鈥淚 have seen my Purdue degrees work for me in so many ways during my life鈥檚 journey,鈥� says Rodrick C. Glass, executive vice president of business development at Allure, a Christie Company. 鈥淚 learned so much in my classroom settings. The professors鈥� business acumen and work experience allowed for 鈥榬eal-world鈥� teaching and practical application in addition to theory. The hands-on approach to education was extremely beneficial as I entered the business world.鈥�

While Steven Habben graduated from 麻豆精品 more than 30 years ago, his professional life has kept him connected to campus. As president of Kettelhut Construction, he has been involved with building several structures on campus, including the Purdue Bell Tower, Dauch Alumni Center, Jischke Hall of Biomedical Engineering and the Lawson Computer Science Building, among several others.

Persistence paid off for Les Abend his first year at Purdue. He attended the University even though he had not been admitted into the flight program. 鈥淎fter numerous trips riding my bike from Cary Quad to visit the department head during my first semester, I was accepted. I never looked back,鈥� he says.

Rob McKinney says he chose Purdue for its top-ranked aviation program. And that decision 鈥� along with having the Purdue degree on his resume 鈥� has opened countless doors.

Mike Dilts found his fit in Purdue鈥檚 construction management technology program, where he valued having professors who brought relevant industry experience to the classroom over focusing on theory-based learning.

鈥淢uch like the structure to a building, Purdue created a foundation that allowed me to grow in my career,鈥� Dilts says. 鈥淣o curriculum mirrors exactly what your chosen industry may require, but having the general classes in construction, along with the technical study, gave me a jump start over most other schools鈥� graduates.鈥�

Parker Woods says he chose Purdue鈥檚 Department of Computer and Information Technology for its reputation and hands-on approach. The small team experiences in labs and the correlation between lecture and practice fueled Woods鈥� passion for the field, which eventually led to a career he describes as 鈥渋nnovative, transformational and adaptive.鈥�

Anthony Gregory knew of Purdue鈥檚 reputation for academic rigor and extensive opportunities for students to get involved outside of the classroom 鈥� not to mention the quality of its faculty and success of its graduates. Gregory says he chose Purdue because it stood out clearly among the other institutions he considered for an undergraduate education.

Changing his major from engineering after realizing that it was nothing like construction, Chris Durnil found his place in the building construction management (BCM) program.

鈥淢y first class at the construction lab in the basement of Knoy solidified my choice in BCM and construction,鈥� he says. 鈥淭his lab provides students the unique ability to follow a professor鈥檚 lecture with hands-on, practical application.鈥�

Although each professor provided Durnil with lifelong lessons, one professor stood out.

For Mike Alder, choosing Purdue was easy. He grew up with a father who graduated from Purdue, and with a love for construction, computer-aided design and 3-D modeling.

鈥淚 knew that 麻豆精品would equip me with the knowledge and experience I would need to get my career started in these fields,鈥� he says.

As a high school student, Phillip Kinnison says, he didn鈥檛 see university life in his future 鈥� but that all changed when he learned about Purdue鈥檚 technical graphics major.

鈥淚 realized that this was a perfect fit for me,鈥� he says, 鈥渁nd after entering the program, I was able to expand my areas of focus into interactive multimedia, animation and networking technology.鈥