1962
Phillip K. Tompkins, Ph.D., wrote the feature essay in the spring edition of Spectra on how to combine communication research with outreach work.

1968
R. James Scott (Jim), B.A., retired from Elkay Manufacturing Co. in 2008, after 33 years. Retired as President, Plumbing Products Division Currently he is a Partner, Simply Business Results. Helping mid-sized businesses get the results their strategy is designed to achieve.He reports spending more time on photography, travel, motorcycle trips, and 8 grandchildren.

1972
Steve (Robert Stephen) Watson, B.A., after retiring from AIG/American General in 2002, Steve joined the New York City Teaching Fellows program in 2003. He currently teaches mathematics and physics to recent immigrants to New York City from non-English speaking countries at the International High School at Prospect Heights, in Brooklyn. Last year, Steve completed a doctorate in urban education at the Graduate Center of the City University of New York and was invited to present a portion of his dissertation at the sixth international Basil Bernstein sociology of education symposium in Brisbane Australia, where his paper was selected by conference organizers as the outstanding paper of the conference. Steve presented a second paper on the history and sociology of mathematics education at the national convention of the American Educational Research Association (AERA) in April of this year. Steve is also a lecturer in mathematics education at the City College of New York, where he teaches graduate courses in educational research and mathematics education. Steve is also the co-founder of the Jefferson Math Project (www.jmap.org), which is used by mathematics educators throughout the state of New York to prepare students for Regents mathematics examinations.

Chris Benjamin, B.A., continues to produce television episodes for various broadcast and cable channels. For more than five years, he's written and produced episodes for TruTV's popular "Forensic Files" show. Now, he is writing and producing episodes for Discovery ID Channel for a show called "Wicked Attraction." Most of his work is in the area of true crime. On another note, his sister Marcia Benjamin, who got her Ph.D., from Purdue and taught communication courses as a grad assistant, died on November 24, 2010. Her death was from the chronic effects of cystic fibrosis.

1976
Elizabeth Carmichael Bullard, B.A., is currently teaching first, second and third grade at Cornerstone Christian Montessori in Elkhart, Ind. She is also the administrator and principal of the school. She has been teaching the Montessori method for 15 years and loves it! She is married to Kurtis L. Bullard (Purdue grad '75 agronomy) and they have four adult children, two of whom are graduates of Purdue.

1978
Kathleen Brittain Luther, B.A. (M.S. 1980), is the Director of Development at the Saint Louis University Cancer Center in St. Louis, MO.

Kathie Turner, Ph.D., was elected to the presidential succession of the National Communication Association, to serve as president in NCA's centennial year of 2014.  Currently at Davidson College, Kathie is the first person elected from a small liberal arts college since 1946.

1979
Doris Anne (Elliott) Hook, B.A., and her husband began their newspaper, The Akron Hometowner, in 2001 in a town with an established newspaper that not many people were happy with. In 2005 they bought out that competing paper and combined it with theirs. The Hometowner is now thriving and celebrating its 10th anniversary and has won many state and national awards. In 2005 they began another business, Koala-T Printing, which does silk screening, embroidery, vinyl signs, business cards, and more. Also in 2005, a new building was completed that houses both businesses.

Kathy Burkle Thuerbach, B.S., and Jon Thuerbach (BSIM 79) were just named as 2011 recipients of the Arizona Child and Family Resource Association's "Champions for Children and Families" in the Tucson and Southern Arizona areas. Kathy and Jon run Christian Youth Theater Tucson, or CYT Tucson. CYT is a non-profit children's and teen's educational after-school musical theater program, and is going into its seventh season in the Fall. The organization has had over 1,500 local children in its program, which is designed to instill good character and self-esteem in kids through training in the arts. Since 2005, over 60,000 Tucsonans have seen a CYT Tucson production, with an additional 15,000 local school children being introduced to live theater through the program. "Being awarded the 'Making Children's Lives Better' title is truly an honor!"

1980
Elaine Wilkes, Ph.D., was interviewed on CNN's Headline News about her international book, "Nature's Secret Messages: Hidden in Plain Sight."

1981

Angie Klink, B.A., is the author of "Divided Paths, Common Ground, The Story of Mary Matthews and Lella Gaddis, Pioneering Purdue Women Who Introduced Science into the Home," published by Purdue University Press in March 2011. "Divided Paths, Common Ground" is the fascinating story of two women who helped build the foundation of Purdue University by teaching other women how to better their lives. Based on extensive oral history, archival research and personal diaries that span 40 years, this book sheds new light on the important role female staff and faculty played in improving the quality of life for women during the first half of the 20th century.

