What Can Purdue Engineers Do Over the Summer?

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While spring classes conclude for Purdue students, a lot are left wondering what there is to do over the summer. As a former sophomore heading into my junior year at Purdue, I hope I can help point out a couple ways to have a gratifying, yet productive summer.

Summer Classes

Taking classes during the summer can prove to be a great way to spend your time. Whether it is to help work towards your minor, or to make your fall semester load a little lighter, a lot of Purdue students take classes over the summer. For myself, summer was a great way to complete some of my general education requirements, which allowed me to take more advanced classes during the fall semester of my sophomore year. Purdue offers a variety of online and in-person classes which students can take advantage of. While some may be worried about the lack of help online, I never encountered this issue. I found the teaching assistants and professors to be extremely flexible and easy to work with. A lot were simply an online call away to help answer questions or explain more complex content, which I found to be extremely helpful. I highly recommend looking into summer classes as I found it much easier to focus and learn content for one class during the summer, as opposed to taking that class later in the fall with a heavier workload.

Internships

Internships are a great way to get experience in industry while on summer break. I personally have had two internships with Abbott Laboratories, which is a global health care technology company that has multiple divisions. Because of that, I have had two completely different technical experiences at the same company. During my first internship, I worked in validation, ensuring that automation equipment on the market was working properly per prewritten protocols. This summer, I am working in transfusion medicine determining optimal parameters for operating blood screening instruments under development.

Throughout my two summers at Abbott, I have learned a multitude of skills, both technical and soft, that will help me in my professional career after graduating from Purdue. I participated in studies by writing test methods, executing protocols, and even writing scripts to operate machines. I have oftentimes applied what I learned in my biomedical engineering courses at Purdue to real-world problems and I feel extremely prepared to work in industry from my coursework. While working an internship can be a great addition to your resume, having an impact in a company that eventually will impact the world is a very rewarding opportunity.

Taking Time for Yourself

While summer can be a time to take classes and have internships, it is also extremely important to take some time for yourself. Summer is meant to be a relaxing break away from school, so it is a good idea to take advantage of that. For myself, that means focusing on what makes me happy. I oftentimes spend my free time reading; I even joined a summer reading program through my local library! I find reading to be a rewarding experience as it keeps my mind sharp while also being enjoyable.

In addition to reading, I also enjoy working out. Keeping my body in shape is very important to me. I split my workouts between running and going to the gym. My Mom and I go to the gym most mornings before work; it is a great way to spend time with my family while also getting a good workout in. I have also recently started running this year. Before, I have never been a runner, so running consistently is a challenge I made for myself to test my mental and physical toughness. During the summer, I have focused on pushing myself while running, which has been worthwhile. I have even started training for a half marathon recently! Overall, working out is a great way to take time for yourself and focus on your physical and mental health.

Lastly, spending time outside is a great way to take time for yourself during the summer. Whether it is taking walks, going for a swim, or playing tennis, I always want to be outside. I make an effort every day to spend hours outside and enjoy nature. I also like to spend time with my family and friends outside. Recently, my family has enjoyed going to baseball games, playing beach volleyball, and having dinner outside together. We are even going to Utah later this summer to hike!


Since Purdue engineers have an active and full school year, summer break is often a welcomed experience. That being said, it is important to make the most out of your summer break. By taking summer classes, working internships, and taking time for yourself, I hope I gave you a couple tips to have a fulfilling summer.


Isa Hollenstein, BME '26
WE Link Leadership Team

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