Half Point of 1st Semester

This is William again, everyone’s favorite Dean’s Ambassador. It’s the mid-point of my first semester of my junior year here at Purdue University and so far things are going good. But I am not going to lie; it has been one of the toughest semesters by far in my college career. It’s been tough because I am doing marketing for two fortune companies and I am also a volunteer intern for Purdue athletics. That on top of being a college student makes my week very busy, but it is all worth it.

I think this will help better prepare me for the real world when I graduate from Purdue because I will have experienced how it feels to have to complete a certain number of tasks in a short amount of time. The experience I am gaining is very valuable, I had no clue that I would be this immersed in marketing during my junior year. I feel like all I do is market every day for different companies. But I love it because it is what I want to do when I graduate. Some words of advice would be to get involved in organizations that are directly related to your major and what you want to do when you graduate because opportunities can come from the most random places you can think of. I was involved in a public relations organization and they sent me an email one day about an opportunity to become a Brand Ambassador for HP/Intel. I applied and didn’t get it. Then they called me the following semester and asked if I was still interested in the position and I got it.

So get involved on campus because you never know what might happen just because you are in a certain organization. It looks good on your resume and you get to meet new people who will add to your networking because you never know, their father or uncle could be – maybe the CEO of a very popular company.

Oh the places you’ll go…(And the classes you’ll take)

In approximately one hour from now, I will be sitting in a classroom taking an exam–a typical college experience. However, the thing that is not so typical about this event is that the class I have this exam in is taught by an award winning professor who genuinely cares about his students and their academic success. Oh, did I mention that this class is titled “Society, Culture, and Rock & Roll”? Yes, Purdue has that class, and it is easily one of the most insightful, mentally stimulating, and engaging courses I have ever taken.

One of the many things I love about the College of Liberal Arts at Purdue is the opportunities I have to take courses that are taught by the best. I cannot describe how much I love sitting in a class with 20 other students and having a professor who actually cares about their students and how they are doing academically. While these professors make their classes so entertaining and effective, they are some of the most challenging, but in the best way possible.

I never used to have much confidence in my ability to write or create projects, but the professors in these classes have encouraged me, led me, and challenged me to do the best work that I can. I no longer was the only person holding myself accountable for producing good work, my professors had the same expectations for me. When I took my first class that was like this, I was refreshed. I was worried, initially, about coming to a large university, and how my coursework might suffer if I didn’t have someone to help keep me accountable for being a good student. Within my first semester here though, I realized that I didn’t need to worry. I was immediately in classes with spectacular professors who were professors because they loved their job. I was pushed academically to take risks that I hadn’t even considered, and when I faltered, I had my professors to back me up. I finally began to see my potential and began to pursue goals that had only been dreams before.

When I first signed up for a class with a well-known professor, it was daunting. I didn’t believe that I would be able to keep up in their class; however, I was proven wrong. Purdue, and the College of Liberal Arts especially, has been blessed to be able to have multiple award winning, intelligent professors who genuinely care. I now make it a priority to attempt to fit their classes into my schedule, and they have been some of the most interesting topics, as well–I assure you that they don’t teach the boring things!!

So when making your decision to come to Purdue or not, consider if you want to take classes like Society, Culture, and Rock & Roll, American in the 1970s, Living History, World War II, America from 1914-1940s, Gender and Communication, Narrating 9/11, and American Food-ways. These are all courses I have taken, or will be taking, that have been taught by PHENOMENAL professors. Most of them have nothing to do with what I want to do when I graduate, but they each have been great sources of entertainment, information, discussion, and even friends. The good thing about Liberal Arts at Purdue is that, it doesn’t matter! Every class can count for something!!!

Boiler Up!

Elizabeth Hudson

Professional Writing and American Studies

May 2013

 

Oh the Places You’ll Go!

Oh the Places You’ll Go!

A soon to be graduating senior in Comparative Literature, I have been trying to plan my last semester’s worth of classes. Luckily I have only three requirements left, meaning I can choose other classes to take from any school or department. This has got me thinking about what an engineering and agriculture school can possibly offer a liberal artist for electives.

While I could talk all day about the cool liberal arts classes that exist (and I have taken), I didn’t realize until recently how blessed I am to be here. First, I cannot think of another school that has Flower Arranging as an elective. I’m in it right now and I thoroughly enjoy the lab, where I get to make things to decorate my apartment.

I have also decided to round off my requirements next semester with Wine Tasting, where I will learn how to pair foods more successfully. My only regret in all of this is I never realized we had a beekeeping or equine management class. Oh well, I suppose I’ll leave those for future generations.

Things to Try at Purdue

Things to Try at Purdue

As a junior I have had a few years to explore Purdue and the Greater Lafayette area. This post is a guide to some of my favorite memories so far but this only scratches the surface of what Purdue has to offer.

1. Season Football Tickets- This goes especially for freshmen year. Attending games with fellow ticketholders helped me meet some of my best friends. The atmosphere is awesome regardless of how bad our team is doing. I’m a basketball fan but if you only go to one game make it football. (p.s. the walk to the basketball stadium during winter is significantly less fun)

2. Eat off Campus- Sophomore year I got stuck in the routine of eating out at the same 5-10 places within walking distance of my apartment. As a junior I have started branching out and driving further to find the best food. This one requires a car but it is definitely worth the effort. There are hundreds of great places to eat that are less than 10 minutes from campus.

3. Explore a New Building- When it got really cold last year I tried to see how far I could get using the tunnel system. I ended up nowhere near my class but it was great seeing the inside of some buildings I would never normally go into. There are a lot of buildings at Purdue that you won’t have classes in and it seems that each has a different look and feel even if the outside is always red brick.

4. Celebrate Spring Break- Contrary to popular belief you don’t need to go to a beach to do this. My roommates and I went to Chicago for Spring Break. This was the highlight of my college experience thus far. The food was incredible and we went to the Shedd Aquarium, and even caught Purdue’s NCAA Tournament game.

5. Join Something!- For me, this was my current job at the Exponent as well as the Deans Ambassadors program. In both instances I came across a callout or email and decided not to ignore it. If you know where your interests are, join that organization. If not follow the flyers you see around campus. Both of my organizations give me a chance to learn more about what I’m interested in, Communications. I know people who joined salsa dancing, muy thai, and even improv comedy.

Whatever you might be into rest assured there are several others on campus who share that interest.
Purdue is a place where everyone can find their niche. Whether it be your major, a club, study abroad, or just your friends you will walk out of here with some lasting imprint. College is about making the most of these four years and Purdue University gives you a great opportunity to do just that.

Yonas Kebede
Advertising, May 2013

New Beginings

Starting off this school year I had no idea that I would end up becoming the brand rep for HP, on the marketing board for Coca-Cola, and an intern for trade mark and licensing at Purdue, which is basically Purdue athletics. My favorite position is the brand rep for HP. I love that position. It gives me the marketing experience that I need to make me more marketable once I graduate.

This position entails many things. I have to perform a certain number of events on campus promoting the HP laptops, most importantly the laptop with the beats technology installed in them. I have to increase traffic flow to the HP student site and basically just increase sales and awareness of HP products. I love marketing so this position lets me use my creative marketing skills on campus and it gives me the opportunity to network within HP.

Being able to put HP and Coca-Cola on my resume is a big thing to me. Even though these positions and being a student here at Purdue makes my week extremely busy, I think that it is worth it. It’s a pretty cool thing to be able to do work for two fortune 500 companies and I’m only a junior. Hopefully this brings about bigger things since my ultimate goal is to become a CEO of a fortune 500 company.