1982
Theresa A. (Mobley) Millay, B.A., and husband's oldest son is graduating from the University of Notre Dame in May. Their second son is playing soccer for the University of Cincinnati and had a great freshman season. Their third son is graduating from high school and has been accepted to many great schools, including Purdue. Their fourth son is a sophomore in high school and is doing well.

1984
Marsha Jones, B.A., will be doing a book signing in Chicago, Ill., on Sunday, May 1, for her latest novel, Pin Pals, which will be published by Xlibris in the Spring of 2011. Her third novel, Pin Pals follows the adventures and friendships of five women on a bowling team. In addition to her novel, Marsha recently finished her first play, MomsLikeUs.Com, and is writing her memoir, It Doesn't Show On My Face, about her stroke recovery. She also is serving as co-chair of the communications committee of the Gateways Music Festival in Rochester, N.Y. The August festival celebrates classical music performed by African-American musicians.

Rosemarie Santare Schwer, B.A., says in addition to post-graduate studies in education, public relations during her undergrad could not have been a better preparation for teaching middle school Language Arts. After completing a Master's Degree in Reading at Goucher College in Baltimore, MD., she currently teaches the Reading Interventions programs. Along with planning daily instruction and writing curriculum for her school system in the summer, she serves as the Faculty Council President, a member of the leadership team, and the advisor for the Student Government Association. Her husband Ken is a project manager at NASA at Goddard Space Flight Center. Their daughter is studying in graduate school at PCOM to become a Physician Assistant, and their son is a freshman at the University of Maryland, studying mechanical engineering. "Wish Purdue played out in the ACC more often so that we could see the Boilermakers close to home occasionally!"

Tom Morgan, B.A., has been promoted to President of Republic National Distributing Company Indiana. RNDC is one of the largest premium wine and spirits wholesale distributors in America. He has more than 20 years of industry experience, and prior to joining RNDC Indiana, he spent 15 years with Diageo North America serving in numerous leadership roles with responsibility for both wines and spirits.

1986
Terese Cooke Bottner, B.A., as a Presentation Skills Coach for EMS Communications in Northbrook, Ill., she uses her diverse background in sales, public relations, image consulting, teaching, and stage & commercial acting to bring out and enhance client's presentation performance. Since 1998, EMS Communications has been on a mission: to rid the world of boring presentations, one speaker at a time!

1987
Lisa Mitrosky Patton, B.A., is a set medic working in the motion picture industry. She worked on the brand new HBO show called "Enlightened" starring Laura Dern. She also currently works on the television shows "CSI New York" and "Chuck." She is a Los Angeles County E.M.T. She has been working in the motion picture industry since 1995 and has worked on many television shows and features over the years.

Michelle Meyer-Devlin, B.A., a sales executive at AT&T, recently published a book for children with food allergies. Her daughter, Julia, was diagnosed at age of 9 months with allergies to nuts, egg and milk. "Allergic Like Me" is for children ages 2 to 8 and is a rhyming book which takes children through some of the challenges they will face with managing an allergy. The book is under review at the Food Allergy and Anaphylactic network and is currently available on authorhouse.com/bookstore, or at Amazon.com or Barnes&noble.com

1988
Tammie L. Bentley Fish, B.A., has opened a woman-owned printed circuit board and PCB lab testing company, DIVSYS International, LLC.

1989
Chuck Hanas, B.A., runs a baseball program for preschool aged children called Lil Sluggers in Fort Wayne, IN. Lil Sluggers is a child development program designed to introduce children ages 2-6 to the game of baseball. Check out our website at:

1990

Andrew Dills, B.A., manages the Network New Business Transition and Transformation team for HP Enterprise Services.

Molly Burns, B.A., recently celebrated her 15th wedding anniversary to Don Burns. Molly has two sons who she hopes will be future Boilers.  Molly is the Vice President of Business Development for The Hagerman Group.  Hagerman is a builder and is currently working on the First Street Towers project and the Co-Rec at Purdue.

1991

Heather Allene Peffley, B.A., is a practice advisor at Allergan Inc.

1992
Brandi Doyle (Schwartz), B.A., passed her Senior Professional in Human Resources (SPHR) exam on 1/29/11.

Michael Waltman, Ph.D., had the following new publications: Waltman, M. S. & Haas, J. W. (2010). The Communication of Hate. New York: Peter Lang Publishers; and three articles, "Pre-Christian Pagans," "Christian Identity Movement" and "Creativity Movement and Church of the Creator" in "Religion and violence: An Encyclopedia of Faith and Conflict from Antiquity to the Present."

