Hometown: Vestmannaeyjar, Iceland

Current year: Senior

Hafdís is from the small island of Vestmannaeyjar, Iceland.

Why I chose Purdue Civil Engineering

Ever since I was a child, I have always loved building things with toys. That interest only continued to grow as I got older. The blend of creativity and practicality really influenced is also what drew to civil engineering. In civil engineering you can both be an artist and a problem-solver — and that’s what really captured my interest.

Emphasis area

My emphasis area is in Structural Engineering. My dream is to design and build homes in the United States. I have always loved building structures and I find the entire process — from planning to completion — to be very interesting.

Hafdís has worked as an undergraduate student researcher.

The journey to Purdue

I grew up on a very small island in Iceland with a population of about 4,500 people. Since kindergarten, I only ever knew the exact same students all the way up through high school. I wanted to go somewhere big and I wanted to study somewhere that had a strong engineering program. It didn’t take long before I decided that Purdue University was the place for me.

After I graduate

After I earn my Bachelor’s degree in the spring, I will stay for one more year to earn my Master’s in the Lyles School of Civil Engineering’s 4+1 Program. I believe a graduate degree with a focus on Structural Engineering will best prepare me when pursuing my career.

Hafdís says she chose Purdue because of its world-renown engineering program.