that a decision reached by a consensus turned out to be the better one. Before I close, I want to add one final thought about listening. It's likely, and I hope true, that many of you will have very successful careers. Most of my childhood was spent in a small town. And like many of you, I am also a first generation college grad. Sometimes with some success, it begins to become easy to forget where you came from and what life is like for most of the world. You've forgotten that many others have worked just as hard as you have and are just as smart and capable as you are. And you don't acknowledge that timing, luck, or maybe a mentor someone else didn't have might have been big factors in your success. But most dangerous of all is that you might begin to believe you deserve the good things that happen to you. I've watched this happen to many people over my 50-year career. Thankfulness, humility, and awareness of how difficult life is for many people are important to be a good leader. From my standpoint, the best way for me to keep in touch with what I call the real world and to understand what life is like for many was by doing hands-on work with them in the community where they lived, where they worked, listening to their life stories, and understanding what their struggles were. For me, this has included such things as building habitat for humanity homes while working side-by-side with the prospective owners or serving as a night-shipped supervisor, really a bouncer in an overnight homeless shelter in Evanston, Illinois, and for 10 years driving the children of two families to visit their mothers, both of whom were in prison for murder. These and other volunteer activities helped remind me to be thankful and appreciative of my situation in life. Wanting my children to understand the world better, I often ask them to accompany me in many of these activities, except for one experience which I'll close with. One of the boys I had been driving to prison lived with his grandmother. She called me one day to let me know that her grandson had joined a gang, moved out, and was selling drugs on the street in Chicago, and that his best friend, they were both 16, had been stabbed to death. He now wanted to get out of the gang he had joined, and she asked for my help. I was still then the president of United Airlines and had many contacts in the city of Chicago. In a few days I was able to make contact with a law firm that represented the gang he belonged to. They arranged a meeting for me with the leader of the Black Pistone Nation, at that time the largest and most fierce African American gang in Chicago. He and I met in the stairwell of an apartment complex, and after a 30-minute discussion he agreed to let the young boy out of the gang, but said that he would have to go through a severe de-initiation ritual. Several days later a gaunt 16-year-old reappeared. He had a rough time for a number of years and even spent five years in prison. However, at age 40 now he is married, off of hard drugs, and has held the same job as an auto mechanic for over 10 years. We had a reunion dinner just a few weeks ago, and as we were leaving the restaurant where we had first had dinner when he was 10 years old, I reached out my elbow to give him a COVID elbow bump, but he threw his arms around me and gave me a wonderful hug. I cried much of the way home. There is a world not too far from where I live in a Chicago suburb, and likely not too far from where many of you live, and possibly right where some of you are now watching this video, that is a world that is tough and difficult beyond the knowledge that most of us have. All of us need to understand the lack of hope, the desperation, and even the physical hunger that many children experience while growing up in this, the most prosperous country in the world. It takes a lot more than any government can do. It takes committed people like each of you to lend a helping hand, to have an open ear, to have an understanding heart, and to give some words of kindness and support to help change these difficult situations, and doing that will help keep you grounded, thankful, and help you be a better leader. So congratulations to each of you and hail Purdue. Mr. President, the candidates for the Doctor of Philosophy degrees will be presented by Linda J. Mason, Dean of the Graduate School. Mr. President, these students have successfully fulfilled the requirements of the Graduate School. With the approval of the faculty, they are now presented to you to receive the Doctor of Philosophy degree. Exercising the authority