.2025 Impact Award Winners
The Office of the Vice Provost for Student Life has recognized outstanding alumni and friends as recipients of the 2025 Student Life Impact Awards. Honorees were presented with their awards at the Student Life Honors Awards Banquet.
Student Life Young Alumni Award - Zachary Brantly
Zachary Brantly has already achieved distinction in his young career in the world of finance. He serves as head of US investment banking for Berenberg Capital Markets, a multinational full-service private and merchant bank. He joined Berenberg in 2018 to help build out their US franchise. Brantly has previous experience in the healthcare, technology and real estate sectors and has executed various equity transactions in both the public and private markets for companies of all sizes. Prior to Berenberg, he served on the Equity Capital Markets desk at Credit Agricole in New York.
While at Purdue, Brantly was chapter president of Phi Kappa Psi and earned the national honor of undergraduate of the year in 2014. He continues to be involved in the chapter at Purdue, investing his time, talent and treasure in mentoring undergraduates, funding academic initiatives and physical facility projects, recruiting volunteers and aligning volunteer teams to support the organization. In addition to his work with the Purdue chapter, he serves as the president of the housing board of the Indiana Delta Chapter of Phi Kappa Psi and president of the New York Alumni Association of Phi Kappa Psi. He has also served as a mentor to youth through programs such as the Boys & Girls Club of America and Big Brothers Big Sisters of America.
Brantly graduated from Purdue in 2015 with a Bachelor of Science in Economics.
Student Life Service Award - Drew Feustel and Indira Bhatnagar Feustel
Drew Feustel and Indira Bhatnagar Feustel have achieved distinction in their respective fields while continuing to support Purdue students.
Drew is an astronaut who served for 23 years with NASA. He is the only Purdue astronaut who is not an engineer, having graduated from the College of Science with a Bachelor of Science and Master of Science in Geology and Geophysics. He is a veteran of three space flights, including two flights on the Space Shuttle and one on the Russian Soyuz rocket. Feustel was the commander of the International Space Station (ISS) during his 197-day mission to the ISS in 2018. He has conducted nine spacewalks and has totaled the third-most extravehicular activity (EVA) time among U.S. astronauts. He also has extensive experience supporting private astronaut missions to the ISS, developing surface exploration suits and systems, and managing risk within the human space program. Drew is currently Lead Astronaut at VAST.
Indira holds a Master of Science in Speech-Language Pathology from Purdue. She has been a medical speech-language pathologist for 27 years, specializing in working with the adult neurogenetic population with cognitive-communicative and swallowing disorders. In addition to being involved in various research projects in her profession, she worked at MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston assessing and treating patients with cancer, often post-craniotomy surgeries. Indira has also focused on science advocacy and, along with her sons, been an active participant in family support and public relations within the NASA human space flight program. She has been a top fundraiser with the American Heart Association, raising over $450,000 over her 26-year involvement.
Drew and Indira met in 1988 at the beginning of Indira’s pursuit of her master’s when they were both resident assistants, then known as hall counselors. Drew served as a residence hall counselor in Cary Quad, while Indira was in Meredith Hall. Indira made the women’s varsity tennis team as a walk-on. Drew spent three years as Grand Prix chairman and team kart drive for Sigma Phi Epsilon Fraternity.
The Feustels were named Presidential Ambassadors of Purdue University by Purdue President Mung Chiang. In this role, they use their expertise, connections, passions and experiences to help further enrich the Purdue community by actively connecting with students, faculty, alumni and staff. They are also participants in University Residences’ Executive in Residence program, where they interact with and encourage students in a variety of residential and academic programs.
Readers can follow Drew at @astro_feustel on Instagram and X and Indira at @IndiraFeustel on Instagram, X and Facebook.
Student Life Award for Outstanding Leadership - Teresa Roche
Teresa Roche has been a leader and catalyst for change since her days as a student. Shortly after arriving at Purdue, she joined the Association of Women Students, where she struck up a friendship with Betty Nelson, dean of students emerita, and worked together to promote equal rights opportunities for women on campus. This impact extended to Purdue Student Government, where she was invited to start a women’s committee for the organization. The committee made notable strides in improving safety for women on campus.
As a student, Roche was asked to set up the Purdue Communications Council, which established seats for representation from every fraternity, sorority, cooperative and residence hall to connect Purdue Student Government with students across campus. She was an active member of Delta Gamma, holding several leadership positions and positively contributing to the organization’s culture through her impact on new members. Roche also served as a member of the Old Masters Central Committee and was a member of Iron Key.
Roche’s passion for leadership extends to her career. She currently serves as the chief human resources officer for the City of Fort Collins, Colorado, is on the board of advisors for Harvard Business Review, is a chair for the Learning Innovation Laboratory at Harvard and serves on the Colorado State University Human Resources Executive Network allowing her to interface with faculty, students and colleagues. She has held numerous positions in human resources as a global executive in high technology. After earning her doctorate through Purdue, she was vice president and chief learning officer for Agilent Technologies. Not long after moving to Fort Collins, she participated in Leadership Fort Collins, a year-long program where participants worked together to solve issues in the community, which sparked her interest in having a life chapter as a public servant. Roche was also the CEO of her own company, Roche Consulting, where she worked with well-known companies such as eBay and Johnson & Johnson.
Today, Roche continues to give back to her alma mater through participation in the Old Masters and University Residences’ Executive in Residence programs. She has participated in EiR program twice and continues to advocate for and mentor women students at the university.
Bob L. and Joyce Beery Miles Student Life Mentor Award - Jen Bannon
Jen Bannon is an exemplary example of a student affairs professional who is deeply committed to the leadership and professional development of the students she works with. She currently serves as the associate director of residential life for University Residences, where she works closely with resident assistants (RAs) and serves as the advisor to the Presidents’ Roundtable, the Residence Hall Association (RHA) and National Residence Hall Honorary (NRHH).
Bannon is lauded for the countless hours she spends attending general and executive board meetings, holding individual one-on-one meetings and attending additional social events to support students. Her support for students can range from last-minute shopping runs to pick up supplies for an event to taking delegations to regional and national housing conferences. Students at Purdue and at every previous institution she has worked have honored her as an Advisor of the Year, recognized at the school, regional and national level. Under her guidance, students involved in RHA and NRHH have received numerous honors through regional and national organizations.
One of Bannon’s additional contributions is the planning and execution of the annual Jay Severson Leadership Retreat, where students travel to Fair Oaks Farms to explore the topics of leadership development, wellness, communication, team building, time management and opportunities to enhance hall clubs. Bannon’s leadership and vision have also led to a highly competitive RA selection process that helps University Residences hire 400 students to become RAs each year.
Student Life Exceptional Staff Award - Kyla Houston
Kyla Houston has spent more than 20 years in University Residences where she has held positions in residential life, residence hall management, area operations, conferences and administration. She currently serves as the senior associate director of administration.
In her current role, Houston works closely with parents and families of students living within University Residences. Often, these communications are challenging and involve immediate response to conflict and frustrating situations. Houston shares insights with parents, provides a comprehensive view of their student’s housing situation, educates parents on the importance of student self-advocacy and resolves concerns regarding housing placement in an empathetic, compassionate and supportive way that is lauded by students, families and peers in University Residences. She serves as a mentor and leader to staff within the Central Assignments Office.
Houston has developed strong relationships to support programs across the university. She supports Student Success Programs through the execution of the housing process for Boiler Gold Rush. She also supports housing initiatives in learning community placement, diversity and inclusion, summer programs and other areas of student success. Her work behind the scenes is critical to University Residences’ execution of successful housing processes.