 Today we're gathered in formal convocation to celebrate the 240th commencement exercises at Purdue University. Please rise and join in singing our national anthem and then remain standing for the invocation offered today by Father Patrick Bacowskis, Pastor and Director of Campus Ministry, St. Thomas Aquinas. There was a woman who died not so very long ago who has inspired millions of people by her life's example and her encouragement for all of us to be attentive to a higher, more purposeful calling. In the places where Mother Teresa of Calcutta lived and worked, she would have these words placed on the walls. And as you go forth today from Purdue, may this reflection she had in front of her every day inspire you as well. People are often unreasonable, illogical, and self-centered. Forgive them anyway. If you are kind, people may accuse you of selfish, ulterior motives. Be kind anyway. If you are successful, you will win some false friends and some true enemies. Succeed anyway. If you are honest and frank, people may cheat you. Be honest and frank anyway. What you spend years building someone could destroy overnight. Build anyway. If you find serenity and happiness, they may be jealous. Be happy anyway. The good you do today, people will often forget. Do good anyway. Give the world the best you have, and it may never be enough. Give the world the best you've got anyway. You see, in the final analysis, it is between you and your God. It was never between you and them, anyway. This is the moment, this is the time, and make some sense at last, this is the day. I never expected this. To be addressing you with me in an empty hall and you far away. Wherever you're watching this virtual ceremony, I hope you're surrounded by people you love, people who helped you reach this moment of achievement. As is my practice, I wrote a commencement speech over last Christmas at a time when COVID-19 had only recently gotten its name. I chose a theme without any clue what was coming. In a different year, I might have felt obliged to start over, but as things have unfolded, the events of recent months have in some ways made my chosen topic seem at least as relevant as the day I wrote it. So here goes. Welcome graduates and friends to this day of celebration. Those of you in the caps and gowns are gathered to celebrate the great accomplishment that is a degree from Purdue University. Meanwhile, your parents are, I know, quietly celebrating the clearing of the final tuition check. Congratulations to you all. Purdue celebrated its own landmark this year, our 150th anniversary. Since it coincided with the 50th anniversary of the moon landing by our most famous alum, Neil Armstrong's stories were abundant. My favorite claims that later in life, Commander Armstrong took to telling corny, lame jokes about the moon. And when nobody laughed, he'd say, well, I guess you had to be there. A year or so ago, a major national journalist visited our campus and later wrote a gracious complimentary article about what he saw here. While I enjoyed his accounts of the progress and successful results he thought he'd witnessed, my favorite part of the column was a single phrase, basically a throwaway line. He described Purdue as a happy place. It got me wondering how many college campuses these days would strike a visitor quite that way. I hope it's been that kind of place for you. We know you've worked hard and fought through a lot of pressure. You'll probably remember that. Just wait for those scary dreams where you haven't studied for the test or can't find the exam room. But I hope that among your memories of these years, I was happy there, is prominent among them. I've reflected on that more and more during your last couple years with us. Your parents love you and are proud of you, but from time to time they also must worry about you. That's what we parents do. I hope it's okay if I worry about you and your futures a little also. I've sometimes used these commencements to fret out loud about trends that trouble me in that big wide world you're about to enter. In recent years, I've spoken about the tribalism that now divides Americans. I've talked about the seeming shortage of emotional resilience and grit in your peer group. Twice, I've found myself urging graduates to guard against the so-called big sort, the tendency for young people of your quality and educational attainment to cluster together professionally and socially and to drift apart from those of different backgrounds. But one thing I never expected to worry about, but now do a little, is you being lonely. I have known you and met thousands of