of the trustees of Purdue University, legally vested by the people of the state of Indiana, and upon the recommendation of the faculty of Purdue, I now confer upon you who have fulfilled the highest requirements of this university, the Doctor of Philosophy degree, with all the rights, privileges, duties, and responsibilities of that degree. As evidence of this tremendous achievement, you will be vested with the hood of the Doctor of Philosophy and receive an appropriately inscribed diploma. I now invite our orders to read aloud the names of all students who are earning Doctor's of Philosophy degrees. Graduates, I invite you to have your special designee, hood you, and present you your diploma cover now. Be sure to capture a photo of this to share with us. Enoch An Cheyenne Ali A. Akbar Mohamed Salah Al-Alshake Mohamed Manzaral Alam Nadir Mohamed Rafi Abdallah Al-Awade Badraia A. Al-Nze Abdul Raham Nasser Al-Gambi Nawaf A. Al-Hazmi Nwala E. Abduvar Al-Belo Asam H. Al-Rakoba Robert Rezik Sudrak Andreyas Ayuz Ankit Reza Asadpur Emanuel Ayua Hal Bai Xingjian Bai Caroline Baker Riley B. Barta Demke M. Biable Arendam Banja Chowdhury Daniel Ben Mustafa Kamal Andhya N. Brennan Shiaran Tsai Adam Caldwell David M. Cameron Aditya Kandadi Shuanshi Cao Philip Kardon Daniel Carr Jillian Castillo Wenyu Chow Catherine J. Chartilla Jose Adrian Chavez-Valesco Chunpad Chen Qinghuang Chen Run Chen Li Cheng Krishna Jayanthanya Chetty Anamala Spencer Chiang Brian H. Chong Wei Young Chung Jeyub Chung Janice Coleman Devon S. Cook Piyadad S. Carrero Sanchez Brandon S. Coventry Travis F. Dale Askay Vivek Dandekar Leandro Hencho Daneis Chelsea A. Dankenburg Kuang Dao Deniali Demelo-Mora Kiwin Deng Saketh Desai Aposteva Timothy J. Donnelly Julius Eason Ahmed M. Elsayid Micah H. Ernst David A. Ivenhouse Bik-Shin-Fah Aliyah Jifara Dan Feng Yinning Feng Jordan Matthew Fisher Dante P. Franco-Mano Kaley Diane Frost Aida Catalina Galvis Castro Giorgios Giorgialis Amy E. Getchel Radley Davis Graham Mingming Gu Nicholas Garin Zapata Daily Guo Jing Guo Chin Chen Guo Honor Gur Felicia G. Hall Orchie Hassan Anna Hayes Yan Bo-Ha Ethan Hillman Soon-Chi-Hiu Marat Horasan Feixiang Wang Sarah D. Huang Wan-Ei Huang Vudasar Hussein Myung-Huang Huang SM-Namol Islam Mohammad Nazra Ishak J. Robert Yuthiano Rahil Jain Shamila Jannaki-Raman Shelfam Jiang Michael Henry Johnson Devon M. Colifat Logan M. Kampshorer Nisi B. Karakas Kamal Manohar Kharda Christopher M. Katinas Dalit O. Kenzabalan Jun-Hun Kim Kyung-Yun Kim Sang-Pil Kim Sun-Yung Kim Tao-Yu Kim Yun-Hun Kim Hao-Jin Ko Zi-Yun Kong Gun-Mou Khoo Nicholas J. Cormatic III Ya-Yu Ko Teri-Sue Kraus Joseph Emil Krylo Rufat F. Kulak-Matov Corey G. Lacy Steven G. LaRue Alexander William Layton Chan-Kyu Lee Chung-Grigol Lee Yeosung Lee Lester Ting Chung Lee Sulali UF Long Bing Li Jia-Ji Li Tian-Yi Li Yan-Yi Li Yu-Chung Lin Jason Li-Yu Shen-Yu Li-Yu Xiao-Qi Li-Yu Cha-Mika M. Lina-Genera Christian Lazaro Jimenez Chung-Li Loh Chuanhao Lu Dominique R. Lumpkin Atlanta Kathleen Lund Jia-Ma Carlos Alberto Madera Sierra Rana J. Mundell Fung-Yi Mao Daniela Marino-Ribero Beard Jo D. Marshall Paul Mothur Cassandra V. McQuarrison Jacob C. McGow Jessica K. Mayer Brett A. Myers Tamsidil Meena Zara Malania Jonathan Dean Monacole Mathalie A. Motleg Jihan Mullen Fabiola Muro Villanueva Nikhil Nayanar Baroque Naziri Claire T. Nimlos Tabitha C. Nindi Swayta Natala Rebecca Nixon Jinyan Noh Shrita Pasi Nori Ashraf M. Namir Mahmood M. Noor Kerla Worley Emmanuel Oganchina Nautaka Ogura Kunchang Oh Ejabagum J. Ajagbo Leah B. Almedo-Pico Monica Britt Olson William John O'Neill Eliza Maria Osorio-Castro Chincheng Pong Satya Brada Parita Sung Su Pak Andrew Parker Mariam Parza Priyam Vivek Patki Alexander J. Pijinowski Virginia F. Pleasant William J. Palelis Bonnie J. Prado-Piño Connor S. Piles Thamir Kuda Christopher J. Quinkert Benjamin A. Rashnak Zajad Raizy Mohamed S. Rahman Barum Rajabafar Lalit Kishore Rajendran Sugar Dalakshmi Ramaraj Faze Rawizde Mitchell Lawrence Rencek Sue Ellen Richardson Ozuri Rike Lindsay A. Robbins Jacqueline A. Rodey Jesse A. Rohl Khu-Yu-Ran Claudia Felissa Sadoski Bannam Sadri Mojib Sayi Soham S. Saha Janelle Westlin Salome Diana Vanessa Saria Zaniga Louise Skalka Divasconcelos Matthew Scott Scheit Daniel C. Schuster Soheel Shafayee Prateek P. Shah Du-Shih Huma Shoaib Anamika Srivastava Bhavini Sain Supatra Singhnisei Priya Sarohi Kinsey C. Skillen Ronald J. Smith Stuart D. Smith Dongyun Song Isis Sakanele Perez-Shagas Nicholas Robert Steppig James Lawrence Stewart Matthew J. Storey Rahul S. Sucharitha Hongsun Yu-Fang Song