For six Purdue students, participating in the 2025 500FestivalPrincess Program is about more than becoming highly visible ambassadors for the world’s greatest auto race, the #Indy500. 🏎 It’s also about serving and representing their communities. It’s about mentorship, academic excellence and personal growth. And it’s about adding to a state tradition that dates back to 1959. “Growing up in central Indiana, I experienced the impact of the 500 Festival and was personally inspired by the service of the princesses,” says 500Festival Princess Claire Bishop, a sophomore from Pendleton who is double majoring in brain and behavioral sciences (PurdueHHS) and public relations and strategic communication (PurdueCom). “So as a college student, I wanted to serve in this way to give back to an organization that has tremendously impacted Hoosiers for many generations.” In addition to Bishop, these five Boilermaker women join a group of 33 Indiana natives selected for this year’s class, eac...