you personally in an environment that, despite our size, does a pretty good job of getting people together, creating bonds among them. A thousand clubs, dozens of faith-based organizations, our Greek system and maybe our best examples of true communities are co-op residential houses where students not only live but cook, clean and do repairs together. And most recently, the learning communities where thousands of boilermakers live in mutual support with others who are studying the same subject matter. But elsewhere, the academic journals and lay periodicals are now filled with research about the, quote, epidemic of loneliness, quote, in our society. Surveys report record numbers of Americans living alone and suffering from strong feelings of isolation. Many view it as a new public health crisis linked to rising rates of depression, anxiety, even suicide. A lack of strong social relationships has been found to raise the risk of premature death by as much as 50 percent. It's as bad for you as smoking 15 cigarettes a day. It's not just an American phenomenon. The government of Britain has appointed a minister for loneliness. And all this was before anyone heard of COVID-19. Most startling and alarming are studies finding that the worst loneliness today is not among adults or the elderly, but in your age group. Astonishing percentages of today's young people say they have few, if any, close friends. Dating and other traditional forms of youthful interaction have declined sharply. The University of Southern California recently named a director of belonging. And while the title may be unique, I'm sure the idea is not. We humans are social creatures or, as sometimes said, relational beings. The ability to communicate, interact and collaborate is what defines us and what assured our evolution as the dominant, civilizing species on this planet. We thrive on contact with others. We suffer severely from its absence. The worst punishment we impose on a heinous criminal is solitary confinement. Much of our literature and religious tradition thinks of hell as a state of total permanent aloneness. So an outbreak of loneliness is worth worrying about, especially where those with the longest to live are a big part of it. In the case of your elders, sociologists can identify some obvious causes. Plummeting birth rates play a role. Having fewer children and fewer siblings limits the opportunity for caring contact. In a short two decades, the percentage of retirement age citizens living within 10 miles of their children in the same neighborhood with any relative or having a good friend living nearby dropped by double digits. It's easy to see how that leads to greater loneliness. But particularly in the case of your age cohort, there is no doubt that the sudden eruption and dominance of what we call social media, I often think anti-social media would be a better term, has played a huge role. Some scholars put all the blame there. One major article was titled, Have Smartphones Destroyed a Generation? It wasn't supposed to be this way. The original promise of all the Facebooks and Twitters was that they would connect us in wonderful new ways. But connection over a text message or what is often a glamorized presentation of one's daily life just isn't the same as in-person contact. In fact, it often turns out to separate and alienate its users more than it brings them together. I remain concerned that as members of the new knowledge aristocracy absent a little special effort, you will rarely make friends different from yourselves. Now, studying the growing evidence about isolation, I'm concerned that you, the first age group raised entirely in the iPhone era, won't make many friends at all. In my own college days, a briefly famous Harvard professor offered probably the worst advice ever given to a younger generation. Encouraging both drug use and a non-productive lifestyle, Dr. Timothy Leary suggested, quote, turn on, tune in, drop out. Lately, I've been thinking the best advice one could give you, tomorrow's leaders, might be the exact opposite. Turn off, tune out, drop in. As in, turn off the phone more often, tune out the video screen, drop in personally on friends old and new. For most of human history, personal contact was hard to avoid. Suddenly, our digital age can mean it requires extra effort. Confession being good for the soul, it's only right that I make one here. I am not a good role model for the advice I'm foisting on you. I have not devoted the time I should have to deepen acquaintances into true friendships or to stay in closer touch with the old friends I do have. I've let