New Beginnings.

This is an exciting time of the year on campus for many reasons, including this season of new beginnings. The Office of Academic Programs goes into high gear to enroll the students who will soon make up our next freshman class, one that will be larger than ever. They are on campus during these summer weeks for STAR—Summer Transition, Advising and Registration—when they get a chance to connect to Purdue, other students and their advisors. It’s a full day as our new students and their families attend information sessions and prepare for their first college academic experience. Most importantly, our OAP team engages each student to help them begin to realize their hopes and dreams. This is also a new beginning for parents, guardians and other family members, as they will soon be adjusting to the new dynamic that occurs when a member of the family leaves home to attend college.

This time of year is also a new beginning for many high school students who come to campus to experience college life, learn about agriculture and the science that underlies it, and interact with each other and with our faculty and staff members. The USDA Ag Discovery Camp, Purdue Agribusiness Science Academy and the Molecular Ag Summer Institute, as well as the Summer Science Program (SSP) in Biochemistry, all give high school students the chance to not only learn about agriculture and research, but also do research and discover the many opportunities that studying science can bring. Many of the students describe these summer experiences as “life changing,” “an amazing opportunity,” and say they are “forever grateful” and “sad that it is over.” Many of these high school students will go on to become Boilermakers. Their experiences here on campus this summer help them realize the breadth and depth of opportunities that are available to them for the future, and they may begin to think seriously about a career in agriculture. Again, the parents and families who get to watch the students’ presentations at the end of their campus experience see the transformational impact on the students.

Many of our undergraduates also experience a new beginning in their educational experience. Through opportunities such as Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowships, Summer Stay, Summer Research Opportunities Program and Molecular Agriculture Summer Institute Research Fellows, our students get to work in a lab, the field or the barn and immerse themselves in research. Many of these students experience a new beginning related to their understanding of how discoveries are made, which can often lead them toward new career paths. Many of the students will present posters or give oral presentations on campus or at a national meeting that lead to a new beginning in research. Students will often continue their research experiences throughout the school year, and that can lead to an interest in graduate school or professional degree programs. 

Another new beginning is happening now in Agricultural and Biological Engineering (ABE), but this is a different type of beginning--the beginning of a new home for the department. ABE faculty and staff have moved to temporary homes in Lilly Hall and the demolition on the back portion of the ABE building has begun! By 2020, the department will be housed in a renovated building with new space added to accommodate the entire department in a modern, state-of-the-art home.

New beginnings come in all shapes and sizes, and they give us a chance to reflect and think about things a little differently and look at new oppor-tunities. Every one of us has a chance to have a new beginning!