 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 have 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 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 coworkers 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 CS 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 our orders to read aloud the names of all students who are earning baccalaureate 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. College of Liberal Arts, Jewel Aaron, Julianne Aker, Garrick Alex, Blake Allen, Georgina Allen, Janae Allen, Amelia Armhine, Kara Anderson, Alexander Angel, Elizabeth Anglam, Ashisha Panagari, Steven Archer, Anna Arias Poros, Jordan Arlen, Ahmad Asaf Kadir, Elias Atkinson, Danielle Augustine, Valerie Bamchuk, Abigail Bamcock, Vyana Baki, Valent Baqandi, Pablo Balcazar, Connor Balchenes, Marcus Banas, Yuheng Bao, Miriel Bates, Unique Beaver, Marley Beck, Margaret Becker, Koyoshi Bigbaji, Jonathan Beldener, Lauren Bellamy, Hailey Bennett, Bihuan Baraki, Mackenzie Bishop, Mason Bishop, Julia Bittner, Lake Blocker, Anthony Boehner, Jordan Boylo, Valerie Bolin, Emma Bonham, Mikaela Boniface, Sabrina Borum, Kyle Bordner, Lori Bows, Katie Boling, Jaden Bowman, Kelsey Boyer, Kai Bramlett, Justin Brannon, Madeleine Brewster, Samantha Broering, Daniel Brooks, Hannah Brown, Bailey Brown, Bethany Brunner, Rachel Buckingham, Costa Dina Buelna, Noah Bunting, Colin Burns, Kayla Bussert, Mary Caltrider, Confin Camara, Jacob Carrico, Martasia Carter, Preston Casper, Gabrielle Casala, Kayla Castro, Quinn Cattaldi, Frantz Sirwinka, Bailey Chambers, Andrew Chapman, Trevor Cheney, Charlene Chen, Xiagrin Chen, Zhiyun Choi, Mary Christyerson, Natalie Sarisi, Ashley Clark, Reeves Clark, Taylor Clapton, Kelsey Conkran, Erica Caleruso, Emma Colburn, Nicholas Cole, Kaylan Conner, Romeo Conner, Josie Crawford, Luke Cree, Keely Criswell, Hannah Cross, Olivia Krauss, Kaylee Crum, Chenkmao Swee, Sarah Cunningham, Alaymu Damat, Joshua David, Molly David, Kate Davis Knoll, Paula Dawodowska, Devin DeBoth, Antonia DeCandia, Lucas DeLeon, Jennifer Deering, Leah Dees, Jennifer DeLea, Elizabeth DeVoe, Colton DeWitt, Rachel Dexter, Fatou Dionne, Hope Diato, Laura De Pietro, Christian Dobosiewicz, Monica Dominguez, Steven Donohoe, Jacob Donohue, Madison Douglas, Dennis D'Souza, Katherine Dubay, Brooke Dodzinski, Sydney Duong, Madison Edwards, Danielle Eikenberg, Wyatt Elliott, Gabrielle Escobar, Nicole Esposito, Emma Ewing, Cheng Cheng Fan, Emily Faultless, Dallas Fights, Anne Franke, Aidan Freeman, Sarah Faults, Wolfgang Funk, Alex Gabanesh, Thalia Garcia, Ashley Garla, Christopher Garrett, Rebecca Garometta, Andrew G. Infirmie, Nadia G. Dahman, Chloe Giles, Daniel Goldberg, Yulong Gong, Manuel Gonzalezi Gonzalez, Danielle Gonzalez, Daniela Gonzalez, Lizeth Gonzalez, Cassandra Goodman, Steven Gula, Amanda Gosner, Rhys Grappentheen, Brian Graves, Dalton Griffin, Brianna Grimes, Harrison Guo, Ji Guo, Inashi Gupta, Carla Gherk, Matt Harms, Brian Andrew Hasek, Alice