the call of work get in the way. I've told myself that jobs of broad responsibility mean that one can't get too close to co-workers and colleagues. I've procrastinated and rationalized and skipped too many chances to spend meaningful time with people I admire and even love. I regret it, and I'm the worst for it. You can do better. The same research that is documenting the loneliness epidemic reveals ways to immunize oneself against it. Geographic rootedness makes a difference. People who live in the same community for extended periods are far less likely to be lonely. The great C.S. Lewis wrote, Friendship is the greatest of worldly goods, the chief happiness of life. If I had to give a piece of advice to a young person about where to live, I would say sacrifice almost everything to live near your friends. Having a religious affiliation also correlates strongly with feelings of connectedness. And nothing statistically reduces the chance of loneliness more than marriage, especially marriage with children. It's a sermon for another Sunday, but I do hope most of you will not miss the joy and the lifelong education of raising children. I promise it's life's greatest reward and the best graduate school you'll ever attend. I heard about one wise guy commencement speaker who instructed his audience, Remember, in life it's not who you know, it's whom. I've thought of that as just a joke, but in our new situation it takes on a more serious tone. A lot of your success and happiness will depend on whom you know and know well. The author Gore Vidal once said, We never know when we are happy, only when we were. I hope in your case that proves way too cynical, that there'll be countless moments when you are truly happy and know it. But I also hope that when you reflect back on times when you were happy, your days at this university will rank high among them. And when people ask you, what was it about Purdue that made it such a great place for you? You can just answer, well, I guess you had to be there. I know great achievements lie ahead for you. My wish for you is that so do great friendships. Hail Purdue and each of you. 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 degree and associate degree, with all the rights, privileges, duties, and responsibilities of that degree. As evidence of your achievement, you will now receive an appropriately inscribed diploma. I now ask the orders to read aloud the names of all students who are earning baccalaureate and associate degrees. Graduates, I invite you to have your special designee present your diploma to you now. Be sure to capture a photo of this to share with us. The School of Management, Austin Abett, Gregory Abel, Mofi Info Ua, Adik Bhitia, Alexandra Adriano, Gharat Agrawal, Evan Alexander, Camden Allen, Hussain Samir Almagedd, Khan Alptikhan, Zayn Aldin Alqadi, Adam Amin, Raquel Andreda, Nicholas Epicelli, Juan Aresbe, Jacob Arnt, Andrew Arnold, Josh Asher, Maximilian Asherst, Anthony Asselin, Buffalo Bacchiazzo, Logan Barr, Alexander Bata, David Matterton, John Benwick, Lucy Berry, Drew Burton, Prithee Rishan, Dakota Blyler, Dakota Blyler, Holly Bollack, Shane Bonas, Juligan Boriso, Jason Bonho, Chloe Boner, Chad Bowen, John Bowen, Coven Boylan, Dane Breerer, Bailey Browler, Alexis Brown, Blair Brown, Cassandra Brown, Andrew Burns, Alyssa Bubick, Michael Bocciallo, Sarah Buchanan, Zachary Butcher, Caitlin Bunker, Kendra Bedro, Lawrence Burgess, Patrick Burke, Kailin Burns, Benjamin Busek, Dylan Cannaday, Matthew Carnahan, Haley Carter, Mary Kate Cartwright, Peter Casciiani, Norman Chan, Aditi Chan, Hadley Chapman, Paril Chaube, Kredi Chala, Taiyan Chen, Yun Chen, Zhen Chen, Zi Ben Chen, Chen Cheng, Jessica Chen, Sun Wah Chou, Yu Shuan Chou, Jack Cleary, Addison Clipfel, Elizabeth Coates, Andrew Colbert, Lily Cole, Colton Conway, Hannah Conner, William Cook, Megan Cooper, Eric Corrado, Maria Cuvier, Alexander Crittle, Janssen Kripe, Alexandria Crouch, Olivia Krauss, Brianna Crowe, Zeyu Chewey, Angela Cutler, Dean Del Santo, Ryan Daniel, Bailey Dargo, Andrew Davis, Janelle Davis, David Day, Sachin De Silva, Francesca DeSimone, John Deal, Madeleine DeFrench, Jonathan Dellinger, Shinru Ding, Venil Devalapalli, Thomas Devereux, Jeremy Duel, Christopher Diaz, Adam Dixon, Ning Ding, David Dobbin, Evan Delling, Jacob Downs, Brian Duffner, Sri Dugal, Madeline Duncan, Madison Durham, Nathan Abiquo, Maxwell Ibel, Lauren Elegate Mullins, Michael Andrez, Andrew Efflin, Barbara Escalante Castilla, Ivana Escobedo, Ariana Evans, Samantha Fargo, Jaren Fay, Nmin Feng, Vincent Ferante, Sharab Fiedler, Nathaniel Phil, Emily Fisher, Erica