Jennie Purdy ‘16 was still in high school in Romeo, Michigan, when she sat beside a Kettering University student on an airplane on her way to Arizona. He was traveling to Arizona to work on a Nissan proving ground.

“He loved the co-op experience,” Purdy said. “He traveled to Germany for six months. He talked about how co-op helped him get a full-time job at Nissan and how he really loves his job there.”

That was the first time Purdy heard about Kettering University and now years later, she’s on the verge of graduating with a degree in Chemical Engineering with a full-time offer from Dow Chemical in Midland, Michigan, where she completed her co-op.

“Working at Dow helped prepare me for school. It’s usually the other way around but for me it was the opposite,” Purdy said. “I learned a lot about the industry that I hadn’t learned at school yet which gave me a headstart. I learned a lot about unit operations like heat exchangers, filters, reactors, distillation processes and now I’m starting to study those things as well.”

Purdy’s responsibilities at Dow have progressively increased during her co-op terms. She has had various opportunities that include working in an analytical lab, applying statistical modeling tools to improve processes and, most recently, she has participated in a scale up of a chemical process within a pilot plant. Her co-op experience has complemented the education that Kettering has to offer. The small class sizes and creative curriculum provide the opportunity to draw from the knowledge she has gained during her work terms to enhance her overall learning experience.

Just last month, Purdy and her classmates experimented with techniques to filter out yeast from fermented beer in a senior level Chemical Engineering class. The students then had to consult with microbiology students to improve their process in hopes of avoiding bacterial contamination in the beer.

“Creativity is definitely part of the curriculum. We’ve done more creative labs than even that one,” Purdy said. “I like the small environment because I ask a lot of questions and like to get help outside of class. Our professors are available outside the classroom and you get to know your classmates really well at Kettering."

Purdy initially pursued Chemical Engineering because she enjoyed chemistry and the problem-solving aspects of math in high school. Now, as a professional, she’s attracted to the same elements of the profession - planning, organization and mathematical challenges. One difference now is that Purdy sees the results of her labor in all facets of life as her profession impacts almost all aspects of the physical world from automobile dashboards to water bottles. Purdy is part of an industry that is at the forefront of almost anything that is made and used in the material world.

“I have had the opportunity to see different aspects of chemical engineering,” Purdy said. “There isn’t just one chemical engineer, there are different types - improvement, process, process automation - there’s so much within chemical engineering that you can pursue, it just depends on what you like to do.”