Jason Packard, a student involved in numerous endeavors in University Residences, was recently awarded the Homecoming Teaching and Scholarship Pillar of Excellency, bestowed by Purdue Student Union Board. Packard was recognized for his contributions to and the development of Boilerexams. One of Purdue’s fastest-growing student-led startups, the organization provides students with innovative studying solutions. Through his involvement with Boilerexams, Packard has created more than 300 exam problem video tutorials, 20 hours of conceptual topic videos and worked closely with professors and University administrators to develop content in accordance with Purdue’s academic policies. Packard also works as an undergraduate teaching assistant in the Department of Physics and as an undergraduate researcher in the Davidson School of Engineering, where he has researched solutions for next-generation energy storage.

In this feature, Packard shares his perspective on his experiences with University Residences.

Hello, I am Jason Packard, the president of the Residence Hall Association (RHA). I am a junior studying chemical engineering and am originally from a small town called Woodstock, Illinois. I have been involved within University Residences for three years, first as a hall club member of Tarkington Hall. During my sophomore year, I was the external director of RHA and am now the president! During this time, I was also an RA in Tarkington Hall during my sophomore year and have recently stepped into the role of REA, which serves as an RA supervisor.

I have been fortunate over the last year to experience wonderful student leadership within RHA and University Residences. The last president, Claire Schnefke, did so many wonderful things and has created an amazing organization that is ready to do more great things and make positive change! This year, our ambitious team is eager to continue this success and create initiatives and events that serve to better our on-campus community.

We started the year with the sixth annual RHA Day. The beach-themed event offered fun games and an exciting social atmosphere for students to relax before the beginning of the year, make memories and form new friendships. Held on the front lawn of Meredith, students enjoyed the 40-foot water slide, tie-dyed shirts, created sand art, played sand volleyball, jumped in a foam pit and loved the first-ever dunk-your-RA dunk tank. The event drew over 2,000 students! The event also offered an educational component – various campus organizations had tents where they could educate new students on the opportunities available to them. These included getting a job through Dining & Culinary, how to donate extra meal swipes, how to be involved in your hall club, registering to vote and more.

Moving beyond RHA Day, we are excited for a vibrant year ahead of us. We have had the most hall club participation since before the pandemic. We are beginning to plan our second annual Wacky Dacky Rubber Ducky charity 5k, which last year raised over 8000 meals for food insecure children. We have ongoing projects to advocate for and improve the experience of our residents, such as our initiative for sexual assault awareness and prevention. Lastly and possibly most importantly, we have an ever-expanding array of social events planned that will allow residents to make friends and memories to make Purdue their home.

Written by: Jason Packard

During the fall 2022 semester, I had my first opportunity to be a co-instructor for the Residential Leadership Seminar, also known as “RA Class.” The RA Class is an eight-week, one-credit course that first-year resident assistants at Purdue participate in as part of their training and onboarding. I had previous experiences at other institutions working with something similar. However, at those institutions, the course did not count as credit. I had always thought it should, as the content and curriculum developed by Residential Life are worthy of college credit. 

After co-instructing in fall 2022, I was excited for the opportunity to chair the committee that would work to prepare the class and its content for fall 2023. As I took on this new responsibility, I was able to learn more about the history of the RA Class. 

The class has taken various forms over the years. Once, it even included hall club student leaders. Over the years, the class has evolved and flexed as necessary to meet the needs of the department and the world. Just a few semesters ago, the RA Class went fully virtual (like almost every other aspect of our lives). While it adjusted to meet the current times, we were so glad to have it back in person for fall 2022 and be able to give it the attention it deserved in preparation for fall 2023.  

Meant to be a continuation of student staff training and leadership development, this year the class took an additional role, developing our new RAs as people. Through interactive class discussions, reflective journaling, wellness workshops and a final showcase project, we hoped that the 2023 cohort of new RAs would learn ways to support not only their residents but also themselves. 