Flickinger, Jasu Flores, Austin Foote, Austin Ford, Connor Fordice, David Foreman, Mary Fox, Caitlin Frawley, Isabel Frey, Claire Freeborn, Max Friedlander, John Fritten, Ryan Fry, Peng Ching Fu, Xiahao Fu, Loria Fulgencio, Erion Foran, Matthew Gedomsky, Shui Guao, Yifei Guao, Kenna Garmin, Alyssa Garrett, Varun Galba, Mario Gelfuso, Mark Gentile, Jordan Gerber, Rachel Gerdas, Alexander Geocoman, Marcus Gibble, Veronica Glyce, Brendan Gillenwater, Theo Ginting, Lauren Galton, David Grandy, Kaylee Gray, Bailey Gremelsbacher, Rachel Grove, Hayden Groh, Guao Guo, Cameron Haberly, Raymond Hahn, James Hamilton, Grant Hamstra, Sarah Hanna-Walt, Jack Harbour, Logan Harmison, Anna Harris, Breiland Harshbarger, Andrew Hartkorn, Megan Hartkorn, Jia He, Parker Hedrick, Emily Hendricks, Ryan Herman, Robert Hermense, Michael Hippelshauer, Gerald Ho, Christopher Hoffman, Faith Hoffman, Matthew Hopping, Kenneth Hornbuckle, Blake Horan, Lee Nguyen Ho, Dong Liyang Hu, Bayer Huong, Lee Ru Huong, Benjamin Hudson, Rachel Hammer, Julianne Hughes, Valerie Humrickhouse, Sydney Hyatt, Jacob Irvin, Alejandro Isaac, Soloni Johnbar, John James, Groove Jafalak, Binrung Jiang, Chengjiang Jiang, Mackenzie Jofrida, Amber Johnson, Dane Johnson, Zubelin Johnson, Alessi Jostak, Chance Caves, Blake Caldall, Joshua Kammon, Vedit Kupar, Pawan Kampanachian, Sydney Keenan, Nicholas Kennedy, Shadman Khan, Richard Kong, Alexander Kiefer, Chadwick Kiefer, Dongyoung Kim, Sangyun Kim, Michael Kip, Faith Kirkhoff, Faruna Kisling Tomu, Thomas Klein, Colin Noelhoff, Amanda Kanapaki, Bradley Koontz, Austin Kosinski, Hita Sankip Kotak, Logan Kramer, Caleb Kreisen, Jennifer Krecker, Marissa Kruger, Shriya Kokkarni, Cameron Kuisiak, Jason Ford, Henry Laliberty, Daniel Lang, Gabriel Lapno, Brooke Latka, Alexia Lorish, Austin Lawrence, Trent Lair, Catherine Lemmel, Brett Lynch, Amadeus Lesmana, Jonathan Leung, Katie Levitz, Sophia Levy, Thomas Lewis, Xixuan Li, Xixuan Li, Wei Jing Li, Chae Li Lin, Xianxiu Lin, Zhao Jiao Lin, Lily Lapinski, Jianxiao Liu, Zhengxian Liu, Yashina Lopez, Jordan White, Andre Lundgren, Kevin Lutz, Robert Lynch, Wei Han Liu, Rangui Ma, Christian Maffet, Kerem Mohamed, Carlin Maliki, Caitlin Mallory, Huying Man, Joseph Mangan, Maldini Marpong, Lauren Martin, Alexis Martinez, Catherine Martinez, Abigail Masterson, James Mattingly, Nicholas May, Michael Mayer, Jacob McGirt, Daniel McCanton, Dawson McMahon, Woody McNabb, Amy McNally, Gossett Melcher, Daniela Medina Rodriguez, Emily Meyer, Matthew Myers, Ariel Mickel, Wesley Middleton, Brian Miller, Bradley Milestone, Jacob Moeller, Keegan Mater, Matthew Murphy, Vanessa Murray, Ryan Myers, Catherine Nash, Tianjian Ni, Xavier Ni-neighbour, Lauren Odle, Natalie Yatzer, Marekate O'Neill, Michael O'Nesty, Bethany Orman, Alyssa Orozco, Connor Parleberg, Jacob Balaga, Hilo Pan, Suiyun Park, Sukmin Park, Dhruv Patel, Yusha Patel, Mohit Patel, Shiv Patel, Stephanie Petzelt, Bernardo Perez, Brandon Peter, Katherine Petz, Jing En Fee, Marat Phong Mariet, Sankhita Bengali, Megan Pinkley, Nikala Pierstik, Nicole Pitti, Surjee Upad, Jessica Poovy, Mark Prachtel, Brett Prochko, Yiping Ching, Kaling Quinn, Ahmad Rabani, Akash Raju, Gilligan Radisi, Jong Ho Rho, Abigail Rivers, Brianna Robbins, Alexandra Rocco Werner Wolwein, Spencer Rose, Thomas Raskusky, Pedro Rostogno, Olivia Roth, Nicole Ruiz Dakin, Joseph Saylor, Talia Sanders, Nikolai Saporoschatz, Anasantik, Allison Satterfield, Robert Schaefer, Andrew Scheit, Joseph Schengel, Joshua Schmidt, Brianna Schneider, Lauren Schreck, William Schrensky, Seth Schrock, Brandon Schradle, Karen Sethi, Kaitlyn Siever, Alexander Skanga, Simon Shamo, Isha Sharma, Sean Sherrow, Hunter Shelton, Alexander Shin, Changyong Shin, Elizabeth Ship, Priya Shagakar, Taylor Shively, Shubh Shankar Shena, Alexis Sipos, Gloria Sironis, Quincy Smith, Raul Smith, Chiyaru Sony, Allison Suhu, Sophia Strahira, Hanna Stilman, Matthew Stone, Rachel Stone, Catherine Stoffer, Wei Ransun, Arinath Suresh, Trevor Swearingen, Charles Sweeney, Joshua Tabb, Ken Takita, Allison Taylor, Peyton Taylor, Priyatankar, Tanmay Thomas, Shivanji Tiwari, Madison Tolan, Laura Tuul, Yilin Sly, Shota Tsuda, Christopher Tufts, Shaley Unger, Dipti Vaiswaran, Arin Valette, Abigail Volger, Hastivora, Emma Vowell, Vera Vias, Molly Wagner, John Walsh, Chase Walter, Chiuwen Wang, Heijian Wang, Jiahao Wang, Xinyu Wang, Yuanxuan Wang, Nicole Warnaca, Jacob Watkins, Ziqing Wei, Kyle Wiedermann, Kyle Wenzel, Allison Wordheim, Lydia Wessel, Brady White, Maxwell White, Connor Williams, James Wolcius, Alexis Wolfe, Joshua Woodard, William Wark, Pair Johan Ramaphors, Merritt Wright, Theodore