 The shadows of the day, the shadows away, sing, sing your way, hold us, sing, sing your way. Cancer never dampened Tyler's die-hard Boilermaker spirit. That's Boilermaker spirit right there. To me, he looks like a Boilermaker. Hey Tyler, what's up buddy? It's Drew Brees. Hey man, I was right there with you last night watching the Boilers beat the Ohio State Buckeyes. You predicted it man, you inspire us, you inspire so many, you inspire the Boilermaker team, you inspire me. We love you man, you are the greatest Boilermaker. Here at Purdue, we speak often of our hope and our ambition that our graduates throughout their lives will leave footprints. No Boilermaker ever left greater footprints or imprint on all the rest of us than Tyler Trent. The example he has left us of faith, character, and courage is one that most of us will never be able to replicate, but will always venerate and hope now and then to emulate. The story of tonight is Purdue. This one is for themselves, it's for the coaches, it's for their fans and the alums, and it's for Tyler Trent. Boiler up, hair down. He's a Boilermaker through and through. He's our captain, he's our MVP. We're in a fight for him, he keeps fighting, and I hope we made him proud. The community is big as ours. It's inevitable that tragedy will now and then descend on us. On April 15th, as we do every year, we will hold the Golden Taps ceremony at which we honor and mourn for those students taken from us during the year. We will remember Jessica Lynn Mars, Matt Kenoske, Aaron Davis, and Tyler Steffen. Every student life is precious to us, with every loss the poet's bell tolls for us all. But it's right that we gather tonight to pay tribute in this special memorial to our most recently departed son and brother. Through no intention or effort of his own, he just camped out outside a ticket office. Tyler Trent became a symbol and an inspiration to everyone in the Purdue family and to millions elsewhere. We have asked Savannah Bratcher, president of Purdue Dance Marathon and football co-captain Elijah Sendellar to speak about two of the ways in which Tyler left lasting footprints during his two brief days with us. As President Daniel said, my name is Savannah Bratcher and I serve as president for Purdue University Dance Marathon. His freshman year, Tyler and I served on the same Riley Relations Committee during his first few months here at Purdue. And I met him just days after he camped out for the Michigan game. Him and I at our first meeting got to talking and he came up and told me that he camped out for this game. And I looked at him like he was absolutely crazy. It was as hot as hot can be, probably borderline miserably hot that day. But I couldn't remember being able to even comprehend why he would do such a thing. But as I would quickly learn, that's just who Tyler was. When he set his mind to something, he did it. He is one of the most determined individuals I have ever had the honor of meeting. But he was also one of the most caring people I've ever met. During a time in which he should have been focusing on his own treatment, Tyler cared so much about others that he spent time raising money for those fighting cancer. He served on PUDM's leadership team and as a student member for the Purdue Center for Cancer Research, he even started his own philanthropy, Teens with the Cause, to help other families affected by cancer. I remember during PUDM in 2017, Tyler went to the Purdue Iowa game in Iowa City because he wanted to be able to do the signature Iowa wave to the children at the University of Iowa's Stead Families Children's Hospital. Tyler and his father Tony then drove through the night back to West Lafayette where Tyler came to PUDM and stood with his crutches through the entire night in support of each person at Riley Hospital. Tyler wanted to give back to others to spread his love to them. Tyler taught us all what it meant to be selfless. Tyler always told us that everyone has a story and there just needs to be people in this world willing to listen to that story. And Tyler listened to every story of each person he met. In his short 20 years, Tyler taught us more about life, love, faith, and what it truly means to be a boiler maker than many of us can learn in an entire lifetime. Tyler inspired us through not only how he fought cancer, but how he lived with cancer as well. Even in his final days, Tyler was still living his life to the fullest even making the trek all the way to Nashville to attend the Music City Bowl. Tyler lived each moment truly living. While we cannot add days to our life, we can add life to our days. Tyler made the most of each day he had making the world a better place. One of Tyler's role models, Stuart Scott once said, you beat cancer by how you live, why you live in the manner in which you live. Tyler emulated this to his core, living his life with purpose and sharing that purpose with each person he came in contact with. We are all better for having known Tyler Trent. Thank you Tyler for showing the entire world what being a boiler maker is truly about. Boiler up, hammer down, and we love you Tyler. My name is Elijah Cindallar, a co-captain to Tyler Trent. It is an absolute honor to be able to come up here and speak on behalf of such an incredible young man. Tyler embodies what it means to be a boiler maker, a true boiler maker. He inspired millions of people, he united a nation, and in doing so he taught us all how to believe in something bigger than ourselves. He taught us how to have courage, how to serve others, how to love unconditionally, and how to see the good in every aspect of life despite the circumstances. In the time that I've had the privilege of knowing Tyler, I never heard him complain one time. He spoke positively about everything and he never let circumstances dictate how he lived his life or even affect his joy or happiness. I once heard him say, either way I win. I'm either in heaven with Jesus or I'm here on earth with those that I love. What a powerful thing to say and he could say that because he understood his purpose in life. He understood that his identity was found in Christ. You see Tyler always said, it's never been about me, it's always been about Jesus Christ. And because of that he was able to share his story in such a way that touched so many lives, especially the lives of the guys on the football team. Tyler was more than just our friend, he was our team captain. He was the glue that held our team together and he gave us something to fight for and because of that we will