Shruti Suresh Dongyao Tan Mingfeng Tong Sundip Krishna Thirumala Rayhan Takpadayeva Yungping Tong Michael D. Tumi Rhehui Sai Radhakrishnan Tumbalam Guti Zhenov Parag Udani Pawan Kumar Vaidiswaran Todd F. Van Mechelen Pablo Vega Sandra Jimena Via Mazar Cardona Adrienne Lee Velker Venkatasai Gargay Vinava Huaqing Wang Longfei Wang Ruxin Wang Shu Yuan Wang Ying Wang Susan E. Wegener Jason A. Wickham Maria Julia Wiener Mingwu Ritang Wu Li Xue Xuan Yang Srikalayan Yarlagada Lingtao Ye Tianchua Tony Zhang Wang Jiazheng Shu Zhang Ya Guangzheng Yang Zhao Gidan Zhao Ziyi Zhao Chengzheng Zhang Yuan Zhang Jiazhou Xingwei Zhou Yihan Zhou Mr. President, the candidates for the master's degrees will be presented by Linda J. Mason of the graduate school. Mr. President, these students have successfully fulfilled the requirements of the graduate school. With the approval of the faculty, they are now presented to you to receive the master's degree. Exercising the authority of the trustees of Purdue University, legally vested by the people of the state of Indiana, and upon the recommendation of the Purdue faculty, I now confer upon you the master's degree with all the rights, privileges, duties, and responsibilities of that degree. As evidence of this achievement, you will receive an appropriately inscribed diploma. I now invite our orators to read aloud the names of students who are earning master's degrees. Graduates, I invite you to have your special designee present your diploma cover to you now. Be sure to capture a photo of this to share with us. Master's degree. Aheem Abdul-Ghufour. Bilal Jamal Abu Ghali. Imanymal Acevedo De La Cruz. Rachel Ackerman. Miranda Adams. Sultan Ahmad. Roger Alford. Ayed Al-Harthi. Joseph Ansel. Erin Anderson. Fidang Apte. Tiffany Armstrong. Scovia Aweco. Abigail Ballesteros. Sanchari Banerjee. Ahmed Bazay. Anthony Becero. Emily Beckman. Alicia Bainewal. Austin Burnt. Brady Black. Nicole Naomi Blake. Matthew Bliss. Ryan Boer. Andre Borum. Liana Bortoto. Reganabh Borua. Brett Bocinski. Sarah Bothoff. Jessica Bowen. Samantha Bowie. Natalia Brock. Susan Brower. William Brown. Sarah Bruger. Jeffrey Bruns. Tarawat Boritez. Bernie Bernal. Constance Burns. Diana Bacina. Sardo. Ryan Bilesma. Kimberly Kegel. Aida Cannon. Nadia Caporale. Thomas Capelli. Evelyn Carrillo. Chloe Carson. Maria Carter. Juan Andres Carvajal. Brianna Sermak. Sanchita Chakravoti. Ajay Sikar. Chandus Keren. Ethan Chow. Han Chen. Jiaxin Chen. Duan Yu Chen. Ying Chen. Zhenhui Chen. Tiancheng Benjamin Chia. Alice Chiang. Yiyin Chiang. Matthew Chrysler. Jennifer Claywell. Justlyn Ann Conglin. Kira Collins. Brittany Marie Nicole Colvin. Joshua Colvin. Caroline Cooney. Lailani Cooper. Travis Crawford. Javier Cruz Padilla. Carolina Acosta. Alexis Couples. Joseph Daniel. Aranjani Das. Jattanat Datefunyawat. Amir Dhavitgari. Lincoln Davis. Timothy Del Signore. Brodick Deno. Alexandra Dervis-Ethic. Kevin Dilly. Yanyi Ding. Donna Dibrigovic. Duke Dodu. Patrick Dolan. Marissa Heratis. Rongjiadu. Monika Dudila. Avery Durko. Sudipti Ashwaran. John Eckert. Kelly Idris. Rachel Elegate. Benjamin Elmore. Chelsea Enwinheiser. Moira Inerva. Zoher Jason Izaki. Xiaoyi Fang. Stephen Fenton. Mariela Sophia Fernando-Cappos. Luca Ferretti. Tyler Field. Deborah Ford. Andrew Foreman. Travis Fusick. Ryan Franker. Natalie Garcia. Paul Gardner. Nicole Garner. Steven Garrett. Rungi Ji. Cody Geisler. Alexandra Gibbons. Kirsten Gibson. Jonathan Gilvey. Hannah Ginsberg. Samuel Gist. Aparuva Gokle. David Golfin. Michael Gonzalez. Courtney Gordon. Amanda Gatchak. Noquanda Grava. Michael Greenin. Evan Green. Megan Gregory. Laura Grayway. Erin Grohl. Xiaoji Guo. Xiaotoxi Gupta. Charita Somya Gutiana Waduge. Gerardo Gutierrez Luna. Benjamin Gutman. Rachel Guzman. Kira Haag. Humayun Habib. Walter Hacker. Hilary Hahoos. Christine Hall. Kimon Khalil Hawar. Joshua Hanna. Mary Havens. Dazhuang Ha. Brennan Healy. Joseph Hedspeth. Katelyn Hefner. Crystal Helderman. Perry Hendricks. Patrick Enie. Michael Herdson. Mariah Hernandez. Ryan Honens. Emily Hooper. Kristen Hope. Sean Horgan. Amber Houston. Justin Hovis. Gregory Runic. Shuanhao Tsu. Shiwen Hu. Hanwen Wang. Jia Huang. Tianjia Huang. Yuan Meng Wang. Jonathan Hughes. Crystal Hunt. Da Huo. Isu Huang. Muhammad Ifakar. Tala Ikram. Chelsea Isley. Robert Jacobs. Christopher Jacobus. Erica James. Andrew Zhang. Jamie Jasperson. Rahul Jeya Rahman. John Jess. Jill Jaufi. Kyle Johnson. Aman Jauri. Calvin Jones. Casey Jones. Sukata Joshi. Nathan Kanas. Dayarya Kunsara. Shiya Monish Karnik. Jennifer Karpinski. Jasling Kaur. Amad Kazem. Hannah Kimaw. Sulman