Purdue Engineering names 14 Dean’s Leadership Scholars
Purdue University’s College of Engineering has announced the selection of 14 exceptional undergraduate students as the newest members of the Dean’s Leadership Scholars program for the 2025–26 academic year. Established in 2019, the prestigious program recognizes top student leaders for their academic excellence and commitment to leadership, positioning them as key advisors to the dean on strategic college initiatives.
The responsibilities of a Dean's Leadership Scholar go well beyond those of a typical student. Scholars meet with the dean two to four times a year, providing valuable insights and feedback on key college initiatives, including the Vision 2030 plan — Purdue Engineering's strategic effort to become the most consequential engineering college in the nation. They also have the unique opportunity to engage with the Engineering Advisory Council and connect with distinguished alumni and leaders from industry.
These are the newest cohort of Dean's Leadership Scholars:
Hailey Benfield
Senior, Environmental and Ecological Engineering
As secretary of Purdue’s Society of Environmental and Ecological Engineers (SEEE), Hailey Benfield serves as a liaison between students and department leadership, presenting the results of the student experience survey at the end of each academic year. She is also an Environmental and Ecological Engineering (EEE) Ambassador, connecting prospective students with the department.
During her time at Purdue, Benfield has held several leadership roles, including SWEekend co-chair, where she led two events that allowed high school students to shadow current engineering students.
Caroline Bodnar
Senior, Mechanical Engineering
Caroline Bodnar has held multiple leadership roles with the Purdue Engineering Student Council (PESC). She became the first-ever freshman to lead a committee, serving as head of the Internal Development Committee, where she led a team of five upperclassmen to plan events and initiatives that strengthened council cohesion. As a sophomore, she broke new ground again as the first sophomore to serve on the executive board, taking on the role of treasurer.
Beyond PESC, Bodnar has served as project manager for PurdueTHINK Consulting, where she led a project for the CARES Hub, a student wellness initiative within the College of Engineering. For the past two years, she has also served as a mentor in the Women in Engineering program, helping build confidence in first-year engineering students.
Sarah Braun
Senior, Materials Engineering
Sarah Braun began her work with the Purdue Space Program Hybrids Rocket Team as an Airframe IPT specialist and lead, eventually training to become the team’s project manager during her first co-op tenure. In that role, she provided strategic feedback to one of Purdue’s largest and fastest-growing technical clubs. As the team’s chief engineer, she learned the difference between technical and people leadership — and chose to focus on the technical path.
Alongside her ongoing role with the Airframe IPT, Braun has been involved in the Women in Engineering program and served as a lab supervisor for the Purdue 3D Printing Club.
While balancing a rigorous academic workload and volunteer commitments, she has worked for both Purdue’s athletic department and now the College of Engineering. She has completed internships with nearly five companies across the automotive, aerospace and space exploration industries.
Matthew Cannon
Junior, Motorsports Engineering
Matthew Cannon has developed his leadership skills across multiple areas since completing his sophomore year. He serves as a teaching assistant and student mentor for the Purdue Office of Professional Practice in ENGR 103: Introduction to Professional Practice. In this role, he supports career development, assists with events and helps guide students through professional growth.
Cannon is also a student leader within the Christian Student Fellowship organization, having served as both treasurer and vice president of technology. As part of the transition from IUPUI to Purdue Indianapolis, he has provided valuable student feedback to improve the campus experience for future engineering students and student organization leaders.
Megan Duffy
Senior, Industrial Engineering
Megan Duffy currently serves as president of the Alpha Gamma Delta sorority, after previously holding roles as Vice President of Event Planning and Director of Special Events. In these positions, she has applied strong organizational and leadership skills to create events for over 200 attendees and address key issues affecting the chapter. She acts as the liaison between Purdue Panhellenic and Alpha Gamma Delta’s international headquarters, overseeing 12 vice presidents and 16 directors while promoting officer success and member well-being.
In addition to her sorority leadership, Duffy has served as a mentor for the Industrial Engineering sophomore seminar, meeting monthly with underclassmen to provide academic and professional guidance.
Vindhya Ganti
Sophomore, Mechanical Engineering
In his freshman year, Vindhya Ganti started a competition underwater robotics team — BoilerSubs. As president, he established a mission statement and broke down the massive task into smaller, more attainable deliverables. While waiting for funding, he implemented a virtual testing platform for the controls teams to focus on using CAD to prototype in the mechanical team. His team recently received an engineering grant of $5,000 which will go towards the development of the team’s robot.
Ganti has also been serving as events director for the Purdue First Indy Club, a program that works with high school robotics students and the Indianapolis branch volunteers at competitions. Beyond organizing, he mentors peers in robotics fundamentals and volunteer roles. It’s important to Ganti to give back to a program that helped him develop his STEM skills during his teenage years while he works to build the Purdue Indianapolis culture.
Ethan Gray
Junior, Multidisciplinary Engineering
Ethan Gray has held multiple leadership roles across different student organizations. His first roles with the Theme Park Engineering and Design (TSED) club were geared around projects and networking opportunities for the themed and live entertainment industries. As Member Relations Chair, Gray organized club trips to Holiday World, King’s Island and Six Flags Great America and to multiple industry conferences. He also developed and led a new professional project team centered around the creation of realistic, functioning-scale theme park attractions that follow industry relevant engineering and design practices.
Gray has also served as a College of Engineering Ambassador, acting as a liaison between the Multidisciplinary Engineering program and advising faculty and staff within the college. He was recently honored with the 2024–25 Outstanding Service to the School of Engineering Education Award.
