When George Wodicka and Assistant Head Andrew Brightman talked about placing Weldon students as interns last summer, Brightman quipped, "If we were to place two quality interns, I would be thrilled." Well, like most things at Purdue, that goal was surpassed -- and then some. Eight BME students participated as interns last summer, with the goal of 16-20 taking positions this year.

Gina Settle, newly hired Intern Liaison, replaces Surelys Galano to take this important component of the Weldon School to a new level.

"The decision to create the internship program was based upon the desire to provide our students with a practical, supervised engineering experience that would both stimulate independent and critical thinking and assist to clarify career goals and interests," states Settle. She adds, "It not only benefits the students but also raises company awareness at Purdue. The partnerships also showcase Purdue's research capabilities and can initiate research relationships with our School." The building of strong, ongoing relationships with industry and alumni is a key goal of the BME Internship Program.

Since the concept of taking ideas to market is fostered in the Weldon School, many companies find interns, like our graduates, to be a hot commodity. Our students understand the importance of clinical trials, market factors, and profitability -- things that drive a company's bottom line.

Jenna Miller, a junior at Weldon who recently completed a summer internship at Cook Biotech in West Lafayette, had nothing but positive things to say about her experience. "The obvious benefits of my internship were the lab skills I acquired and the connections I made," she says. "Beyond this, I learned how to function in an industrial environment and what goes on in a company to take a product to market."

Her class experience not only helped her understand a lot of the projects she worked on, but her work at Cook Biotech also gave her a new perspective when classes started in the fall. Miller states, "Upon returning to classes after my internship, I think that I began to see more depth in the topics presented. That is, I began to peer behind the scenes and look for the practical applications and how they would function."

Miller is looking forward to her next internship experience and hopes to build on her experience at Cook Biotech. "My internship was an invaluable experience, and I feel sincerely lucky to have the opportunity to work with the people that I did. I was able to both learn and enjoy myself on a daily basis."

Companies interested in hosting a summer intern should contact Gina Settle at gsettle@purdue.edu or 765-494-7871.