The Annual Purdue Fashion Show is just a little over a month away and the apparel labs are buzzing with activity. My fellow Apparel Design & Technology students and I are busy making garments, pieces for the art gallery, and producing the show. We have been draping, patterning, fitting, and sewing our garments to get them ready for the runway.

As a junior, I am creating three runway looks. I will also be putting two pieces in the art gallery. In addition to these personal projects, I am a team leader for the Communication and Advertising Team. Our team is in charge of designing tickets, creating the program, and selling advertisements. We have been working to design page layouts and write garment descriptions to put in the program. I am off to get back to work in labs! I will be sure to post pictures from the fashion show soon!

-- Kelsey Leliaert

Procrastination: the never-ending battle of now or later

We all struggle against it, some with greater success then others. Though a challenge to people everywhere, procrastination seems to manifest itself on college campuses at an entirely new level. Whether it is because campuses are full of youth living on their own for the first time or because our schedules are a string of deadlines with one test or assignment followed by another. While it is probably a combination of both as I approach my senior year I can say with confidence procrastination, in all of its many forms, is never your friend.

I could swear I moved into my dorm a few months ago, was taking my first finals just yesterday but, alas, that was actually two and a half years ago. As I am planning out my senior year courses and graduate school applications are looming grimly on the horizon I can count many things I am glad to have done throughout my 6 semesters. Conversely, there are many things I am starting today I wish I had started a year ago.

So advice to any new or current college student: don’t wait. Don’t wait to ask for help. Don’t wait to introduce yourself to your Professor. Don’t wait to get an internship. Don’t wait to step out of your comfort zone. Your self one-year from will now be happy you didn’t.

-- Maggie Flynn

Research Project

One of my courses this semester is solely devoted to developing and conducting a research experiment. We are able to choose our own research topic and survey a target population. I believe that stress-related conditions are very prevalent in college students and many of us do not have the knowledge to properly cope with our daily stressors. So, I am interested in finding out how stress affects our diet and physical activity. When students become stressed, do they decrease their physical activity because they are overwhelmed? Do they tend to eat unhealthy, sugary snacks or gravitate towards fruits and vegetables? As independent college students, we now have the ability to choose our lifestyle. We do not have the influence of our parents telling us what to eat or physical education classes that force us to stay active. We have to build our own healthy habits.

I will be surveying a sample of college students on Purdue’s campus through an online survey tool called Qualtrics. I am currently reading literature and studies that have focused on this topic. From there, I will create the survey and send it out to students.

It is a difficult task to begin a research project, but if you study something that interests you, it will be a positive challenge. Purdue also gives students the opportunity to get involved with professor’s research. This is not only great for a resume, but you can really find where your interests lie through research. I would encourage every student to participate in at least one research project throughout his or her time at Purdue. You will not regret it.

-- Jaci

Physician Assistant School Interview

Last Saturday I had my first interview for Physician Assistant school. I was very nervous and anxious because I had no idea what to expect. Luckily, the interview was unique and actually quite enjoyable. As I arrived around 10:00 am, we signed in and had a chance to eat some breakfast and chat with the other applicants who were there for interviews. This was helpful because I realized that I wasn’t the only one who was unsure of what was to come. Then we were escorted upstairs and I had my first segment, where I was taught how to suture a wound. This was very exciting for me since I have seen it several times throughout my shadowing experience, but never actually learned how to do it. They used a fake skin prop and I taught it back to the professor who originally taught me. Then in the next breakout, I was taught how to measure whether a heart was abnormal on an x-ray picture on an iPad. After this, we were given several drugs and the conditions that allowed us to use them, and then were given several different x-rays and had to tell the professor which drugs we would use. The third segment was an ethical situation. I read through the situation and had to answer several questions about what I would do if I were in that situation. Lastly, before a break, I had a traditional interview with one of the professors. After our break, we were split into groups of 5 and took an empathy survey, a discernment quiz with questions about the profession, and had a group activity in which we had to decide which 10 qualities we thought were most important for a PA to have. After all of these breakouts, we finally got to take a tour of the facilities by current PA students and ask them questions about their experience. As I walked throughout the building and had the opportunity to talk to them, I realized that it was the right fit for me. Not only were the faculty and staff extremely friendly and helpful, but the students were passionate about their education and helping us find our place.

Now all I have to do is wait and hope for the best.

-- Kaylie Waltz

I'm Ready!

The Spring semester is now well underway, and man, am I ready for some constant nice weather! Springtime at Purdue is one of my favorite times of year. After everyone having been stuck indoors for months, the first day of nice weather is always amazing. Everywhere you walk you see people throwing a football, Frisbee, or just lounging in the grassy areas of campus. Sure does make it hard to want to go to class! Unfortunately, we have awhile until these wonderful days come, and stick around. Thankfully, our Spring Break in March helps us make it through all this cold weather! Many times students will get a group of their friends and rent a hotel, house, or condo in Florida somewhere, or even go on a cruise! The nice thing about that is that since you have a big group, you split the cost and make the price decently affordable! This year, I (and nine of my friends!) am going to Miami! I am SO excited, because I've never been to Miami before!

I have been on Spring Break with basically the same group of people the past two years, and this year is looking to be one of the best! We have a condo in a high rise, with the beach right across the street, and a pool too! The last two years we stayed in the same house in Clearwater, Florida, and it was so much fun!

However, as much as I want to sit and think about the beach breeze, and laying out all day not thinking about a thing, unfortunately I still have to keep my feet on the ground and focus on my responsibilities. For example, I've had three exams recently, and a quiz, paper, and exam this week too! I also have been attempting to devote my time to studying for the GRE, which is the test I will have to take in order to get into graduate programs for Speech Pathology. So, until Spring Break, I've got lots to accomplish, but it will all be worth it when March 16th rolls around!

-- Ariel Demoret

Smooth sailing to SB12... Well, Almost

3 exams this week... 1 Wednesday, 1 Thursday, 1 Friday... Yikes! What's keeping me motivated to study? SPRING BREAK 2012!! After these three exams, its smooth sailing (well, working out and papers to write, but no more huge exams!) until that wonderful holiday that every college student starts thinking about before they even return for the spring semester.

My best friend Abbie and I just recently decided that we were going to vacation together this year in Florida. Not the crazy and super touristy part of Florida, but the relaxing and calm part of Florida. Aaahhh, I can feel the sand between my toes now! Flip flops, ice cream, sun, and shopping. A week of paradise.

Visions of sandy beaches are dancing in my head. 26 days and counting :-)

-- Stacy Baker

Tebowmania and More

January has been a crazy month! I was back in the mile high city and I finally got to experience “Tebowmania” in its purest form. Although the Denver Broncos lost, I got to go to a great game and “Tebow” in the Rocky Mountains. The weather was mild all break and I got to go skiing and enjoy being with friends and family.

Since I’ve been back to Purdue, I have been heavily involved with BGR (Boiler Gold Rush). I was accepted in the fall as a Team Supervisor and right now we are in the process of selecting Team Leaders for next fall. My class schedule is fairly moderate, and call me crazy, but I’m really enjoying organic chemistry. This coming summer is extremely important for my future so I have begun applying to roughly a dozen undergraduate research programs at universities such as MIT, UC Berkley, and Colorado State. I also am looking into study abroad opportunities so that I have many options come May.

I’m excited about what my future holds and I am looking forward to being a part of more HHS Ambassador events this spring. I will be going to Cabo San Lucas for a leadership conference over spring break and I am going to continue looking into research opportunities around the country.

Boiler Up!

-- Geoff Ryan