VALERIE LUDWICK, 1982-86

Home: Richland , WA

Married name: Valerie Willman

Husband's name: Mark Willman

Current occupation: Psychologist (Christian counseling, sport and performance psychology)

Past jobs/life situations that have contributed to the richness of my life: Serving as Professor of Psychology at Purdue North Central and Valparaiso University . Being separated for 2-½ year from my husband (out of 14 years now) and experiencing God bringing us both to our knees and putting marriage back together again!!

Hobbies/passions that I enjoy: Sports of all kinds! Love to follow the Boilermakers. Exercise is a significant part of our lives too. Ministry and our faith are my passion!

Still involved in twirling? I have a Christian ministry incorporating baton twirling. My husband and I have worked with youth groups teaching Biblical principles in performance - sharing our experience and faith and hope and teaching twirling. We have spoken in churches about our own marriage and testimony, using the twirling as a demonstration of God's gifts that are unique to us, and encouraging everyone to develop their special gifts from God.

What made/makes the Golden Girl position so special: When I was growing up and beginning twirling, Selita Sue Smith was on the "USTA" record album cover, and the AAMB was the band who played all our competition march music. In my eyes, there truly was no higher honor for a twirler than to be selected as Purdue's Golden Girl. It was my "Miss America Dream." The link between Golden Girl and Purdue's great football teams, particularly Lenny Dawson, elevated the position into the world of athletics as well as performance areas. Another element contributing to the uniqueness of the position involves the Golden Girl's opportunity to represent Purdue University . That element truly sets apart the Golden Girl position as special.

How being Golden Girl has shaped/impacted my life beyond Purdue: When I arrived at Purdue and became the Golden Girl I had spent most of my career performing as an individual, in competition as well as performance venues. As I experienced Dr. Bill Moffit, our famous band director and watched his enthusiasm, pride and unbridled drive to foster excellence in his entire band, I began to develop an appreciation for his giftedness in a wide variety of forms. Learning to strive for excellence within a team format, where the whole certainly was bigger than they sum of the parts, was new to me. This foundational concept paves the way for my valuing the uniqueness of each person with his or her special gifts and talents. An illustration of this important concept lies in a memory I have of our Peach Bowl trip. We were very excited to be at a major bowl game and were practicing extremely hard in the days prior to the event. I remember Bill Moffit was in rare form, driving us to recognize how great we were doing, and to press on and do the show "One more time!" By the umpteenth time we started over "one more time" I realized that I had cuts in my right hand from the constant throwing, and blood was running down my arm. I turned to complain to the trumpet player behind me, and he lowered his trumpet and said "what?" He had split his lip and blood was running down his face. I said "never mind," and we went on practicing. It was a real eye-opener for me to see that I was not the only one putting in the "blood, sweat, and tears" needed to put the excellence in our performance.

Favorite memories from being Golden Girl: Serving four years as Purdue's Golden Girl provided many wonderful opportunities for me to engage in a multitude of special activities, but one honored tradition that I had never participated in was Drum Major Breakdown. This ritual was (and still is) performed after games as the "crowning culmination" of the day. The Drum Majors would hold their staffs high, high stepping from one end of the parking lot to the other, ending up in front of the drum line. The drummers proceeded to accelerate their cadence to the point where the Drum Majors were in a frenzy trying to keep up their high stepping without missing a beat! It was an incredibly impressive sight! Anyway, Dr. Moffit gave me the privilege of participating in this ritual for my final AAMB Football game. I was so excited, thinking of how I would hold my baton high and fly down the middle of the road, step by step with the drum majors!! When the time came to begin the ritual, I was ready.or so I thought. As the drums rolled and the Drum Majors took off high stepping down the road, I was left in a cloud of their dust at the starting gate. I ran as fast as I could after them, trying desperately to keep my legs moving to the beat and my baton partially in the air. When I finally reached the drummers, they were already dueling with the Drum Majors, and it was all I could do to keep my legs moving, let alone getting them to coordinate to the bet. It seemed to go on forever. I gained an additional appreciation for those drummers and the Drum Majors that day.

In my first year as Golden Girl, my family flew out to visit me and attend a game at Ross Ade Stadium. My father, who was a private pilot, attempted to fly my mother, sister June, and himself out for a game three weeks before that, but bad weather had prevented their flight. It was devastating to all of us, but we all were celebrating when they made it out for the next game. I can still remember my father's face when the AAMB played "Hail Purdue" in his honor as a Purdue alumnus. It was awesome down in the band room of the Hall of Music. Then when game day came, the AAMB entered the stadium, announced by the "Fanfare Trumpets" and performed a new tradition of circling the stadium before entering the field for pre-game. As I came around the horseshoe, I looked up to see my mother and sister, sobbing and waving as I passed by. I'll never forget their expressions of love, thankfulness and pride.I remembered then what a family dream this had been for me to become Purdue University 's Golden Girl. Truly, with God, all things are possible!

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