Hackett, Lindsey Hageman, Jacqueline Ham, Alexander Han, Bridget Harrow, Kelly Harris, Quinton Harris, Yara Hassan, Emily Hassett, Jennifer Hatton, Dakota Hines, Nick London, Lydia Herring, Olivia Hettrick, Taylor Hickey, Grace Hitchcock, Chelsea Ho, Zachariah Hockenberry, Faith Hoffman, Paige Hoffman, Reagan Holderby, Alicia Hollinsworth, Kelsey Hoskins, Adriana Howard, Maxwell Howard, Jordan Howard, Sarah Howell, Kinkai Hu, Timothy Huber, Hunter Hughes, Shao Koon Hoom, Brady Hunt, Lillian Jackson, Jackson Janowitz, Timothy Jurger, Yehan Jia, Allison Johnson, Olivia Johnson, Sabrina Johnson, Emily Jones, Ahyuth Junja, Suzanne Kaiser, Timothy Calvados, Kelly Kara George, Hope Kellam, Mark Kelly, Anna Keemal, Bim Soo Kim, Jenna Keimak, Paige Kinder, Jacob King, Brooke Kittle, Nicolette Kittrell, Nathan Canable, Jordan Canabel, William Knowles, Clara Cook, Nicole Kub, Bradley Coontz, Abigail Kostiba, Anna Kowalski, Hope Krajnak, Elizabeth Kribel, Alexandra Kramer, Emma Krutelis, Jordan Kubis, Abigail Kinster, Brian Koffel, Daniel Kerr, Thomas Kovakov, Neon Kwon, Jordan LaBelle, Shaoyo Lai, Claire Lamont, Erin Lam, Samantha Lamont, Mia Lamontagna, Clayton Landis, Natasha Lange, Jennifer Langen, Emily Lashley, Sophia Lauke, Jackie Lee, David Leah, Caitlin Lee, Ann Lear, Claire Lamonia, Sarah Lewandowski, Ya Li, Yejin Li, Cheyulou Li, Jianyang Li, Kayla Lighty, Chen Guanglin, Raiden Linder, Asia Lindholm, Casey Lopez, Jordan Lott, Anna Luker, Sydney Luck, Alyssa Lum, Hong Ma, Luke McGregor, Emma Maggart, Mark Mangarani, Hanya Malik, Melissa Malter, Jacob Mantel, Caitlin Markham, Emma Marlott, Joshua Martin, Samantha Matisco, Jordan Mayer, Paola Mazza, Lauren McAdams, Hallie McBride, Francesca McAllister, Nicholas McDowell, Logan McElfresh, Jaylin McFadden, Mia McGee, Noel McGinty, Sarah McGovern, Nicholas McGowan, Megan McGew, Harry McSteen, Alexander Miller, Carly Miller, Katelyn Milligan, Matthew Miner, Shannon Mochler, Margaret Moroccovitz, John Monroe, Vanessa Murray, Megan Mushie, Jamie Musselman, Kyle Myers, Rachel Nellick, Elizabeth Nesbitt, Shelby Newcomer, Vadim Nikiforov, Sasha Nixon, Peter Ntala, Carolyn O'Grady, Megan Olibo, Benjamin Oliver, Gabriela Padilla-Abarka, Allison Page, Steven Palmer, Alexandria Park, Catherine Parks, Jacob Patterson, George Pavelopoulos, Yijie Peng, Alexandra Peepin, Jessica Perkins, Lucy Pham, Selena Pierce, Neely Plaspol, Ross Ploomer, Gerardo Pondalegarsa, Anna Poole, Koi Price, Kaley Price, Brett Prokko, Abigail Pyer, Raksing Chuan, Anna Rabin, Gage Rainwater, Anna Ratterman, Lucinda Ray, Carolyn Rykel, Heather Wren, Noel Russell, Nicholas Reyes, Sydney Reyes, Alicia Reimer, Cody Rice, Tessa Richards, Courtney Realy, Carly Ringlespaw, Esther Rivera, Lauren Robbers, Taylor Robbins, Carly Robinson, Wyatt Robinson, Shaday Robles, Taylor Rodebaugh, Juwan Rowe, Haley Rollins, John Russell, Grace Rutherford, Carly Raza, Amy Sabadini, Maya Sanaba, Daley Sanford, Madison Saniman, Hanna Sother, Avery Saylor, Elizabeth