1993
Fred Marc Ruiz, B.A., works as an investment advisor and partner at Oak Partners Inc. Three of his five partners attended Purdue. They recently completed construction of their new office building in Crown Point, Ind. Their firm now employs four Purdue graduates and is growing at a nice clip through this challenging economic environment.

Troy Fears, B.A., has been serving as Executive Director of United Way of the Wabash Valley for the past 2.5 years.

1994
Deana Potterf, B.A., graduated with a Master of Arts in Public Relations from Ball State University.

1995
Eugenia Yew-Yen Peck, M.S., is living in Sugar Land, TX; she has 3 kids and is Director of Consulting Services with Kantar Health - pharmaceutical marketing research consulting. "Working with a fellow colleague from Purdue University Communication Program ... small world."

J. Sibley Law, B.A., had "Streaming Media Deliver in Higher Education: Methods and Outcomes" published in April. Additionally, his company Saxon Mills LLC is launching an online channel delivering daily content.

Alyse Holzhausen Vordermark, B.A., recently became the vice president of partnerships and development for the Sherwood Foundation for the Arts in Sherwood, Ore.

Monica Rohleder Duffy, B.A., in October of 2010, gave birth to her first child, a girl named Riley Christine Duffy! "My husband and I are enjoying every minute of being new parents, and even though I won't tell him since he is an Illinois alum, we are grooming her to become a next generation Purdue student!"

1996
Stacy (Fellure) Sarault, B.A., and husband, Drent, welcomed their second baby boy on New Year's Eve: Crosby Joseph Sarault, 6 pounds, 4.6 ounces and 18 inches.

Tanya Jordan, B.A., of Orange, CA, recently joined the Music Center-Performing Arts Center of Los Angeles as Director of Donor Events and Stewardship.

1997
Maureen (Kaiser) Richmond, B.A., and husband Tim welcomed their second son, Jack, to the family on June 15, 2010. He joins big brother Joseph, born 11/9/08. Maureen is the director of media relations for FirstGroup America, North America's largest transportation company. They transport 6 million students to/from school each day (First Student), carry more than 300 million transit passengers annually (First Transit) and provide transportation to nearly 20 million Greyhound travelers each year.

Michelle Gustilo-Smithson, B.A., has been happily married for 12 years to husband Chris, whom she met while attending Purdue (he worked for the university). They're living in her home city in Long Beach, CA. They have 2 great kids who are in high school and middle school, both play volleybal (school and club), and sing for their school choirs as well. She has been in her current position at Ocean Media as an HR Director for 4 years now; she obtained her PHR 4 years ago. She was also recently asked to join the Advisory Board for Catholic Charities in Long Beach, a non-profit organization that helps impoverished families and individuals with housing, food and clothing. "We're blessed is so many ways, and some of our blessings have come out of a good educational foundation. . .Thanks Purdue!"

1998

Ria (Carlsson) Davidson, B.A., in late summer 2010, co-founded The Dragonfly Foundation, a non-profit dedicated to bringing comfort and joy to kids and young adults with cancer and blood diseases. In its relatively short existence, The Dragonfly Foundation has dramatically impacted care for patients by bringing comfort and fun to the wards and clinics of Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center. The organization hopes to replicate its programs at other hospitals nationwide.

Azura (Domschke) Collier, B.A., was recently named Social Media Marketing/Learning Specialist for Constant Contact, an e-mail/social media marketing firm located in Waltham, Mass. She will be researching new trends in social media and leading daily webinars for small businesses and non-profits. She comes to Constant Contact after eight years working in social media, marketing and public relations in higher education.

Tim Dernlan, B.A., was named the 2011 NCAA Division II Midwest Regional Coach of the Year. He is in his third year as the head wrestling coach at Ashland University in Ashland, Ohio. The team finished the year with a dual meet record of 15-2-1 (one loss came to Purdue University). This record is the best record for the program since joining the ranks of Division II more than thirty years ago.

2000
Cynthia (Chorney) Graf, B.A., on February 11, 2011, and Paul Graf (BS EET -2002) welcomed their first child, Colin Thomas Graf. Colin weighed 7 pounds, 6 ounces and was 19 1/2 inches long. He was born at 5:51 p.m. in Woodstock, IL.

Laura (Anthony) Bukowski, B.A., was promoted to Media Director at Starcom Worldwide in Chicago.  Her focus will be on strategic media planning for the PetSmart business. She has been with Starcom since June 2000.

