OPP assistant directors Danielson, Dragnev craft industry-first approach for student employment success in Indianapolis

Brown doors with people standing in the background. Sign in foreground reads, "Welcome to Networking Night."

The Office of Professional Practice (OPP) helps students gain confidence in networking and showcasing professional skills.

“Do the best job you can at every opportunity you’re given” is Pete Dragnev’s second-best advice to Purdue students in Indianapolis.

The most important (and his best, according to Dragnev): Approach everything with a lens of service.

“Always asking how you can add value is key to every solution,” said Dragnev, the assistant director of internship programs and professional experiences in Indianapolis, who joined the Office of Professional Practice (OPP) in June 2026. “Have that service mentality, because that’s what will make people want to hire you. We try to instill that mentality in first-year students early so they will ask questions about a company’s needs and pain points. That’s how they will succeed in landing the internships they want.”

The steps to success are laid out for students to glean and apply in ENGR 10301 (Intro to Professional Practice).

“We engage and see all incoming engineering students in Indianapolis either in the fall or spring in ENGR 103, which is our first touch point with first-year students,” said Katrin Danielson, OPP assistant director of co-op programs and student development. “We’re able to connect them with the resources necessary to succeed in their field of interest.”

Portrait of a man in a blue suit and yellow tie with a microphone.

Dragnev, assistant director of internship programs and professional experiences in Indianapolis.

Throughout the course, students learn to create strong resumes and LinkedIn profiles, develop a networking statement, practice professional skills and make connections while still new to Purdue. They can deepen their understanding of these skills through office hours with OPP teaching assistants (TAs), available Monday-Friday. The fall 2026 semester includes three sections of students, two studying motorsports engineering and a third studying biomedical and industrial engineering. The spring 2027 semester will include sessions focused on mechanical, electrical and computer engineering majors.

The course also includes guest speakers who are industry professionals, often Purdue alums, who share the realities of working as an engineer. So by the time students come to Dragnev or Danielson with internship or co-op offers, they have been well prepared to succeed in those roles. While out on co-ops, students also enroll in a zero-credit course at no cost to record the experience for their co-op certificate upon graduation.

An ever-changing job landscape defined Dragnev’s early work experiences, priming him to ask service-minded questions. Dragnev entered the workforce during the 2008 financial crisis. He had worked at Menards throughout college, simultaneously earning a bachelor’s in business focused on management and marketing, and continued after as a sales manager.

When a new opportunity in a remodeling company appeared in 2018, Dragnev swapped selling kitchens for installing them. In 2020, he left the trades to lead Believe in a Dream, a Northeast Indiana-based youth nonprofit, which provides immersive experiences, supportive community and early career connections to over 500 young artists, entrepreneurs and leaders in the Fort Wayne area.

Four years later, Dragnev joined Purdue University in the fall, serving two years with The Data Mine, and in June 2026, he joined OPP in Indianapolis to help manage industry partnerships for the benefit of Purdue students breaking into the professional world.

Dragnev and Danielson offer a customizable experience based on student needs. Together, they serve students by connecting them with internship, co-op and other work experiences and providing opportunities to develop professional skills and confidence to attain those experiences.

Relationship building is key to the professional success of Purdue Engineering students, both with one another and with industry representatives. OPP in Indianapolis embodies this with their own professional relationships as they collaborate with the Center for Career Opportunities, stationed just down the hall in the Sigma Theta Tau International Honor Society of Nursing building (STT), and a variety of Purdue departments serving on the Indianapolis Career Council.

Portrait of a woman in a checkered shirt.

Danielson, assistant director of co-op programs and student development.

“The ability to solve problems and jump into a challenge are positives our industry partners have told me about (Purdue) students,” Dragnev said. “Our partners notice a difference between the students we send them and candidates from other colleges.”

First-year students will have the opportunity to test their professional skills at the OPP First-Year Career Networking Night on Oct. 27, 2026. Hosted in the STT, the evening sets up a strong start for students to take on industry recruitment opportunities and information sessions at Purdue.

Adaptability was an early lesson Dragnev learned. With an ever-changing industry landscape, that’s one skill he hopes students will gain through OPP in Indianapolis — and be ready to apply to their advantage by the time graduation comes.

“(Students) need to always be ready (to adapt) in the age of technology evolution and also public policy and governmental changes,” Dragnev said. “Keep that in mind, and … listen to your audience’s needs.”