Leaving a Legacy

By -
Posted on April 22, 2014 by Kat Frangos

 This is a repost (from last weekend) from my personal blog, "Kat's Krazy Adventures."  Hope you enjoy it!
It's amazing how fast time flies by.  One minute,  I am a freshman, arriving on Purdue's campus for the first time and now, here I am, just about 5 weeks from graduation.  When did that happen?!

When the "Graduation" tab shows up on MyPurdue, you know it's official...

Over the past semester, it is been a roller-coaster of late engineering nights, spending quality time with friends, working hard on senior design, and crossing things off of my Purdue Bucket List.  Sixteen weeks in a semester may seem like a lot of time, but it just really doesn't last.  I was at Walmart today and now my mindset has become "how much do we need for the next month?"  Now that there is so little time left here, it's even more important to make the most of every opportunity.

Just last week, I went for a flight down at the Purdue Airport.  That's something that I've wanted to do since my very first visit to Purdue when I was still a senior in high school.  Even though the entire experience lasted about an hour, it felt absolutely incredible to take the controls and see Purdue and the surrounding area from an entirely new perspective.  I even logged my time in my new official Pilot's Logbook!  I've already found a flight school where I'll be working on my license in Louisiana next fall.  Here are a couple pictures:
Purdue Engineering Mall

 First time ever to sit in the left seat!

Awesome paint job on the Piper Warrior

Besides the bucket list items and doing things that can (should?) only really be done in college, this past semester has been about transitions, gearing up for the changes that are quickly approaching.  I admit that it is very difficult for me to start letting go of this place and all the incredible experiences and opportunities that it has offered to me.  Since I accepted my full-time position so early last fall, it really hasn't felt real.  Now that the majority of my friends have decided their plans after graduation, it's finally beginning to hit home.  As I've heard before and now I'm experiencing first-hand, Purdue engineers (and graduates of other majors) really go EVERYWHERE.  It's amazing how many different cities and types of jobs as well as other opportunities my cohorts are planning for after graduation.  I really do need to start making a list of cities and who will be living and working in those places, so I can be sure to make the rounds after we leave Purdue.

St. Patty's Day Celebrations in Chicago

The whole gang at Park City during Spring Break

 Roommates finally reunited

 Clayton Anderson Concert at Wabash

 Celebrating Nitesh's 22nd Birthday with the China Clan

 PMEA Reunion at the Cactus

ME Seniors!

One of my big projects this semester has been creating a blog for the ME Undergraduate Office to help streamline mass communication throughout the school.  This project has been about leaving a legacy behind, knowing that I have done something to help out future ME students.  Since last October, I've been working on this blog (the majority of the work happened this semester) and finally it's launched.  In just about a week, there are already over 3500 views.  I am overjoyed at how successful the blog has been thus far.  It makes me so happy when I walk in one of the ME computer labs and see people using it.  I wish that I had done this sooner so it would have been a part of my undergraduate ME experience, but it feels so good to know that future ME students will be able to benefit from here.  

Screenshot from the ME Blog

Another project this semester was to create a blog through my Women in Engineering Team.  Called "The Engineering Experience," this one is for helping prospective female engineering students to learn more about what life is like as a Purdue engineering student. Through the ME blog and this one, I've been doing lots of blogging this semester!

Screenshot from the WIEP Blog

There are only about 10 random things standing between me and graduation.  A couple homework assignments, essays, projects, one midterm and then two finals.  When I think back on all the countless hours spent in the depths of the ME building, who knew there was an end to that madness.  These last few weeks are going to be a struggle... senioritis - it's real.  It is the reason for the extra late nights spent procrastinating with friends and making wonderful memories, doing things that college kids should do.  It is the reason for wanting to leave a mark on Purdue.  And it is also the reason why I'm writing this blog post instead of working on my machine design assignment.

More later, look for updates on senior design, Purdue bucket list items, senior shenanigans and other random adventures sometime soon.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Understanding Purdue Housing

By -
Image
One of the many concerns incoming freshmen have is what to do regarding their housing options. In addition to the roommate selection process, you may be interested in seeing your on-campus options in terms of amenities and the communities available within the building. For example, when I accepted my admission to Purdue as a freshman, I knew I was interested in a standard double that I had experienced at a summer college program. To ensure my University Residences housing, I applied to Vertically Integrated Projects so that I would be able to pursue a research project as a freshman while also guaranteeing my housing within Earhart Hall through the connected learning community. For more information on learning communities, read our previous blog! Many freshmen will live in a residence hall, even if they are not in a specific learning community. Now, as a Resident Assistant or RA in Earhart Hall, I have been trained on the term “residence hall”; our halls go beyond a traditional “dormito
Read more

Top 10 Extracurriculars Purdue Students Want You to Join Outside of Engineering

By -
Image
1. Purdue University Dance Marathon (PUDM):  The biggest student-run organization on campus! You can join as a dancer, where you get to fundraise leading up to the 18-hour long event or be even more involved and join a committee! Some of the committees include Riley Relations, where you fundraise to sponsor events for the Riley families throughout the year & are paired with a Riley family for the night of the event, Special Events Committee, where you organize 5K’s and other events around campus throughout the year, and so much more! 2. Boiler Gold Rush (BGR):  Whether it be as a new student, a team leader (TL), or even a Supervisor, there are so many ways to get involved with BGR! This week-long event is held the week before classes start in August. As a new student, it is your first chance to meet your new colleagues and participate in many games, fountain runs, and other fun activities throughout the week. It is also a great way to familiarize yourself with the campus an
Read more

A very (sub)objective review of dining options at Purdue

By -
Image
Jenn and her friends after the Thankgiving dinner Food is an integral part of our day. For some people, the very first thing they do in the morning is eat breakfast. I personally prefer my cup of coffee to a stack of waffles. Nonetheless, food has the power to pick up a bad mood, enhance a good mood, and even ease the stress you are feeling about exams and homework. The awareness I have of how food impacts my mood is recently found since I started college in August. at home I usually came home to my mom or dad making something delicious in the crockpot. Suddenly I arrive at college and there are so many options that it can get overwhelming at times to figure out what to eat. Navigating the dining options at college did not seem like something I should have been worried about, yet it was something that took a month of experimenting to perfect.  The key is knowing where to go and what is consistent. I decided to help you out and give you some insight into how I view each dining option on
Read more