Khan. Shiraz Khan. Akshay Kumar Kandawal. Ashley Gutierrez Kausi. Phalad Kori. Joshua Kirby. Brittany Klein. Blake Neffen. Brian Kokar. Ryan Kornage. Amanda Krieger. Palave Kokarney. Sumit Kumar. Chan Yuan Kuo. Steven Labouda. John Lackey. Aklung Nanda Lahiri. Amber Lalu. Sarah Lange. Justin LaRue. Elizabeth Laskowski. Steven Laudich. Adam Lei. Sauna Lee. Tashina Lee. Jasmine LaFloor. Sean Lewis. Leon Lee. Yu Rong Li. Yi Hong Liao. Brooks Ligon. Charlie Lin. Lin Kee Liu. Jinru Liu. Yi Chen Liu. Ziyu Liu. James Lockridge. Xi Chen Lu. Yu Ru Lu. Joseph Lyon. Shreya Madhugula. Valerie Magnata. Justin Malmberg. Kaushik Manchella. Aditya Main. Brent Mansfield. Teresa Manta. Zhenglei Mao. Jamie Marland. Jacob Maskell. Brandy Mathusen. Ryan Mada. Mary Mazer. Andrea MacArthur. Jada MacArthur. Connor McCabe. Kelly McCarthy. Lauren McComb. Casey McCord. Jordan McCoy. Derek McDaniel. Joseph McHillary. Lizette Mejia. Chihao Meng. Joel Mercado-Rez. Leah Miller. Tru Miller. Somosmeet Amitra. Ziraj Mohan. Anna Maria Molina-Kastrijan. Andrew Molmar. Madeline Montagu. Anna Gabriela Morales-Ona. Holly Moran. Amy Moreno. Karina Moreno. Margaret Morgan. Christopher Morrissey. Brandy Maury. Lisa Murphy. Chishala Mwamba. Ani Nahapetian. Sarah Nechaman. Malty Noyce. Patrick Neenhouse. Megan North. Jonathan O'Brien. Patrick Oglesby. Erin Oldson. Lee Organski. Prince Owusu Ata. Coleman Oxford. Kerry Painter. Arione Patterson. Xiaoyi Peng. Wendeline Penn. Jamie Perry. Jamison Pierce. Joshua Pilz. Ashley Platt. Binta Pokorel. Michael Porter. Janice Post. Akeel Prasad. Catherine Prokno. Diana Polito Ruiz. Adam Poli. Tanya Pawar. Dawei Chiu. Hongming Chiu. Haozhong Chiu. Kaleen Anna. Brennan Radulski. Tara Radvan. Aiyush Rai. Anuprio Ramanathan. Akash Rede Ramesh. Danny Rangel. Harsha Rao. Helen Rollins. Richard Reigns. Louise Reggie Boises. Sainitia Ravuru. Tess Ruik. Janessa Rhodes. William Rich. Kyle Richard Ville. Richard Scott Robinson. Kimberly Robison. Elena Robles Molina. Ingrid Rodriguez-Maine. Marion Rodriguez-Soto. Kirsten Rowe. Michael Rogenberg. Youngju Rowe. Itin Rohatki. Ariana Romero-Marcia. Michael Rose. Alexander Roth. Tyler Rungi. Jessica Rush. Shiza Shajad. Neal Aran Salvi. Sabrina Santa Maria. Anarag Satputa. Kimberly Sawyer. Peter Rajad Sayal. Steven Shoyela. Allison Schofelt. Jacob Schmelzel. Claire Schrait. Jenna Schreiner. Lauren Schwerk. Jill Schimone. Nicholas Selko. Martin Seneca. Carly Sara Tellu. Paige Palmer. Jaysh Shahane. Deepika Sharma. Thomas Shaw. Tyler Shelley. Shreya Shetty. Dua Wenxi. Joseph Silva. Samantha Silva. Ashutosh Singh. Sonali Sinha Roy. Eric Smith. Jonathan Somerville. Guochun Haosong. Sanjit Sander Rajan. Hannah Spino. Maitreya Shri Ram. Shriya Shri Ram. Wickram Aditya Srivastava. Jason Starr. Kyle Steen. Jamie Steenzorn. Kelly Stewart. Carmen Stubbs. Juan Esteban Suarez Lopez. Meghana Sudarshan. Jongyu Sun. Peter Sutton. Madison Suvak. Ryan Zito. Benjamin Tackett. Ryan Tansen. Mamum Targati Tabesh. Narissa Tawa. Alisha Towney. Stephanie Archibick Taylor. Geraldine Tembo. Benjamin Thomas. Catherine Thomas. Nicole Thomas. Michael Thompson. Pradee Tiwari. Carrie Toe. Jennifer Topolski. Gretchen Torrance. Evelyn Torres. Christopher Tracy. Chiyao Cao. Cole Turner. Jayden Ann Tyrell. Varun Vallabhan. Kristen Van Castoren. Kelly Van Doen. Tyler Van Dyke. John Volk. Gautam Vora. Nicholas Vu. Xuan Baak Vu. Prudence Vulhab. Manav Watavan. Joseph Walsh. Kendra Walton. Jingyu Wang. Xiyao Wang. Yu Wang. Yue Wang. Mark Wenheinen. Dylan Warner. William Watson. Jeffrey Weaver. Ryan Webb. Carla Weber. Zhongchao Wei. Victoria West. Kali Wheeler. Joshua Weeder. Lori Wiley. Francine Williams. John Williams. Andrew Wilson. Brittany Wilson. Danielle Winter. Matthew Winter. Zip Jia Wu. Yue Xi. Yu Ying Xia. Chen Yushu. Pamela Yamsen. Zi Long Yang. Yashuant Yogi. Abigail Yang. Tara Yang. Rehana Zafarnajad. Waqar Zaidi. April Zartman. Zhang Shangtong. Xiyuan Zhang. Zhe Di Zhang. Chengzhou. Han Zhou. Xingyi Zhang. Fuoyang Zhou. Yu Hongzhu. Eric Zimmerman. It's appropriate at this time that we give special recognition to those graduates who have demonstrated outstanding scholastic achievement, leadership, and service to the university community. You can review the recipients of these achievements in your commencement program. On behalf of the trustees and the faculty, congratulations on your accomplishments. We're counting on you to continue making exceptional contributions in all your future endeavors. Some of our graduates are wearing red, white, and blue cords, signifying that they are veterans of the U.S. Armed Forces. We