Summer Experiences
May 3rd, 2016
By Emma Alexander, Honors Communications Intern
With classes wrapping up and summer just around the corner, we reached out to some Honors students to see what their plans are for the summer. Not only are our students traveling and working across the country, but some are even traveling to other corners of the globe.
The first student we talked to was our student spotlight this week, Beau DeLaet. He shared,
Last summer, I was able to work for Barton Malow on a General Motors facility in Pontiac, MI, just outside of Detroit. There was an entire wing of test cells being added for research and development for their engines. I was amazed that I used some of the same scheduling and documentation processes that I learned in Honors First-Year Engineering on the jobsite. This summer, I will be working for Barton Malow in Orlando, FL. Instead of being on a jobsite, I will be doing preconstruction for healthcare projects. I learned so much last summer, and I expect this summer to be the same. I have more confidence moving forward with my work experience, and I think a lot of credit should be given to the Honors College for strengthening my problem solving skills and helping me develop as a person.
Next, we spoke with sophomore Claire Lee, who will be headed to historic Mount Vernon and Washington D.C. this summer as a fellow for the Mount Vernon Leadership Fellowship. She explained,
I will have the opportunity to live on the Mount Vernon estate for a week and also in the heart of D.C. while working with leaders on Capitol Hill. As a fellow I am paired with a mentor on the Hill and will be working on developing a plan of action to create a sewing mentorship class for inner city schools. The fellowship, only in its second year, works to develop rising juniors who want to make a difference, in their leadership skills. I am very excited about this opportunity to be a better leader, develop a program for my community, and experience Washington D.C. during a very exciting political time.
Freshman Kristen Frohning will be covering greater distances in her summer travels. She divulged,
I'm spending a vast majority of my summer traveling! I will be taking time to study business economics and its application in real businesses in Madrid. After that I'm traveling through Ireland. When I am not traveling, I'll be shadowing with a financial planner.
Finally, we spoke with Sam Albert, whose travel plans involve multiple countries as well. He disclosed,
This summer, I will be working as a student intern at Sandia National Laboratories in Albuquerque, New Mexico, as part of the Interns for Security, Arms Control, and Force Protection Engineering (iSAFE) group. Before that, I will go on a Purdue study abroad program in France and The Netherlands titled European/US Perspectives on Space Exploration for about 10 days, then continue traveling on my own throughout Europe for another week. I also hope to play a lot of Ultimate Frisbee, and to learn to cook something other than ramen noodles and PB&J's.
How incredible it is to think we will have such fine representatives of Purdue and the Honors college all over the world this summer. We wish you all the best of luck as you set forth on all your incredible adventures. If you have any stories, experiences, or pictures of your summer journeys you would like to share, send them our way at honorscollegemedia@purdue.edu!
