Marek Gibson (BSAAE '25)

Purdue saved Marek Gibson.

When he was growing up, his mother struggled with addiction and went to prison. At 10, he moved in with his maternal grandparents in Terre Haute, Indiana.

Three years ago, Gibson suffered another devastating loss that would change his life.

Shortly after Thanksgiving, his mother died. Two weeks later, he lost his grandmother during winter break.

“I was in a rough place,” he said. “If I didn’t have Purdue, I don’t think I would have made it through that time as well as I did.”

Now 22, Gibson is set to graduate in May 2025 with a bachelor’s in aeronautical and astronautical engineering. He chose Purdue University because his grandfather, an alum, would take Gibson to a football game once a year. “It was the first time in a long time I’d been really happy. This place became kind of like Disneyland for me.”

Gibson’s interest in aviation and aerospace began at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickman, Hawaii, where his stepfather was stationed in the Navy. Gibson grew up with aircraft carriers and jets and watching the Blue Angels soar overhead. “I knew it was something I wanted to do coming to Purdue.”

The university’s reputation in aeronautics and astronautics clinched the deal for Gibson, as it was rated among the top 10 undergraduate programs in the country by U.S. News & World Report and claims graduate Neil Armstrong (1955), the first man on the moon.

With help from a Lilly Endowment, which funded his entire tuition, Gibson was able to attend Purdue without having to worry about debt. He was one of two high schoolers who received the scholarship in Vigo County.

Gibson has taken advantage of the opportunities he’s received at Purdue and credits the university’s Co-op Program with providing the footprints to his success.

Co-op integrates real-life work experience into the curriculum. Students work in the industry they are studying and apply what they learn in the classroom, Gibson said. "You get to figure out what you do and don’t like.”

Gibson took a year off school and interned at Cummins, which makes diesel engines that can get shipped overseas. He designed and sourced the materials to package the engines in large shipping crates. The project earned him an award for innovative design, he said, and saved the company over $120,000.

When Gibson graduates, he already has a job lined up with Rolls-Royce, where he had also spent time working as part of the Co-op Program. During a two-year rotation program, he will work in manufacturing.

Gibson is also thinking about pursuing Purdue’s master of engineering management (MEM), where graduates earn dual degrees in management and engineering.

Thanks to Purdue, Gibson’s most rewarding experiences were working at Cummins and Rolls-Royce, which helped him learn about the automotive and aerospace industries.

"It was an invaluable part of my education.”