would like to express our sincere gratitude to those servicemen and women for their patriotism. Mr. President, I am pleased to present the candidates for the baccalaureate degrees. College of Agriculture. College of Education. College of Engineering. College of Liberal Arts. Mr. President, these students have successfully fulfill the requirements of the undergraduate curricula in their respective college or school. With the approval of the faculty, they are now presented to you to receive the appropriate degree. Exercising the authority of the trustees of Purdue University, legally vested by the people of the state of Indiana and upon the recommendation of the Purdue faculty. I now confer upon each of you who have fulfilled the stated requirements, the appropriate baccalaureate and associate degree with all the rights, privileges, duties, and responsibilities of that degree. As evidence of this achievement, you will now receive an appropriately inscribed diploma. I now invite our orders to read aloud the names of students who are earning baccalaureate and associate degrees. Graduates, I invite you to have your special designee present your diploma cover to you now. Be sure to capture a photo of this to share with us. The College of Agriculture Layton Adair Alicia Adams Sarah Ake Morgan Alexander Shirley Artiga Benjamin Atha Thomas Audley Malia Awana Cody Barron Erica Beeler Dominique Bennett Sohini Bira Daniel Bettinelli Ethan Bebott Austin Boyd Sierra Bradburn Riley Briel Courtney Brock Emily Brown Cody Bruins Eric Bullard Sarah Berger Gabriella Burton Sally Byers Kayla Carson Yo-Jung-Tae Michael Clark Skyler Clifford Taylor Clouser Avery Cook Christina Crawford Avid Cruz Kaylin Cunningham Blake Danner Olivia Delp Terence Deweyze Luke Diner Courtney DeWayne Emily Doherty Ryan Driscoll John Edwards Maxwell Eales Kenzie Amaric Jacob Farrer Anjali Felenz Lane Frazey Charles Fryshoot Eliza Gasper Joseph Gertesen Catherine Gillig Renner Guntz Grant Hackman Charlene Hartman Connor Hayworth Jacob Hirima Josiah Herndon Abraham Herr Lindsay Havert Jordan Hoffman Patrick Hopkins Joel Hoff Clay Hunger Anna Hyman Christa Johnson Kristen Johnson Matea Johnson Savannah Kirkhoff Jessica Kern Alexis Kurtz Grace Klopfenstein Samantha Kui Ashley Coleman Angela Kwan Catherine Largent Christopher Leuig Lee Logan Emily Ludwig Chelsea Mack Madison Mackie Joseph Madden Daniel Mates Bailey Matthews Jake McCormick Macy Mead Christopher Mengie Mariah Merriman Lacey Miller Stephanie Miller Samantha Morgan Adam Moore Reagan Munzer Tampson Myers Kyle Narwald Monica Pauelo Joe Ariolas Pena Tatum Pensig Sarah Penrod Kaitlyn Perry Andrew Pierce Amanda Proul Daniel Primick Nathan Perk Kyle Reichard Hannah Ramole Blake Rutherford Jordan Samper Kristen Souter Isabella Serrano Caleb Smith Samuel Smith Brandon Sosa Trent Stapleton Paige Stoffer Stephanie Steinbrunner Brandon Stickler Andrea Stout Haley Sutherland Danielle Swayzee Craig Toomey Megan Rae Vanderber Hannah VanWenen Kaitlyn Weiss Grace Walker Mae Watson Isabel Wellman Haley Wesseler Samantha Williams Erin Woodard Elsbeta Waronowitz Dunzie Hsu Jett Eury Kelsey Zick The College of Education Kylie Arnholt Kylie Broadwater Jessica Kane Maya Cameron Mikayla Cook Sean Day Courtney Dickman Samantha Dittmer Bailey Fair Jeffrey Fisher Abigail Flamini Hannah Flynn Sophie Graff Kayla Jagiello Gabrielle Elizabeth Kerker Joseph Knight Grant Laidow Emma Lattimore Merrick McGraw Caroline Miller Haley Mills Aubrey Nagdemann Casey Ola Kristen Price Gillian Rabb Patrick Ralston Abigail Russell Rachel Shields Christian Smith Stephanie Thaum Samara Elena Walby Nathan Wisshaar Savannah Williams Alexis Wright Lange Mikayla Yeasel Elizabeth Zorn College of Engineering Eric Abadhouse IU Sabrina Abdul-Samat Shihab El-Din Abu El-Nasser Badejo Abenojo And God Singh Agrawal Jonathan Aik Ulamidotun Akinola Abdulaziz Al-Suad Ziyad Alajmi Alyssa Alexander Aref El-Hamadi Aiman Al-Gishi Faisal Al-Gishi Nawaf Al-Qaedaad Khalid Ariyami Brayden Anderson Ryan Andrews Sheldon Aung Yee Andrea Polakoff Paul Aslis Rani Jani Augustine Vishal Bakhani Christopher Bai Jayman Bogman Dongwei Bai Michael Bailey Eric Bankert Jacques Barsematoff Mondale Mohit Batra Meya Beeman Luke Bennett Nabil Benzala Jennifer Bergson Austin Bergman Alexander Beric Patrick Betz Andrew Butler Daniel Black Jay Blake Carol Blasinski Matthew Boulda John Bolander Fisher Bordwell Alexander Bossert Megan Boyd Madeline Grace Brainerd Federico Brant Blake Braun Jacob Brennan Sean Brennan Matthew Bright Brady Brown Peter Callahan Jeremiah Campbell Jared Canato Maria