Caitlin Cotten
Manager of Recruitment and Student Success
Purdue Bands & Orchestras FYE Learning Community Instructor
Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion Committee Chair | Safe Zone Training
Learn more about Prospective Student Experiences.
Caitlin (she, her) is a graduate of Purdue University with a Bachelor of Arts in Communication-Human Relations (2012) and Master of Science in Higher Education-Student Affairs (2019). While an undergraduate, she was a featured vocalist for four years with the Purdue Jazz Band and Jazz Combo. In 2009, she completed the Disney College Program, making magic at the Emporium on Main Street, USA in the Magic Kingdom. At Disney, Caitlin also completed courses in Marketing and Public Relations. Through her prior customer service work as a representative of Quinlan & Fabish Music Company, she coordinated with area school music directors to support participation by students and parents in local band and orchestra programs. Caitlin was honored to represent Purdue Bands & Orchestras as the 2012 Sudler Prize for the Arts award winner.
In her free time, Caitlin is writing a novel and is active in the local arts community. She is a vocalist for Lafayette’s Big Swing Band and the Lafayette Citizens Band and performs regularly with Civic Theater of Greater Lafayette also serving as their Volunteer Coordinator. Caitlin is a member of the Lafayette Writer’s Studio and serves as a Social Media Consultant for various clients: Civic Theatre of Greater Lafayette, Big Swing Band, and Lafayette Citizens Band. She also serves as member of the board for the Lafayette Citizens Band and program administrator for the Tippecanoe Chamber Music Society. She and her partner Caleb Benner, who she performed with in the Purdue Jazz Band, have been married since 2012, and live in Lafayette with their fearsome cat Giselle.
Trudy Guthrie
Director of External Relations
Trudy started in Development sixteen years ago as the Administrative Assistant to the Director of Advancement in the College of Engineering. Since then, she has held positions in Principal Gifts/Donor Relations and Campaign Programs, President’s Council, and most recently Annual Giving and Stewardship where she has been responsible for coordinating the central stewardship efforts. She earned her BS in Organizational Leadership from Purdue Polytechnic Institute and also holds an Associate Degree in Hospitality and Tourism Management from the College of Health and Human Sciences at Purdue. She is proud to be in the middle of a three generation Purdue family. Her dad was a Mechanical Engineering alumnus (and a trombone player in the Purdue “All-American” Marching Band), and three of her children hold Purdue degrees (Communication, Animal Science and Food Science).
In her previous role with Purdue Bands & Orchestras, Trudy helped the many loyal constituents of Purdue Bands & Orchestras advance their philanthropic interests, and managed donor relations for the department.
