Hank Wadsworth with the Purduettes
For Hank Wadsworth, music was more than a hobby: it was the reason two lives intersected.
“We wouldn’t have been together if it wasn’t for music,” Hank said.
He and his wife, Emily “Emy” Wadsworth, met as students singing at Cornell University. This shared love of choral music would shape their relationship, their careers, and, ultimately, their legacy. From that first connection in rehearsal, music remained the constant thread running through their lives together, leading him to establish an endowment in his wife’s name after her passing to allow PMO to carry on her work supporting the Purduettes.
Finding Their Voice
At Cornell, being a member of the Glee Club felt natural for Hank, who had grown up in choir in his small school.
“I’ve been singing, so why not do Glee Club?’” he thought before joining. Though the ensemble didn’t perform that first year, rehearsals laid the groundwork for meeting Emy.
“[Emy] was coming as an alto from the women, and I was a bass for the men,” Hank said. “We were there at rehearsal, and then I found out she was living at home. I was staying just a few blocks away, so I asked if I could give her a ride home.”
Those car rides became routine. Dating did not. At least not immediately.
After weeks of hesitation and encouragement from a fraternity brother, Hank finally asked Emy out. Their first date was an indoor Ivy League track meet. “I showed up in a suit and tie. the whole works,” he said. The night ended with pizza, introductions to Emy’s parents, and Hank’s first experience with a family where music was a way of life.
“Every kid had to learn piano and one other instrument,” he said, speaking about Emy and her siblings. Emy played violin; her siblings filled out what Hank fondly described as “a small symphony.”
Music continued to anchor their relationship. They attended fraternity and sorority formals, Cornell’s Spring Weekend celebrations, and eventually spent an entire summer dating once most students had left campus.
Paying It Forward
After graduation, marriage, and a brief stint in West Lafayette, the couple spent several years living and working in Oregon. Eventually, the Wadsworth’s moved back to town. In 1990, after earning a Ph.D. in Child Development and Family Studies, Emy was asked to create and administer a national survey on Women in Engineering Programs.
Her love of music never left though, and Emy became involved with the Purduettes after being asked by several other PMO alumni to help create programming that would engage and retain young women in the ensemble. Emy was a key player in the creation of the Purduettes mentor program, which still exists today.
That commitment eventually led Hank to establish an endowment in Emy’s honor. Rather than prescribing its exact use, he trusted PMO leadership to apply it where it would have the greatest impact. When creating the major gift, Hank said “use it where you think it would be most help.” Much of The endowment now supports scholarships, an outcome that reflects both his and Emy’s values.
A Legacy That Still Sings
Some of Hank’s favorite memories are simple ones: attending Purdue Christmas Shows with their children, hearing the Purduettes perform at events, and watching students find their footing through music.
“I’d come home and there might be half a dozen young women sitting in our living room,” Hank said. “They were always welcome. It might be Purduettes. It might be women engineers. Our house was always open.”
Today, that same sense of generosity continues through Emy’s legacy. Hank sees it in the students supported by her name and hears it every time the Purduettes sing. When asked what Emy would say to today’s ensemble members, Hank didn’t miss a beat.
‘Don’t ever let your music go,’” he said. “It’s uplifting. It’s supportive. And you’ll make wonderful friends doing it.”
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To learn more about PMO mentor programs or how an endowment can make an impact, call 765-496-6091.