Cantu-Gajardo Duong Guoow Sihao Quao Jordan Karman Bailen Carrasco de Duego Erika Chadwell Won Young Che Ya Jun Chen Yan Wen Chen Yuan Cheng Chen Justin Chou Young Song Chou Junyuck Choi Wilson Chow Wei Chengchu Ryan Cleary Daniel Clemens Nolan Cole Michael Collins Patrick Collins Brian Konslik Anna Constable Cameron Kuhl Danielle Cooper Kirsten Cousins Nathan Cowan Zachary Creedie Griffin Krom Holly Currie Ian Curtis Henry Cushing Colin Herettus Eric DeBodgion Colin Darlene Khan Dai Thomas Davis Melkor Delegarza Derek Dervician Robert Desmond Sukjinder Dhillon Prabhich Singh Durre Julia Dickerson Kevin Diehl James Deguido Vice Navi Dixit Brent Disher Dakota Dew Amanda Dobson Nicholas Dodge Daniel Dority Brendan Drinken McFarland Somesh Dube Mark Joseph Dunne Jack Ellington Erin Ermstrom Mikayla Esposito Alan Evans Enrique Fabrigues Adrienne Farr Samuel Feddersen Shian Feng Eugene Ferrari Robert Filmer Ryan Flaherty Jacob Feiner Michelle Fogel Andrew Foley Frederick Frank Alexander Friel Michael Guides Alex Gallama Ian Gahn Marissa Garceau Jovan Garsis Pedro Garcia Vizquerra Fabio Garrafalo Grant Gauthier Braden Gellhausen Anna Gehrman Claire Gehrman Reed Geiger Grant Geiger Isha Gadgankar Nathan Giza Lucy Gleason Grant Coldate Tony Gong Adam Gorel Bertangorekin Daniel Gremling Thomas Gregg Nolan Grieger Katherine Groesch Matthew J. Grizzlow IV Ethan Gunther Ruth Guerra Manus Guilia Daniel Guncoal Fernando Gurisiaga Jennifer Gutmann Adrian Geithen Nicholas Ha Colby Hagan Cameron Hale Benjamin Hall Matthew Halverson Sang Hong Han Alexander Harbin Emily Hatfield Colin Hathaway Max Houser Ziyan Ha Tyler Heathcote Matthew Hennick Steven Hur William Hicks Mitchell Heaston Jacob Alexander Hines Mackenzie Hoffman Sean Holan Zebo Hu Shengming Hu Dayu Huang Po Yu Huang Yu Ming Huang Margaret Hunter Jenna Ishinger Kelly Jackson Garrett Jacoby Dhruv Jain Amar Jackrin Cameron James Woonjun Zhang Sporthy Zidagintha Zungi Jin Miles Jones Quinn Joyce Hailey June Wankai Eric Kham Yusef Karam Ishmit Kaur Jacqueline Kennedy Brittany Kent Charles Kirby Armin Quillian Sadeed Khan Samantha Kitty Yunbaek Kim Monjay Kim Matthew Kim Roy Kim Koshay Kimura Charles Kirk Ian Kletch Koby Kines Effie Tanner Koldash Sayoko Kozumah Anthony Kramer Caroline Kren Rona Kumaarin Jihyuk Kwan Emo Cha George Ladyman Katrina Laos Marisa LaPorte Blake Larson Brooke Lauderback Christopher Lauer Julian Lazar Convyle Tranyung Le Rachel Lee Seanan Li Shiwu Li John Legeur Andrew LePore Winston Levin Rufeng Li Weihang Li Yiyun Li Xunqiao Li Andrew Leitman Zuchuan Lin Zhao Lin Tyler Linville Lauren Lipman Samuel Little Anna Lu Jacob Lomasov Nicholas Long Justin Laura Sebastian Lord Elena Ludwig Justin Leek Annika Lump Benjamin Lump Samantha Lushinsky Eric Lutz John Leiden Madeline Lyons Xiongmen Liu Jacob Liza Ian McLeod Trevor McGacky Sneha Mahapatra Pranjul Maheska Rahul Maheshwaran Tyler Malman Shira Malathi Jacqueline Malater Sakshuman Amanda Maples Maximilian Mara Andrew Marsh Lauren Mattel Matthew Mayer Maria McCoy Zachary McDaniel Praneth Metapolly Leela Menon Nicholas Merriman Andrew Meyer Brianna Meyer Dane Michael Adam Michaels Renata Milani Randall Miller Robert Miller Jinji Meen Jose Carlos Farnamanyana Nathan Mingus Nicholas Miss Daniel Mochen Kennedy Minako Jordan Monroe Christine Moravec Dylan Morlin Tristian Mowry Frank Muleman James Mulvenna Sean Patrick Murphy Christopher Nasseh Adriana Natoli Ananya Nayak Deris Nelson Haley Nelson Xinyi Ong Pal Nguyen Trung Ben Nguyen Von Trinh Nguyen Chu Khing Nhi Yuhi No Roshad Nguyga Lauren Novak Alexander O'Brien Regan Oliver Jack O'Reilly Charles Osborne Connor Osborne Neil Ottinger Alexandra Owens Grant Palmer Elena Pamertuan Joshua Ponyos David Park Yung Yuen Irene Park Taogun Park Fagun Patel Kowit Patel Munan Patel Rani Patel Vishal Patel Sanjana Patel Katie Potler Erin Payne Ryan Pearson Madeleine Peng Juan Pereira Ramos Chris Perez Morgan Nicole Petrick Some of the Sea of Pool Dugadillo Anna Pozniak Dylan Pranger Greta Preston Sarah Taschnick Rashid Rabata Baburi Laneth Raul James Raposa AJ Ratkovich Madeleine Rial Matthew Riley Samuel Reiselt Marlena Reisinger Fabrian Rengifo Michael Rappello III Matthew Rine Jack Rodman Jeffrey Rodriguez Ethan Rodriguez Eli Roller Daniel Roche Romano Haiyong Rong Kyle Ross Aidan Roy Samuel Rutter Eric Runlett Mohammed Arsada Ben Said Tecano Sayuto Matthew Saltsgaver John Connor Sands Sunchit Saoji Naim Sarkar Ali Abdullah Saroya Douglas Hattoski Jake Sawicki Benjamin Schebler Daniel Shembrie Wismayer Stephanie Shiavo Ernestina Schumer Trey Schisler Samantha Schuffman Hayden Schultz