Age: 22
Hometown: Indianapolis and Guanajuato, Mexico
Major: Management
Career goal: School administration or corporate human relations
Why she volunteers: “I enjoy doing it. Wherever there is an opportunity and I have the time, I like to do it.”

On being on the community outreach committee for the Embajadores: “It’s fun. We get to do activities like celebrating the Day of the Dead with the families here in Lafayette. It’s great to keep traditions that otherwise they might not be able to do at home anymore. It’s like a clash of cultures. This year some of the kids came in costume because it’s similar to Halloween, and kids dress up for that.”

Reaching out to high school students: “We pair students from Jefferson High School with college students. We talk to them about financial aid and give them applications and show them how to fill them out. Last year we did two presentations, one in Spanish and one in English. Many of the parents, like mine, don’t speak English, and we found the kids were missing things because they were translating for their parents.”

Her favorite part of being an Embajadore is: “The mentoring. It means a lot, having someone take an interest and help you. I would have loved if someone had done that for me, and I want that for my little brothers and sisters in Indianapolis. This needs to be done here.”

On volunteering all over town: “I took part in College Mentors for Kids for a semester, too. And then my roommate started working at LARA (Lafayette Adult Resource Academy), so I started doing childcare there, and then I got involved with teaching English as a second language. I just like to help out.”

Dance, dance, dance: “I dance with a Latino dancing group. We do traditional quebradita. It’s hard to describe. There are lots of tricks, but it’s fun!”

Family time: “I have five siblings. The little one is three years old, so I like to read with her and play. And I cook with my mom. We do a lot of cooking.”

The graduate: I graduate this month! I’m the first one where I come from to graduate. It’s a very rural town and many of them haven’t even gone to high school, so it’s very exciting!”

Links
Purdue Latino Cultural Center
LARA
EsMas

Hometown: Merriville, Indiana
Year in School: Sophomore
Major: Sociology (Law and Society)
Career goal: To go to law school and become a lawyer
Why she volunteers: She likes everything to do with animals and volunteering gives her a sense of purpose.

On changing the lives of animals: Averiel looks after dogs that come in with problems ranging from ailing health to phobias of cars or people. She nurtures and nourishes them until they are healthy, confident and playful. “I got a dog once that had not been outside in a year! He was so afraid to be around anything that moved. After spending some time with him, he got a little comfortable and he finally got adopted,” Butts said. Since September, she has found homes for 25 dogs.

Stress reliever: Animals need love and attention from people but Butts believes people can get the same from animals too. “Personally for me, dogs are just fun to be around. Spending time with them relieves my stress and I forget all that is bothering me. They just have that effect on me.”

Fostering pets off campus: Averiel regrets not being able to have pets of her own since she lives on campus. However, she looks for opportunities to keep the dogs with her as much as possible. “Someone dropped off a box of puppies they found in their backyard. They couldn’t stay with other dogs just yet because they were young. I took one with me to my home over the break. I will probably do so the same during Christmas break too!”

Big dreams: Averiel hopes to go to law school and become a lawyer. “Hopefully by then I will have made enough money to own a huge home where I can have enough room to keep lots of dogs and other four-legged creatures!”

On her IPod: John Mayer. Loves all his songs and attends his concerts as much as possible.

Favorite pastime: Spending time with her younger sister and brother.

Favorite food: Chipotle chicken tacos with extra, extra sour cream.

Links
Natalie’s Second Chance Dog Shelter
DRIVEN

Meet our five students who are giving back.

Age: 24
Hometown: Lafayette, Ind.
Major: Consumer and family sciences education
Career goal: Home economics teacher
Why she volunteers: “The feeling you get when you help people out is just unbelievable. It’s the best feeling in the world.”

On volunteering at St. Ann’s: “You have to be up really early, which is rougher now than when I was little. But it’s a great program. The last time I went, I must have chopped 100 pounds of onions! The best part is that people don’t have to show proof that they need it. They just come to the window and we give them the bag and they go on. It’s for anyone that needs it.”

Her first Kohl’s Cares for Kids A-Team event was: “Forced. I didn’t want to do it but they begged me. Of course, after that one time, I was hooked. I ate breakfast with the Easter Bunny at Golden Corral with Big Brothers and Big Sisters. It was fantastic.”

On being No. 2 in the country: “Our store is currently No. 2 behind Reno, Nev., for the amount of A-Team events completed this year. We’ve done about 140. We go all over. I’ve done about 20 events this year, but my favorite was the Riley Radioathon.”