Schaefer, Tristan Schefke, Anna Schrafero, Audrey Schultz, Emily Schlafani, Kaelin Scott, Maria Scott, Maya Scott, Shelby Shrivner, Alyssa Seaman, Jin Young-Zio, Madison Sharp, Pierce Shepard, Joshua Shetter, Connor Schultz, Idio Silva Rossell, Danielle Singer, Nynia Squaria, Perry Smalley, Brooke Smith, Jackson Smith, Sydney Smith, Neil Snap, Megan Summerfield, Abigail Summers, Shuwen Song, Aaron Spangler, Hannah Spalding, Anna Spencer, Megan Spitznoggle, Grace Sporner, Samantha Spott, Piper Stamper, Rachel Stevens, Daniel Stevens, Trey Straszkar, Charles Stringer, Alexis Strasz, David Stucker, Yang Fonsu, Xixuan Sun, Orissa Swift, Shelby Anton, Courtney Terrence, Lindsay Tails, Arthur Taylor, Elizabeth Taylor, Madeline Teague, Zars Arthiant, Abby Thomas, Michael Thompson, Margaret Tianhara, Orissa Tilden, Morgan Torres, Natalia Torres, Madison Todd, Gabrielle Truett, Samantha Yolchi, Simon Aum, Kate Olmer, Parker Underwood, Angel Epshaw, Aditya Vandeville, Grace Van Orman, Olivia Van Zelst, Hannah Van, Madeline Van Oostenberg, Simran Verma, Emily Vian, Steven Vincent, Thomas Viola, Summer Von Schwartzwalder, Anthony Walden, Joel Walker, Lydia Walker, Kaylee Walke, Olivia Wall, Lydia Wallace, Madison Wallace, Stephanie Walsh, Haging Wong, Li-Tien Wong, Pao-Chia Wong, Jacob Weed, Rebecca Wells, Ryan Wetzler, Sierra Wheeler, Nicole Liggins, Tommy Wilson, Genesee Winger, Mora Whistler, Lee Wittek, Mitchell Witt, Devin Wolfe, Hannah Wolfenbarger, Makayla Workman, David Wu, Yu Meng Wu, Yongchuan Zhang, Chaoyang, Yoli Yong, Ann Yarbrough, Mian Yi, Zhengye, Carissa Yona, Emily Yoclet, Lu Yu, Louis Serrata, Carlos Zavala-Zavala, Cecilia Zavala, Edward Zavatsky, Colin Zia, Carly Zalt, Po-Chian Zhang, Xu Yuzheng, Wenzhi Zhen, Yangjui Zhou, Madison Zialinsky, Mohamed Zini, The College of Science, Andrew Abrahamson, Anise Zayafiqua-Odlin, Ankit Agrawal, Zo-Yan An, Furkan Aqalan, Chabuzo Aqpe, Zaid El-Hadadine, Abdul-Raman Al-Abdul-Kareem, Jacob Al-Kat, Abdullah Aldalan, Mahadat Al-Humadi, Arshad Al-Iqan, Aitan Al-Kaslasi, James Allen, Samantha Al-Gud, Hussein Samir Al-Majid, Regal Al-Tair, Kevin Altman, Ja-Yu Yan, Tong-An, Brandon Ansel, Margaret Anderson, Michael Anderson, Jared Andrew Liss, Navya Anand, Kirtiha Arangarajan, Zoe R. Buckle, Faihan Arif, Kylie Arnold, Andrew Arpassi, Matthew Azel, Daniel Atala, Mason Aitha, Daniela Avilas, Ellison Azzano, Jessica Bacchus, Eric Beza, Anissa Barami, Shivam Bashepezi, Katharine Baker, Lauren Baker, Shelby Ballard, Sandee Bosker, Andrew Bass, Beau Bassett, Sarah Bartarshi, Nathan Becker, Elizabeth Bell, Michael Bell, Grant Bender, Ryan Bereta, Truman Best, Swaraj Baduri, Leah Biasi, Sydney Beans, Julianne Billerman, Ayla Nabiha Amrina Binti Amanudin, Juan Nur Diana Binti Rashidin, Ashton Bitters, Maya Black, Anthony Boehner, Rachel Bowler, Devin Boone, Will Borland, Reagan Bradley, Kent Brasile, Elizabeth Bray, Natalie Brayha, Ian Bretz, Zachariah Bridwell, Austin Britton, Catherine Brode, Rachel