Wright, Eric Wu, Haolin Wu, Junlin Wu, Natasha Wujik, Ziqing Wu, Aniru Jakamanani, Kanyu Yang, Cheng Wei Yang, Haodi Yang, Ziki Yang, Xinan Yao, Huang Yichen, Austin Yang, Alvin Yu, Yusif Yusifzada, Carter Zander, Ruby Zhang, Yike Zhao, Shi Jiang, Tianhe Zhang, Zhang Tong Zhang, Yande Zhu, Nicholas Zimmerman, Polytechnic Institute, Brett Abbott, Nathan Aker, Jessica Ackerman, Nathaniel Adams, Oluwa Siitan, Adebanho, Adam A. Herne, Matthew Albright, Andre Aldia, Chance Alexander, Mujahid Ali, Samuel Ali, Jacob Alspau, Kaitlyn Anderson Lentine, Elizabeth Anderson, Christina Anderson, Cole Anderson, Jordan Anderson, Samuel Anderson, Ryan Anton, Andrew Arnold, Zayan Atacosha, Meghna Ataluri, Benjamin Awana, Justin Ayer, Brendan Ayers, Elizabeth Ayersman, Kayla Babcock, Max Babcock, Allison Battalonia, Robert Babson, Sun Bai, Alan Bake, Brandon Barr, Adam Baker, Colton Baker, Marcus Baker, Pranove Bondi, Zachary Barbett, Brendan Bard, Evan Baker, Eric Barnfeather, Fernando Barrera, Anton Baran, Sienna Bates, Summer Bates, Katherine Bauer, Brock Baywell, Delaney Beale, Zane Beekler, Michael Belovic, Lauren Benbow, Steven Benchick, Adam Bender, Steven Bergman, Spencer Berlin, Bernard Berry, Joseph Berry, Priyash Bansali, Asia Biddings, Brent Biddle, Nicholas Biddle, Tomas Baratu, Casey Bavona, Phillip Blankenberger, Conrad Bomber, Katherine Bond, Rhonda Bonner, Mackenzie Bonwell, Ho-jen Bu, James Borders, Austin Burini, Jason Boss, Brandon Boss, Curtis Bouchi, Nina Boutier, Keanna Bowen, Luke Bowman, William Boyle, Keele Brady, Harrison Brennan, Taylor Breel, Maxwell Brindle, Samantha Brinker, Evan Brinson, Aisa Brown, Dallas Brown, Tyler Brown, Evan Bruggeman, Jade Bryant, David Burgos, Peter Burmeister, Matthew Camino, Ethan Campana, Phoenix Campos, Gabriela Cannell, Xing Chengkou, Jacob Carlson, Natalie Carmack, Michael Carmosino, Benjamin Carpenter, Isaac Carpenter, Ian Carr, Nicholas Carter, Peter Carter, Sean Cassidy, Skylar Catron, Naomi Chandran, Monica Chapman, Hui Chun, Kevin Chun, Peng Yuan Chun, Eric Chung, Ling Ji Cheng, Nathan Qian Ali, Sun Tei Che, Jacqueline Kristen, Austin Clark, Jonathan Clark, Elise Klassen, Anthony Clementi, Nicholas Klein, Miranda Klingenbiel, Sarah Cohen, Jack Cole, Jennifer Collins, Devin Colonis, John Colston, Jane Comerford, Madeline Kynely, Danielle Conner, Daniel Conrad, Madeline Conway, Benjamin Cook, Colin Coriel, Andrew Courtois, Jeremy Cousins, Alexander Couturier, Colin Cowie, Ryan Coil, Andrew Crowe, Noah Crumb, Timothy Cummings, Scott Cundiff, Benjamin Cunningham, Nathaniel Cunningham, Riley Dale, Noor Dasuki, Corey Davis, Gabriel Davis, Henry Davis, Matthew Davis, Jose DeLamazza Hurtado, Christian Dak, Tyler Durnalc, Brian DeRome, Emily Devaney, Kanak Doven, Jacob Diel, Walter Dickman, Gabrielle DiMaggio-Potter, Abigail Dickens, Colette Dixon, Ivindigo Gento, Charles Doak, Peter Domenicella, Shanice Donaldson, Dylan Doel, Garrett Drysdale, Clayton D'Souza, Haley Duke, Rahul Delani, Alex Dury, Jared Earley, Stephen Eckenberg, Reed Eckert, Brian Eckman, Jacob Atty, Seth Edelman, Colin Edging, Rock Ibling, Leith Ellis, Zachary Elmore, Caitlin Aloso, Margaret Elton, Ryan Epps, Giacomo Esquira, Steven Essek, Krishraj Ethiraj, Kastin Averidge, Kevin Ezzo, Addison Farinas, Haley Farmer, Jeremy Farmer, Sarah Feeney, Ryan Ferguson, Sam Field, Sarah Field, Clarissa Fields, Cole Fink, Elizabeth Thinley, Aaron Fischer, Adam Fischer, Matthew Fitzgerald, Matthew Fogarty, Ching-Tang Vong, Cameron Forbes, Franklin Forman, Cassandra Foster, Eddie Fowler, Jonathan Frost, Jonathan Fulton, Yana Fusha, Grant Gall, Antonio Gamez, Andreas Garcia, Joshua Garcia, Cora Garza, Tyler George, Isaac Geringer, Devon Gendrich, Quinn Glancy, Jacob Glidden, Lisa Gullhauser, Samuel Goodhart, Zachary Goodman, Cole Goodrich, Travis Goen, Zoe Havin Graham, Emily Greenberg, Quaid Graywee, Nicole Griffin, Mason Griggs, Adam Grote, Bailey Grubbs, Levi Gully, Kunal Gupta, Gabriel Guzman, Paige Haggerty, Allison Hayduke, Madison Holler, Jean Hamella, Henry Hamilton the Fifth, George Hamilton, Mary Hamilton, Spencer Hom, David Han, Xu Bing Han, Xinghao Han, Yu Bing Han, Holbrook Hankinson the Third, Adam Hansen, Tyler Heracol, Anna Hardy, Stephen Herr, Conrad Hartnig, Henry Hathaway, Anthony Ogle, Sterling Hay, Mikayla Heemstra, Elijah Hegg, Aaron Heidemann, Ryan Henkels, Lucas Hennessey, Maxwell Herc, Jeremiah Heran, Fernando Herrera Tamakas, James Hickey, Kobe Hicks, Lawrence Heday, Ryan Hill, Justin Heimlich, Elliot Hines, Rodrigo Hennestrosa, Benedete, Samuel Hinkle, Tim Hitchcock, Hallie Hickson-Bow, Emily Hobart, Benjamin Hodson, Joseph Hoggett, Jack