Why Riley rules: “It was just very touching. It was in the atrium of Riley (Hospital for Children in Indianapolis), and they had these tricycles with IVs attached to them so the kids could ride. I was just answering the phone and people were thanking me. I wasn’t doing anything!”

How volunteering helps her: “My fiancé is deployed in Iraq right now for the seventh time. He’s in special ops, the Black Hawk Down unit, you know, like the movie. So all the volunteering is good. It keeps my mind off things.”

On her future as a military wife and continuing to give back: “My fiancé is based at Fort Campbell, Ky., right now. I’m excited about going there. I have a year left of school, but they have Kohl’s down there, and I don’t think they do as many A-Team events as we do, so I could get them involved. I guess that’s pretty corny.”

On her iPod: Rascal Flatts. Lifehouse. The Goo Goo Dolls.
Time waster: Sudoku. “The iPod screen is really small and your eyes start to cross. It’s really bad.”
Free time: A glass of wine, sushi and a movie. “That’s pretty much my perfect evening.”

Links
St. Ann’s Catholic Church
Kohl’s A-Team
Riley Hospital for Children

Age: 22
Hometown: Noblesville, Ind.
Major: Accounting & Management
Career goal: Has already landed a job with a Big Four accounting firm.

Why he volunteers: “We have a responsibility getting an education from Purdue to return back to society what they’ve given us in terms of an education and a great value. We’re a land-grant institution. It’s what we’re supposed to do.”

On being part of something bigger: “I volunteer with Lafayette Urban Ministry through a program they have to do tax preparation for those in need at no charge. They get over $1.5 million in tax returns every year. It’s incredible what they do for people.”

Saving money, squared: “We save people a lot of money. We can help them set up a bank account if they don’t have one so they can get their returns faster electronically. That’s important because otherwise they often get talked into those refund anticipation loans that have high fees. Plus, a paid preparer would charge $100 to $200 or more.”

His favorite tax secret: “The earned income tax credit encourages families to go to work. It’s not a handout because it’s based on income you’ve earned. Everyone should check to see if they’re eligible. The maximum is in the $5,000 range. It’s very sizable.”

How he knows he’s making a difference: “This one woman last year was my best story. She was a single mom who had been abandoned by her husband. She was working hard, just trying to make ends meet. She ended up getting a $7,000 return. She started making lists of what she was going to do with the money — pay off a loan her employer had advanced her for a repair on her mobile home, make other repairs to it, buy a modest gift for each of her kids, pay her electric bill in full. It was heartwarming.”

What’s on his iPod: Deep blushing. “Um, you know, popular stuff. Like they play at the Neon Cactus.”

Alter ego: “I’m the student assistant manager at the Union Rack and Roll. So there’s that.”

Back home again (at Purdue): “I never had that overwhelming feeling that I had to leave Indiana like some of my classmates. Krannert’s a well-ranked program. I came to Purdue with FFA. It was natural to study here.”

Links
Lafayette Urban Ministry tax assistance program
PMU Rack and Roll
Top 40 music chart

Hometown: Georgetown, Ind.
Year in school: Senior
Major: Chemical Engineering
Career goal: Work in the industry and volunteer. In the long term, get a master’s degree in education and teach math and science to children.
Why she volunteers: Shewmaker believes volunteering is a great way to learn and evolve as a person.

On why mentoring is her thing: Shewmaker wants to be a role model for those younger than her and help them succeed in life. “It’s important to point children towards college and get them thinking about the importance of education,” she said of her role as a mentor for College Mentors for Kids. She also “buddies up” with first-year engineering students through the Women in Engineering Mentee and Mentor program and tutors freshman students once a week through the Women in Engineering Residential Program.

Pay it forward: “My parents raised me to look out for others and my sisters spent a lot of time looking after me. I didn’t have any younger siblings to take care of and thought this would be a good way to help out.” Helping others became her cause and she hopes that she can pass the torch to others by getting them involved in programs that are meaningful to them.

‘Tis the season: Thanksgiving and Christmas hold special meaning for Shewmaker. She enjoys time with family but also considers it a good time to reflect on what she has. “You learn a lot just by being with family, learning from their experiences. Of course, eating turkey is fabulous, too!”

Her two cents: Shewmaker makes an appeal to everyone to lend a hand and help community members, even if it is just giving one hour a week. “You do not need to have too much time, any special skill set, or extra money. You just have to be willing. Sometimes you just have to look in your own backyard to see someone reaching out for help.”

