 Chief Weedy, thank you so much for joining us on This Is Purdue, and congrats to you. Yes, thank you for having me. Yeah, we're happy to talk to you. So tell us a little bit about your background at Purdue. You went to Purdue, you've been working at Purdue for over two decades now. Tell us how you found out about Purdue in the first place. Well, I grew up in Indiana, so I've really known about Purdue probably most of my entire life. And when I was looking at going to college and trying to decide where I wanted to go, what my major was, this was the school I applied to a few colleges and got accepted here. And this is kind of like the path that I decided to take. My major was in psychology with a minor in law and society, and I basically came to Purdue and I never left. So after you graduated, there was an opening at the police department or how did that work out? Yeah, so I originally, I was a student employee when I was going to school. I was a student worker down at MMDC, which is the warehouse south of campus. So I worked there as a student, and when I graduated, I continued working there part-time and trying to decide what do I want to do, do I want to go to grad school, those kinds of things. And I was very interested in law enforcement, so I was looking into openings, police departments in the area, and Purdue police had an opening. And so I also was in contact with a couple of retired police officers. And so they encouraged me and kind of helped pave that way for me, and I was offered the opportunity. So when looking back, like, was that always a goal of yours to be a police officer? You were kind of figuring out as you went into the sounds like? So I've always had a lot of different interests, but yes, policing was something that's always fascinated me. I think I've always enjoyed, you know, the fact that you're outside, you don't have an office. Of course, now I'm in an office. But even starting out, it's always great because you're in a car, you get to move around, you get to get out and talk to people, and that's always what fascinated me. And you never know what your day is going to be like. Right, never the same day every day. No, never the same day. It's different. You just don't know what it's going to be like. And then, you know, how did you overcome some challenges? Because you started, you know, as a patrol officer, and now you've worked your way up to chief. Tell us about that journey and the things that you had overcome. I think being a woman in law enforcement offers its own challenges, but there's a lot of positivity to have women in law enforcement. And I think we offer a whole nother area that maybe others can't, but it depends on the person too. So I don't want to take away from my male counterparts who are wonderful, wonderful officers do a great job. But I think it's also, you have to prove yourself, you know, when you first start in this male-dominated profession, you have to prove to people that you can do it, you're capable, you're smart, you've got a good grasp on this, and you're going to make it work. So that's what I've done, and constantly and consistently just proved myself throughout the years. And when the chief role opened up, did you, were you like, I'm ready, I'm going for this? Yeah, I'm not going to say it wasn't, you know, a little nerve-wracking and you're like, okay, but I've had a lot of people encouraging me, supporting me, and prepared me for this moment. So I am ready, definitely. And do you have a favorite memory, whether it's, you know, throughout your 22 years in the department, maybe when you were a student at Purdue, tell us some of those stories. Okay, so you're going to love this story. I have a lot of favorite memories, wonderful memories as a student, as a police officer here at Purdue. But my most memorable and favorite is when I met my husband. He's also a police officer, and we met at a bar fight at Harry's Chocolate Shop. So, yeah. Right across the street! Yes, yeah, it was, we both worked night shift, he hadn't been on too long, and they'd had a call and needed assistance, and it'd been one of those really, really busy nights. And so I went down there to help him out with a bar fight, and... The rest is history? The rest is history, yeah, I've been married 16-plus years, and yeah. We love a love story on the podcast. Now does he still work? Yes, he is a lieutenant for West Lobby at Police. Okay, so he's not in the Purdue Police Department? No, yeah, we work different departments, but that's how that all started. And you guys have a daughter? We do. What's it been like, you know, you probably have some different hours, you're not nine to five. What has that been like for your family? So, you know, throughout my career, his career, being a parent, both in law enforcement, has its challenges as well, right? And I just never wanted to put her in daycare, and so we made the decision from early on to always try to have one of us with her. And so we've always worked opposite shifts. So that's another challenge in itself, but it's worked for us. You know, it's actually worked really well for us, and she's always had one of us there. Not that she hasn't had a babysitter from time to time growing up, or a grandparent there with her, but overall, yeah, she's a wonderful, wonderful girl. That's great. What excites you most about this opportunity as Chief? I think there's a lot of things about this that really excite me, and I have to say, you know, my department makes it easy. They are a wonderful group of officers, dispatchers, records clerks, my detectives. Everybody in the department is just wonderful, and they make it work, and they know what to do, and I'm excited to lead them. And for us to be that team, and I think we've got a lot of opportunities ahead of us that are going to be very positive for them, for the Purdue community. So I'm excited to see where that all goes. Absolutely. Do you have any specific goals that you kind of want to just start off running? Yeah. So one thing I do want to look at trying to implement is social media. So Purdue Police doesn't have social media, and that is definitely one of the things within probably a year or so that I'd like to be able to implement. And of course, being a police department, there's policies, procedures, and things we have to put in place and make sure, you know, we get all that squared away, but definitely one of those things I think