Holliwell, Jillian Holt, Trent Holtz, Caleb Honiger, Todd Horne, Ryan Horry, Daniel Horton, Aaron House, Nicholas Howell, Tyles Howell, Mitchell Howey, Joshua Hoke, Sin-Pow Hong, Luke Hull, Jordan Hunnicutt, Connor Hurd, Joseph Huss, John Hutchins, Mitchell Imler, Matthew Jablonski, Brendan Jackson, Andrew Jakupczyk, John Jadesik, Alec Janssen, Wade Jenison, Garrett Jewel, Wenjing Zhang, Emily Johnson, Matthew Johnson, Quinn Johnson, Jenna Johnstone, Ashley Jones, Jared Joyce, Alexis Jude, Charles Katcher, Benjamin Kallmeyer, Ming-Yung Kong, Samantha Kahnmacher, David Karagori, Stephanie Katz, Samuel Kayanga, Matthew Keen, Renee Keilman, Kevin Kelty, Jeremiah Kemp, Connor Curlin, Taylor Kern, Garrett Kerr, Matthew Kessler, Jacob Cayetta, Byung-Chul Kim, Hee-Won Kim, Young-Woo Kim, Josiah Kim, Noah Canaird, Mikayla Kursitz, Hannah Kursitz, Ryan Kitt, Sarah Kivett, Ethan Kanep, Harrison Kaniel, Emily Coe, Connor Koch, Austin Kocken, Kirti Kola Kalluri, Mitchell Kowns, Christina Koos, Jordan Kramer, Luke Krasner, Nicholas Kreske, Luke Yiku, Connor Laganke, Brittany Lake, Nicholas Lambert, Julie Landers, Trevor Landers, Leo La Palermo, Joshua Larsen, Jonathan Lauer, Zachary Loreno, Peter Lavieri, Lauren Lax, David LaClurk, Megan Legford, William Ledger, Johnhee Lee, Song Wu Lee, Joseph Leonard, Thomas Lenzgold, Alexander Lido, Raichi Li, Yanhao Li, Zhou Hong Li, Zhou Li Ling, Mitchell Lindenfeld, Trevor Lines, Stav Lincoln, Bethany Litman, Candela Lorette, Michael Long, Ryan Long, Cesar Lopez, Jessica Lopez, Hayden Lo, Fuhao Lu, Thomas Luce, Stefan Lula, Corey Lyon, Joshua Maddox, Jackson Mesh, Steven Malia, Catherine Malley, Robert Marino, Madeline Marlow, Matthew Marsh, Daniel Matterstack, Jose Martinez, Pedro Martinez, Sarah Mason, Daniel Matchain, Kazushi Matsumoto, Edith Marrow, Nicholas McAllister, Alan McBee, Caleb McCord, Aaron McCreary, Kevin McDonald, Jack McDonald, Elizabeth McGrucken, James McIntyre, Luca McKay, Marissa McMendez, Rachel McNulty, Andrew McShane, Jasmine Mahay, Cassandra Melke, Delaney Mendez, Oddvaite Menon, Connor Mercer, Joseph Merlino, Robert Mea, Jacob Meyer, Seth Mickel, Peter Mim, Bailey Milburn, Kimberly Miles, Cole Miller, Derek Miller, Julia Miller, Warren Miller, Zachary Miller, Rexton Minky, Michael Minogue, Andrew Miramontes, Luke Mlachar, Zachary Mochler, Jacob Moeller, Jade Molina, Connor Moore, Hunter Moore, Matthew Moore, Rudy Marino, Matthew Morgan, Michael Morris, Andrew Mueller, Paul Mueller, Devlin Murray, Colton Musgrave, Eric Michelski, Chad Musa, Grant Meyer, Anish Nagamangala Mohan, Yunsu Nam, Mina Nanduri, Alvia Nouse, Lorenzo Neal, Cameron Neely, Devin Nelson, Dillion Nelson, Kaitlyn Nickens, Kyle Nyhouse, Jeffrey Nice, Jacob Nine, Devin Nova, Colin Noel, Michael Nordenbrock, James Norman, A.J. Knottz, Andrew Oppenheimer, Justin Ordane, Zachary Otano, Joshua Otiro, Jackson Otto, Trent Owens, Graham Palin, Ritwik Pundey, Trevon Parish, Jong-In Park, Mingjai Park, Dalton Parker, Isha Patel, Korth Patel, Milan Patterson, Tyler Peatman, Alan Pecor, Keanu Penerman, Catherine Perez, Jeffrey Peterson, Zachary Petratus, Alicia Petrao, Charles Feneze, Delaney Pickett, John Plimpton, John Plunkett, Connor Polanka, Kyle Poser, Nicholas Potter, Garrett Pruse, Timothy Pross, Paul Poloski, Jason Chin, Clarice Lancia Raja Arul, Varun Ramakrishnan, Matthew Roush, Rahul Ravi, Zachary Reardon, Luke Reed, Catherine Reed, Paul Renner, Rachel Redig, Megan Rust, Kevin Rich, Kobe Richardson, Courtney Rick Meyer, Spencer Ricks, Alex Riley, Ryan Riley, Evan Rizqualla, Munam Rizvi, Jason Robertson, Charles Robinson III, Charlie Robinson, Alexander Rockhold, Benjamin Roter, Kareen Romer, Spencer Ronchetto, Daniel Rosario, Meredith Rose, Garrett Ross, Brayden Royer, Jacob Ruchotsky, Kayla Rux, Jasper Sadi Klein, Koshal Saber, Joseph Sabol, Nicholas Sambato, Zachary Sandberg, Paul Sanders, Zachary Sanders, Vanessa Santana, Andres Santiago, Russell Saputo, Michael Scheiber, Isaiah Scheifer, Garrett Schoen, Michael Schrom, Kevin Schrock, Caroline Scott, Noah Scott, Samuel Scroggs, Tyler Seeger, Zachary Seidel, Connor Selch, Drew Selsor, Henry Semler, Skyler Sarah, Kurt Sermersheim, Benjamin Sarah, Elias Setters, Jordan Sexton, Kevon Shabodoglu, Adam Shanahan, Gavin Shanley, Colin Shaw, Patrick Shea, Erin Shelton, Ushun Chun, Hannah Sherwood, Chan Ho Shin, Katherine Shaness, Austin Shores, Michael Shudi, Carolyn Shai, Paul Shikowski, Parminder Singh, Nicholas Sisto, Alonzo Smiley, Anthony Smith, Jacob Smith, Benjamin Solman, Ryan Speer, Brayden Spencer, Travis Stafford, Chase Stahl, Logan Staples, Kari Stewart, Trent Steiner, Quinton Storesman, Tyler