Brockovich, Alexander Brooke, David Brau, Aaron Brown, Liam Brown, Mitchell Brown, Sophia Brown, Hannah Bruscha, Courtney Bruder, Caleb Bruceowitz, Christopher Bryan, Zachary Bryant, Jordan Buckmaster, Stanley Buzinski, Jacob Alcott, Maria Bully, Brandon Burbridge, Bridget Burke, Theo Burkman, Zachary Berman, Stephen Burns, Kaitlyn Burrow, Jacob Buxch, Tim Bus, Mingyang Kai, Colin Kane, Jared Canary, Josh Young-Kow, Grace Capek, Zoe Carlson-Stabler, Rebecca Carmack, Kaitlyn Carpenter, David Carr, Morgan Carrithers, Joanna Carroll, Chloe Carter, Lorenzo Carvajal, Sarah Cavender, Jisoo Chah, Joshua Chambers, Yu Chan, Sivang Jishand, Andrew Chang, Riti Chowla, Joy Chen, Minghao Chen, Ji Fang Chen, Randy Chen, Xiao Tian Chen, Yong Chen, Yingxuan Cheng, Jia Lingqiu, Adam Shizak, Jay Wangche, Agamdeep Chopra, So Anshu, Esther Chung, Michael Sankowski, Peter Clark, Colleen Cody, Ryan Kauffman, Colton Compton, Emerson Canard, Bradley Kahn, Christopher Connelly, Brody Connor, Liam Connery, Jaden Cornell, Cyan Cosby, Emory Koskin, Alexander Couturier, Alex Crick, Zhenghao Tui, Xing Song Tui, Hope Cullors, Noah Currin, Alexander Svalbar, Brian Zornetsky, Yu DeSani, Brian Davy, Vardhan Dweisar, Farah Desuza, Jacob Desuza, August Death Ridge, Steven Delamore, Neu Yangdong, Ryan Deru, Gregory Dexter, Siddharth Dar, Sarant Deer, JC D. Diminico, Janine Diab, Frank Diba-Tolomew, Jonathan Demos, Zwaoyang Ding, Boris Dingel, Kenan Jacob Dominic, Matthew Donnier, Brian Dauderer, Akshan Dua, Michael Dunlop, Jonathan Durden, Matthew Derthaller, Zaidan Dutta, Nathaniel Eckert, Madison Edwards, Sean Egloff, Mehran Einakshi, Yusuf Karim Abdel-Alab, Lily Urlawine, Emily Evans, Nathan Evers, Shikong Phong, Kaylee Farrell, Samantha Phelps, Jeremy Felton, Chi-Hui Feng, Jillian Ferguson, Ryan Fernandez, Alexander Ferard, Rodrigo Ferreira, Taylor Fidler-Jarsniatsky, Nathaniel Phil, Robert Fisher, Jesse Fitton, Adam Fitzgerald, Zachary Fleckenstein, Ian Flora, Diana Forbes, Lindsey Forbes, Jaden Ford, Nicholas Fordice, Jonathan Force, Pat Fortunato, Luke Francisco, Noah Franks, Randall Freiborne, Nicholas Galecki, Alex Gale, Jessica Gant, Kevin Gao, Li Yao Gao, John Gao, Heiharno Garcia-Parrera, Joshua Garmin, Sanchit Gavankar, Alexander Geyer, Carissa Gettlefinger, Abigail Gishaba, Jacob Gifford, Matthew Gleason, Emily Godole, Abigail Goman, Samantha Golding, Zhenmu Gong, Andrew Graber, Jillian Grantz, Katarina Grigorich, Todd Griffin, Olivia Groves, Emily Hamadi, Richard Hansen, Mira Heridasa, Alexander Harmon, Colin Harris, Sandra Hart, Jeremy Hartman, Justin Hartman, Yana Hawthorne, Connor Hay, James Haydock, Juen Da-Hue, Derek Heath, Keith Heckler, Ashlyn Heneff, Kelvin Henry, Nicholas Hepner London, Kelly Herman, Elizabeth Herndon, Michael Herrera, Gregory Haskett, Shafer Hess, Joshua Hyatt, Bryce Hibbler, Madeline Hilger, Nicholas Hilgert, Hannah Himes, Daniel Hipskind, Whitney Hobbs, Kai Hoffman, Rachel Hue, Thomas Holman, Alexandra Holmson, Columbus Holt, Matin