Fourth-generation Boilermaker embracing the opportunities of Purdue Global’s online education

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — When Holly Edwards Vosburgh walked across Elliott Hall of Music’s stage to receive her Purdue Global degree during the October 2024 commencement, she was continuing a family tradition started 98 years earlier.

Her great-grandfather, Maurice Woodward, received his agriculture degree from Purdue University during the 1926 commencement ceremonies in the Memorial Gymnasium — now Felix Haas Hall.  His daughter, Linda Woodward Baird (MS health and human sciences ’64), and granddaughter, Erin Baird Edwards (BSME ’91) — Vosburgh’s mother — both earned degrees from Purdue.

Vosburgh’s Purdue Global experience is vastly different from the college experience others in her family had.

Simply put, Vosburgh completed all her classes online on her laptop from Boston.

“With my husband being a full-time student and me working full time as a classroom teacher, I needed something that would work for my schedule and that I could do while working and supporting us,” Vosburgh said. “When I was looking into online education programs, Purdue Global was one of the first ones that came up in my search. Having the Purdue history in the family, I felt really good about it.”

The road to getting another Boilermaker in the family was unexpected — and shrouded in secrecy.

“I couldn’t tell Mom. I wanted to wait until I was accepted so I could tell her I was going to be a Boilermaker,” Vosburgh said. “I said, ‘If I don’t get in, we never speak of this again. Mom never knows.’”

Edwards was thrilled to find out that her daughter was admitted.

“This has been incredibly special for her to be a fourth-generation Boilermaker,” Edwards said. “I was pleased she was getting a quality education without having to do the brick-and-mortar option, because she had a full-time job.”

Baird said across generations — including her brother Joe, her daughter Amy, her niece and Joe’s daughter Ann, and cousins who are Purdue alums — there was no pressure or expectation to attend Purdue.

“He (Maurice, her father) didn’t know about it either until I applied and was accepted,” Baird said.

A family of Boilermakers

Woodward grew up near Mount Comfort, Indiana, in a family that valued education, a trait that continues to this day.  

Following graduation, he taught agriculture in schools. He returned to the farm, specializing in seed corn production and working with organizations that improved the lives of residents in Hancock County and across Indiana.

Traces of Woodward’s Purdue connection are still on campus. His name is on the Purdue Memorial Union’s Life Member plaque. He received the Purdue Ag Alumni Association’s Certificate of Distinction in 1973 and is a member of the Purdue Agriculture Hall of Fame, just to name a few of the numerous honors. Baird and her husband, Donn, established an agronomy scholarship in his memory.

Baird came to Purdue in January 1963 to pursue her master’s degree in food and nutrition, including working on a research project in the home economics department. She lived in Stone Hall’s third-floor residence rooms until the graduate residence hall was completed.

Edwards ultimately chose Purdue for its mechanical engineering program. She lived in Earhart Residence Hall for two years before moving off campus.

“I felt that Purdue’s classes were much more group-oriented and just felt more like home to me,” she said.

Vosburgh, who earned her Master of Science in education through Purdue Global’s College of Social and Behavioral Sciences, is working on her Doctor of Education at Purdue Global, with a focus on leadership and innovation. Much like her great-grandfather, Vosburgh is an educator at heart, currently working as a director of a before- and after-school program at an Illinois school district. Her goal is to prepare for administrative leadership in an education setting.

“I’ve had a great experience at Purdue Global,” Vosburgh said. “I have previously taken online classes through different universities, but this has by far been the best experience. Since the program is designed to be online, it is easy to get support or find answers to your questions. My advisors and professors at Purdue have been extremely helpful and attentive.”

One of the faculty members who went above and beyond was Derrell Youngblood. Youngblood, of the College of Social and Behavioral Sciences, taught two of Vosburgh’s classes and encouraged her to explore the EdD program.

Another way Purdue Global stood out was by offering an in-person graduation on Purdue’s campus, a place that is important to her family.

“I cannot emphasize enough how special the graduation weekend was. Doing my master’s virtually, I was worried that I wouldn’t get to have that experience,” she said. “Having time for family and friends to come together meant so much. It meant even more since I got to walk on the same stage as my family before me. I am grateful to Purdue Global for that event.”

About Purdue Global

Purdue Global is Purdue’s online university for working adults who have life experience and often some college credits. It offers flexible paths for students to earn an associate, bachelor’s, master’s or doctoral degree, based on their work experience, military service and previous college credits, no matter where they are in their life journey. Purdue Global is a nonprofit, public university accredited by the Higher Learning Commission and backed by Purdue University. For more information, visit https://www.purdueglobal.edu.