Eve (Scrogham) Esch, B.A., had a little girl, Ella Rose, on 6/28/2010.

2001
April (Reutebuch) Holajter, B.A., and Jason Holajter (ECE'00) along with their daughter, Lily, welcomed Jackson Ronald into their family on June 6, 2010. And in August 2010 April started working for the Purdue Alumni Association as the electronic communications specialist managing e-mail communications, social networks and some Web site content for the association.

2002
Megan Diskey, B.A., is currently the Marketing Manager at Ruth Eckerd Hall in Clearwater, FL. Designed by the prestigious Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation, Ruth Eckerd Hall is consistently ranked in the top 5 venues in the world with seats of 2,500 or less by industry trade publications. She also oversees all marketing for the newest theatre, the Capitol Theatre, in downtown Clearwater. She was recently engaged to John Brennan (University of South Florida graduate and The Cowhead Show Radio Producer) and we plan to wed September 17, 2011 on St. Pete Beach.

Stephanie (Lane) Miller, B.A., promoted to Programs, Events and Facility Coordinator for the Phi Kappa Psi Foundation. Married to Joshua P. Miller, BS in MET.

Travis Miller, B.A., recently became the Associate Editor for SBNation's regional Indiana Sports site. This website features coverage of Indiana's professional and college teams, as well as racing and high school sports. This is in conjunction with his popular Purdue sports blog, Hammer & Rails.

Ryan Kring, B.A., serve as sales and project manager for US Signcrafters.  For the last two years he has been working on spearheading a new division of the company called Building Impressions, which is a division dedicated to unique architectural fabrication, including sunshades, awnings and building facades.

Megan (Wise) Nail, M.S., is working as a Senior Human Resources Manager for Clifton Gunderson LLP - one of the nation's largest public accounting firms.

2003
Mandy Hunsicker, B.A., left MSL Group to join Edelman as a senior account supervisor in the Atlanta office in July 2010.

Corrie Wollet, right, poses with celebrity and model Padma Lakshmi after a product launch event.

Corrie Wollet, B.A., as of March 2011, was appointed Vice President, Consumer Group at Marina Maher Communications Inc. (MMC), in New York City. Corrie has worked at MMC for nearly 5 years where she focuses on building strategic campaigns, celebrity integrations and social media programs for some of the industry’s largest beauty and personal care brands. Most recently, Corrie led the Henkel business, managing their personal care portfolio on the Dial and Tone brands. Prior to Henkel, Corrie worked on the Procter & Gamble COVERGIRL account where she helped launch industry leading products, LashBlast Mascara and Simply Ageless, as well as talent Drew Barrymore and Rihanna. With her promotion, Corrie will transition to heading Procter & Gamble’s Secret brand.

Lauren Reising, B.A., in October 2010, accepted a job in Chicago at the Illinois Institute of Technology as the Manager of Development and Alumni Communications.

Jeremy Pettet, B.A., hired as Account Supervisor for the Volkswagen account at Draftfcb Chicago.

Lisa (Cripe) Montague, B.A., on October 15, 2010, married to Justin Montague in Las Vegas. In February of 2011 she got promoted to Assistant Media Director of Letizia Mass Media.

Stephanie Furlan, B.A., graduated from DePaul University's Kellstadt Graduate School of Business in June 2010, and recently accepted a position with Intersport, a Chicago-based sports and entertainment marketing company, as Director of Ticket Sales & Management.

Melissa Steinwedel, B.A., and husband had a little girl, Mae Eileen Steinwedel on September 10, 2010.

2004
Tim Reilly , B.A., did Public Relations for Saks Fifth Avenue in Indianapolis upon graduation. He then decided to go to grad school in '05 and was accepted at DePaul University in Chicago. He earned his Master's in Elementary Education and has been teaching first grade for the past 4 years at Walt Disney Magnet School in Chicago. In the summer of 2009 and 2010, he taught in villages in the Fiji Islands. He is currently interviewing to teach in Africa this summer. He is also researching schools to earn his Ph.D. in Global Education and Technology. Last June, Chicago magazine chose him as one of Chicago's 20 most fascinating singles for 2010.

Olugbenga Ishmael, B.A., will graduate in 2012 from Northwestern University School of Law. He currently is a law clerk at Lowis & Gellen LLP Chicago.

Stephanie (Summers) Thompson, B.A., and Andrew Thompson welcomed a baby boy, Davis Robert on 1/1/2011 in Indianapolis.