Iwi Shi Siddhartha Kumar Senthil Kumar Theodore Segesketer Jacob Seyfried Michael Shanks Kavir Shekhar Matthew Shirlow Hal Young Shi Ashwin Sivakumar Tanner Shrove James Slocum Garrett Slosser Hugh Smith Jacob Smith Carlin Smith Nathan Smith Noah Smith Peyton Smith Yursong Song Gokul Shrinivasan Brent Stathakar Evan Stavenheim Austin Stewart Jack Joseph Stewart Deanna Soazo Fernandez Travidia Subramanian Esther Sun Emmanuel Jody Surigatna Peter Swales Conrad Swietkowski Eric Switzer Bernardo Schrappiro Rayvon Tambi Cook Shin Tan Shanling Tang Austin Taske Dylan Taylor Fernando Teran Groove Tawari Kunal Thakur Jason Thielen Brennan Thiedemann Sanparathil Prasurtko McLean Thornton Tome Tome Jack Tanges Nola Tracy Kong Dyeing Tron Kimberlin Tron Peter Trish Audrey Trujillo Preston Song Tatyana Vaid Catherine Van Antwerp Vijay Ganilpa Ethan Wall Ryan Walters Chien Hung Wong Heng Chiang Wong Ann Warner Jonathan Warnick Ryan Wasilewski Jared Weichel Joshua Weddy Brandon Wells Ethan West Melissa Whitcombe Joseph Wittner Jeffrey Wilhock Elsbeth Wing Lee Wittek Vishwith Warakkanthada Xiaohao Xing Andrea Jakubic Harrison Yardley Nathaniel Yarger Galentia Gabriela Yu Dylan Zadaks Muhammad Sufan Zaheen Ben Zainal Joseph Zachary Wael Zalatimo James Zampa Martha Zagata Clarek Jared Ziegler Eva Zink Shuqai Zhang Xuanmen Zhang Yuhang Zhang Zhonghao Zhang Shikhao Zhou Yiming Zhou Jaguar Zhu Jiahou Zhu Zhangshuang Zhu Alexandra Ziokowski Zane Zmola The College of Liberal Arts Julie Abbott Tristan Abbott Alyssa Marie Abel Siti Nelia Husnabinti Ahmad Nizam Dane Alexander Aubrey Ann Alred Peyton Ash Grant Barnett Jada Barrett Zoe Barrett Cody Barton Margaret Bebilo Daniel Bonet Christopher Booker Bouncethan Bunkett Allison Brayden Christine Lynn Orth Brewer Madeleine Brewster Michael Brindle Hadley Brouhard Robert Bernal Christian Cambran Xiangran Chen Vincent Klapps Samson Colbrook Francis Collins James Cook Mason Cooley Parse-Skevy Diamantes Andrew Deanhart Ximing Shermaine Dong Ethan Dom Palmer Kieran Douglas Rachel Dunn Emerald Evans Yutong Phan Kendra Felour Dana Fennell Amanda Figueroa Abby Finner Nicholas Frawley Madeleine Fer Amber Feistro Bryce Galligan Emma Gerlick Caleb Gabriel Kelly Gilmore Tyler Gorbet Micah Graber Levi Hall Jennifer Harbenson Ariana Harris Aiden Hofsberger Paige Hemingway Scott Hill Daniel Hobson Kyla Hodges Sarah Josea Brandon Hue Sao Chun Hong Dwight Hunter Skyler Hunter Jacqueline Johnson Kaylee Johnson Nyla Johnson Timothy Calvedes Erin Kelly Navni Karde Lauren Landstoffer James Langley Mi Yan Li Haoran Li Zhang Li Yan An Li Kunhua Liu Catherine Lucas Yu Hongluo Zhengtao Ma Emily Maast Briann McConaughey Taylor McLauren Molly Minan Layton Menon Carissa Meyer Kaitlyn Moody Haley Renee Moon Millard Morgan Emma Mulcahy Alexandra Meyer Jennifer Nguyen Weynia Alec Polica Alayna Proctor-Espinoza Andrew Prunczynski Hannah Puckett Benjamin Rapay Alejandro Rivera Estrella Brendan Robb Sarah Rose Carly Raza Amy Sabadini Allison Salqui Rylin Santos James Shaw Samuel Simpson Vitosa Singh Simeon Smiley Brody Smith Lucas Smith Brooke Stevens Aliyah Storm Justice Corbin Torres Tyler Triplett Zachary Vernier He Rong Wang Holly Ward Ralph Webb Faith Wagoner Audra Wiedemann Adam Welker Parker James Whitmore Mercedes Wilcox Emily Wolfe Jennifer Wright Macy Wright Terry Wright Lauren York Delaney Young Hao Yu-jie Ximing Zhao Okay, it's official. You are now graduates of Purdue University. It's time for you to observe tradition by moving your tassel from the right side of the mortarboard to the left, signifying your new status. Congratulations to all our new alums. We honor these graduates for their hard work and accomplishments, but they would be the first to tell us they did not make the journey alone. Will the graduates please take this moment to offer thanks and appreciation to your parents, grandparents, spouses, brothers, sisters, and other family members and friends for their long and loving support that brought you to this moment. The audience is invited to sing the Purdue hymn. The words are located inside the front cover of the program. I'm pleased to introduce today's student responder, Brandon Wells. Brandon is receiving a Bachelor of Science in Materials Engineering, and while at Purdue has held leadership positions in the National Society of Black Engineers, the Barbara Cook Chapter of Mortar Board at Purdue University, and the Purdue Jazz Band, among other organizations. Please welcome Brandon Wells. Thank you, President Daniels, for the kind introduction. I'm honored to have the opportunity to address the December class