One of the ways we hoped to do this was by building upon the pre-existing final project. In the past, RAs in the class were assigned a final project that required them to outline, articulate and represent their main takeaways from the class. Creative freedom was encouraged! The RAs never seemed to disappoint in this category. However, as final projects were submitted virtually, seldom did anyone have the opportunity to see their great work besides their two instructors. Insert our new Showcase Night idea! 

After brainstorming with instructors, the RA class committee and others within University Residences, the idea for a showcase-type event was born. The goal was to provide new RAs the opportunity to show off their great work to fellow RAs, residents, University Residences professional staff and the campus community in a more formal setting. RAs in the class were provided the opportunity to sign-up for a presentation time slot to share their final projects. On Tuesday evening, October 17, with hors d'oeuvres in hand, RAs, instructors and guests were able to share and learn together. Much like a research symposium, RAs presented their final projects - not only affording them the opportunity to show off their creativity and knowledge learned, but also providing some professional development. RAs were able to practice presenting to others and communicating their knowledge and ideas.  

Jimmy Phillips, an RA at Aspire Apartments said, “I liked seeing what other RAs did for their projects and what they got out of the class.”

Kayla Hobbs, an RA in Harrison Hall talked about some of her big takeaways from the class saying, “Conflict resolution doesn’t have to be awkward.”

Hobbs learned the importance of building intentional relationships with her residents that help lead to constructive conversations, even when there might be some conflict (like with a roommate concern). 

Allison Miller, an RA in Hawkins Hall, shared one of her big takeaways was learning about Dance Floor Theory. Miller explained how she has shared this with her mother, a school administrator, who was looking for ways to build connections on her staff. Miller thought that it was cool that she was able to provide something new to her mom that she had learned about in the RA Class. 

While the showcase was optional this first year, we still had more than 100 of the new RAs sign up to participate. We will chalk that up as a win! From the professional staff who served as instructors for the class to the support from UR administration, none of this would have come together without them. However, a very special thanks must go out to the RA class committee that I was so privileged to work with, Ammany McFadden, Alexis Davis and Kris Yambao. We cannot wait to see how the Showcase Night continues to grow in years to come! 

Written by: Adam Iserman, assistant director of Residential Life, Mosaic Mile

Matt Dempsey with his wife, Bobbie, and daughters, Mary Kate and Colleen.

In every Purdue alum are stories of experiences that shaped their time on campus and beyond. Studying an extra hour late into the night to make the grade. Celebrating Boilermaker victories and holidays with friends. Laughter, stress and everything in between.

These moments, however small, become something larger due to the time and place in which they took place and the lessons carried forth. Old haunts with friends become places for new memories with a spouse and children. Playing intramural sports turns into teaching a child how to play a game. Friends who live down the hallway become lifelong connections, and so forth.

This journey can be seen in the life of the late Matt Dempsey. At Purdue, Matt built connections that would play out in his relationships with friends, family and colleagues throughout the rest of his life. Matt passed away on September 6, 2022.

Matt was born in Milford, Massachusetts on October 1, 1958, and originally came to Purdue with dreams of becoming a veterinarian. He often joked that organic chemistry was the reason he dropped that dream and chose to pursue a degree in agricultural economics. Matt lived in Cary Quad and it was there he met Mark Owens, Jay Beyer and Russ Elms, who would form a tight bond during their time at Purdue. Owens notes that had it not been for living in Cary the four may have never met since they were all majoring in different disciplines and never had a class together.

During the late 1970s, each residence hall had its own cafeteria. Gathering for dinner in Cary daily became an important part of Matt’s friendships with Owens, Beyer and Elms – and often included practical jokes.  

“It wasn’t abnormal for somebody to throw a glass to a person with hands full and say, ‘catch'” Beyer says. “The person was unable to keep the glass from crashing to the floor and was blamed for breaking the glass by the lunchroom staff. That innocent person had to sweep it up.”

