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Incoming Purdue Freshman jumping across the Rush Crossing as apart of Purdue's Boiler Gold Rush Orientation

PASE Board of Directors

What is the PASE Board of Directors?

The PASE Board of Directors is made up of student members of PASE. They provide leadership for PASE by planning and executing programs, choosing the annual kit design, representing the Purdue for Life Foundation at events, and educating the Purdue student body about the Purdue for Life Foundation and how to stay involved after you graduate.

Students interested in serving on the board may apply in November of each year. It is a great leadership opportunity and members will more frequently interact with successful alumni and corporate sponsors. and gain valuable leadership experiences. Members of the board should expect to gain skills in organizational teamwork, verbal and written communication, idea generation, initiative and follow through, relationship building, collaboration, and decision making and problem solving.

PASE Board of Directors

Rohit Nair

President

Michael J. Easton

VP of Programs

Amelia Bosch

VP of Internal Affairs

Tyler Fanyo-Tabak

Chair of Campus Traditions

Ashleigh Morris

Chair of Social Media

Catherine Clisham

Board member

Brooke Comer

Board member

Chaney Cornell

Board member

Ryan Gross

Board member

Kennedy Hallam

Board member

Lydia Hodes

Board member

Jasmine Hsu

Board member

Olivia Hutchings

Board member

Arnob Mitra

Board member

Elan Mulchandani

Board member

Audrey Russell

Board member

Ryan Wong

Board member

Stephen Wong

Board member

Venkata Yellapragada

Board Member

Ava Vande Corput

President

Madison Bird

Vice President of Professional Development

Anuhya Edupugnati

Vice President of Networking

Anisha Rath

Vice President of Social Media

Isabella Tobin

Vice President of Campus Traditions

William Becker

Board Member

Alexander Chao

Board Member

Michael Easton

Board Member

Srividya Gandikota

Board Member

Kanika Garg

Board Member

Breanna Garrison

Board Member

Ryan Gross

Board Member

Gregory Keller

Board Member

Samantha Kempel

Board Member

Quintin LeMire

Board Member

Kathryn Livingston

Board Member

Emily Mannino

Board Member

Alexis Piskulic

Board Member

Dalton Polley

Board Member

Carson Rupp

Board Member 

Venkata Yellapragada

Board Member

Advisors

Carol Smith
 
Jimmy Cox
Senior Director, Student-Alumni Programs
jmcox@purdueforlife.org
765-496-6549
 

Keagan’s story

I’m walking with Grandparents University tour group near the steps of Hovde Hall. It’s a Thursday morning in July, and the only students around are between the ages of 7 and 14. I catch a snippet of a conversation between a grandmother and her grandson as she details the pranks she pulled with her friends around this area.

I smile because just a few months ago I was doing the same thing.

Grandparents University (GPU) is a two-day event where grandparents and their grandchildren embrace Purdue and all it has to offer.

Participants choose a specific major to study and attend a class taught by Boilermaker experts. The majors aren’t exactly like the ones we have here at Purdue, but they do get to do cool activities like creating hot sauce, designing monsters, flying drones, and cooking in a Purdue kitchen. It’s a great opportunity to see wisdom and curiosity combined in the classroom, as grandparents and their grandchildren collaborate on these projects. They’re equally willing to learn from the instructors —and from each other—while creating lasting memories.

They might not know it yet, but this Purdue experience at such a young age will help with their college decision in a few years.

My mother started working at Purdue when she was pregnant with me, so I’ve been familiar with the university my whole life. Many of my childhood memories are associated with different parts of campus, and these memories played a big part in my decision to attend Purdue. I was going to a place that I knew—a place I already considered a home away from home. In the same way, when these children make their college decisions, they will already have built connections with Purdue through Grandparents University.

It will also help they already have a Purdue degree!

At the end of GPU, the kids graduate just like regular students by walking across the stage of Elliott Hall of Music. They even have their own caps to decorate and keep—which is great because robe rentals would be a nightmare.

I had been to nine commencement ceremonies before my own in May, so I’m well-versed in Purdue graduations. Nevertheless, it was still fun to watch this one.

These children had learned so much more than what was taught in their major. They learned more about their grandparents and strengthened their connection with them. They learned about the university and what’s in store for them when they (hopefully) become Boilermakers. And at the Block Party, they befriended students they had never met before and hung out on Memorial Mall—just like regular college students.

It was almost exactly what I experienced throughout my college career. Yes, I got my degree and now  have a job as was intended on this life path. But I also made lifelong friendships and went outside my comfort zone in ways that helped me grow as an individual.

Purdue shaped me and continues to shape me. I credit a lot of my growth as a person and a professional to my college career here, and a lot of what I know to the professors and instructors I had throughout my education.

Through Grandparents University, you have the opportunity to provide the same transformative experience for future Boilermakers. You can be the Purdue instructor that inspires a path that lasts a lifetime.

Patsy J. Mellott

BS College of Health and Human Sciences, 1969
Fishers, IN

Patsy earned a bachelor’s degree in food and nutrition in business from Purdue in 1969, in addition to an MBA in food marketing from Michigan State University in 1970. She retired from Kraft Foods in 2006 after 36 years in corporate food marketing and marketing communications management.

A community volunteer, Patsy serves on the Women’s Fund of Central Indiana Advisory Board and the Purdue College of Health and Human Sciences Dean’s Leadership Council, in addition to the President’s Council Advisory Board. She is a former member of the Health and Human Sciences Alumni Board. Patsy held several offices from 2006 through 2013, including president and treasurer. She serves her community’s Discover Indianapolis Club in Fishers, holding several leadership roles for over 10 years.

Patsy has received several honors, including the Purdue University Nutrition Science Department Hall of Fame recipient in 2009 and the Purdue University College of Health and Human Sciences Distinguished Alumni Award in 2016. She also received the college’s Gold and Black Award in 2016, an honor reserved for donors who have moved the college forward by committing exceptional financial resources.

In addition to endowing two scholarships, the Patsy J. Mellott Scholarship and Patsy J. Mellott HHS Scholarship, she established the Patsy J. Mellott Teaching Innovation Award in the College of Health and Human Sciences in 2013. In 2015, she endowed the Patsy J. Mellott Women’s Tennis Coach Performance Award. She is a lead donor in the Christine M. Ladisch Faculty Leadership Award and the Purdue Women’s Network Virginia C. Meredith Scholarship for the College of Health and Human Sciences.