Category: Experiential Education

article | Education

Degree-in-3 program provides first-generation college student minimal debt, maximum benefit

How McKaya Simon sought out a value-packed college experience at Purdue before she leaps nearly debt-free into a career in child advocacy McKaya Simon knew early on that she would be paying for college herself. As a student from a...

article | Education

Driving Progress through a Data-Fluent Generation

Purdue University and engine manufacturing powerhouse Cummins Inc. share a lot in common.  Dan Hirleman, executive director for international advancement and professor of mechanical engineering at Purdue, puts it this way: “Purdue and Cummins have the same philosophy, I think — the...

article | Education

Building a Generation of Makers: One Teacher’s Mission

Gregg Nowling is a maker. His favorite things to make are movie props and replicas, and he’s in the business of helping people capture – and literally hold – movie magic in real life. He is also a coach (the...

article | Education

Purdue Polytechnic High School students ‘abuzz’ with urban agriculture projects

There’s a different type of buzz around Purdue Polytechnic High School Schweitzer Center at Englewood these days. That buzz involves two beehives on top of the school’s building on Indianapolis’ east side, greenhouse projects and hydroponics – all of which...

article | Education

Lilly research facility sparks enthusiasm for science in students

Industry partnerships offer immersive experiences to showcase STEM careers The first time Jimena Avalos-Hernandez walked into the research lab at Eli Lilly and Co., she felt excited and a bit nervous. Like many of her classmates, Avalos-Hernandez had never visited a...

article | Education

Graduating ahead of her class

Self-directed learning model allows Katie Johnson to finish high school a year early Katie Johnson didn’t plan to graduate early – things just fell into place. Propelled by the self-directed learning philosophy at Purdue Polytechnic High School, she merely worked at...

article | Education

PPHS prepares me for my future

Project-based learning gives students the chance to explore variety of disciplines A radio commercial changed the trajectory of Jonas Gordon’s life. A technology enthusiast from a young age, when Gordon heard an advertisement promoting the launch of Purdue Polytechnic High School in...

article | Education

The potential to make the impossible possible

Purdue Polytechnic High School prepares students for the jobs of tomorrow During his sophomore year at Purdue Polytechnic High School, Adrian Martinez helped design a robotically controlled arm for amputees. The team created parts using a 3D printer and built a...

article | Education

A persistent pursuit of ambitions

Taking control of education allows PPHS grad to realize his Purdue legacy Colten Lewis was searching for something different when he enrolled in Purdue Polytechnic High School. Learning that he’d be part of the inaugural graduating class further solidified that he...

article | Education

PPHS fuels creativity, builds confidence

Members of the first graduating class of Purdue Polytechnic High School to enroll at University this fall Xavier Howard knew he made the right choice enrolling in Purdue Polytechnic High School when he was asked to set his own freshman year schedule. ...

article | Education

In charge of their own education

Project-based curriculum allows students to self-direct their learning It could have been kismet. It was on Audrey Williamson’s (they/them) birthday that their mother first heard a radio commercial touting an alternative, STEM-focused high school that encouraged self-directed learning.  “They just...

article | Education

A suPURDUEper experience

Experience on PPHS robotics team inspires student’s career aspirations As a member of suPURDUEper Robotics, Keenan McKibben spent months building Purdue Polytechnic High School’s FIRST Robotics Competition robot. That year’s challenge — to retrieve balls and place them in a container....