Listening to records, hanging out in common areas, participating in intramural sports such as softball and basketball, snowball fights, smuggling food trays out of the cafeteria to sled down Slayter Hill, late-night dart games in Owens’ room on the weekends, staying at football games to the end of every home game regardless of the weather, and debates about sports teams also became part of the bond between Matt and his closest friends on campus. Many of these moments – such as an afternoon he and Owens spent hours people-watching and talking on the corner of Northwestern and Stadium – were simply born of opportunity. Of course, there were also unusual occurrences and memorable antics.

“One relatively quiet Friday night at Purdue, Jay Beyer and I were in my room listening to music and talking to the wee hours of the morning,” Owens recalls.  “At some point, we had the bright idea to go see what Matt was doing. His door was locked (Matt was a smart man), so we decided to go outside and try the window. We were on the ground floor, so of course that made sense. Jay gave me a boost and, lo and behold, the window was not locked.  As we poured ourselves into the room, trying mightily to keep quiet in the pitch-dark room, Matt’s voice could be heard clearly saying ‘If you guys leave now, I can get 3 more hours of sleep!’”

Upon graduating from Purdue in 1980, Matt worked briefly for Wabash Valley Nurseries in West Lafayette before returning to Massachusetts to work in the greenhouse and landscape business. He later became an assistant county supervisor with the USDA Farmer’s Home Administration in Greenfield for seven years and served in a county supervisor position for Farmer’s Home in Sutton for a year. He met his future wife, Bobbie Casey, at his sister’s wedding in 1983. He and Bobbie married after an eight-year, cross-country romance on September 7, 1991. They settled in Mount Prospect, Illinois and raised two children, Mary Kate and Colleen, while Matt enjoyed a 30-plus-year career at a credit union. 

Colleen describes her father as the “ultimate family man,” who had a reverence for rural America and the people who lived in it. He often loaded the family into their van for cross-country trips around the U.S. ranging from Cape Cod to California. Later, the family would return to Purdue to attend athletic events and visit old haunts.

“You could tell how much those days meant to him and how much he loved those friends and that time of his life,” Colleen says. “My sister and I toured Purdue. When we passed Cary Quad, we grabbed the door and followed them inside. Dad took us to see his door in Cary Quad with his name plate on it.”

Trips such as these and drives to the University of Illinois, where Colleen attended college, were an important part of their bond. 

“Trips like that were a very cool way of getting to know who my Dad was before he was my Dad,” Colleen says. “That’s something I now really appreciate. As children, we don’t really see our parents for who they fully are until we’re a lot older. In that way, it was a really cool moment of learning more about my Dad as a person, which is super interesting and paints a picture of who he really was.”

A love for sports, particularly Purdue sports and his beloved Boston teams, the outdoors and classic rock were also an important part of Matt’s bond with family and friends. He would often find peace in nature, going outdoors to enjoy evenings with the family and their dog, and sharing his love of photography via Instagram and submitting photos to the local newspaper. Matt also had a way of making traditions special, especially around holidays, with Christmas scavenger hunts for Colleen and Mary Kate to find gifts and French toast breakfasts on Valentine’s Day. Anyone Matt came into contact with could sense his love for family.

“I always knew family was important to Matt,” Owens says. “When I went to his services, it hit me full in the face how important it was. He was one of those people who could talk to anyone about anything. I think that is why he had so many friends who respected him and enjoyed his company.”

Dempsey and friends at a Purdue football game.

Matt also kept in touch with his friends from Purdue throughout the years, hosting individuals for golf outings, meeting up in various cities and through an ongoing greeting card gag with Owens where they would send each other emotional greeting cards containing secret messages. Purdue was always a part of their conversations and Matt created the idea for him, Elms, Owens and Beyer to reunite at Purdue for a football game and weekend on campus. While Owens couldn’t make the first gathering in 2019 due to a cross-country move, the four were able to reunite during fall 2021.