Joshua Dexter, B.A., (M.A., 2010), accepted a job in Purdue Liberal Arts Academic Advising as an Undergraduate Communication Advisor.

2005
Jessica Callahan, B.A., in September, she and her husband relocated to Birmingham, AL, and she took a job as Senior Community Director for the March of Dimes. 

2006

Sarah Tagtmeyer, B.A., and Evan Farthing (Computer Science '06) became engaged over the holidays. The two originally met at Purdue University when Sarah was on the Golduster Dance Team and Evan was a member of the All American Marching Band. Sarah received a M.A. in Public Relations from Ball State University in 2008. She currently serves as the Deputy Chief of Staff for First Lady Cheri Daniels.

Ashley Koehn, B.A., joined Clif Bar & Company as the Midwest Field Marketing Manager for the LUNA & CLIF Kid brands. Clif Bar & Company is the leading maker of nutritious, all-natural, organic foods and drinks.

Lori (Brady) Solomon, B.A., in 2010, she launched her own full-time event planning business, Boldly Chic Events, in Indianapolis. "I am loving every minute of my new career and always utilizing much of the marketing skills I learned in my PR & Advertising courses at Purdue. "

Jae Truesdell, B.A., (M.A., 2009) and Marek Szeszycki (B.A. 2009) were engaged to be married in May 2010. Jae was the Outstanding Senior in Communication 2006 and served as a leader in the Purdue Musical Organizations for four years culminating in 2006 as the manager of the Purduettes. Marek served as the section leader for the Trumpets in Purdue's All-American Marching Band. Both of them were nominees for the Louis Sudler Prize in the Arts. Theirs is a match made in Purdue musical heaven! They currently live on the north side of Chicago in Rogers Park. Jae has returned to school for a third degree, an MPH from UIC, while Marek is working for Leapfrog Online in Evanston, IL as a full-time graphic designer and plays trumpet with the Lakeside Pride Music Ensembles.

2007

Angela (Bell) Paxton, B.A., since graduation, she and husband Mick have welcomed two boys, Riley and Liam. She is currently working in Business Services at Purdue as an Instructional Design and Training Specialist.

Robert Stack, B.A., recently got promoted to Branch Commercial Manager at Tru Green in Fort Wayne after working for two years at the Tru Green branch in Lafayette as a Commercial Sales representative. Also, he and his wife Amanda are expecting their first child, a girl, at the end of May 2011.

Charlie Henry, B.A., accepted a position as a Marketing Communications Coordinator with American Structurepoint Inc., an engineering and architecture firm on the northeast side of Indianapolis.

2008
Melissa Marasco (Paniaguas), B.A., moved to San Diego after graduation. She initially began as a Writer/Editor for a small marketing firm, and eventually transitioned into her current position in Public Relations at the global headquarters at Jenny Craig Inc. She got married to her college sweetheart, Angelo Marasco, in June 2009, and they are enjoying their lives together in sunny California.

2009
Rosemary Arnold, B.A., will be receiving her M.A. in Museum Studies from IUPUI in May 2011.

Amber McNeil, B.A., studied abroad in Rome, Italy over spring break! She is graduating with a M.S. in Human Resource Management from Purdue's Krannert School of Management in May. She serves as the VP of Communication for Purdue's SHRM Chapter. Upon graduation, she will be working full-time as a Human Resources Generalist for Wabash National in Lafayette.

2010
Charlie Armstrong, M.A., and wife Rachel welcomed their second child and first daughter, Miriam Sophia Armstrong, on Sept 8, 2010. In August, Charlie was hired as the Graduate Program Administrator for the Department of Agricultural & Biological Engineering at Purdue. "Glad to be Boilermaker twice over!"

Lauren East, B.A., is in her 7th month at Starcom MediaVest in Chicago. She is working as a Media Associate on a client activation team within the agency. She works directly with the client to place their advertisements on various national cable networks, and helps with the tactical planning for their campaigns. "It has been a great experience so far, and I am excited to see what other opportunities are ahead of me at Starcom."

Barry Helfrich, B.A., and wife Monica (Ruberg) Helfrich (Purdue '08) welcomed their first boy, Evan James, on Nov. 5th. They are living and working in Indianapolis. Monica is the Center Director at the KinderCare in Geist and he is working at RICS Software as a member of the Orr Fellowship.

Brenda Berkelaar, Ph.D., starting in Fall 2011, Brenda will be joining the faculty of the University of Texas at Austin as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Communication Studies.

Samantha Sawyer, B.A., started her career in marketing and advertising as a project manager at Boyden & Youngblutt in Fort Wayne.