Taylor Helman
Sophomore, Mechanical Engineering
During her freshman year, Taylor Helman served in multiple leadership roles. As communications officer for her EPICS team, Helman served as liaison between team members and stakeholders, ensuring that projects stayed on track. One of those projects was a solar-powered table project focused on neighborhood energy and climate advances. Through her involvement in RIISE (Reinventing the Interface of Inclusivity, Sports and Engineering), Helman worked to advance inclusive engineering by applying mechanical design principles to develop accessibility-focused technologies for underserved communities.
In addition to her technical and research-based leadership, she also serves as the Taste of Purdue and Swishes chair for Chi Omega, helping to plan and execute their two largest philanthropy events.
Emily Jones
Senior, Materials Engineering
Driven by a passion for community impact, Emily Jones recently launched a technical team focused on HVAC carbon capture for the Setty Family Foundation Engineering Challenge 2025. As Sustainability Team Co-Chair for the Purdue Society of Women Engineers (PSWE), she leads strategic planning and has built organizational systems from the ground up.
Jones is also the incoming Vice President of Finance for PSWE, where she looks forward to implementing innovative fundraising strategies to expand the organization’s financial resources. Her leadership experience includes serving as Vice President of Programs for the Purdue Alumni Student Experience (PASE), where she successfully managed multiple initiatives — skills she also applied as a Project Partner Liaison for Camp Riley through Purdue’s EPICS program.
Beyond her work with PSWE, PASE and EPICS, she serves as an MSE Outreach Ambassador, designing density kits to introduce elementary students to materials science. Her dedication and leadership have earned her a place in the Mortar Board Class of 2026.
Andrew Modin
Junior, Chemical Engineering
Andrew Modin’s passion for outreach began with Purdue Space Day, where he serves as Operations Coordinator on the Executive Board. In this role, he organizes space-themed events for more than 600 elementary students, managing volunteer schedules, coordinating rocket launches and sparking curiosity through hands-on learning experiences.
As Team Supervisor International for Purdue’s Boiler Gold Rush, Modin has mentored over 100 new students, helping them transition into college life and navigate academic challenges with confidence. His commitment to student support continues in his roles as a teaching assistant for First-Year Engineering and the Davidson School of Chemical Engineering, where he hosts office hours that blend academic guidance with conversations that build meaningful connections.
Through research with the Rakesh Agrawal Research Group and ALPHA Lab, he has also collaborated with peers across disciplines, offering assistance and insight on complex projects. Additionally, as a campus tour guide with the Purdue Engineering Student Foundation — partnering with the Office of Future Engineers — he has introduced hundreds of prospective students to the Purdue experience, showcasing the university’s strengths and community spirit.
Abigail Origer
Senior, Electrical and Computer Engineering
Abigail Origer mentors first-year engineering students through Purdue’s Women in Engineering Program, offering guidance and support as they navigate the academic and personal challenges of the engineering journey.
As the Electrical Lead on a medical device team with Purdue MIND, Origer has played a key role in designing impactful healthcare solutions. She also served as the Project Partner Liaison for her EPICS team, acting as the primary communicator between her team and external stakeholders to ensure alignment and success.
In her roles as a student, teaching assistant and mentor, Origer has participated in a wide range of engineering initiatives and brings a deep understanding of the challenges engineering students face — particularly as one of the 16% of women in Purdue’s Electrical and Computer Engineering program. Her experiences reflect not only technical skill but also a strong commitment to collaboration and mentorship in STEM.
Evan Stonestreet
Senior, Computer Engineering
Evan Stonestreet has participated in multiple student organization experiences at Purdue, particularly related to culture. In his freshman year, he was heavily involved in the birth of SWANA, a student organization aimed at celebrating and fostering unity within the Middle Eastern culture on campus. As treasurer, he was responsible for budget management and grant applications to fund events and contributed significantly to event planning and strategy development in efforts to establish a cultural center.
The experience dovetails with his current involvement with Cross Cultural Association (CCA). He co-founded the organization in Spring 2024 and served as president until his participation in a study abroad program. His time with CCA allowed Stonestreet to grow as a well-rounded leader teaching him that being a leader is fundamentally about bringing out the best in others. In addition to his cultural leadership roles, Stonestreet served as an electronics peer mentor at the Bechtel Innovation & Design Center. Most recently he represented Aerovy, a Purdue start-up, leading a consulting group from Purdue Launch in conducting market research to identify optimal sites for the company’s next operations.
India Walker
Senior, Biomedical Engineering
As the Academic Excellence Chair for the National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE), India Walker has organized student sessions, shared academic resources and encouraged members to take advantage of tutoring and mentorship opportunities. In addition to her role as the Outreach Chair for Stempower Purdue last year, Walker used her strong communications skills, creativity and attention to detail to organize and promote events.
As a Peer Success Coach for Chemistry 116, Walker has mentored first-year students by offering guidance on time management, goal setting and academic planning. Through these experiences, she has developed strong communication skills, gained experience in advising and providing feedback, and learned how to foster both individual and group success.
Amanda Wolf
Senior, Agricultural & Biological Engineering
Amanda Wolf is the founder and president of the Synergies Agricultural & Biological Engineering Research (SABER) team, which she has led for two years. In this role, she acts as a liaison between student members, the principal investigator, and faculty advisors — amplifying student voices and helping to streamline the program through continuous feedback and collaboration.
As executive officer of the Purdue National Defense Society, she leads the organization’s creative direction and media strategy. She also serves as president of the Creative Writing Club, coordinating with faculty and campus partners to host speakers, events and writing opportunities that reach a broad audience.
Her professional experience spans both industry and national research labs. She has interned with AgroRenew, a bioplastics startup, and currently works through Purdue’s Data Mine program with Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, where she helps test and refine their machine learning software pipeline.
Continuing Dean’s Leadership Scholars are Haddy Alchaer, Atharva Awasthi, Amareah Bead, Erin Blasingame, Paige Bryan, and Kaltra Woltz.