“Memories are best shared and it was very good to reminisce, make the same walks and rekindle some of the same debates,” Russ Elms says. “During one of our annual football game visits to Purdue, we again sat in the common area of first floor Cary Southeast and talked about old times, good times and life in general. I don’t know that we solved any of the world’s problems, but the discussions did make those problems seem to diminish in importance.”

Elms, Owens and Beyer plan to attend another Purdue game this fall in memory of their friend.

Colleen celebrated her father’s connection to Purdue by writing a letter about Matt’s life to the current residents of Cary 139. Her idea was to bring to life a person who once slept, ate, studied, dreamed and found lifelong friendship and lessons in the same place.

“I really wanted to talk about him, share his love of Purdue and legacy with people who are in the exact same room that he was in now to make him more than just a name on the door,” Colleen says. “I think to know that somebody who slept in the same spot as you every night, what their life was like and what the people who loved them are mourning would be really special. I just wanted to reach out and give them insight into who my Dad was, so he’s more than just a name on their door.”

When reflecting on his friendship with Matt, Owens also says that connection is special.

“When we dropped our daughter off at Purdue for her freshman year, I remember the last thing I told her was to enjoy the ride,” Owens says. “You’re going to have ups and downs, but enjoy it along the way. That’s what Matt, all the guys and I did. We were all young adults and we knew what we had to do, but that didn’t mean we couldn’t enjoy the ride – and we did.”  

University Residences thanks the Dempsey family and their friends for sharing their memories of Matt and the lifetime of connections his time at Purdue influenced.

Written by: Matthew Vader, writer, Student Life Marketing

Plans for a new residence hall south of Hillenbrand Hall are taking shape, with the new facility set to serve as the home of Purdue’s largest learning community. 

Work on the new residence hall is scheduled to begin in March 2024 with an opening date of fall 2026. The new hall will be an eight-story, 252,000-plus square-foot facility that will include 896 beds. During construction, Hillenbrand Dining Court will be renovated and expanded from 500 to 800 seats to accommodate the additional residents. The hall will be constructed to the south of Hillenbrand Hall in the corridor currently existing between Hillenbrand and Harrison halls, with an angled entrance that will face MacArthur Drive. 

Hillenbrand South will house The Data Mine Learning Community, a large-scale learning community for undergraduate and graduate students from all majors focusing on data science. The Data Mine introduces students to data science concepts and equips them to create solutions to real-world problems. The Data Mine is part of Purdue University’s Integrated Data Science Initiative, which is designed to train students across all majors with the data literacy needed to succeed in a data-driven world. The Data Mine includes more than 1,700 students in 20 learning communities.

University Residences, Dining & Culinary, Physical Facilities and The Data Mine are working closely with contractors to create a facility that best serves the needs of the learning community. The residence hall will include Data Mine labs, offices, lounges, study spaces and multi-purpose rooms for students to collaborate and learn. A visiting faculty apartment will allow the learning community to host guests for multiple days, creating dynamic learning opportunities for residents.

The floor layout of the new residence hall will feature pod-style housing containing a mix of single, double, triple and quad-occupancy student rooms arranged around centralized bathrooms, study areas, music rooms and a lounge. In addition to encouraging student interaction, pod-style housing provides a variety of room-type options for students on every floor. Housing for Residential Life staff, such as residence education coordinators (RECs) and residence education assistants (REAs) is also included. Other amenities include a large multi-purpose room, game room and lounges on the ground floor. A partial basement will contain the necessary mechanical and electrical equipment to support the facility.

In addition to expanded seating, an allergen-free food station will be added to Hillenbrand Dining Court as part of the renovation. Sushi Boss, a popular sushi option for students, will also have a presence in Hillenbrand South as a grab-and-go dining option with seating nearby. The dining court will close from March – July 2024 for initial renovation work but will otherwise remain open during the construction of the new residence hall. 

