Secret #5 - People
As you work to achieve great things, you need people around you who inspire and support you. Purdue offers that network — with professors who are committed to your success, students who are eager to learn and innovate, and alumni who are passionate about what they do.
Your Support SystemHere’s a brief look at the kind of people with whom you’ll cross paths at Purdue:› Inspiring Professors — You can look forward to learning from professors who are recognized experts in their field. Like civil engineering professor and earthquake expert Ayhan Irfanoglu, who is using the data he gathered in Haiti to help determine how to build structures that are better able to withstand powerful earthquakes. › Caring Mentors — Zenephia Evans (below) exemplifies the kind of staff members who will be in your corner at Purdue. The director of multicultural science programs encourages students to believe they can do anything and helps them find solutions when they encounter obstacles. Says one student, “Dr. Evans makes a difference by just being there.”
› Supportive Peers — No matter what your major is, you will have fellow students providing support when you need it. One example is Elizabeth Shewmaker, a chemical engineering major who tutors first-year students once a week and volunteers as a peer mentor for younger students. › Entrepreneurs — Sawyer Sparks represents the entrepreneurial spirit that drives many Purdue students and alumni. The agricultural economics major created and patented a glutenfree modeling dough for children with wheat allergies. When he pitched the product on ABC’s Shark Tank in 2009, he came home with a $300,000 investment offer. Sparks wants to use the funding to create jobs in his hometown of Bloomfield, Indiana, noting “I want to help boost the economy during these hard times.” |
Gebisa Ejeta (below), distinguished professor of agronomy, won the World Food Prize in 2009, considered the Nobel Prize of agriculture. His research has led to improved varieties of sorghum, a major food crop for more than 500 million people in Africa.
› Re-engineers — Many Purdue graduates excel at reinventing themselves — like 1997 engineering alumnus Daniel Smiczek, who worked for NASA for the first three years of his career but then decided to pursue opportunities in visual effects. He has since contributed to numerous TV shows, commercials, and movies, including The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, which won the Academy Award for visual effects, and The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. Learn more about Purdue People |
5 Student Retrospective
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