Competitive spirit fuels personal hobbies for AO’s director of Environmental Health and Safety Regulatory Compliance
Robin Ridgway is the director of Environmental Health and Safety Compliance. In this role, she ensures Purdue University is compliant with state and federal environmental regulations. She also manages the university’s hazardous waste program. Photo by Administrative Operations Communications.
In her daily role with Administrative Operations, Robin Ridgway is busy ensuring permit compliance with state and federal environmental regulations while also managing the university’s hazardous waste program. Away from work, Robin is taking giant leaps with personal hobbies as she fuels her competitive spirit with drag racing and Strongman competitions.
Robin is the director of Environmental Health and Safety Compliance, meaning she is responsible for ensuring Purdue is compliant and updated with air and water permits. In this role, she reports regularly to the state, manages on-campus inspections and assists with seeking new permits if they are needed. In her role with the hazardous waste program, she oversees compliance with the university’s hazardous waste permit and manages the processes for picking up and disposing of hazardous waste on campus.
“With my engineering mind, it turns out that I really enjoy digging into the details and processes behind regulatory compliance,“ said Robin. “This position is not really common at other universities, so I take great pride in getting to do what I do—I like really getting into the weeds and looking at rules that might impact various campus operations.”
Robin also utilizes that engineering mind outside of the workplace. Her mother was an auto mechanic, so she grew up working on cars. Fast forward to when it came time to buy a new-to-her truck to haul horses for her farm, Robin ended up with a diesel truck.
“That sent me down a path of learning about diesel vehicles. I learned about how you can improve the performance of them and get better fuel economy or get them to go faster,” explained Robin. “I then had a friend recommend I check out a diesel drag racing event. There were a bunch of trucks like mine and I was like, ‘Oh, I can do this!’”
After gathering up the courage, Robin went to the local drag strip for “Test and Tune” night and the rest is history. Persistence paid off and she can now be found racing her diesel truck on the weekends—an activity she has found to be very challenging and rewarding.
“The kind of racing I do is bracket racing. It is a handicapped style of racing with the goal to get as close to your predicted time as possible and get as close to the green light coming on as possible,” explained Robin. “So, it’s really a game of tiny numbers. People can win or lose by a thousandth of a second. I was absolutely hooked.”
Robin has gone on to build a name for herself in the world of diesel truck racing, including becoming a national champion in both 2023 and 2024. She has recently taken that winning mindset to a different type of competition—Strongman.
“I started working with a personal trainer to really just work on my strength. I am getting older and I want to get stronger versus weaker”, explained Robin. “He encouraged me to sign up for my first event and it was something to work towards and something completely out of my comfort zone.”
Robin has since qualified for and competed in several annual national championship competitions—an achievement she attributes to her competitive drive.
“Over the years, my primary goal has been to become a stronger competitor,” Robin stated. “I have developed greater focus, refined my strategic approach and learned to remain composed under pressure.”
Whether it is the pressure of a Strongman competition, drag racing her diesel truck or ensuring the university remains compliant with environmental regulations, Robin’s relentless competitive spirit enables her to perform at the highest level.