of 2020 as we transition from students to alumni. I would like to acknowledge the Purdue staff, faculty, administrators, and board of trustees, as well as our families and supporters who've impacted our journey. It's important for me to give thanks to God for sustaining me, my family for inspiring me, the Stamps Foundation for believing in me, and the School of Materials Engineering for challenging me. Now I want to thank and congratulate the members of the class of 2020 for our work in earning a Purdue degree. Under normal circumstances, stress and sleep deprivation can push a student to their limits, and the events of this past year have multiplied our responsibilities, burdens, and fears. Even on campus, where it seems as if we're in a bubble, it does not separate us from the weight of the devastating natural disasters, divisive political climate, deaths of the sick, and murders of the innocent. And somehow, whether or not the people around us knew what was on our minds or in our hearts, we put on a brave face to attend class. That is amazing to me, not just about going to class, but our ability to be patient through a range of emotions. Some days were probably tougher than others, but we put our faith not in the height of our hurdles, but our reason for crossing the finish line. No matter the individual reason or the path each of us followed, I want to emphasize the significance of this achievement. The fact that each of us is graduating today is by no means an accident, and each trial we overcame paves the way for those that will follow. As I reflected on conversations with fellow bullet makers between our busy schedules, it was encouraging to hear how many adapted, the reasons for perseverance, and how we loved others. We did this not out of a spirit of competition, but out of hope. A hope that this education, this degree we earned, will allow us to look into the face of a world that is broken, and find ways to build it one brick higher. Whether you're in agriculture, education, engineering, or liberal arts, we as a community will need to tackle challenges where success is absolutely necessary, but not always guaranteed. Four and a half years ago, if someone asked me about the importance of community, I would have told them it was overrated and I was better off focusing on myself. Now I realize community is made up of more than just people who live on the same floor, or even enjoy being around each other. Community is the culmination of experiences from groups of people who struggle together, learn from each other's mistakes, and found ways to lean into their differences in order to best utilize their strengths. However, the process of building community is not always pleasant, and will include failed attempts. But each time we step outside of our comfort zone, we learn to better define our values and what we stand for, and these qualities have the power to unite us as Boilermakers, both in the forefront and the background. It is exciting to note that we take parts of this Purdue community with us to the next stage of our journey and restart the process over again with new people that have a variety of perspectives. And as I close this chapter of my Purdue experience, I am grateful to have had the opportunity to learn and grow alongside you. And with that, boiler up, hammer down, stay safe, and congratulations, Class of 2020. And now, Rabbi Michael Harvey will offer the benediction. Friends, join us again in prayer, reflection, or meditation. We offer thanks and gratitude at this time of celebration and transition. This ceremony has acknowledged the great effort by teachers who shared wisdom and insight, and students who came with open minds and creative thoughts. We pray that these students will take their enhanced skills of critical thinking, innovative processes, and enhanced curiosity to apply these skills towards building a stronger, healthier, and more just nation and world. We also pray that the family members and instructors who guided these graduates will continue their vital work in the future. Dear friends, may God bless you and keep you. May God's face shine upon you and be gracious to you. May God bestow countenance upon you and grant you peace. And let us say, Amen. And so we conclude our commencement convocation. Thank you for joining us during these most unusual circumstances and sharing with us in your celebration, acknowledging your achievements as Boilermakers. We are making it through together. On behalf of the trustees, faculty, and all the Purdue family, I bid you farewell, Godspeed, Hail Purdue.