Momentous small steps to giant leaps: Purdue celebrates 3,500 winter 2023 graduates

Gen. David Thompson, U.S. Space Force vice chief and Purdue alum, delivers commencement address

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — Years of persistence and thousands of small steps together culminated this weekend for nearly 3,500 Boilermakers as part of Purdue University’s Winter 2023 Commencement ceremonies. 

Nearly 2,000 undergraduate students and 1,500 graduate students were conferred Purdue degrees. Gen. David Thompson, a Purdue alumnus who serves as vice chief of space operations for the U.S. Space Force, delivered the commencement address during the three ceremonies Sunday (Dec. 17) at Elliott Hall of Music.

U.S. Space Force Gen. David Thompson, a Purdue University alum who serves as vice chief of space operations for the Space Force, delivers the address during Sunday’s commencement ceremonies. (Purdue University photo/John Underwood) Download image

In his role with the Space Force, Thompson is responsible for assisting Gen. B. Chance Saltzman, the chief of space operations, in organizing, training and equipping space forces in the United States and overseas. A four-star general, Thompson also oversees the integration of space policy and guidance and the coordination of space-related activities for the Space Force and Department of the Air Force. He received his master’s degree in aeronautics and astronautics from Purdue in 1989 after his graduation from the U.S. Air Force Academy.

The Space Force organizes, trains, equips and maintains mission-ready space forces that provide missile warning, space domain awareness, positioning, navigation and timing, communications, and space electronic warfare for North American Aerospace Defense Command, U.S. Strategic Command, U.S. Space Command and other combatant commands.
 
A career space officer with assignments in operations, acquisition, research and development, and academia, Thompson was commissioned in 1985 as a U.S. Air Force Academy graduate. He has commanded operational space units at the squadron, group and wing levels. He also is an Olmsted Scholar, graduate of the Senior Acquisition Course and Level III-certified program manager. Prior to his current assignment as vice chief of space operations, Thompson was vice commander of the Space Force.

Additional Information

• David Thompson bio
• Purdue Commencement
• Elliott Hall FAQ
• U.S. Space Force
• Winter 2023 Commencement photo gallery

Isom, Buffo, Birch to give student responses

Delivering the student response at the Division I ceremony was Gretchen Isom, a native of Plymouth, Indiana, who is receiving a Bachelor of Science degree in human resources development with a minor in human resources management. After graduation, Isom plans to intern with PepsiCo as part of its human resources master’s program.

Nicholas Buffo, from the suburbs of Kansas City, Kansas, gave the student response at the Division II ceremony. Graduating with a Bachelor of Science degree in biomedical engineering, Buffo will continue to work as a peer counselor in the College of Engineering. He is currently applying to medical schools for the fall.

Giving the student response at the Division III ceremony was Audrey Birch of DeMotte, Indiana, who is receiving a Bachelor of Science degree in biomedical health sciences with a concentration in pre-medicine and a minor in biological sciences. After graduation, she plans to pursue dual master’s degrees in health care administration and business administration.

Purdue’s three winter commencement ceremonies took place as follows, and the recordings can be viewed online:

• Division I — 9:30 a.m. Degrees for College of Pharmacy, College of Science, Polytechnic Institute and College of Veterinary Medicine.
• Division II — 2:30 p.m. Degrees for College of Agriculture and College of Engineering.
• Division III — 7 p.m. Degrees for College of Education, College of Health and Human Sciences, College of Liberal Arts and Daniels School of Business.

About Purdue University

Purdue University is a public research institution with excellence at scale. Ranked among top 10 public universities and with two colleges in the top four in the United States, Purdue discovers and disseminates knowledge with a quality and at a scale second to none. More than 105,000 students study at Purdue across modalities and locations, with 50,000 in person on the West Lafayette campus. Committed to affordability and accessibility, Purdue’s main campus has frozen tuition 13 years in a row. See how Purdue never stops in the persistent pursuit of the next giant leap, including its first comprehensive urban campus in Indianapolis, the new Mitchell E. Daniels, Jr. School of Business, and Purdue Computes, at https://www.purdue.edu/president/strategic-initiatives. 

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