Why are you interested in joining the Honors College, and how do you believe you would contribute to this interdisciplinary learning community? (Respond in 500 words or fewer.)
Amidst a group of nervous students, I sauntered to the podium, confident and prepared to present my AP CS final project. This project analyzed the chemical structure of common household items, teaching students the nuances of everyday chemical reactions. By using my knowledge of D3, a JavaScript visualization library, and concepts taught in Chemistry honors, I created this interdisciplinary project as a means to utilize computer science as a useful learning tool.
The Honors College’s focus on interdisciplinary research intrigues me since I believe the most impactful projects come from the intersection of distinct fields. By attending the Honors College, I would be able to not only take rigorous courses to supplement my CS knowledge, but also gain opportunities to apply that knowledge to different fields. After gaining work experience through my internship at H2O.ai, a Silicon Valley tech startup that specializes in machine learning, I seek to take advantage of the DURI program that pairs curious students like me with a multitude of interdisciplinary internships.
With a total Purdue undergraduate class size of nearly 30,000 students, the Honors College would “make a big campus small.” While I can still explore activities and interact with a large student body, I can also benefit from the Honors College’s tight knit community that strongly shares my passion for learning. The small, specialized Honors courses from the introductory class in freshman year to the senior thesis would allow me to pursue group projects that pair me with students from other majors, exposing me to a diversified community.
Beyond group projects in class, the Honors College would also give me access to the Garage Workshops. The underlying idea of simply exploring the uses and intricacies of technology with a small, elite group of talented personnel exemplifies a community that I look for at Purdue. As I learned from my H2O.ai internship, the most effective community is one that continuously pushes its members to the limits. A community like this at Purdue would certainly be created by interacting with other highly motivated students through programs like Garage.
Although the Honors College definitely suits my own needs, I would also enjoy the exclusive access to organizations like the Peace Corps and Teach for America. I have tutored for the past 3 years, ranging from creating and teaching a class to tutoring math one-on-one. I can definitely see myself joining an organizations like Teach for America to share my knowledge and love for learning with underprivileged children.
Overall, the Honors College would be the perfect place to apply knowledge learned in the classroom to interdisciplinary research, interact with Honors students just like me who love learning, and make a big campus feel small.