Professional Statement- Will McGrath
After spending four years in Purdue University’s nationally ranked computer engineering program, I feel that I am adequately prepared for entry-level roles in industry ranging from software engineering to digital logic design. During my time at Purdue, I have gained experience in creative work through undergraduate research and global experience from my travels and study abroad. I have also gained organization and management experience from my involvement with Eta Kappa Nu, the Electrical Engineering honor society. These experiences have prepared me to enter the working world and use the skills I have acquired to solve real world problems.
Although I have been programming using Java since high school, in college, I have had the opportunity to take courses in object oriented programming, assembly language, data structures, and operating systems. Additionally, I have taken courses in VHDL, where I designed and implemented a Graphics Processing Unit and a Microprocessor with cache and pipeline. Throughout this process, I maintained a 4.0 GPA in courses offered by the school of Electrical and Computer Engineering.
In the summer after my sophomore year, I secured an internship with Intel corporation in Folsom, California. I worked in Intel’s post-silicon validation division, which is responsible for ensuring the correct functioning of new processors before they are released to the market. During my time there, I learned much about validation methodologies. I also gained valuable experience working on an engineering team in a business environment.
Although I was invited back to Intel the following summer, I was presented with the opportunity to study abroad in Japan for six weeks as part of my merit scholarship from Purdue. I had been studying Japanese for two years prior and was excited to be able to experience a different culture as well as work on my language skills. I left Japan that summer conversational in Japanese and with a greater appreciation for the cultural differences present between economically similar modern nations.
I have been involved in research with Professor Niklas Elmqvist at Purdue since the beginning of my junior year. I sought the experience out to further my interest in the field of Human Computer Interaction and have been developing new interaction techniques between mobile devices and large multi-touch computers such as the Microsoft Surface. The research project motivated me to read technical papers about the state of the art in a new field and allow me to practice anticipating problems and designing new frameworks.
I joined the Electrical Engineering honor society, Eta Kappa Nu (HKN), in the spring of my sophomore year. Since then, I have been involved in the operations of the organization’s student lounge and shop and also elected Recording Secretary. This gave me experience participating in the governing and decision-making of an organization and taught me the value of effective communication with other officers, the membership, and university officials.
Between the coursework, internship, research, and club involvement, my time as an undergraduate has provided diverse experiences and chances for growth. These experiences have prepared me to become an effective member of an engineering team in modern industry.
