It was a longtime dream to study abroad, experience the multicultural component of campus life, and gain hands-on experience in an international organization. After several years of building up my resume and gaining exposure in my field, I was awarded the prestigious Fulbright Scholarship that allowed me to fly to the US and study at my dream university. I applied and was lucky enough to get admits to several exceptional universities, but when I saw this program, I just knew it was a great fit. Purdue MEM gives you the chance to tailor your journey as much as you want, choosing virtually all of the courses you wish to take at a globally recognized university. You enjoy the chance to participate in tons of professional development seminars, and it has the perfect balance between engineering and business coursework.

The thing is, once I was on campus, I understood the program gives you so much more than that. It has multiple industry connections that have the potential of opening many doors for you, and may get you on the footstep of the company of your dreams. The program allowed me to earn offers from several companies for both internships and full-time positions. It also provided me with the opportunity to be selected for the Experiential Learning Initiative course, where I participated in a corporate consulting project with a multinational company. Through our program’s connections with Purdue’s Office of Professional Practice, I had the chance to participate in a 4-month internship by taking an independent-study course with a fantastic professor, who acted as a mentor and guided me through this experience. Lastly, the Purdue MEM staff were there with me every step of the way, offering professional and personal advice when we needed it the most - something that is hard to find in many places.

Another vital component in choosing the university was, of course, the location. Purdue not only has that excellent campus vibe that I wanted, but it also has a community of students, which is the thing that I cherish the most now that I have graduated. Joining as a Fulbright student, I got the chance to meet amazing people from all over the world. Our campus group organized dozens of events including networking dinners, potlucks, coffee hours, bowling, and so many more. We even created the association's first sports team, participating in several soccer tournaments throughout the year. Our MEM program also includes this fantastic international component that allowed me to meet amazing people from many different cultures, and to learn from them academically and personally.

As a final remark, I want to state (and I cannot emphasize this enough) that the experience is what you make of it. I thought I was fulfilling my dream of studying abroad, but I achieved so much more. I made lifelong friendships with people from all over the world, worked with the Pan American Health Organization that aims to protect and ensure the health of the people in the Americas, represented our program in an inter-university Master of Engineering Management Programs Consortium, found new passions, and traveled to places where I never thought I would be. What started as an academic pursuit ended up being a journey to find myself.     

I am ready to fly back home, and in my backpack I take friends, colleagues, experiences, and a better idea of who I am and where I want to go.