Hillenbrand South is the second student housing project approved in 2023 to fulfill a primary objective of the Action Council on Student Housing and Wellbeing, a key initiative of Purdue President Mung Chiang under the leadership of Provost Patrick Wolfe and Chief Financial Officer Chris Ruhle. Since 2013, Purdue enrollment has increased 31 percent. The completion of Hillenbrand South and a student housing project at Third Street and McCormick Road, projected for completion in fall 2025, will contribute to a 35 percent increase in on-campus beds. The scope and location of the project are aligned with the Giant Leaps Housing and Dining Master Plan.

Written by: Matthew Vader, writer, Student Life Marketing

Holidays revolve around tradition. They are a time to come together with friends and family, reflect on what we are grateful for and celebrate those who we hold dearest. At the center of many holiday celebrations is one unifying and universal thing: food. Purdue recognizes the importance of food every year with their holiday meals at the dining halls. Months of preparation and dedication go into crafting the perfect sentimental meal for students and staff alike to share. 

Ashley Sarjent, the associate director of culinary operations at Purdue, shares with us the intensive preparation involved in bringing the campus some holiday comfort. 

“We start planning in the summer,” Sarjent explains, “We have to forecast and plan for how much turkey, ham and pie we’ll need and then we secure that with vendors. This year we ordered 5,000 pounds of turkey. Team members from each dining court have the opportunity to add some extra flare to the menu, and leading up to this people have to plan every element of the meal; from when we put in the turkey to how many pies we need. That way, when we bus and serve the menu, everything goes smoothly. The actual production and execution of these meals go up to the very day of the meal.” 

Though meals are traditional, there is still creativity that goes into the selection of the dishes provided. Outside of accommodations for different diets, Sarjent speaks to some of the other freedoms chefs have in the kitchen. 

“Though Thanksgiving is traditional, a lot of halls take that base starting point and add their own unique touches," Sarjent explains. "We have brie cheese being added to the salad bar this year. We’re also serving pumpkin mousse in addition to the pumpkin pie.”  

Sarjent expands on some of the other considerations that go into selecting desserts.

“We need to be considerate of students with allergies," Sarjent says. "That means this year we are making sure to have gluten free options. In general, chefs can be creative with the desserts provided. We like to ask what the chef is feeling. It always starts with a theme, like a hot chocolate bar, and then we take it from there.” 

Holiday meals extend far past the act of eating fun food. There is a much deeper importance behind each meal, and every forkful goes towards cultivating a sense of community and unification.  

When asked to reflect on the importance of holiday meals, Sarjent says, “The most important piece of the pie when it comes to holiday meals is the tradition behind it. Students that have been here in the past experience holiday meals and are excited to have them again. Alums actually come in to enjoy holiday meals. We have the chance to get together and celebrate with friends. It’s a different kind of meal. It is also an excellent opportunity for international students to share in an American tradition.” 

Not only do students get to experience togetherness during the holiday season with the five dining halls Purdue offers, but so do the staff working there. One of the long-standing traditions that dining hall staff partake in is a dinner that they share together before the holiday dinner is served to the student population.  

“The whole team lines up tables together to eat a meal before serving the students,” Sarjent fondly shares. “Normally we don’t sit together during our meals and we may not always have the opportunity, but during the holidays these staff members eat together after carving a lot of turkey and whipping up all the mashed potatoes. We sit down together all intermingled and sit and talk and enjoy a good meal. It builds a team. I still have photos of our thanksgiving meal together. It builds camaraderie. When you work in a dining court and you’re about to serve 2,000 people, you have to band together."

Tradition is at the forefront of the Purdue spirit. Every year, we can thank our dedicated dining hall staff for the ability to partake in a holiday meal at our favorite home away from home and enjoy time with those we hold close during some of the most magical times of year. 

Written by: Hannah Williamson, writing and communications intern, Student Life Marketing