Her role models: Her parents.
Her favorite pastime: Swinging on the swing set.
What you may not know: She can pick up things with her toes.

Links
College Mentors for Kids
Women in Engineering

Service then: Abe enlisted in the Navy in 2001 and became a member of SEAL Team 8 after graduating BUD/S class 241. He has served three tours in Iraq. “In high school, I was involved in many extracurricular activities, but was an underachiever. I wanted to prove to myself and others that I had what it took to be successful and the SEAL teams provided that opportunity.”

Service now: A multi-sport athlete in high school, Abe joined the Purdue football team as a walk-on safety after some eight years away from the sport. “In the SEAL teams, the men are professional warfighters and brotherhood is a common virtue. I thought the Purdue football team would be a good way to reconnect with that aspect by surrounding myself with people who are willing to sacrifice for a goal greater than themselves, and I’ve found that with the football team.”

Service future: Upon completion of his history degree, Abe will return to the SEALs as a commissioned officer. “Once I retire, I’m looking to settle down with my family somewhere in the Midwest and maybe teach history. But who knows what can happen.”

On Veterans Day: “Take a moment and try to put things into perspective,” Abe says. “Please remember there are people serving overseas or preparing to go who are prepared to lay their bodies on the altar of freedom for you — their lives for the lives of others. I particularly want to give a shout-out to my brothers in SEAL Team 8.”

Advice to new student veterans: “Take a deep breath and be prepared to encounter some unfamiliar obstacles. Plan your dive and dive your plan. Set a goal, make a plan, and execute.”

Today, a new generation of veterans is finding a home at Purdue. These individuals have served their country in uniform and many are now finding new ways to serve — on campus and in our community. Meet five Purdue students who demonstrate the tradition of service that Purdue is proud to honor today, and every day.

Purdue remembers those fallen and wounded at Ft. Hood. Our thoughts go out to them, their families, and friends.

Learn more about our five veterans

Service then: Stefany spent eight years in the United States Navy, stationed in the Pacific Northwest. As a hospital corpsman first class, she provided medical care to reservists before and after deployment. “Their health was my number one priority.”

Service now: Growing up in a single-parent household that relied on help from others, Stefany understands the importance of giving back. While in the Navy, she volunteered with Big Brothers Big Sisters. Over the summer, she turned her interest in nutrition into a helping hand with Meals on Wheels.

On marriage, the military, and mileage: Stefany and her husband, Dan, have spent less than half of their three-year marriage in the same place. A commissioned Naval officer and reservist, Dan was deployed to Guantanomo for 14 months and now works in Seattle. They enjoy one “date weekend” each month, taking turns to visit each other.

Life lessons: “The experiences I had in the military equipped me to do well in school,” Stefany says. “Discipline, teamwork, leadership, and a strong work ethic — these things carry over into everything that comes after.”

Growth spurt: Stefany enlisted when she was 19 and says you grow up fast in the military. “It doesn’t change who you are, but you do change. I’d like to think for the better.”

Why Purdue? She did her homework and sought out schools with renowned dietetics programs. Purdue rose to the top of the list (and it didn’t hurt that her husband is a Hoosier.)

Her dream job: Counseling superstar athletes on their nutrition and diet needs.

Service then: Bryan joined the Marine Corps, noting, “I figured that if I was going to do it, I wanted to be in the best branch.” He served two combat tours in Iraq, and was a fire team leader on his first deployment and an infantry squad leader on his second.

Service now: Bryan is treasurer of the Purdue Veterans Student Organization. “The organization is small right now but this past semester we have tried to appeal to ALL services better than before. With this change we have more guys interested. We are trying to reach out to more veterans.”

Career goal: Construction management calls to Bryan. “I want to be a superintendent, someone who is outside and not inside pushing paper,” he says. “You have to have a strong attention to detail to do that work, and my military background will help with that.”

Why Purdue? “My family’s in construction, and I did a lot of research, spoke to a lot of people, and in every conversation that came up about good construction schools, Purdue was always one of the top ones. I got out in March, came up and visited in April, and this is where I wanted to be.”

Getting his head in the game: When Bryan first went to school in 2003, he admits he “didn’t have a good head on my shoulders.” But the military changed all that. “The strict discipline I learned in the Marine Corps and how they hold themselves to a higher standard — that’s what has really changed the most about me. I hold myself to a higher standard now, and I really work at everything I do because I want to excel and be the best at it.”

Advice to new student veterans: “Make sure you study, have your priorities straight, and what happens after hours should be at the bottom of your list. Set limits, set a schedule for yourself. ”