Purdue Graduation Briefs
Purdue Graduation Briefs
McCuen, a Noblesville native, will graduate from Purdue University at 2:30 p.m. May 17 with a bachelor's degree in accounting and finance. He'll also start work full-time for Kirby Risk Inc., in charge of activity-based costing, a position Kirby Risk created especially for McCuen.
"During my internship in the Kirby Risk controller's office last summer, my boss was called away unexpectedly for about a month and left me basically on my own," McCuen says. "I began to work directly with the vice president for finance to keep things going. When my supervisor came back, he talked with the vice president and the company president, and I guess they liked what I had done, so they offered me a job."
Kirby Risk isn't the only place McCuen's quick-study skills have paid off. While in the U.S. Navy in 1989, McCuen was promoted from junior to senior disbursement clerk to replace a clerk who had fallen ill on the USS Nicholas on the eve of Operation Desert Storm. McCuen was promoted and shipped out within 24 hours.
"I guess I thrive in a sink-or-swim environment," he says.
That was evident when McCuen received the Navy Achievement Medal for his service on board the USS Nicholas.
CONTACT: McCuen (765) 463-0197.
Andrea Dutton, 25, Lafayette , lost the ability to use her limbs and breathe on her own, as a result of a brain tumor discovered when she was 13. Now graduating at 9:30 a.m. May 18 with a degree in psychology, she plans to continue her studies and pursue a career in rehabilitation counseling.
"I've spent time in rehab centers around the country, and I know the need for people who know what they are doing when it comes to working with those in rehabilitation," she says. Dutton says many workers have the skills, but cannot empathize with those like herself. She says she hopes her counseling will provide mental healing in conjunction with physical therapy.
Dutton began pursuing her Purdue degree in 1989 and is applying to Indiana University-Purdue University in Indianapolis to do her graduate studies.
She says Purdue professors were willing to work with her to accommodate class schedules so that she could do much of her personal rehabilitation work in the mornings at home. She has had no problems attending classes while using a wheelchair with a phrenic stimulator for breathing.
"I've been able to participate in many extracurricular activities as well. Attending games, tailgating, joining clubs, I've been able to do many of the same activities as other students," Dutton says.
CONTACT: Dutton, (765) 447-3603.
Audra Wolfe, Hazelton , is one of five students nationwide to be awarded a three-year fellowship from the National Science Foundation to study the history of science. She will begin work on her doctoral degree this fall at the University of Pennsylvania.
Science and history are not new to Wolfe, who majored in honors chemistry and biochemistry, with minors in French and history. Graduating at 2:30 p.m. May 17 with 160 hours of class credits -- about 30 percent more than the 124 credits needed to graduate -- she has maintained a straight "A" grade average.
During her years at Purdue, Wolfe participated in a research program that allows undergraduate students to conduct scientific studies.
"The research experience was great, but I found throughout the course of this experience that my interests were often more in line with the historical parts of the experiment," she says.
"For example, I was always asking different questions than the other students in my group. While other students asked questions such as 'What do these results tell us?' or 'What is the next step?' I found myself constantly asking 'Why do people focus on these particular aspects of the problem?' or 'Why are certain processes carried out in a certain way?'"
This realization, together with her interest in history, led her to choose the history of science for her future studies.
"I've always had an interest in the humanities," Wolfe says. "But I also wanted to study science. The opportunity to combine these two areas is very exciting."
During her years at Purdue, Wolfe has been active in the Science Student Council, serving as secretary this year, and has been involved in a number of extracurricular activities, especially Habitat for Humanity. She spent the last two spring breaks working with Habitat in Baltimore and Savannah.
CONTACT: Wolfe, (765) 743-7330.
"I'm hoping that in the near future technological advancements will allow people like me to fly large jetliners without having to communicate verbally with the control tower," Brooks says. "I would really like to make a contribution to this effort."
Brooks chose Purdue because of its reputation in the field of aviation technology and its proximity to home. The university provided an interpreter for the classroom, and the Aviation Technology Department closed-captioned some of its instructional videotapes, but no other adaptations were necessary. Brooks is a skilled lip-reader but frequently conferred with professors in writing. Several fellow students chose to learn some sign language in order to communicate with him more effectively in laboratories and study sessions.
"My classmates had a good idea of what I could and couldn't do, and they were sensitive to my differences," Brooks says.
Brooks plans to pursue a graduate degree, but he has not decided which field he will tackle next. He has applied to several master of business administration programs in the western United States but is also considering Purdue's Industrial Technology program.
CONTACT: Brooks via Relay Indiana 1-800-743-3333; home, (765) 742-3151; e-mail, jcbrooks@expert.cc.purdue.edu
Compiled by J. Michael Willis, (765) 494-0371; e-mail, mike_willis@purdue.edu
Purdue News Service: (765) 494-2096; e-mail, purduenews@purdue.edu
NOTE TO JOURNALISTS: Journalists who want to cover commencement May 17-18 at the West Lafayette campus will need tickets for the event and should reserve space for camera equipment in Elliott Hall of Music. Arrangements can be made by calling Roy A. Johnson, associate registrar, at (765) 494-6163, or Mike Willis, Purdue News Service, at (765) 494-0371.