Hermati, Matthew Hoskins, Savannah Hoddle, Hailey Howard, William Howard, Emily Hoyt, Yichang Shui, Ji Changsu, Daniel Hu, Xiao Hu, Peter Huang, Rundang Huang, Zuchu Zhang, Victor Hughes, Zachary Hupp, Amar Hussein, Spencer Huston, Nicholas Hux, Samuel Ingrim, Angelina Ingrata, Nisreen Islayah, Alexandru Ivan, Anup Jain, Huda Binti Jamari, Kajul Jamba, Rebecca Jains, Aditya Jariwala, Kalpanjassani, Sarmad Javid, Siyu Jiang, Yixian Zhang, Nongbu Jiangtu, Austin Jing, Brian John Cox, Brooke Johnson, Cade Johnson, Noah Johnson, Zachary Johnson, Elizabeth Joel, Hannah Jonkindt, Zongyun Zhu, Jekylline Joseph, Aditya Joshi, Daxh Jutwani, Biyash Zhaneja, Peter Zhang, Natalie Kadlebowsky, Morgan Kerr, Kamin Kolone, Yuchan Khan, Zichang Khan, Garji Khan, Lavanya Cannon, Pooja Kanuri, Layla Khasar, Ishan Kaul, Sirkab Kaur, Yu-jen Ke, Seth Keeling, Sidney Keenan, Jack Kellison, Chinyure Kamat, Peter Fowry, Hassam Khalifa, Dahi Kim, Ellen Kim, Justin Kim, Min Kyu Kim, Myung Soo Kim, Michael Kenesavich, Ethan Kincaid, Christopher King, Phoebe Kinzelman, Reed Kippenbrock, Anthony Kislev, Samuel Kaiser, Samuel Clarquist, Cole Klaasa, Evan Klein, Spencer Klein, Esther Nepp, Kevin Coach Paturin, Angela Koberlin, Adam Kogut, Amanda Komasinski, Varun Kandipali, Dong-Jing Koo, Jacob Kunz, Jared Kapchanski, Sidney Koretenski, Joel Kreider, Shankar Krishnakumar, Paul Krivaka, Anna Kruger, Thomas Kubei, Kendra Coleman, Isha Kolkarni, Arman Kumar, James Kunz, Noah Kureveila, Alyssa Lambrecht, Grace Lander, Simon Langowsky, Emily Lossy, Lisa Miley, Han Li, Song-Yam Li, Thomas Leinert, Brandon Leslie, Charles Levine, Bo Sheng Li, Jason Li, Mu Yuan Li, Chao Li, Chaoyang Li, Xia Qing Li, Chao Li, Chen Liang, Shi Chen Liang, Max Ling, Mu Ling, Maxwell Lingle, Andrew Liao, Da Yu Liao, Jia Cheng Liao, Jing Qi Liao, Gu Han Liao, Manjari Lakindar, Brian Long, Clarice Lopez, Gabriel Lorenz, Rafael Lovas, Adam Lula, Austin Letterback, Erin Lin, Shane Lyons, Ashlyn Lithko, Shu Chi Ma, Daniel Mackie, Caleb McGee, Jessica Ma, Ashwin Mahesh, Rachel Maibach, Shobit Makhija, Ben Malone, Henry Malfress, Arnav Malvia, William Maniskalo, Griffin Marslender, Andrea Marty, Peter Martone, Kevin Mattson, Ray Mattis, Jordan Mayer, Amanda McKenzie, Madison McGlon, Christian McCain, Connor McMillan, Ayush Mehta, Nicholas Meyer, Zachariah Manzi, Samuel Mercier, Abigail Mesfin, Kylie Middleton, Jacob Michnikowski, David Miller, Dominic Miller, Robert Miller, Zachary Miller, Sripath Mishra, George Mitchell, Sean Montgomery, Yongsuk Moon, Natalie Mudd, Roshini Mudanuru, James Mulaney, David Marcia Barrios, Blake Morell, Ong Miat, Kavya Nagala Kunta, Raj Mahabaleshwar Vijaykumar Naik, Wong Naan, Rishik Narayan Nadevara Kier, Caleb Nash, Shivam Nandu, Nikita Nair, Trevor Needlinger, Chase Nelson, Tyler Nelson, Tyler Netherly, Julian Ong, Tianjian Ni, Christopher Nitta, Derek Nobey, Peter Nowicki, Marnimus Obengayasi, Martin O'Connell, Erin O'Connor, Quinn O'Connor, Oluwatobi Ola, Victor Olson, Catherine