Brenna Losch (BSIE '26)

When Brenna Losch, 20-year-old industrial engineering major, was growing up, her parents made it clear that they would not pay for college. So she knew she had to get good grades.

After being homeschooled during her elementary years, Losch's world changed in sixth grade when her parents divorced. She and her two siblings went to live with their mother, who received a full scholarship to study law at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. Later, Losch made the decision to live with her father in Crown Point, Indiana, where she would have more opportunities to take advanced placement classes in high school.

Growing up, Losch became accustomed to handling many responsibilities independently. She worked to pay for her own car and didn't get a phone until her senior year of high school.

"I knew that I needed to attend a great school and get impeccable grades and achieve in my extracurriculars so I could get a good scholarship," she said.

Losch accomplished her goal. She was awarded several scholarships and received a federal work-study and a Pell Grant. She expects to graduate in spring 2026.

Losch said she was drawn to engineering because of her passion for the environment and concern about habitat loss.

"I pictured myself helping out with the environment," she said. "Ever since I was a child growing up in Louisiana, I felt really connected with nature."

After talking to her mother about career paths, she decided on engineering.

"I'll do engineering – that way I can make a difference in the world," she said. "Then I can get into politics and make a legislative difference – it'll just be after I make a physical difference."

Figuring out her specific engineering major was a challenge. During her first year at Purdue, she changed her intended engineering major multiple times. She eventually learned about industrial engineering at an information session, drawn to the field's focus on finding efficiencies and reducing waste.

"I knew engineering was going to be a hard major for me," she said. "I had such a background in everything that wasn't STEM."

During her first year, Losch felt like she was catching up to other students – "like I was flailing my arms in the ocean with sharks swimming around me," she said.

But she was determined to persevere. "I figured if I work hard enough I can do anything," she said.

Her motivation comes from wanting to make an impact. "I knew I wanted to make a difference in the world and give back," she said.

Losch has secured a summer internship at Pepsi where she'll work in supply chain at a distribution center in Tennessee. In the future, she wants to start an environmental nonprofit to help rehabilitate animals affected by habitat loss.

"I want to plant more trees and try to build back what humans have taken away," she said. "I want to hopefully try to reverse a lot of the damage. … If I make myself a success, that's what I will do with the money."