Stout, Steven Stoico, Austin Straley, Timothy Stroud, Madison Stull, Akshay Sudhakar, Austin Sullins, Bailey Surprenat, David Shemansky, Grant Thomas, Isaiah Thomas, Kyle Thomas, Madison Thomas, Sarah Thomas, Zachary Thomas, Avery Thompson, Nolan Tague, Luke Timberlake, David Tipman, Joshua Tolamy, Jared Tomer, Andrew Trinka, Alyssa Trouble, Brendan Trafimovic, Havila Trublud, Tatyana Saganyak, Robert Turner, Zachary Vallow, Kristen Vandenbalk, Zachary Varmat, Janissa Velazquez, Caleb Vendel, Shelby Ventura, Prenish Vital, Yuki Vaivakwa, Richard Vogel, Chet Vogelweed, Vaibhav Wadva, Andrew Wagner, Elijah Wagner, Roman Walker, Erin Wall, Angie Walque Mendoza, Bryce Wolters, Yi Yong Wang, Yifan Wang, Jue Yu Wang, Anayat Ferdog, Nasratella Ferdog, Anthony Watts, Brayden Weeks, Kyle Weiss, Adrienne Welton, Alexander Whirling, Keenan Wheatley, Derek Weidus, Brayden Whitmire, Tyler Wiersbetschke, Anthony Williams, Brad Williams, Ian Williams, Jacob Williams, Lucas Williams, Garrett Winnler, Bradford Worth, Sarah Wolfe, Joseph Woods, Savannah Woods, Trenton Woods, Keith Wolums, Cameron Wright, David Wright, Lucas Wright, Alexandra Wyatt, Haowen Yang, Jue Wang, Scott Yarling, Haley Yeager, Connor Yoder, Byungqiu Yu, Won Wu Wu, Nathan Yorio, Jue An Yu, Juk Yu, Chunpo Yu, Sarah Zelaudeck, Yaqi Zeng, Jingying Zhang, Haotian Zhang, Zhu Han Zhang, Yi Zhang, Hongming Zhang, Zhang Zhang, Jiaxuan Zhou, Wei Gaozhu, Yifan Zhu, Devon Shrebeck, Zachary Zerlo, Polytechnic Institute of Technology Statewide, Bachelor of Science, Bryce Ables, Maxwell Acons, Jake Allen, Phillip Anson, David Baker, John Barger, Trevor Bastock, Jacob Bell, Chloe Bennett, Megan Blackwell, Brandon Blasdell, Owen Blum, Victoria Bursler, Nicholas Bonebrake, Isaiah Bowman, Anna Brackens, Ty Brassard, Bradley Brown, Jordan Brown, Derek Bryant, Norman Bergraf III, Maya Kailalung, Blake Campbell, Jacqueline Carter, Randy Childers, Trevor Christie, Kyle Clark, Lance Collins, Alexandria Cooper, Ashlyn Costa, Daniel Consular, Mark Krompacker, Michael Curry, Chris Davis, Matthew Davis, Eric Deckard, Cameron Delk, Lucas DiBondito, Cheyenne Dolls, Christopher Downey, Gary Drake, Blake Duncan, Justin Dai, Amanda Aldred, Trenton Evans, Corey Fink, Joshua Fuller, Alyssa Fulton, Brandon Gentry, Richard Gordinear, Katelyn Grace, Tom Hanna, Nathaniel Harper, Trevor Harris, Colton Harrison, Kyle Hathaway, Adam Halinga, Christopher Herrick, Austin Hirschberger, Aaron Hochduttler, Travis Isaacs, David Jaworski, Duggar Jones, Brian Jordan, Tanner Kellerman, Jacob Kirk, Bradley Kohler, Jordan Kuhn, Brandon Lawless, Anthony Linder, David Long, Lucas Lowry, Jose Loyo Hernandez, Townsend Lucas, Zachary Maynismith, Trent Marshall, Joseph Martin, Jared Massengale, Samuel Mayo, Keaton McDaniel, Ivan McDonald, Joseph McGinnis, Isaac McGuire, Jared McKean, Miranda Martyr, Jacob Myers, Corey Miller, Jacob Moles, Noah Moschowski, Maxwell Murray, Jared Newkirk, Mason Newkirk, William Autobrecht, Landon Owens, Jeremy Patti, Matthew Perry, Trevor Ferris, Bruce Priest, Norris Rinaldos, Sean Richards, Nicholas Rittenberry, Carson Royal, Steven Schmidt, Steven Schneider, Joseph Schottmer, David Servin, Noah Shale, Tristan Shepard, Jasper Silverin, Tyler Simmerman, Jason Smith, Mohamed Sobe, Justin Torter, Matthew Thompson, David Timmerman, Scott Trice, Vince Tyson, Isaac Unger, Caleb Unger, Antonio Veracalli, Jennifer Wiedemann, Jacob Williams, Leonard Wink, Christian Young, Matthew Zence, Associate of Science, Nathan Coffey, Larry Cunningham, Sean Formek, Noah Hancock, Jason Hauke, Lucas Michael, Joni Reed, Evan Richardson, Amy Schumann, Emily Webb. Okay, it's official. You are now graduates of Purdue University. It's time for you to observe the tradition of moving your tassel from the right side of the mortarboard to the left, signifying your new status. Congratulations to all our new alums. 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 read the names of the recipients of those recognitions in your commencement program. Additional special awards have been noted on your division's ceremony page. 