O'Malley, Gabriel Opsol, Alyssa Orozco, Daniel Otroski, Emily Oh, Qian Wang Ouyang, Jacob Puff, Allison Page, Evan Pugliri, Mitchell Palin, Deng Pan, Paula Pandolfi, Vishwa Pandya, Niki Paoleli, Spencer Pop, Collin Pappop, Janique Parikh, Janggu Park, Jay Park, Timothy Park, Katelyn Parks, Zachary Patchett, Akash Vindakumar Patel, Aniri Patel, Ayush Patel, Mehul Patel, Natasha Patel, Siddharth Patel, Siddesh Patil, Emily Paul, Sean Pearson, Pat Pesa, Max Peskin, D'Angelo Peters, Varun Fadki, Vantong Pham, Dan Phan, Phillip Phan, Kyler Phillips, Sven Phillips, Alexis Pittman, Emmanuel Pytosh, Kelly Plakaita, Zoe Pole, Manoj Kumar Polisetti, Paramesh Pradeep, Matthew Prashkar, Jeremy Putman, Shao Chin, Namir Koreshi, Nirali Rai, Avery Raika, Adrien Jared Raj, Nikita Rajanish, Sanjana Rajesh, Indu Meena Ramanathan, Rishabh Ramasasarya, Hiddin Rafaad, Rohit Ravindranath, Peter Rackamp, Evan Reeves, Emily Reich, Natalie Renfrow, Matthew Redoff, Hannah Rhodes, Cameron Richards, Jacob Riggs, Berkeley Ripper, Hashila Revai, David Rivera-Pinhau, Heejaan Noh, Bailey Rourke, Mallory Rourke, Riley Robertson, Francesca Rodino, Jasmine Rodney, Isaac Remmer, Noor Adila Rosli, Donald Roswarski, Charles Roth, Andrew Rothwell, Cameron Ruggles, Rahul Salehgame, Aaron Sale, Spencer Saleh, Aries Julian San Diego, Emily Sanders, Janipa Sangfat, Ruhani Sansoya, Andrew Santos, Josephine Santoso, Sterling Sardina, Ishan Saxena, Rohan Saxena, Makayla Schott, Christopher Schaper, Tristan Schefke, Andrew Schingle, Aaron Schlossberger, Joshua Schmidt, Thomas Schroeder, Beau Schuchart, Bailey Scott, Christopher Scully, Jacob Say, Abby Siebol, Anthony Senezi, Sabrina Charmeen, Parth Shalgonkar, John Shun, Kanika Shanoi, Joshua Schiepler, Jing Tian Shi, Zai Shi, Kevin Shim, Nathaniel Shimp, Molly Schinkel, Maxwell Shremuck, Abmanu Shrivastava, Derek Shu, Abir Shukla, Sam Sherina, Joshua Siegel, Nicholas Searspatowski, Thomas Simons, Brent Singh Sharkey, Avinash Singh, Harshit Singh, Kunal Sinha, Rohit Seraj, Pravin Sivaballan, Abigail Slattery, Claire Snitofsky, Teg Soday, Kenneth Soditz, Zi Hongsong, Jackson Sorrells, Akshay Srinivasan, Laura Sroka, Christian Stanley, Jacqueline Stanley, Riley Starrer, Jasmine Steven, Katherine Stevens, John Stormer, Alexis Stolte, David Stoles, Chelsea Studebaker, Marley Suda, Patrick Sullivan, Ryan Sullivan, David Sun, Fengqing Sun, Wenyang Sun, Xingmeng Sun, Yahui Sun, Sneha Swaroop, Zachary Swim, Robert Swisher, Shelley Tan, Xingyi Tan, Dharpanthana, Matthew Tao, Natasha Taranadjaja, Julia Taylor, Risha Tanani, Chelsea Tenbarj, James Terrell, Alexander Tesmer, Bhuja Tawari, Deepthi Thadasina, Elizabeth Thayer, Eric Thiem, Samantha Thompson, Jessica Tien, Blake Tahirina, Connor Tinker, Connor Todd, Ivan Torres, Jeanine Toth, Daniel Tracy, Abigail Trent, Madison Trout, Alicia Troyer, Ya Ting Thuong, Riley Turnbull, Payne Tiao, Patrick Ubalor, Justin Erntierreiner, Kashali Apadye, Sumil Apal, Abigail Ernest, Naomi Ernest, Kamli Uttz, Jose