jarrett in front of boilermaker special

Piloting the University's official mascot

Jarrett Fischer (Junior; Farm Management; Cory, IN) decided to join the Purdue Reamer Club in the Spring of freshman year because he wanted to join an active club or fraternity where everyone knew each other; Reamer Club felt like the best fit. The Reamer Club is actively involved with Purdue Athletics, especially football. Part of Jarrett's intrigued, he added, "I wanted to pursue becoming a pilot of the Boilermaker Special." 

jarrett as ross ade jarrett with friends

The Reamer Club has many roles, but it started out and remains primarily an Athletics spirit club that was founded in 1922. It has evolved over the years to encompass many other activities such as philanthropy, social, and community service events. The University is extremely supportive and funds the train and members' travel, food, and lodging expenses to away football games. Starting in 1939 they became the caretakers of the Boilermaker Special, which is what they might be most known for today. Becoming a pilot of the train typically takes at least a year as you need a minimum of 40 hours of training, but it is also one of the most rewarding positions in the club. 

reamers with mitch

Jarrett added, "When I reflect back on my experiences in the Reamer Club, I will never forget meeting important Purdue leaders such Mitch Daniels, Coach Brohm, and Mike Bobinski. Additionally, the club allowed me to travel all over the country last year to every away football game last year besides Nevada. I'm also really looking forward to driving the train out to Boston in September assuming things go back to normal."

reamers with boilermaker special

"Many people join the club for various reasons be it for our leadership opportunities, passion for Purdue, wanting to make new friends, or most popularly the train. I would recommend the club to just about anyone since it made such a large impact on my experience at Purdue," Fischer concluded.

More information on Reamer club can be found herehere and here. The Boilerlink page is here and here is their Facebook page.