ENE Multidisciplinary Engineering student Paige Rudin in Maramures, Romania, in traditional dress while learning some new dance moves.

The scholarships are given to students who are committed to public service, and support study in areas underrepresented in study abroad programs. Boren Scholars also must commit to working in the federal government for at least one year after graduation.

Rudin plans to attend veterinary school for a dual Doctor of Veterinary Medicine-Master of Public Health degree, and then to develop agricultural policy related to disease transmission. She spent spring semester 2018 in Madrid and is this summer in Romania studying language and culture and shadowing Romanian veterinarians. Her studies there are supported by her Boren funding.

The Carmel, Ind., resident has a full portfolio of international experience: She has worked since 2016 with the College of Agriculture’s service-learning program in Haiti, where she focuses on water quality issues; was a National Defense University summer intern, serving as an analyst focused on international mission sites; and conducted synthetic biology research with Purdue’s International Genetically Engineered Machine team. Her time in Romania has included home stays with local families, and is reported in a blog posted by the Purdue Honors College.

Visiting the Romanian political prison of Sighet, now converted into the Sighet Memorial Museum.

“My time abroad has emphasized the importance of human connection and community engagement. Through my international experiences, I have had opportunities to exchange ideas with many people with different world views than mine, subtly shifting my own, expanding and shaping them into something more informed and more self-aware,” says Rudin.

Rudin has presented before the international scientific community and discussed the importance of continued funding for undergraduate research with the U.S. Senate in Washington, D.C. She is a Steven C. Beering Scholar, a student in Purdue’s Honors College, and the recipient of a Truman scholarship.

Preparing for a dinner of traditional Romanian food.

A view from the window while driving through the countryside of Maramures, Romania.

The Merry Cemetery of Maramures with colorful grave markers engraved with poems.