continue to fight for him forever and continue to play for him forever as well. 2 Timothy chapter 4 verse 7 and part of verse 8 says, I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race and I have remained faithful and now the prize awaits me. Tyler remained faithful, he finished the race and he for sure fought the good fight and his prize was truly awaiting him in heaven. Well done Tyler, well done. It has been a blessing to be able to reflect on the life of Tyler Trent. His legacy in life will be remembered forever. And I thank God for the opportunity that I had to know and get to learn from such a great man. I can only wish to be half the man that Tyler was. So let's all strive to be a little more like Tyler and be Tyler strong. Thank you. A word one hears a lot here and around Hyred these days is grit. It's slang for that combination of qualities like diligence, persistence and the resilience to face life's inevitable adversity with fortitude. We look for it in potential boiler makers because it's a proven indicator of academic success. We want to encourage every student that comes here to develop these traits to help them through Purdue and all through life. Tyler Trent was grit personified. Delta hand worse than anyone here is facing or God willing ever will. He never stopped working or fighting or moving ahead. He never showed a trace of self pity. If you tried to mumble through some awkward expression of sympathy he'd shrug it off and change the subject to his coursework or Purdue football and the money he was raising for Riley Children's Hospital. Life brings trouble and fear and sadness to us all. But it's not supposed to come in this form at this age. The death of any bright young life always hits us harder. We think of the lost potential all that might have been and just how darned unfair it seems. A century ago millions of men Tyler's age went to their deaths in what a naive world called the war to end all wars. In France one in every four men between 18 and 34 were killed. Then 20 years later it happened again. It's hard for us today to imagine the horror and the heartbreak of such events. But at least when a young soldier dies those left behind can tell themselves there was a reason. A cause served. A nation protected. A value in exchange for their terrible loss. An answer to the haunting question why? When death comes as it did to our friend Tyler an answer sometimes doesn't present itself. We're just left wondering and frustrated and empty in our grief. But we're not in that position tonight. Tyler Trent answered the why question for us over and over. His courage and faith and even cheerfulness amid such bad luck said an example none of us could miss and all of us will be better for witnessing firsthand. Next time you confront a big challenge Tyler will be there to help you meet it. If you don't think he had something to do with 49 to 20 ask one of our players. Will anyone here not remember Tyler? Next time a tough moment comes that scary exam insensitive friend or disappointing interview ought to seem a little more bearable with Tyler's example in front of you. Just like the Ohio State win he and he alone predicted he will never be forgotten. He's now in the pantheon of Purdue heroes. Years from now we'll all be telling people I was at Purdue with Tyler Trent. Adios Tyler. Literally to God. We know there's an extra ration of grit in heaven tonight. Pastor Rob Schrumpf of Campus House where Tyler worshiped will offer our final reflection and a benediction before the Glee Club closes our ceremony with the Purdue hymn. Pastor Schrumpf. The point and purpose of this gathering tonight is to honor Tyler Trent in the way that he impacted not only this campus but millions of people around the world. So we come together to celebrate his life, to grieve with his family and his friends and to express our gratitude for the light he constantly shared in the way he remarkably brought us together and reminded us that we are indeed family. The Purdue community is a diverse family for sure and in this space it is vital that everyone is welcomed and valued and included regardless of our varied beliefs At the same time we are here to honor Tyler and it would feel disingenuous not to talk about his faith specifically since this was the reason for the hope he desired to share with others. Tyler's story has moved millions not just to compassion and sympathy but also to action and hope. His story has aroused curiosity about how one could possibly stay so strong, positive, courageous and incredibly joyful in the midst of physical pain and emotional grief. How could one be so honest about the cancer journey and yet radiate so much peace despite grave circumstances? Tyler was open about that hope and that joy and that peace. He was convinced that though his body was failing that eternity awaited. Tyler Trent lived a life of hope that afforded him the opportunity to live this life well with joy and with thoughtfulness, kindness, generosity and sincere love for everyone even in the midst of suffering. As a Christian Tyler felt comfort in the words of the Bible and the shortest verse of the Bible is one of the most profound. John 1135 simply says Jesus wept. Jesus's close friend Lazarus had become sick and had died and when Jesus arrived the whole town was grieving and especially his family. Jesus knew that he was about to perform an incredible miracle. He knew that he was going to raise his friend back to life. He knew that the story was not yet over and yet he wept. He entered into the pain, into the grief, into the sadness and then he brought life, deep empathy, complete victory. Tyler emulated Jesus well. He experienced and exemplified both the present comfort and the eternal and living hope of Christ. His theme verse, rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances for this is God's will for you in Christ. So let's pray. Dear God we rejoice tonight for the gift of Tyler. We thank you for the way his life has changed this campus forever and has affected so many others. We pray for your comfort and presence in the midst of grief and sadness over his loss. We ask for a peace that surpasses our understanding and we pray that the light that Tyler shines so brightly will continue to burn and ignite every corner of this campus. That his tenacious hope and joy would continue to encourage, inspire and impact the world in a way that goes way beyond he could ever have imagined. And may your will continually be done through the life and legacy of this amazing Boilermaker. Amen.