The Purdue Polytechnic Incubator faculty and staff are eagerly preparing for the 2014 pioneering cohort of students. Starting in Fall 2015, the institute plans to offer a distinct multi-disciplinary degree. In the interim, a select group of students from the College of Technology and Exploratory Studies were invited this year to apply to undertake their first year studies in the Polytechnic Incubator. Plans of studies were created for each of these students in order to meet their home degree requirements while experiencing a completely new learning environment.
Let us start with some numbers. We will be welcoming 37 students. Twenty-six are from the College of Technology and 11 are from Exploratory Studies. There are six women and 31 men. The group includes 22 Indiana residents, eight non-residents, and seven international students. But each one of these 37 students is a unique person and story. The faculty have thoroughly enjoyed reading their essays and seeing the passion in their statements. The students have been invited to join a Facebook group to start to get to know each other; 25 are already members. Let's meet two of them.
A.J. Hocker and Drew Ashbury
A.J. Hocker is an Aeronautical Engineering Technology student from northern Indiana who describes himself as a determined person who knows how to persevere. He took two trips to foreign countries that he credits for his “incredible appreciation of our history and how the world works together. I feel like I have a greater sense of the collective 'we' in the world. I am very proud that I was able to study and learn a language, then apply it where it is native.” He adds, “I walked in the rain on the beaches of Normandy. I sat in the cathedral of Notre Dame. I swung through the trees in Mexico. And I saw cultures and people like I have never seen before.”
Drew Asbury is an Exploratory Studies student interested in game design because it will combine many of his natural abilities. He is a musician who plays the oboe along with 12 other instruments. He loves writing, has artistic talents that will be useful in design, has a “knack for languages,” and looks forward to learning programming. He says, “The name of the degree isn't too important to me. I want to be a part of something that makes people feel better, if only for awhile.”
Students started signing up for courses this week. We will meet some of them as we visit the STAR sessions. We are also planning a special BGR program so that we get to know all of them before classes start.
We are all eager to meet our new cohort and look forward to a great year full of learning for all of us.