Hometown: Cleveland, Ohio

Current year: Junior

Carmen says he wants to study transportation engineering because he believes it will be vital to make the cities of the future more sustainable.

Why I chose Purdue Civil and Construction Engineering

I knew right away I wanted to study civil engineering in college, so when I looked at universities, I first made sure they had a strong civil engineering program. I quickly learned about the Lyles School of Civil and Construction Engineering and its incredibly strong program. I scheduled a visit and after seeing for myself how impressive the program was, as well as program’s overall commitment to making a difference, I knew after that Purdue University would be the perfect fit for me.

Emphasis area

I am currently in transportation engineering. I have always been interested in transportation and cities in general. And transportation is a big part of what makes cities function. Along with that, I am really passionate about sustainable cities and transportation is key to achieving greater sustainability for cities of the future.

Carmen is a member of Purdue ITE. This year, he competed on Purdue's ITE Traffic Bowl team and won the championship.

ITE Traffic Bowl Champion

I currently serve as treasurer for Purdue’s Institute of Transportation Engineers (ITE). ITE is a network that includes universities all around the world that focuses on studying transportation engineering. It also has an annual Traffic Bowl competition where university chapters compete in what is basically like the Jeopardy gameshow of traffic engineering. In the most recent competition, we won the championship for Purdue.

After I graduate

I have another year to go, but I am interested in pursuing a Master’s degree. I am unsure if I want to do that right after I earn my Bachelor’s or later in my career, but it is something I want to pursue.

Carmen said after visiting Purdue, he knew it was the perfect fit for him as it had a healthy balance of academic excellence and a strong, supportive community.