2009 Outstanding Seniors

Each year, the CFS Alumni Board recognizes an Outstanding Senior from each department. Purdue faculty and counselors select the students on the basis of scholarship, leadership, professionalism, and community service. The following seniors will graduate in May 2009.

 

Child Development and Family Studies

Elizabeth Day

Elizabeth Day
Youth, Adult, and Family Services
Lafayette, Indiana

As a dance instructor at the Morton Community Center, Elizabeth Day enjoys sharing her enthusiasm for dance to the young children in her classes.

"As an instructor, dance has given me the opportunity to grow into a leader and share my passion with others," says Day, who has been dancing since the age of 2. "I enjoy seeing success on a weekly basis in my students as they learn and master new skills, and I love having the opportunity to build their confidence."

Her love for teaching led Day to make a commitment after graduation to Teach For America. After an intensive training program this summer, she will begin a two-year teaching assignment at an elementary in a low-income North Carolina community. Teach For America strives to eliminate educational inequality and close the achievement gap in urban and public schools where children are at risk for failure.

"It’s important to me to use the skills and opportunities I have been given to improve the lives of others," says Day, who hopes to start a dance program at the school.

When she completes her two-year teaching experience with Teach For America, she plans to attend graduate school to pursue a master’s degree in education, school counseling, or social work.

Day says her many experiences at Purdue have shaped who she is today. Her activities have included the University Honors Program, Dance 2XS, Purdue University Dance Marathon, Boiler Gold Rush, and the President’s Leadership Class. She studied abroad in New Zealand, completed an internship at Make A Wish Foundation, gained research experience with Professor Cleveland Shields, and volunteered in her community.

 

Consumer Sciences and Retailing

Casey Hentrup

Casey Hentrup
Financial Counseling and Planning
Marysville, Indiana

When Casey Hentrup read an article in the Exponent stating there was no finance major at Purdue, she couldn’t believe it. At the time, she was a teaching assistant for CSR 100, an introductory class on Consumer Sciences and Retailing. After sharing the article with her students, she led the class in writing a letter of response to the paper.

"I thought it would be a great situation where the students could learn to believe and become passionate about something they would spend the next four years striving to obtain — a degree in financial counseling and planning," says Hentrup.

While at Purdue, she constantly looked for opportunities to gain hands-on experience. As a member of the department’s Professional Development Council, she networked with industry representatives to bring companies to campus for the annual Consumer Sciences and Retailing Career Conference. She also served as treasurer for the Purdue chapter of Collegiate Financial Planners.

Early on, she set a goal to study abroad and says the two trips she participated in were the most beneficial experiences at Purdue. She spent a month in Mexico studying global consumer behavior and marketing and a summer in London at the Foundation for International Education to study business.

"I’ve been able to gain an incredible amount of cultural experience, making me more aware and understanding of people who are different from me," says Hentrup, who had never traveled outside of the United States before coming to Purdue.

After graduation, Hentrup wants to begin a career in corporate finance. She is planning to earn her certified financial planner designation and attend law school for estate planning. She eventually hopes to open her own financial planning practice with a focus on helping farm families.

 

Family & Consumer Sciences Education

Leslie Henderson

Leslie Henderson
FCS Education
Schererville, Indiana

Those who know Leslie Henderson as a student and as a student teacher agree –– her potential for success as a family and consumer sciences educator is excellent. Henderson spent her last semester at Purdue student teaching at a Lafayette area middle school and high school, balancing full-time teaching responsibilities with those of a student.

"I want to be a family and consumer sciences teacher because I love the content area," says Henderson, who wants to teach middle or high school students in northwest Indiana. "I love being able to teach students something they will be able to use for the rest of their lives."

Henderson is an active member of the Purdue chapter of the Indiana Association of Family and Consumer Sciences (INAFCS), serving as the organization’s treasurer the past two years.

As an INAFCS member, Henderson has presented at the district and state levels. At a state roundtable presentation, she and two other students shared their involvement in a service-learning project and showed how teachers could use service learning in their classrooms. At the state INAFCS conference, she gave a highly rated presentation on incorporating technology in the classroom to more than 50 professionals.

"Teaching is important to me because there are skills students need to learn in order to become productive members of society, and I believe that FACS provides students with these skills," says Henderson.

An excellent student, Henderson is a member of Kappa Delta Pi education honorary. In October 2006, she traveled to Mississippi as part of a relief team to assist Hurricane Katrina victims.

 

Foods and Nutrition

Amy Conklin

Amy Conklin
Dietetics/Nutrition, Fitness, and Health
Fairborn, Ohio

Setting goals, planning ahead, and managing her time enabled Amy Conklin to secure numerous scholarships, leadership positions, and internships all while pursuing a double major. During her college career, Conklin received 12 scholarships, five of those in her senior year.

"The scholarships sponsored by many gracious donors have allowed me to dream big and take advantage of once-in-a-lifetime opportunities," says Conklin. "My experience demonstrates that advanced planning and time management can have tremendous benefits when applying for funding."

Scholarships aren’t the only thing Conklin’s planning abilities have helped her accomplish. Knowing that leadership activities and work experiences provide opportunities for learning and development of important skills, Conklin joined the CFS Student Council as a freshman and served as its president in her senior year. In addition, she helped promote the college as a CFS Ambassador. She also was active in the Foods and Nutrition Society and as a student representative to the Foods and Nutrition Teaching Committee. Conklin participated in the CFS Honors program and Purdue Foundation Student Board. Since 2006, Conklin worked as a teaching and research lab assistant in the Department of Foods and Nutrition.

She built upon her Purdue experiences by interning with The Ohio State University Extension. She followed this up with an internship in Nutrition Research at the National Dairy Council/Dairy Management Incorporated.

"Through my internships I have interacted with diverse groups of people, helping me to realize that a variety of perspectives, opinions, and work styles can tremendously impact the success of a project, program, or organization," says Conklin, who plans to complete a dietetic internship to become a registered dietitian.

Ultimately she hopes to pursue graduate work and become an extension educator or a registered dietitian within a community health setting.

 

 

Hospitality and Tourism Management

Derek Herrmann

Derek Herrmann
Hospitality and Tourism Management
Evansville, Indiana

If you could look up the definition of "hard worker" in the dictionary, you’d find a description of Derek Herrmann. In addition to a long list of involvement in student organizations, study abroad, and internships, Herrmann worked during the school year, summers, and holidays to help pay college expenses — all while making Dean’s List/Semester Honors every semester.

"Since I work, take a full course load, and am involved in leadership positions in student organizations, I make sure I’m able to devote myself to the task at hand before committing to it," he says.

He is an active member of the CFS Student Council and serves as a CFS Ambassador. He also was involved with HTM Society and the Purdue chapter of the National Society of Minorities in Hospitality.

He credits classes such as Hospitality and Tourism Marketing and Advanced Foodservice Management with providing real-world experiences that have prepared him to work in the hospitality industry. He completed internships at the Westin O’Hare in Rosemont, Illinois, and Echelon Resorts in Las Vegas, Nevada. He has also worked for the Westin Crown Center in Kansas City, Missouri, and the Murray Hotel on Mackinac Island, Michigan. During the winter breaks of his last two years, he sacrificed time off for finance and catering externships at the St. Regis Hotel in San Francisco.

"My internships have allowed me to put my knowledge and experience to good use in a professional setting," says Herrmann. "These opportunities expanded my education outside of the classroom and will surely help me grow in my future career."

Herrmann plans to obtain a position doing marketing or brand development for a hotel company in southern California. He hopes to someday return to school to earn an MBA in marketing or possibly a joint JD/MBA degree.