Getting the Most From Your College Experience
I graduate from Purdue in just a few weeks, and all I can say is wow… that went really fast. It’s very bittersweet that my college career is coming to an end, but I am extremely grateful for my last four years here. Looking back, I can easily say I have no regrets and fully believe I made the most of these past four years. There were so many incredible surprises I never could have conceived for myself and so many amazing people I met along the way that made these years so great. While there is so much more I could say, here are my 5 pieces of advice for you to also make the most of your college experience as you take your next steps towards your next giant leap!
What is so cool about Purdue–and college in general–is the numerous opportunities you have to try new things. Coming to college, I was convinced I knew exactly what I wanted to be involved in and my entire path forward. Looking back at my four years, there is so much I did do that wasn’t “according to plan”. On the academic-side, I did 2 years of undergraduate research with a professor and group I simply loved being a part of! I honed in on important technical skills, received a lot of valuable advice, and gained a number of professional friendships I know I’ll be keeping for the rest of my career. Research was not something I originally intended to pursue in college, but I am so glad I did! I also took the chance and studied abroad over a Maymester in Italy with the John Martinson Honors College. I had never been abroad before, and it was such a gift to learn within and experience a different culture.
Outside of academics, I tried a new sport with Purdue Triathlon Club which helped me to meet so many awesome people and work on different aspects of my leadership skills as their Sponsorship Coordinator and Vice President. I now have a new sport to love well into my adulthood. I also was able to work with the Varsity Diving Team as a team manager, one of the most rewarding experiences of my life. It has truly been an honor working for one of the best diving programs in the country, and I feel so lucky that I was able to continue being a part of the sport I loved in high school. I am forever grateful to have had the opportunity to give back to the future generation of women engineers as part of the WE Link leadership team. I met some of my best friends and have loved talking to prospective students about my love for Purdue. This place is so special and has so much to offer. You just have to keep an open mind and embrace your future with arms wide open! You never know what you’ll gain from a new experience.
Engineering is a challenging field of study, and sometimes there are additional challenges and pressures posed outside of the classroom: jobs, internships, research opportunities just to name a few. I feel like we as engineering students put a lot of unnecessary pressure on getting these experiences as early as possible in our college careers. You can feel like you did everything right and still be rejected. It’s a long four years, so remember there are tons of opportunities that lie ahead. However, I can fully acknowledge that being rejected is not a great feeling. Nonetheless, it’s important to focus instead not on the rejection, but instead on what you can do in the meantime. To me, that was to reflect and continue working hard in my classes and in any opportunity I had come my way. I am here to tell you that if the pay-off to the work seems delayed, it pays off in dividends when it comes back around. Each rejection is an opportunity to pivot and lean into the grind even more. For example, I didn’t land my first industry internship until my junior year, and I was rejected from that same internship the year prior. After I was rejected, I went back to the drawing board and decided to figure out what I could do so I could give myself the best chance to try again. I leaned even more into my classes and research to learn everything I needed to be successful when I applied to internships again. The second time around, I was prepared and landed the internship I had been rejected by the year prior! Because I took action and initiative to embrace doing the hard stuff, I was prepared. If you really want something, whether that is an internship or a prestigious graduate school program, keep working hard. Even if the payoff is delayed, it will come!
Quick disclaimer about college: you won’t love every class you take. In most degree pathways, you’ll be taking a variety of classes that will expose you to different ideas and fields in engineering, but you probably won’t be deeply invested or interested in every class you have to take. That’s totally normal! I didn’t love every single class I took in my major, and that’s completely fine. However, taking a lot of classes you don’t love at the same time, especially highly technical courses, can be mentally taxing. That is why I am a firm believer in taking at least one class every semester you genuinely look forward to going to. Sophomore year, my favorite classes were an American Studies class on sports technology and a leadership development seminar. Junior year I took a food science class and did a humanities-focused study abroad over a Maymester. Senior year, I took a floral arrangement and indoor plant management class that has been a blast. These classes made learning more fun and gave me a mental break from some of the grind of the engineering curriculum. It’s a long four years, so make learning fun!
I feel like every person who comes to college has an idea of what a “typical” college experience looks like, especially socially. There’s a lot of pressure to do certain things in order to feel like you have had a “worthy” college experience. I am here to tell you that’s a myth. You will learn a lot about yourself in college. You will learn about what you truly enjoy doing and what you don’t. You and your ideas will change. I know I changed coming into college and over the past four years! That is all part of growing up, and college is the perfect time to discern what is really important to you. You get a taste of that “real life” independence and personal responsibility, so it is up to you to figure out what you want out of your time over four years. Be honest with yourself and do the things you want to do. Time is too limited to do things that don’t make you happy. Pave your own way and create a college experience that brings you the most personal fulfillment and success!
You are going to meet so many cool people in college! The Purdue community–her students, faculty, and staff–are what make these four years so memorable. I know I have met some of my closest friendships here that will last me the rest of my life. You won’t remember the exams and assignments you’ll spend painstaking hours over. You’ll remember the friends who stayed up with you when you finished your assignments or stayed up next to you studying for exams. You’ll remember the people you stood in the rain with during football games, the friends you hung out with in their dorm room more than yours (so much that your own RA thought you were your friend’s roommate), and the first person you text “hey, let’s go sledding!” when it snows. You may meet your closest friends in the most random of ways: playing pick up sand volleyball, sitting next to a stranger in your math class, or playing cards in your dorm hall lounge. You will be surprised with whom you meet and who sticks around over four years! The people you surround yourself with are your lifeline in college. It can be easy to isolate yourself and get caught up in school work, but you are not a robot. Be sure to make time to spend with your friends, because that will make your college experience so much more memorable and enjoyable!
I cannot stress enough just how much I have loved my four years at Purdue. There has never been a moment where I regret coming here. Through all the good times and the bad, Purdue has always remained a place I call home, and the people I've met here are like my family. These four years fly by, so be sure to stop and savor every moment! While I am sad my time here has come to an end, I am so excited for the new Boilermaker class who will get to experience all that Purdue has to offer.
Get Involved: Seek Out New Experiences and Try New Things
Outside of academics, I tried a new sport with Purdue Triathlon Club which helped me to meet so many awesome people and work on different aspects of my leadership skills as their Sponsorship Coordinator and Vice President. I now have a new sport to love well into my adulthood. I also was able to work with the Varsity Diving Team as a team manager, one of the most rewarding experiences of my life. It has truly been an honor working for one of the best diving programs in the country, and I feel so lucky that I was able to continue being a part of the sport I loved in high school. I am forever grateful to have had the opportunity to give back to the future generation of women engineers as part of the WE Link leadership team. I met some of my best friends and have loved talking to prospective students about my love for Purdue. This place is so special and has so much to offer. You just have to keep an open mind and embrace your future with arms wide open! You never know what you’ll gain from a new experience.
See Rejection as Opportunity and Keep Working Hard: It pays off in the End!
Take at Least One Class Every Semester You Look Forward To
The “Typical" College Experience is a Myth
School is Really Important, but So are Those Who You Share It With
I cannot stress enough just how much I have loved my four years at Purdue. There has never been a moment where I regret coming here. Through all the good times and the bad, Purdue has always remained a place I call home, and the people I've met here are like my family. These four years fly by, so be sure to stop and savor every moment! While I am sad my time here has come to an end, I am so excited for the new Boilermaker class who will get to experience all that Purdue has to offer.
Becca Jennings, MSE '24
WE Link Leadership Team
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