Winter 2022 Commencement celebrates giant leap milestone for nearly 3,000 graduating Boilermakers

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – Years of persistence and thousands of small steps taken together culminated for nearly 3,000 Boilermakers over the weekend (Dec. 17 and 18) as three Winter 2022 Commencement ceremonies took place in Purdue University’s Elliott Hall of Music. 

Eligible to participate in Purdue’s winter commencement were 2,957 students, including 1,679 undergraduates and 946 master’s, 326 doctor of philosophy and six professional program candidates. And 67 Purdue alumni who were unable to participate in previous commencements — 18 baccalaureate, 25 master’s and 24 PhD alumni — were to take part.

From their first day at Purdue through these final months, these Boilermakers persisted in overcoming unexpected turns, difficult classes, brutal nights and a global pandemic. Big challenges and small victories. Again and again, they kept going, determined to reach this milestone in their academic journey.

A graduate expresses the thrill of receiving her diploma during Purdue University Winter Commencement ceremonies on Saturday (Dec. 17). (Purdue University photo/John Underwood) Download image

Shelley M. MacDermid Wadsworth, Distinguished Professor of Human Development and Family Studies at Purdue and director of both the Center for Families and the Military Family Research Institute, delivered the Division III commencement address for Sunday’s ceremony.

The commencement ceremonies took place as follows:

• Division I — Undergraduate, professional and master’s degrees for College of Health and Human Sciences, School of Management, College of Pharmacy, Polytechnic Institute, College of Science and College of Veterinary Medicine.
• Division II — Undergraduate and master’s degrees for the College of Agriculture, College of Education, College of Engineering and College of Liberal Arts.
• Division III — Graduate School (doctor of philosophy only).

Deepak, Boes give student responses

Giving the student response at the Division I ceremony was Eesha Deepak of San Jose, California, who received a Bachelor of Science in computer science and data science with a focus on machine intelligence. Deepak will begin her professional journey as an entry-level software engineer with Intel in Santa Clara, California. 

Kevin Boes of Great Falls, Montana, who received a Bachelor of Science in mechanical engineering was the student responder for the Division II ceremony. Boes, who worked as a Starship operations engineering intern at SpaceX in Texas, plans to continue his research in pursuit of a PhD through Purdue’s Maurice J. Zucrow Laboratories.

A happy graduate points to his support system after receiving his Purdue University degree on Saturday (Dec. 17). (Purdue University photo/John Underwood) Download image

About MacDermid Wadsworth

MacDermid Wadsworth directs Purdue’s Center for Families and the Military Family Research Institute, both of which she co-founded. With an MBA in management and a master’s and PhD in human development and family studies from Pennsylvania State University, she focuses her research primarily on the relationship between work conditions and family life, specifically for military families. She is an author of over 140 articles and chapters.

MacDermid Wadsworth has served on federal advisory committees for the National Academies of Science and the Department of Defense, and has testified before Congress regarding military and veteran families. She is a recipient of the Morrill Award, Purdue’s highest faculty honor, for outstanding career achievements that have had an impact on society, and in 2019 was named a “Top Ten Extraordinary Contributor” among work-family researchers worldwide. Purdue received the Kellogg Award from the Association of Public and Land-Grant Universities and the Higher Education Civic Engagement Award from the Washington Center in 2016 in recognition of the work of the MacDermid Wadsworth-led Military Family Research Institute.

About Purdue University

Purdue University is a top public research institution developing practical solutions to today’s toughest challenges. Ranked in each of the last five years as one of the 10 Most Innovative universities in the United States by U.S. News & World Report, Purdue delivers world-changing research and out-of-this-world discovery. Committed to hands-on and online, real-world learning, Purdue offers a transformative education to all. Committed to affordability and accessibility, Purdue has frozen tuition and most fees at 2012-13 levels, enabling more students than ever to graduate debt-free. See how Purdue never stops in the persistent pursuit of the next giant leap at https://purdue.edu/.

Writer and media contact: Phillip Fiorini, pfiorini@purdue.edu, 765-430-6189

Source: Lesa Beals, senior associate registrar, lbeals@purdue.edu