Rising Professionals: Old Masters Program announces returning alumni

Five young alumni who have shown success in their early careers will return to the West Lafayette campus March 5-6 as part of the Rising Professionals program.

Built as part of the Old Masters Program, Rising Professionals was developed to inspire current Boilermakers and give them the opportunity to interact with some exceptional recent graduates.

Rising Professionals are distinguished alumni who not only have shown success in their early careers but were involved on campus during their time as a student, taking full advantage of the opportunities Purdue has to offer. By returning to campus, each Rising Professional will be able to share the story of how their Purdue journey shaped postgraduate success and inspire current undergraduate students.

The 2017 Rising Professionals are:

* Karan Ahuja, BS 2011, electrical engineering and management. Previous Delta Sigma Pi president and Purdue Student Engineering Presidents' Council. Currently attending Harvard Business School. Former senior product manager at LinkedIn and management consultant at McKinsey and Co.

* Lauren Mioton Conner, BA 2009, biology; MD from Vanderbilt. Previous Purdue basketball team captain and Homecoming queen. Plastic surgery resident for Northwestern Memorial Hospital.

* Derek Mauk, BS 2009, management, MBA 2010. Previous School of Management Council president and University Honors Program Leadership Council president. Senior innovation brand manager for Anheuser Busch. Former senior financial analyst/assistant brand manager for Procter & Gamble.

* Alexandra French, BA 2012, political science and philosophy. JD from University of Virginia Law School. Previous Order of the Iron Key member and Purdue Musical Organizations’ Purduettes. Litigation associate for Barnes and Thornburg LLP.

* Eric Barnard, BS 2009, agriculture finance and management. Previous Purdue Student Government president and Farmhouse Fraternity brother. Analyst, implementations manager, and software engineer for RICS Software. Former senior software engineer for Cadagami.

The Rising Professionals will talk about their careers at a presentation at 4 p.m. March 5 in the Krach Leadership Center lobby. 

 The event is free and open to the public.

Students and faculty are encouraged to request a Rising Professional for a classroom talk or organization group meeting by filling out a form on the Purdue Rising Professionals website.

The Old Masters Program has been a Purdue tradition since 1950, celebrating distinguished professionals while inspiring students to embody the value of the Boilermaker experience.

For more information, email hostrpcc@gmail.com or visit www.purdueoldmasters.org/rising-professionals/welcome-from-directing.