I've always enjoyed showing people how fundamental knowledge or theory can be applied to real-life situations. Often that revolves around applying statistics and computer systems to the making of medicine.

As a part of my long, more than 40-year tenure on the aviation (AT) faculty and graduate faculty, one of my greatest sources of professional joy is the growth of our graduate program, at both the M.S. and Ph.D. levels, as well as the parallel growth of our research impact and collaboration at Purdue.

I decided to pursue a degree through ProSTAR because the program included online and classroom experience. This was vital for me because I work full-time and could only attend classes on the weekends.

I hypothesized more education would provide yet additional opportunities that might not normally otherwise be available; a differentiator if you will. This, as it turned out, proved true.

I am constantly reminded of how fast time goes by. Mondays turn into Fridays, weeks pass into months, and years seem to melt away with increased rapidity. I recognize now why it is frequently said the older you get the faster time seems to go by: they were right. I was watching something the other day on TV and they said the show being referenced was now 25 years old! How could that be, I thought. It seemed like less than that, but, again, a lot of things seem like they were only yesterday. I remember when I was considering pursuing my master’s degree.

Casey Shull graduated from Purdue University with a master’s degree in industrial technology in May 2015. He earned the degree through the weekend master’s program administered by the Center for Professional Studies (ProSTAR) in the Purdue Polytechnic Institute.

Wow, the time has come once again! The fall semester is upon us. It’s easy to feel the excitement in the air as you walk around campus. Even as I sit in my office writing this, I can hear the deep bellowing sound of the Purdue Boilermaker Special as it slowly makes its way around campus. What a great time of year and how tremendously exciting!

Andrea Thomas, technology writer for Information Technology at Purdue (ITaP), graduated with her master’s degree focused on leadership in May 2015. We asked her to reflect on her time in the program, which was administered by the Center for Professional Studies in Technology and Research in the Purdue Polytechnic Institute.

Kevin Dittman, associate professor of computer and information technology, has worked for Purdue University for 20 years after a successful career working for multiple Fortune 500 companies. He is one of the co-founders of the highly rated online Master of Science in Information Technology Project Management (ITPM) program and is founder of the new online Master of Science in Information Technology Business Analysis (ITBA) program.

Outreach specialist Matthew Wagner joined the ProSTAR staff in June.