Rachel Susler
March 9, 2016
By Emma Alexander, Honors Communications Intern
This week we are spotlighting Rachel Susler, a freshman is First Year Engineering from South Bend, Indiana. Rachel hopes to go into Chemical Engineering. However, beyond that, she says her future plans are still up in the air.
I am thinking about applying for Medical School, but I have also thought about going to Graduate School for Pharmaceutical Engineering. The only thing I really know for sure is that I want to do something related to the medical field, whether that be as a doctor or an engineer isn’t quite so clear yet!
Rachel admits that she was rather delayed in accepting her offer of admission to Purdue. However, she credits Golden Honors Day for finally convincing her.
When I came to the Golden Honors day, I realized that Purdue (especially the Honors College) was the right place for me. I really enjoyed the small school feel at a big university and the variety of opportunity for STEM majors here at Purdue. As cheesy as it sounds, I could really picture myself living on campus after attending the Golden Honors day, and that experience truly made my decision.
Although only in her second semester at Purdue, Rachel is already very involved. She has become involved with the Children’s Educational Displays team in EPICS, where she is working with the Children’s Museum of Indianapolis to build interactive displays teaching biological concepts to kids. What an exciting opportunity to make an impact in our community.
Outside of EPICS, however, Rachel is involved in the Philharmonic Orchestra, the Orchestra Board, the Gold and Black Sound Pep Band (GAPS) for Women’s Basketball Games, as well as a Quintet that will be performing at the Chamber Music concert in May. Now you may be wondering, what instrument does Rachel play? On campus, all of her musical involvements involve her playing the violin. Rachel divulged that she was very thrilled to pick back up and begin practicing the violin again after participating in marching band in high school. Fortunately, Purdue was able to grant her that opportunity in many ways.
Rachel was also very eager to share more about her Honors experience thus far.
My experience in the Honors College has been great. Being in the Honors Engineering Learning Community has really helped my transition into college by giving me a group of people I share a lot in common with. I love that I can always go to the lobby in Shreve and find someone to talk to because we all live together. The smaller class sizes in the Honors College sections have also made me feel more connected to my professors, something the Honors College as a whole really focusses on. In a large lecture, I’m not sure I’d be brave enough to approach the professors the way I know I can in the Honors College. The classes I’ve taken through the Honors College are the ones I feel as if I’m learning the most from, and that has really made my first year at Purdue special to me.
Rachel, we have certainly enjoyed having you as a part of our community just as much as you have enjoyed the experience yourself! We wish you all the best in completing your first year at Purdue and beyond.
You can check back each week for a new spotlight on another outstanding Honors student or peruse our previous featured scholars.
