SEEE Update

This past semester the Society of Environmental and Ecological Engineers (SEEE) increased our community involvement. In addition, members were encouraged to participate in various campus activities that ranged from the Sampling Blitz on the Wabash to Purdue Engineering Week (E-Week). During E-Week EEE’s competed in everything from a 0.5k run to trivia night. Even though we are one of the smallest engineering majors EEE came in second place in the E-Week competition.

SEEE also partnered with EEE Student Advisory Council to provide review sessions for the Fundamentals of Engineering exam. In addition, we had speaker Amber Porter talk about a career as an environmental engineer.

Student Advisory Council

The EEE Student Advisory Council (SAC) acts as the voice of the EEE student body by listening to our classmates and taking action on the comments they make. By listening to our peers suggestions, we have helped put on events for our student body, discuss the curriculum, create a continuous dialogue with our professors, and maintain a healthy environment within EEE. This year EEE SAC has put on 3 events. We had a welcome picnic in September, a career workshop, and a town hall meeting. The career workshop was new this year and received positive feedback from all attendees. We held this workshop because students had many questions regarding careers. What companies hire EEEs? When should someone start reaching out to professors for graduate school recommendations? Would NGOs be interested in my skills? How do I break into the NGO sector? At the Town Hall event we discussed the future of EEE, course selection, how to start studying for the FE exam, and experiences of those who have studied abroad.

The EEE SAC ensures the quality of the EEE student experience and tries to improve it throughout the year. We look to make meaningful and positive changes and serve as ambassadors to EEE.

Study Abroad New Zealand: Silpa Varanasi, Class of 2016

I studied abroad at the University of Canterbury in Christchurch, New Zealand in Spring 2015. The opportunity to live in a new country allowed me to understand the way of life in New Zealand compared to that of the U.S. The people of New Zealand live a very relaxed, rural, and slow-paced life whereas Americans are constantly busy. In addition, the indigenous Mori people of New Zealand have a very prevalent culture, performing dances nationally, creating extraordinary art and cooking the traditional Hangi meal (mix of meat, vegetables, and pudding) using wood and volcanic rocks. I enrolled in a Sustainable Energy Systems course, allowing me to gain an understanding of New Zealand’s stance on renewable energies in comparison with the U.S. and Denmark. For my Ecology course, I took a field trip to Cass Mountains for four days where I hiked to survey plants and trees (pictured), and performed experiments with insects and lizards. I took a week trip with a friend from the South Island to the North Island. We travelled to Kaikoura with beautiful waters and seals, and then we took the inter-islander ferry from the South Island to the North Island, docking at the capital city of Wellington. Following our stay in Wellington, we travelled to Taupo, with a beautiful lake which we skydived over at sunset. The next day we went to Rotorua, the city where we went to the geothermal hot springs and went white water rafting. Our trip ended with a tour of Auckland, the largest city in New Zealand. Studying abroad can be an awesome opportunity. I encourage other students to consider how to include a global experience into their academic career.