Jaime Pumarejo is a Purdue alumnus with a successful career in Colombian politics. We asked him to share some of his Purdue memories, his career, and advice for students. This is what he told us:
Purdue will always be home for me. I remember walking up to the Purdue Memorial Union for a study session, or grilled cheese sandwich on those Spring days when winter was finally breaking, or game day weekend on that rush to the Rose Bowl. Meeting people from so many backgrounds and each pursuing their own dreams was an experience that has been with me through the years.
Purdue is a melting pot, with one of the highest enrollment of international students, and offers a broad range of academic fields.
Purdue pride is well earned. Having worked in various roles both in the private and public sector as well as in the US, Colombia and South East Asia, the Purdue name has always been respected. We must work hard to keep it that way.
Purdue also helped me get my first job! Ingersoll Rand scouts for talent in a specific number of schools and Purdue is one of them. In events and recruiting fairs, I was always chatting up the Ingersoll Rand team because it was a company that I had a keen interest in, specifically in their Leadership Development Program. One of our own, a Purdue alumna, Monica Brockmann worked for Ingersoll Rand and gave me my first interview. This ended up in a two-day selection process in which I was offered a position in their Leadership Development Program.
Ingersoll Rand taught me a lot, but it was Purdue that prepared me for those years with the company and my professional career. The logic, common sense, confidence of being prepared to analyze a problem with my skills and ability to work with a team to find solutions were all instilled in me at Purdue. These are the tools that have carried me through my professional and personal life. Much more than specific subject-oriented knowledge, it was a Purdue way of thinking and rationalizing obstacles and daily life that have enabled me to succeed.
Once back in Colombia, I started to consult on competitiveness and business affairs with the city of Barranquilla for a newly-elected mayor who wanted to turn the city around. It started as something I did for public service and I did not think I would end up 10 years later dedicating a big part of my life to public service. I had the privilege to plan and affect change in our city. It became one of the best examples of public administration, which then reduced poverty and inequality by half. The city also has the lowest unemployment in the country and doubles the country's overall GDP growth. I have worked as a consultant, secretary of transit, manager of a convention center development project, minister of housing for Colombia and city development manager for Barranquilla. All of these things that I never thought I would be prepared for started because I found a sense of purpose in the very classrooms you now attend.
Advice is difficult, but if I could go back to Purdue, I would try to wake up earlier and pull fewer all-nighters. Live in the moment, but take time to learn, not only the answer but also the process and mindset which leads you toward it. Never stop learning. I completed an MBA and a finance diploma, yet have been keen to start the online Master's in economics offered by the Krannert School of Management next year. It keeps your mind open and hungry. Plan ahead, but be flexible and dynamic enough to understand that things can change and you will probably not end up where you thought you would. The good thing is you carry a good compass: a solid Purdue education.
Jaime Pumarejo at his commencement ceremony with his mother, Ingeborg Heins de Pumarejo and his father, Jaime Pumarejo.