we're behind in the time zone, and it would benefit us to have that so we can communicate with our students. Right, and really quickly, right? Yes, yeah, you know, whatever that is, whether Twitter or Facebook and getting out something quick, even like for football. You know, football game days or reminder ahead of time, remember football is this weekend, move your cars if you're supposed to, or be patient with traffic, just even those little minor things to be able to just get out there to the public, so they know. That's a great one, that's important. What do you want students to see in you as their chief? You're really approachable, I can tell right away, but what are some of the things that you want the Purdue students to see in you? I think approachable is definitely one of those attributes. I want them to feel comfortable. I want them to think, hey, you know, maybe I can get a meeting with the chief or I want to talk about an issue or I've got a paper. I know we have a lot of students that come in and want to talk to an officer anyway about different topics, and so it might depend on what the topic is of who we send them to because of the expertise, right? You know, if they want to talk about canines, I've got to get one of my canine officers, you know, or if it's something community policing oriented or patrol related to get a patrol officer to have those conversations. So approachable is definitely one of those things. I think just letting people know that, you know, I truly do care. The police department, we have tough decisions to make at times and to know that when we make those decisions, you know, we're doing them for the right reasons at the right time, you know, and just to know that we are here for them and I want them to feel comfortable to come and make a report if they need to. They can ask for help. That's what we're here for. Sure, and I know you will talk at BGR coming up next year because I went last year and I remember the fire chief and the police chief talk, right? Yeah, so I did do that this year as a deputy chief. I got to be there with Chief Ply and several other people that we sat on the panel and were able to speak. So yeah, next year I'll be doing that in another capacity. That's awesome. Are there any other like networking or community things that you're kind of out and about on campus where students could reach you if they wanted to? Not yet, but I'm hoping that at some point, you know, I'm going to be able to get out and maybe even just walk around campus or come up with some idea. I know during one of my presentations I brought up, you know, like lunch with the chief or something like that, maybe not lunch or maybe there's another component that we can have to where I can be readily available and students can come or faculty and staff can come and ask questions or we can talk about issues that might be a big deal for people that I may not be aware of. Maybe we can help, maybe we can't, maybe there's something we can do to make it better. Okay, that's great. You've talked about too the importance of officers undergoing like new training. Tell us a little bit about why you think that's important and, you know, what type of training you might think is key to that. Training as a law enforcement officer is extremely important. So there's so many different areas that we need to be trained in. But one thing that I have mentioned that I'd like to streamline and make more consistent is when we promote. So when we promote a new sergeant, a new lieutenant, to get them to specific, get them to the same types of training, you know, like as a sergeant, this is the school you're going to go to. As a lieutenant, this is the school you're going to go to. So I've been to many different types of schools and, you know, there's good ones, there's okay ones and not so good ones. So I'd like to see something more consistent of doing that. Now we already do have written in policy where once you get promoted you have a year where you have to go to like a supervisory or leadership school. So, but I'd like to make it more consistent of what is that school and not just random, okay, this leadership opportunities coming up or this supervisory school is available in Indy. Let's, you know, let's break it down and make it more consistent and get something specific. And you just went to the Northwestern. Yeah. What is it? Please stop and continue. Yes. Yes. So I did that one online. So online it's 22 weeks. Oh wow. Yeah. In person it's 10 weeks. Okay. They also have a like introductory beginner supervisory one that's two weeks long. I believe it might be six weeks online. But so I'd even like to get some of my newer supervisors to the two week school and then implement the 10 week one down the road for those who want to further advance. Okay. And what kinds of things did you learn that were valuable? Oh yeah. Oh, 22 weeks. We had classes on leadership, budget, statistics, different things dealing with performance evaluations, difficult employees, you know, different, there's just a large amount of different things that they, the topics that they wanted to discuss. And it was two classes a week. So some of the classes were like four weeks long, some maybe just a week or two weeks, but it was very in depth, extensive training. And I recommend it. It's just 22 weeks online was a lot. Definitely. Now you're like all prepared to come in as chief. Yeah. Yes. Yeah. They definitely offer that insight to things that maybe you didn't know before that you need to know. Okay. So that's great. What advice would you give today's Purdue students? Things have changed a lot. Even from when I was here to now, right? Yeah. So, you know, being a college student at one time and now and being a police officer here on this campus for, you know, almost 23 years now, I've seen some things that have changed with the students. And, you know, the one thing is their mental health. So that is something that I think is truly valuable and that they need to make sure that they keep that they know what the resources are to help them if they need the help. Because I remember when I first started, if we went on these types of calls, check well-beings, it was definitely always around exam times or holidays. And now it's all the time. It's all the time. And the different stressors that they have, whether it's relationship issues, homesickness, doing bad in school, there's just so