Here we go, our last campus visit. Last spring we had a campus visit marathon as Cambrie tried deciding what she wanted to do after graduation. At the time she decided that ASU was the best fit and the most exciting. We've spent the last year assuming that was where she would be attending. However as she sat with it, and as college application deadlines loomed, she realized she wasn't that excited about ASU after all. It would be a good school. It was convenient. She would have a good time, but it was missing that "it" factor she was looking for. What she really wanted was when people asked her where she was going to school, she could get a response like, "Wow! That is incredible. You must be so smart!" As she and her friends sat around the lunch table making plans, Isabelle happened to mention that Purdue has a decent physics program and it would be worth looking into. So as we submitted applications to ASU, U of A, USU, CU Boulder, Colorado School of Mines, Penn State, UT Austin, and MIT, she also submitted one to Purdue. As the acceptances (or rejections) starting coming through, Purdue started really shining. I know nothing about Purdue except that their basketball team normally shows up in March Madness each year. We both started doing research into Purdue, starting with where it was, West Lafayette, Indiana. From Google Maps it looked like the campus was pretty much surrounded by farmland. She had originally wanted to live in the city, but thought as long as the campus was good enough she could handle a little corn. On paper Purdue was starting to look like a perfect option for her, it just still needed to pass the vibe check. We knew that as soon as we set foot on campus we would know. The month we spent waiting from the time she received her acceptance letter, to the time we boarded the flight, to the accepted student preview day dragged on and on. We just wanted to know. Finally it was time for us to board a flight to Indianapolis.
Purdue is about an hour drive north from the airport, and Cambrie spent that time staring into the darkness on the side of the freeway looking for good food joints. One of her small wish list items was that there would be Indian and Chinese food available. She was relieved when we pulled up to our hotel and there was indeed decent food joints across the street. It was a late night by the time we pulled in, and an even earlier morning with two time zone shifts and Daylight Savings. Ouch. Somehow we managed to pull ourselves out of bed in time for church. There is one student ward on campus, and even though Cambrie was afraid I would be an embarrassment showing up with college kids, she didn't count on the bishopric or stake visitors so I blended right in. The ward isn't huge, there are about 60 kids who attend. But the fact that the ward and institute are right on campus is amazing. After sacrament meeting enough students noticed us visiting that they came over to talk with us. We talked long enough that we ended up staying for Relief Society too. Cambrie found a couple of girls who were so friendly. They sat next to each other, exchanged numbers, and we were given some tips for our campus visit the next day. I sat with the bishop's wife and we spent the whole time talking about the kids in the ward and how they all fit right in as nerdy, engineering introverts. Really that's exactly what Cambrie needs.
After church we had the whole day to explore. We hopped in the car and drove around the city of West Lafayette just trying to get a feel for the town. I loved what we saw. It's like the college was established and then the city just built up around it. Families were out enjoying the sunshine as they walked and played at the parks, and every one of them were wearing Purdue gear. We found a couple of nature reserves that Cambrie can use when she needs an escape. There are no mountains in the midwest so she is going to have to be content with a good ravine and bogs with frogs in the spring.
Once the city passed inspection, we finally headed to campus to walk around. We loved it. Cambrie loved the brick buildings covered with ivy. She loved the astronaut walk in front of the engineering building. Purdue has sent 24 astronauts into space, which is the most of any college besides MIT and the military schools. She can totally get behind their nickname, the cradle of astronauts. And the fact that Neil Armstrong graduated from here doesn't hurt either. These are his moon steps where you can pretend to take those leaps with him.
Cambrie had done her own research before coming and made sure to tell me some of the campus superstitions, like you can't walk under the bell tower before you graduate or else you won't graduate in four years.
During Boiler Gold Rush, one of the activities is a run through the engineering fountain. It was a little too chilly for that in March, but the fountain is still pretty cool.
I couldn't get her to smile by herself, because she was too cool for that, but here's a picture of one of the gateway arches on campus. The campus feels to be just the right size, walkable but not tiny. I can see her walking these pathways and just loving life. We both decided by the end of the day that unless something absolutely terrible was disclosed on our tour, then this would be a great fit for her. Yay!
The next day was the official Purdue visit. When she was approached by Purdue Pete she didn't even pull away. That's when I knew she was excited.
There were a lot of information sessions to sit through. Some of them were general information, but most of them were specific to her college and major. As we were sitting enjoying the College of Science presentation the administrator quietly made an announcement, they were introducing astrophysics as a new major starting in the fall. Cambrie just about lost her mind. She had planned on studying physics with a lot of classes in astronomy, but it would have ultimately been a physics major. The fact that she now gets to study exactly what she wants left her giddy for hours.
That announcement sealed the deal. We walked straight to the bookstore to pick up her official Purdue hoodie. She looks good in boilermaker black and gold.
The rest of the day was her simply relishing in a decision made and we really started picturing her here. I made sure to take a lot of mental notes so that way when she tells me about a friend, a meeting place, a campus event, I can visualize where she is and really make a complete picture. One location that I think is going to be getting a lot of attention in the physics club lounge. Lounge may be a little too generous of a word for what is essentially a clubhouse in the physics building, but that's exactly why it calls to Cambrie. Some of the physics upperclassmen met with us after one of our sessions and brought us to the lounge. There is a faded and torn couch, science posters all over the wall, origami hidden among the bookshelves, a vending machine with soda pop and ice-cream, a chalkboard covered with equations and notes to the other physics club students, and a even club T-shirts. The longer we talked with the students, the more Cambrie made herself at home. She's found her people.
The physics building where she will be attending most of her classes.
Once the official sessions were over we went and explored the rec center which has everything she needs: weights, martial art classes, and a punching bag. Then we checked out the music hall. Purdue doesn't have official music majors which means that their orchestra is made up of kids who just want to play music for a fun addition to their studies. There is an instrument locker Cambrie can use for her cello which means she can still play while she's there. We ate at one of the food halls, not bad. We found the girls' rugby fields and tried to find the girls' wrestling gyms. We checked out her potential dorm. We explored the historic administration buildings. And when our feet said no more, we fell asleep on the Hello Walk basking in the sunshine. I don't know how frequently the train drives around campus, but for some reason it made me smile seeing it there.
So this is it! Cambrie is going to be a boilermaker and attend Purdue University this fall majoring in astrophysics. Out of all of the campuses we visited, this one checked all the boxes. It will take care of all of Cambrie and I am so relieved that we found a school that she, and her smarty brain, are excited about. Now when people ask where she's going to school and hear, Purdue, she gets that gasp of respect that she has been craving. I am so excited for her!
