Golden Taps ceremony to honor 14 Purdue students

Purdue’s Golden Taps ceremony will be held Monday (April 7) to honor students who have died during the past year.

Golden Taps, a collaboration of the Office of the Dean of Students, University Residences and the Purdue Student Union Board, has been a tradition on campus since 1994. Additional groups with involvement in the ceremony are Purdue Memorial Union, Purdue Musical Organizations, Black Cultural Center, Purdue Bands & Orchestras, Gimlet Leadership Honorary, Purdue Student Government, Purdue Graduate Student Government and Reamer Club.

Family, friends and community members are invited to gather at 6 p.m. at Purdue Memorial Union’s North Ballroom. Attendees will then proceed to the Unfinished Block P in Academy Park outside Stewart Center for a brief outdoor ceremony.

The 14 students who will be honored this year are:

  • Turki Aljarbou, a senior in the Purdue Polytechnic Institute
  • Jessica Baldwin, a graduate student in the Purdue Polytechnic Institute
  • Michael Castaneda, a freshman in the College of Engineering
  • Bhavana Chandrashekar, a graduate student in the Purdue Polytechnic Institute
  • Ben Coffeen, a junior in the College of Engineering
  • Andrew Compton, a sophomore in the Honors College and the Mitchell E. Daniels, Jr. School of Business
  • Jacob Devine, a junior in the College of Engineering
  • Alexander Foss, a junior in the Purdue Polytechnic Institute
  • Yushang (Harris) Jiang, a sophomore in the Purdue Polytechnic Institute
  • Abidemi (Demi) Ojurongbe, a sophomore in the Mitch Daniels School of Business
  • Connor Simmons, a freshman in Exploratory Studies
  • Lillian Szuba, a freshman studying in the College of Education
  • Ernesto Tangassi, a senior in the College of Science
  • Brian Wood, a graduate student in the College of Engineering

After the ceremony, a reception will take place in the North Ballroom of the Purdue Memorial Union. For more information, contact the Office of the Dean of Students at 765-494-1747.

Faculty-Staff News

People walk on a Purdue University sidewalk in the snow on a cold winter day.

Participant clients needed for nutrition counseling program

December 22, 2025

Two students walk under Purdue’s Gateway Arch in the snow.

Employees should update address information ahead of tax form distribution

December 22, 2025

The unfinished Block P statue on the Purdue University campus.

Human Resources shares end-of-year, new year reminders, updates, Zepbound pricing program, more

December 22, 2025

Hovde Hall during the winter season at Purdue University.

This week’s ‘Thumbs Up’ recipients

December 22, 2025

All Faculty-Staff News