Rising Professionals announces returning alumni

Five Rising Professionals will return to campus March 3-4 to celebrate their professional success and inspire current students. While on campus, Rising Professionals will participate in classroom talks, student organization receptions and a community-wide panel discussion to create relationships with students.

Intended to work alongside the Purdue Old Masters program, the Purdue Rising Professionals program exists to unite distinguished young Purdue alumni with underclassmen to inspire the pursuit of the full Boilermaker experience. A Rising Professional is a distinguished alumnus who not only has shown success in their early career but was involved on campus during their time as a student, taking full advantage of the opportunities Purdue has to offer. Each year, a group of six students known as the Central Committee evaluates hundreds of nominations in order to choose five deserving candidates.

The program's largest event, "Rising Professionals at Fowler #PackThePanel," is set for 4 p.m. March 3 in Stewart Center's Fowler Hall. The Rising Professionals will share how their Purdue journey affected postgraduate success and answer questions from the audience at the event, which is free and open to the public.

Students and faculty also are encouraged to request a Rising Professional for a classroom talk or organization reception by filling out an online form.

The 2019 Rising Professionals are:

Brad Krites, Bachelor of Science in business management (Purdue, 2011); Master of Business Administration in corporate finance and strategy (Purdue, 2013). Plant finance manager, Procter & Gamble.

Daniel Van De Voorde, Bachelor of Science in psychology (Purdue, 2012). Senior manager, Strata Decision Technology.

Christian Angarita, Bachelor of Science in industrial engineering (Purdue, 2012); Halliburton Business Leadership Development - Level 1. Manager of supply chain and operations, EY Advisory Services.

Nathan Welch, Bachelor of Science in  aviation technology (Purdue, 2010); Master of Business Administration (Penn State University, 2014). Project manager of commercial and military aftermarket at Parker Aerospace; captain, United States Air Force.

Jocelyn Dunn, Bachelor of Science in aerospace engineering, (Purdue, 2009); Master of Science in biomedical engineering (Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, 2011); Doctor of Philosophy in industrial engineering (Purdue, 2016). Human performance engineer at Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center.

More information about this year’s Rising Professionals, the history of the program, involvement within the program and classroom requests can be found at the Purdue Old Masters website. Questions also can be sent to directingRPCC@gmail.com.