many different things that plague the students these days that they just don't, I think that they don't know how to deal with the stress. And the one thing I would say, especially when it comes to classes, grades, your majors, find what is your passion. Because I think so many of them are living for their parents and what their parents want them to do. And I just don't think that works for everybody. I think you have to find your own passion and what makes you happy because you have to be happy and you have to live with that. And I think sometimes they need to take a step back and figure that out for sure. And that's something that it's the perfect time in college to do that, right? Yeah. I mean, this is their time to shine, to figure those things out. And it's, life is more of a marathon, not a sprint, right? So trying to determine what that route is. And they might change their major multiple times. And that's okay. I don't think that's anything to be, you know, get upset about or you get a bad grade. It's going to be okay. Trust me, it's going to be okay. Yes. I, even in high school and college, of course, it's always going to be okay. It is. And I think that's a great way to get back and think about what you're stressing now. Yes. All the stresses. And I know it's, it's very different from, you know, when I grew up, but I, you know, I have a teenage daughter. So I see the different stresses, you know, she or her friends might be dealing with in our current college population. So it is going to be okay. It doesn't always seem like it. But there's another day. There's another, another moment to improve or make some different decisions. Yeah. I love that. That's a great answer. What role would you say Purdue has played in the early, a big role of, you know, making the decision to come to school here, graduating and staying in the meeting, my husband. And now we live in this community and I've been here myself for almost 23 plus years. You know, if you count my college career, I guess it's closer to like 28 or something. And so yeah, this is, this is my world. This is, this is my life. So it's had a huge impact. What would you say about this Boilermaker community? They are, they are leaders. That's what I see. So many leaders have come out of Purdue. So many Boilermakers are leaders throughout the United States in whatever area they've chosen to pursue. You see a lot of great things from Boilermakers in the world. That's a great answer. We haven't had that answer yet. That's awesome. What do you think makes Purdue unique when you think about how we're producing these leaders? You know, you see there have been so many successful people that have come out of Purdue. We have made what giant leaps, right? Neil Armstrong, Mille-Yerhardt. Those are people that come to mind that I think you have many young people who look up to what they did, what they accomplished. And I think that's amazing. And there's many more out there I know, but there's just so many wonderful people. I mean the perseverance, the persistence, the never giving up attitude. I mean that's Purdue. That's Boilermaker, right? That's what it is. Absolutely. What would you say your next giant leap is, whether that's personally, professionally? Yeah, I think becoming the next Purdue chief was definitely a big leap for me. What I would say to that is I think there's a lot to come. And I would say stay tuned to what Purdue police is going to do next for sure. Okay, you heard it here first. Do you have any favorite athletics teams that you and your family like to go watch? Kind of take a break from your duties and go enjoy it again? Yeah, that's a great question. Of course I love basketball. We watch a lot of Purdue basketball and other teams as well. We like a lot of different sports. Football is pretty big in my house. So Chicago Bears are number one for my husband. So that's what we really watch at the Chicago Bears, whether they're doing well or not. They're our team for sure. You're not a fair weather team? Nope, we're Chicago Bears through and through. So when it comes to football, it's football season and in our house we know when it's football season. Okay, okay. Is there any person that you think of when it comes to thinking about Purdue? You know, I kind of already mentioned like Amelia Earhart, I think as a woman, as a trailblazer, the thing she did for women in aviation and just women in general, showing that leadership in a time when women weren't in the public eye or nobody really necessarily thought of women doing great things. I think she did that. And I see that her as a role model for many, many women. But you have so many other wonderful people here at Purdue who have done the same thing. I mean I can think of a lot of people in my life here at Purdue. But when you think of some of the greats, the more iconic names, you know, she always comes to mind. I lived in Earhart Hall. I lived in Earhart Hall if that makes sense. But I lived in Earhart Hall when I was a student and lived there for two years. Did you have any mentors within the police department as you were working your way up or any mentors, professors at Purdue that you really remember? I mean, I've had different people throughout my time in the police department who have helped get me to certain places and get me to those trainings. So definitely yes. I would even say Bill Coghill. When I got hired on at the police department, he was the director over the police department. He's now an instructor here. And he's always been one of my biggest fans and encouraged me and always rooted me on. And sometimes my husband always goes to his classes and does talks. And sometimes I go with him and we talk to his students in law enforcement. And he's been one of those wonderful people that has always been kind of consistent throughout my career that I get to see and talk to. So you're having your swearing in ceremony? Yes. How do you feel leading up to that? I'm excited. I'm absolutely excited. A little nervous. Because my family will be there a lot of people in the community, a pretty community who will be there also. And I will be, I feel like that will be the final piece for me to really get things going. It will be final. Yes, exactly. The transition to being the next chief and getting to work. So that's what I'm waiting on. Well, we can't thank you enough for joining us. It was a pleasure. Thank you for having me. Thank you.