WiE students apply study abroad experiences to summer work
Whether performing hands-on field work or collaborating in an office, Purdue University engineering students use the skills and knowledge gleaned throughout the prior academic year in summer jobs.
Carmen Condarco’s internship at New Caney Independent School District in New Caney, Texas, might not have connected directly with the industrial engineering degree path, but it still gave her a chance to test out what she learned about bias and teamwork in ENGR 29600 (Gender in the World), a spring semester course and study abroad experience led by the Women in Engineering (WiE) Program.
The human resources internship was all about processing data, following instructions and, above all, communicating effectively within and to teams. To make an impact, Condarco would have to communicate and listen with excellence.
“To me, being the leader includes the qualities of directness and management, but also relationship building and emotional connection,” Condarco said. “People around you feel connected to you as a leader if you know them personally and how things affect their work ethic.”
Condarco, a rising sophomore, started her internship by learning the names and roles of each teammate and teacher — a team-building strategy modeled in ENGR 296 — which strengthened ties to the teams and kept her involved in major decisions. It also meant that the teams felt comfortable coming to Condarco with ideas to build a respectful and supportive workplace together.
It was eye opening to see the previous semester’s discussions about gender dynamics come to life in New Caney Independent School District.
“Gaining insight into the interactions between and among people is a valuable skill to acquire as students prepare for their careers,” said Suzanne Zurn-Birkhimer, PhD, senior associate director of WiE. “Combining this understanding with the opportunity to experience other cultures (during the study abroad) helps students be better equipped to navigate a career in a professional environment.”
ENGR 296 is open to all Purdue students and allows students to begin envisioning an international career in a professional environment. Students in ENGR 296 use classroom sessions to discuss gender dynamics and the study abroad experience to explore other cultures while examining the intersection between gender dynamics and cultures different from their own.
The course’s study abroad portion coincides with spring break. Between city tours and historical monument visits in France and Spain, students navigate the local culture on their own. If they feel brave, it provides the perfect setting to practice communicating in French or Spanish with residents and vendors.
Condarco will return to the WiE community as a supportive and well-versed TA for ENGR 19400 (Women in Engineering Seminar) and an active member of the Society of Women Engineers. WiE was the deciding factor to pursue engineering at Purdue, and the experiences have certainly kept her excited about coming back in August 2025.
“Learning from others about what makes a good leader and how we, as young women, can reshape leadership ... I felt validated and heard,” she said. “I found that experience of learning together very empowering.”
Multicultural confidence
Sydney Lin loves learning, which brought her to Purdue in August 2024 to pursue an electrical engineering degree. Learning from a textbook was one thing, but learning from her peers, both in the classroom and in a study abroad experience? Lin couldn’t imagine a better opportunity.
The summer of 2025, Lin applied what she learned in ENGR 296 as an engineering intern at Mission Support and Test Services, LLC, in Las Vegas.
“One of the most important things I learned was what I was looking for in a company and their policies,” Lin said. “Similarly, I learned from both classmates and the curriculum how to approach difficult situations in the workplace, and I have a lot more confidence.”
As an engineering intern, Lin assisted in upkeep and design improvements for the Nevada National Security Sites’ power grids. She worked with two teams — power operations and engineering — to develop production standards for parts of transmission systems. The development process involved many conversations and brainstorming sessions, and Lin became a regular idea contributor and thoughtful teammate.
Just a few weeks into her internship, Lin uplifted the team by celebrating project milestones and team wins, whether the progress was completing a project or deciding on a design. Appreciating the little things, like having a successful French conversation or navigating an unfamiliar street, had been a major takeaway from her study abroad experience. Bringing that into the internship made Lin a noted, confident and supportive teammate.
She credited the experiences others shared in ENGR 296 with the personal growth.
“Being able to hear about my classmates’ work experiences made me excited for my own,” said Lin, a rising sophomore from Chapel Hill, North Carolina. “We all have an impact and responsibility to create a healthy environment where all coworkers feel heard, respected and able to make an impact.”
Lin came to ENGR 296 eager for inspiration from her 16-person class and TA about workforce entry — and a few days in France and Spain.
“After traveling for over 10 hours (to get to Europe) and traipsing through different parts of Spain and France, it was like we had known each other for years, not just nine short weeks,” Lin said. “To travel, learn and explore in a new place with new languages and new friends, it was truly an experience like no other.”
The whole engineering picture
“(The study abroad) really energized me going into my summer internship,” Atlanta native Charlotte Fellows said. “I came back (from the trip) with a fresh perspective and a lot more confidence to speak up, share my ideas and support others on my team.”
Fellows, a rising senior studying aeronautical and astronautical engineering, spent the summer as an aviation design engineering intern at Holt Consulting Company in Duluth, Georgia. The civil engineering company provided varied opportunities for Fellows to explore airport design and directly apply her Purdue education in active airports. Fellows regularly worked with computer-aided design, grant applications and creating safety plans and records.
It also gave Fellows plenty of chances to challenge what she — and other workers — looked for in a good teammate and colleague. She voiced ideas and opinions in any room she’s in, including when she’s discussing or bringing awareness to an unexpected — or perhaps unseen — bias.
Fellows noted how vocal she became after the course.
“The class really opened my eyes to the different kinds of bias that exist, especially in engineering,” Fellows said. “It gave me language and tools to recognize when something might be rooted in bias instead of just brushing it off or doubting myself. It also built on things I’d already started learning, like how to speak up for myself and back up others, and now I feel more prepared to handle these situations in the workplace.”
The stories Fellows’ TA and classmates shared, ranging from great experiences to terrible ones, kept her curious about what they would find abroad and in the workforce over the upcoming summer. Fellows knew she was going to need a community to plan, discuss and celebrate with.
“The study abroad experience made me reflect on what kind of environment I want to help create wherever I work,” said Fellows. “It made the whole experience so much richer because (my classmates and I) became friends, figuring it all out together.”
ENGR 296000 is available to all Purdue undergraduate students who are interested in taking the course. More information can be found about the course, which is offered in the spring semester of each academic year, on the Women in Engineering Program website.