What Can Purdue Engineers Do Over the Summer?

By -

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

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!

Purdue Women in Engineering

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 ...
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 optio...
Read more