Purdue to alumni: Share your own ‘Giant Leaps’ video

Feustel, Brees helping celebrate 150th with theirs 

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — Astronaut Andrew J. “Drew” Feustel is just one Purdue University alumnus chronicling his giant leaps in a new video feature celebrating the university’s 150th anniversary.

Feustel’s “Take Your Giant Leap” video was filmed during his time on the International Space Station. Videos by influential alumni on Earth will be shared leading up to Homecoming including NFL quarterback Drew Brees, Akinwumi Ayodeji Adesina, World Food Prize winner and Beth Brooke-Marciniak, vice chair of public policy at Ernst and Young and 2015 selection to Forbes’ “The World’s 100 Most Powerful Women” list. Stay tuned to @LifeAtPurdue on Twitter and @PurdueUniversity on Facebook and the Purdue LinkedIn page each day this week for these videos and more to come.

“We encourage all alumni to share their stories about their giant leaps,” said Kelly Hiller, director of sesquicentennial communications. “We want them to be creative and fun, while showing the diversity across careers, locations and passions where so many Boilermakers have taken giant leaps.”

Alumni should film a short video of themselves describing their greatest “giant leap” and how Purdue helped achieve that goal. Then share the video at any time with the hashtag #TakeGiantLeaps and tag @LifeAtPurdue on Twitter or @PurdueUniversity on Facebook. Select videos will be shared on Purdue’s website and social media channels. Ideally, the video will be 1-2 minutes and can be recorded on your phone or computer.

The Take Your Giant Leap videos are one of many elements celebrating Purdue’s Sesquicentennial, 150 Years of Giant Leaps. This yearlong celebration is highlighting Purdue’s remarkable history of giant leaps, while focusing on what giant leaps Purdue can take to address the world’s problems. The campaign launches at Homecoming 2018 and among numerous events through Homecoming 2019 will be the various Ideas Festival events, which are the centerpiece of the Giant Leaps Sesquicentennial Campaign.

Feustel is a Purdue College of Science graduate (BS ’89, MS ’91) and he received a Purdue honorary doctorate while on the space station this spring. He is on Instagram/Twitter at @astro_feustel.

Writer: Amy Patterson Neubert, 765-494-9723, apatterson@purdue.edu 

Source: Kelly Hiller, khiller@purdue.edu