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 received red, white, and blue cords, signifying that they are veterans of the U.S. Armed Forces. They deserve our recognition and our sincere gratitude for their patriotism. We honor these graduates for their hard work and accomplishments, but they'd be the first to tell us they did not make the journey alone. So 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 and will be projected. Will you please stand? I'm pleased to introduce Isha Patel, who was selected as today's student responder in recognition of her leadership in many student and campus organizations. Isha is receiving a Bachelor of Science in Industrial Management. After graduation, she will join Microsoft as a financial analyst. Please welcome Isha Patel. Good afternoon class of 2020. I'm proud to say that I am part of the very first group of Purdue commencement responders to be welcomed into your homes all across the world. We may not be in Elliot, but how many graduating classes get to say they graduated with all their loved ones, not just the four favorites that could get tickets and at the location of their choice? Regardless, we're finally here. We finished our last exam, joined our last Zoom lecture, and used boiler key for the last time. We counted the days, hours, and minutes to get to this monumental step. But now, I cannot help but remember all of the exciting traditions we got to experience. Our first mountain run, our first drink at Harry's, and our first bite at triple X. I know what you're all thinking. There are a lot of milestones that we didn't get to have, a big one being a quintessential graduation. But Boilermakers, these four years, and especially these past months, have shown me how we make the best of every situation. Internationally acclaimed poet Lil Nas X put it best when he said, I'm gonna ride till I can't no more. And Boilers, that is exactly what we did. We rode until we couldn't no more. When a snowstorm comes in, we had downslider hell. When Ohio State football came knocking on our door in fall of 2018, we showed them who was boss. When a global pandemic hit, we transitioned the entire university online, helped ease food security concerns, and made sure students' financial and educational burden was mitigated. I know we put a lot of thought and pressure on these last couple months. We hope to squeeze out the last bits of college freedom and enjoyment. But I want you all to realize the weight and beauty of all the moments in between. So I ask you, class of 2020, to recognize the moments in between the milestones. I will always remember sitting in the lounge of my freshman year dorm, eating my body weight in Wiley chocolate chip cookies, and screaming, I use sucks every chance I got. Those are not milestones, but they are of equal importance. I cannot express the gratitude I have for each and every one of you. Thank you to my fellow students for challenging and helping each other, and exemplifying the ideal that Boilermakers work together, not against each other. Thank you to all the friends and family and attendance. This accomplishment is as much yours as it is ours. Thank you to faculty and staff for creating an environment we can forever call home. But my biggest thank you of all goes to my best friend, my twin pillar, and my guiding light. Thank you so much, mom. Thank you for filling my life with fun, knowledge, music, art, and so much love. In a world filled with button ups and pinstripes, you let me be caked with mud and adorned with tutus. And for that, I will be eternally grateful. Class of 2020, boiler up, hammer down, we did it. Thank you. ["Pomp and Circumstance"] Today you are standing on the edge of possibility. We pause to give thanks for the deep sense of accomplishment, pride, and hope of this very moment. We pause today to reflect on your time here and the hope for your future. We gather with abundant joy and overwhelming gratitude. We pray the experience here embodies our vision of education as an engaged and dynamic partnership between the university and the wider world. The work here has never been merely for personal use, but always for public good. And so today we celebrate the collective commitment to creating a better and more just world. May we appreciate the joy of this day and may the dedication and patient perseverance that has brought us to this moment carry us forth to create a world marked by peace, justice, and compassion beyond measure. Go forth to do the good work set before you. Be tireless. Seek the common good. Love and nurture the people and things you value. Attend to your work with integrity so that what you believe may be what you do. And when you feel as if you might become defeated, think back on this day and know that you already have accomplished much. May you be blessed and may your lives be a blessing to all of us. Amen. You shall go out with joy. You shall go out with joy. Joy, joy, joy, joy. As we conclude today's commencement ceremony, thank you for joining this celebration of our newest Boilermaker graduates. On behalf of the trustees, faculty, and all the Purdue family, I bid you farewell, Godspeed, Hail Purdue.