Valbueno, Madison Van Buskerk, Alexander Vandesant, Karthik Vangati, Jake Varley, Sarah Varney, Vishal Vasan, Darwin Vos, Sudair Vel, Nathan Venkis, John Verhoff, Alexander Vien, Vishnu Vijayan, Joseph Vineyard, Simona Virga, Darren Visak, Vijay Vishwan, Eric Vondrak, Vaisal Tariqvora, Kevin Vosberg, Vera Vias, Dylan Waddell, William Wagner, Jacob Wallerstein, Jeffrey Walker, Kevin Walker, Sabra Walker, Megan Walsh, Eugene Wang, Evan Wang, Haobao Wang, Jingya Wang, Jingling Wang, Xupei Wang, Tiffany Wang, Xingyu Wang, Yifeng Wang, Jenna Ward, Tanner Ward, Evelyn Ware, Lauren Warner, Robert Washington, Dara Laskin, Yuanqi Wei, Patrick Weyman, Mary Welker, Edward Wenenberg, Mason Wesselich, Jake West, Brianna Westerberg, Brianna White, Emily White, Anna Water, Hunter Vichorak, Samuel Weirsma, Alexander Willis, Megan Willoughby, Joseph Wang, Yukai Wang, David Wood, Marilyn Wood, Joel Woods, William Work, Per-Yohan Rummerforce, Emma Rega, Case White, Jia Song Wu, Guan Ting Wu, Xiyu Wu, Yi Hong Wu, Wu Ying Wu, Katarina Wujack, Melanie Nguyen, Amy Shao, Qi Hong Xu, Shiwen Xu, Yue Ning Xu, Wu Fei Xu, Anaraj Yachamanini, Ali Yalchen, Kan Yu Yang, Tian Yi Yang, Xing Yi Yang, Yi Wei Yang, Zi Han Yang, Xiao Yu Ye, Mali Yi, Xin Yun Yan, Yu Ming Yu, Jordan Yang, Nathaniel Yang, Jia Xing Yu, Mongkorn Yuan, Trisha Zilani, Jessica Zamora, Sarah Zelley, Jayden Zerby, Bo Zhang, Bosun Zhang, Chengxuan Zhang, Eric Zhang, Hanwen Zhang, Jinghan Zhang, Jingming Zhang, Dwing Yi Zhang, Rongxi Zhang, Xiao An Zhang, Jingping Zhang, Yiwen Zhang, Zhou Zhe Zhang, Yu Shen Zhou, Zi Chen Zhou, Ian Zimmer. 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 to 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 Evan Wang, who has selected as today's student responder in recognition of his leadership in many student and campus organizations. Evan is receiving a Bachelor of Science in Computer Science and a Bachelor of Science in Mathematics. After graduation, Evan will start as a full-time data engineer at Discover Financial Services where he was an intern last summer. He also hopes to one day earn a Master's Degree in Computer Science and an MBA. Please welcome Evan Wang. Thank you President Daniels for your kind introduction and thank you to friends, family and guests who are watching this. Wherever you are, I hope you and your families are safe and healthy. When I first learned a few weeks ago that I was selected to address you today, I had no idea that I would be giving this speech in front of a green screen in my living room, and yet here we are. And while it goes without saying that I wish we were all sitting together in Elliott Hall celebrating this moment in person, I'm sure that some of you are enjoying commencement in your sweatpants or pajamas. You know, I was even thinking of editing a laugh track over this so I can pretend that you like my jokes. In all seriousness, this situation is a perfect example of how, as Purdue students, we have continually navigated