“Shoutout to Griff!”

“You know Griffin? He’s so cool.”

“Griff was such a great mentor. I’m so lucky.”

Whenever Griffin Laihinen’s name comes up in conversation, at least one face lights up. More if the group contains many members of the Purdue Student Engineering Foundation (PSEF), where Laihinen served as president in 2023.

Recognized in the fifth cohort of Purdue Engineering Fellows in fall 2023, Laihinen’s positive impact was honored with a plaque and $20,000, generously funded by Robert H. Buckman (BSChE ’59) and wife Joyce A. Mollerup. He was nominated by peers in PSEF and the Purdue Engineering Presidents’ Council (PEPC), along with faculty and advisors who worked with Laihinen in the School of Sustainability Engineering and Environmental Engineering (formerly environmental and ecological engineering, or EEE).

In the two years since Laihinen crossed the stage in Elliott Music Hall, his impact continues on at Purdue — both in those who knew him as a student and those who know him now as a Minneapolis-based Purdue alum who returns for resume reviews and career panels.

Laihinen wasn’t sure how he was going to succeed after Purdue. Especially in creating — and maintaining — a community after PSEF.

“After leaving the tight-knit community I found at Purdue, I have struggled to adjust to life not surrounded by people undergoing many of the same life experiences as myself,” said Laihinen. “As I learn how to navigate a new community at work and in my adult life, I have struggled to be satisfied with my efforts to leave a positive mark. Knowing that my impact at Purdue has lasted through today gives me hope. … to know that actions can create waves of impact years after the actions are actually taken, and I hope that is the case for the work and community involvement I do now.”

Laihinen worked at SRF Consulting Group after graduation, only 30 minutes from his Rosemount hometown. Daily projects included storm sewer and new green infrastructure engineering surrounding a light rail extension in North Minneapolis and collecting greenhouse gas inventories on the county level. His work encompassed Wisconsin as well, researching and modeling flooding effects transportation infrastructure, including highways and bridges.

The first days at SRF threw Laihinen into industry, full of unknowns and new concepts. Fortunately for Laihinen, he said, learning on the fly — and fast — was part of the unofficial Purdue Engineering curriculum.

“I did not take any (computer-aided design) CAD courses in undergrad or use it in any internships and yet, now that I work 30+ hours per week in Civil3D, I don't feel as though I was behind or ill-prepared for a career with a primarily civil engineering-focused company,” said Laihinen, who graduated with an environmental and ecological engineering (EEE) degree. “The experience of learning a new program or language quickly, and then solving some problem in that interface, was learned thoroughly and often (at Purdue). Many modeling tools used in industry are archaic, and being exposed to them in undergrad seemed odd at the time but proved to be very useful as I've learned that industry can be less quick-to-modernize than I expected.”

Another Purdue lesson that paid off long-term for Laihinen: “Communication remains one of the most important aspects of professional life as an engineer, similar to my perspective on it as an engineering student.”

Professional engineering is a much larger form of the ENGR 13300 (Transforming Ideas to Innovation, EPICS) group projects, Laihinen noted. Except instead of a grade hinging on everyone doing their part, the timelines of hundreds of people and tens of companies are impacted by the work of one person. Every communication, small or large, can help adjust budgets, timelines and expectations — and ensure everyone holds a similar goal for the result.

Not to mention all the Minneapolis residents and travelers who are impacted by the public infrastructure projects Laihinen is working on. Suffice to say, every decision has a consequential impact on thousands, if not millions.

“With large infrastructure projects, that communication about progress and deadlines remains tantamount to being able to succeed with the timeline and budget as they were originally given,” Laihinen said. “The biggest thing I continue to remind myself is that even if I am behind schedule, communicating my status earlier has never led to more embarrassment than it has later in the project timeline, closer to an actual deadline.”

Being able to return to Purdue for the 30-year anniversary of PSEF and share his newfound industry knowledge was a pleasant combination of the community he had come from and the career he was beginning to build.

“It was a really great event celebrating the organization, past, present and future,” said Laihinen. “I have participated in resume reviews and other forms of leadership advice for current members of PSEF and I continue to be in touch with staff and members of PSEF, the Office of Future Engineers, EPICS and EEE.”

Laihinen’s time in Minnesota draws to a close in July 2026, when he relocates to North Carolina for a 10-month master’s in business, climate and sustainability at Duke University. He will continue his Minneapolis employment part time and without student loan debt, thanks to the generous award given to the Fellows after graduation.

“I paid off over $16,000 worth of student loan debt in one fell swoop,” Laihinen said. “Graduating without debt allowed me to feel the freedom to have some excess money after each paycheck that I feel comfortable supporting causes that I am passionate about.”

With the remaining money, Laihinen did something many Fellows choose to do: He went abroad.

Laihinen spent two months in Europe, half of which was spent as a gardener in rural Finland. In exchange for a few meals and a bed, he weeded, planted and harvested for the elderly woman who owned the gargantuan, fairytale-esque garden property.

“I had the time of my life when I was in Finland: proper wood-burning saunas, fresh fish and vegetables and enriching labor outdoors,” Laihinen said. “For the (second half in) Europe, I backpacked and stayed in hostels in the UK, Finland, Sweden, Denmark, Germany and Poland.”

For students interested in the Engineering Fellows, Laihinen shares: “The value of positive peer relations is one that really stood out to me as something that differentiates the typical Purdue Engineering student who can think critically and solve problems creatively. If students can identify others that would vouch for their ability to have positive and constructive relationships with their peers, then they would be a great person to write a recommendation for that student.”