Advice from a 2020 LT Graduate

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Marisa Hughes, Biomedical Engineering Spring 2020 Graduate

Ask your own questions

Everyone has their own way of learning and remembering material. In high school, I was able to retain material with minimal studying because of the small class sizes and comfort level with asking questions. After coming to college and having most of my classes in large lecture halls, it took me a while to gain the confidence to ask questions and learn the study habits that worked best for me. However, I quickly learned that once I started asking more questions in class when I didn’t fully understand material, I saw an increase in my grades. Often times your peers who have the same question benefit from the explanation as well! I would urge any future engineering students to take the initiative to ask your own questions in class. Your TAs and Professors are your best sources for learning.

Leave room in your schedule for things you enjoy

Balance is everything, especially once you enter the work force and continue your career for most of your adult life. It is so important to practice making time for things you enjoy when you come to college and have a lot of control over your daily schedule. Not to mention, your hobbies will likely bring you another set of friends outside of your classes that you can learn from in different ways. These activities that you enjoy not only make you a more well-rounded person, they also can help clear your head and give you new perspective when you are burnt out from an assignment. I encourage every college student to include a couple activities in their schedule that are completely different from their major. Of course your classes come first, but when time allows, don’t feel bad about taking time for these hobbies.

Keep an open mind about opportunities

Not many people that I am friends with now would probably guess this about me, but I was a total homebody before coming to college. I had never traveled outside of the country, only changed school systems once, and was generally afraid to do things outside of my small comfort zone of being at home. However, something about Purdue and its homey and friendly atmosphere made me comfortable with taking a leap to go to a big university. This was a huge growing step for me, and it sparked me getting involved in organizations that shaped my college experience for the better. Even still, there were things outside of the Purdue campus that still made me nervous to give a chance. Those things were study abroad and co-ops. People who know me now would laugh because these are both things that I ended up doing during my time at Purdue. And wow am I thankful for those experiences. I made life-long friends on co-op, gained a years’ worth of experience in industry, and saw some of the most beautiful places in the world through study abroad. To be honest, it was the people that I met at Purdue that gave me the courage to take on these opportunities, and I am so thankful for them. 


I hope that these pieces of advice can encourage my fellow boilermakers to pave their own way and take advantage of all that Purdue has to offer; great people, a vast industry network, and incredible growth opportunities. Boiler Up!

Marisa Hughes , BSBME ‘20
WE Link Leadership Team Alumni 
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Purdue Women in Engineering

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