ROBYN ANDREWS, 2002-2003

Home: San Jose, CA

Current occupation: I work in the Technical Design Department at Byer California, a large women's and kid's apparel company in San Francisco. I just started working here in November, soon after I came back from Purdue. I am a spec writer in the missy division. I have a great supervisor who also lets me do some of the technical designing and patternmaking as well, which is eventually what I would like to be doing. I am very grateful to be actually doing what I went to school for.

Past jobs/life situations that have contributed to the richness of my life: Well, since I am pretty much just starting out, I would have to say graduating from Purdue was probably the most enriching thing so far. Being a part of the Purdue AAMB was a large part of that experience. The time I spent as a member of the twirling line, as Girl-in-Black, and as Golden Girl definitely taught me many things. I would not have had the same experience at Purdue had it not been for the AAMB.

Hobbies/passions that I enjoy: My family (sisters and brothers-in law) have recently become interested in restoring old beach cruiser bicycles and customizing them. This weekend I just bought my own bike so I could join in the fun. We like to go to parks or the beach and ride. Another hobby of mine, (which carries into my work), is designing and making clothes. I always have so many ideas and it's hard to find the time to actually make something. I am trying to kick it up a notch though. Other than that, I really spend most of my time with my sisters and my family, whether it be shopping for clothes, antique shopping, or going up to our cabin in Northern California to have a relaxing weekend. During the winter we go up to the cabin a lot for snowboarding weekends.

Still involved in twirling? When I came back from Purdue, I was asked to coach at the club where I twirled growing up. Unfortunately, with my commute to San Francisco, I don't make it back to San Jose in time to teach any of the classes they have going on. Now that I am a little more settled into work, I may begin teaching private lessons in the evening. The past few years I have also taught at California Twirling Camp in the summer. I will probably be doing that again this year. Aside from the occasional teaching though, I am happy to say I am retired from twirling. I lightly considered going back to compete, but I would much rather end my "career" on a positive note. It's very hard to top being the Golden Girl.

What made/makes the Golden Girl position so special: I think the history of the position makes the Golden Girl very special. I don't think I ever get tired of hearing the story of how Len Dawson was the "Golden Boy," so Al Wright took Juanita carpenter and put her in gold sequins and made her the first "Golden Girl." It's just so amazing that one little thing like that started a legacy for twirlers everywhere. So many other schools have copied the idea, but Purdue's is the original, so I think it means a lot more. It's amazing to think that such a small number of women have held this position. In the twirling world, being the Golden Girl is a very big deal. At any school, being the feature twirler is special, but the Golden Girl holds a much different prestige than any other position. I definitely have wonderful memories that I can share for the rest of my life.

How being Golden Girl has shaped/impacted my life beyond Purdue: One of the ways being the Golden Girl has affected me is the fact how so many people outside of Purdue know what the Golden Girl is. It's fun how impressed people get when they find out you were the Golden Girl. More importantly though, I think being the Golden Girl, and the path it took to get there, has taught me a lot about life. In my four years with the Purdue band, I learned that no matter how good you are at something, you still must work to improve upon yourself. I learned never to be satisfied until I know I had worked as hard as I possibly could to achieve something. I think I learned a lot about goal setting. I learned to set my goals high and do the best I could to achieve them. Many people may say I was lucky the way things turned out for me while I was at Purdue, but I believe I worked hard for everything that I achieved in academics, and with the band. This work ethic is something I had all along, but being the Golden Girl, and the road it took to get there definitely reinforced to me how important setting goals and being determined are.

Having these experiences have definitely affected the way I live my life today. I can apply the same work ethic and determination to my job as I did to twirling. I never accept myself performing average. I always aim high and try to do the best I can. I learned not to wait around for "luck," I learned to make my own luck. Also, I learned that no matter how many people in life tell you that you can't do something, or don't believe that you should be where you are, you have to believe in yourself. You cannot take any negative things people say to you personally. You just have to go with what you believe in and strive to do your best. These are all definitely great lessons that I will keep with me for the rest of my life.

Favorite memories from being Golden Girl: I think one of my best memories from when I was Golden Girl was homecoming. Instead of performing at Slayter before the game, we were a part of the festivities in the engineering mall. Krista Woodward (the Girl-in-Black) and I got to meet and greet so many people that day. It was so fun signing autographs and taking pictures with kids. This one family even had me take a picture with their baby. It was a lot of fun. I definitely enjoyed having the Golden Girl trading cards made up. Thanks so much to Jim Wallace for that, I still give them out to people, they were definitely a fun thing to have. One of the things I think I miss the most about being the Golden Girl is performing at pre-game, it was such a rush doing the run-out and hearing your name throughout the whole stadium, then, as the band starts to play hearing everyone cheering so loud. I don't think I will ever forget that feeling, just feeling so small on the center of that field in that huge stadium.

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