through and adapted to the challenges of rigorous academics, college life and maintaining a consistent sleep schedule. And we were able to overcome these difficulties not because we planned for them. In fact, we usually refer to these instances as when things do not go according to plan. But through our resilience, our intellect and our perseverance, we learn to adapt to new situations and use our resources to emerge even stronger than before. As a personal example, I came to Purdue intending to major in applied mathematics and pursue a Ph.D. immediately after graduation. And I will be leaving this great institution with both mathematics and computer science degrees starting a full-time job in August. And I am grateful that Purdue presented me with opportunities to challenge myself so that I could learn from my mistakes, grow as a student and thrive as a professional. And despite all the roadblocks I encountered on my journey, I believe I've emerged a stronger person because I had the support of my professors, TAs, advisors, friends, my now fiance and many more advocates in science in that Purdue. In all your postgraduate endeavors, I urge you, Class of 2020, to surround yourself with people who advocate for you to be successful. A squad to cheer on your victories and a support network that will help you bounce back from losses. It is an exciting time to graduate in science or liberal arts. In our future careers, we will be continually confronted with the world's latest phenomena. History being made, new ways of communicating, advancements in theory, discoveries beyond our imagination, and of course a new virus. And as graduates of the Purdue College of Science and College of Liberal Arts, we should be proud that we didn't just do the bare minimum to pass the class and move on. We engaged with faculty and industry experts, we performed undergraduate research, and we pursued career advancement opportunities setting us up to push the boundaries of our field in the future. So never settle for less than you can achieve. When you put in that extra ounce of effort, reach outside of your comfort zone and push yourself to more than you plan for, you will be ready to take on those unexpected challenges and opportunities as they come. At the end of this commencement ceremony, you will receive your diploma marking the end of your time at Purdue. But commencement also means a beginning or start. It means new goals, new priorities, new responsibilities, and new peers. But don't forget about what you created here. New friendships, new knowledge, new achievements, new experiences, even a whole new commencement ceremony. Most of all, be proud of what you have accomplished class of 2020. In spite of everything and against greater odds than perhaps any other class has ever faced, you are now graduates of Purdue University and Boilermakers forever. Congratulations to you all. Boiler up and hail Purdue. 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.