Freshman Year in Review
As the spring semester and school year come to a close, two of our first-year volunteers wanted to share more about the experiences they enjoyed most and found most impactful here at Purdue! Here is what Natalie and Madison had to say.
Before the school year began, I had the opportunity to participate in Boiler Gold Rush (BGR), Purdue’s orientation program that welcomes over 5,000 new students. This week was filled with informative and recreational activities designed to help students acclimate to campus before academic and extracurricular commitments stack up, and it made me feel at home at Purdue very early on. From riding the Boilermaker Special to ceremoniously jumping over the train tracks, Boiler Gold Rush allows freshman and transfer students a detailed and welcoming exploration into life as a Boilermaker.
As expected, this year included a ton of engineering projects – from coding and computer-aided design (CAD) to robotics and woodshop work, the Purdue engineering curriculum has so many different customizations and an immense variety of work. In First Year Engineering (FYE) especially, there is a large emphasis on exploring different facets of each engineering discipline to better understand what each plan of study entails and narrow down your choice of major. The vast majority of engineering projects I completed were in teams, as the Purdue academic and extracurricular programs seek to model real-world work environments with collaboration and open-ended projects.
Throughout the year, Purdue Convocations hosted numerous shows, concerts, symphonies, plays, and other events in the performing arts. I had the opportunity to see the Mean Girls musical and Peach Pitt live at Elliott Hall of Music, both of which were so entertaining and a great way to catch a break from studying. There are also a large variety of off-campus concerts by local Purdue-based bands on most weekends and are a blast to explore up-and-coming artists and vary your music intake.
I couldn’t write about the 2023- 2024 year at Purdue without mentioning our fantastic basketball run. The men’s basketball team broke the school record of most wins in a season, earned the Big Ten championship title, and made it all the way to the NCAA National Championship game. Between home games, broadcasting of March Madness games in Mackey Arena, and the Boilermaker Special’s signature path around campus on game days, the energy was absolutely incredible and it was a great year to be a Boilermaker basketball fan.
During BGR, all of the upperclassmen I met recommended that I try new things and join as many organizations as you can, and I am so glad I listened to them. This year I have been a part of the Society of Women Engineers, Purdue Outing Club, Boiler Bakers, Purdue Crew, Habitat for Humanity, and the Women in Engineering Program. I’m so happy I listened to those upperclassmen because I have had a great time in each of these organizations. If I'm not learning a new, interesting skill, I’m meeting great people that are always welcoming. In the past year, I learned how to row, bake interesting treats, read a map of a forest, and build houses all while making new friends.
I wouldn’t trade my freshman year experience for anything. Even though it was trying at times, I learned and grew so much from living in a dorm, trying new clubs, and taking FYE classes. I think the keys to a great freshman year are those three things because they lead to success later on. The friends you make in your dorm and through clubs will likely be the friends you have for the rest of your college career and after college as well. And it's important to find success in FYE classes because they are the foundation to your academic career at Purdue.
Natalie's Experience
BGR
Engineering Projects
Concerts Near Campus
Basketball and NCAA Finals
Madison's Experience
In high school, I would always imagine what college would be like. I would watch coming of age movies and imagine my time at Purdue would be just like the character’s. In some ways my freshman year was just like what I pictured in my mind but in a lot of ways my experience was unexpected.Living in a Residence Hall
Living in a house all my life, it was hard to imagine what living in a small room with another person, sharing bathrooms, and a kitchen with a whole floor would be like. It took a while to get used to, but I genuinely enjoy my freshman year residence hall (what we call the dorms here at Purdue). At first, it was hard to find a new routine when my roommate had a completely different schedule; I had to find the best times to wash my dishes and do laundry because those areas could get very busy. Despite the initial struggles, the people I met at my dorm, Meredith South, were the best and most kind people I could hope to meet. By living in my residence hall, I was able to find a friend group that I know I will love forever and they are what made my dorm a home this year.Getting Involved on Campus
FYE Classes
My classes seemed daunting at the beginning of my freshman year. Most of them were in large lecture halls, they all passed out syllabi that seemed super strict, and I was still unsure what “recitation” was. I quickly learned that, even though there are a lot of students in each class, professors are very accessible and eager to help students in any way. And the syllabi got a lot more manageable and helpful when I learned what everything was and how grade curving worked in college classes. The keys to my success in classes this year were using my time wisely and finding the environments I work best in. My first semester, I had a lot of one/two hour gaps between classes and by using those to study, I saved myself a lot of time at the end of the day to eat dinner or hang out with my friends. I also learned in the first semester that I work best at the science labs building (Chaney-Hale) and the PMU, especially on Saturday mornings, so I would always make sure to dedicate a lot of my study time at those places and times. Doing this saved me a lot of time and definitely improved my comprehension.I wouldn’t trade my freshman year experience for anything. Even though it was trying at times, I learned and grew so much from living in a dorm, trying new clubs, and taking FYE classes. I think the keys to a great freshman year are those three things because they lead to success later on. The friends you make in your dorm and through clubs will likely be the friends you have for the rest of your college career and after college as well. And it's important to find success in FYE classes because they are the foundation to your academic career at Purdue.
There is so much to do and uncover for yourself in your time at Purdue! The limitless ways to be involved and meet people as well as learn at one of the greatest universities there is makes the Purdue experience one you'll want to be a part of.
Madison Meunier, ChE '27 and Natalie Anderson, ME '27
Recruitment Project Committee
Stay Connected With Purdue WiE Program!
Facebook: Purdue Women in Engineering
Instagram: @purdue.wie
Blog: purduewiep.blogspot.com
Email: welink@purdue.edu
YouTube: Purdue Women in Engineering Program - YouTube
Use the hashtag #PurdueWiE on Facebook and Instagram!
Comments
Post a Comment