Hi, I'm Chelsea Schripsema
I'm a junior at Purdue University majoring in Multidisciplinary Engineering with a concentration in Humanitarian Engineering. I hope to engage in large-scale community-focused projects like improving water quality, clean energy systems, sustainable housing solutions, etc. My dream is to work in disaster relief, helping struggling communities rebuild and improve their resilience to mitigate the impacts of similar disasters in the future. To achieve this goal, and to best help the communities I will serve, I'm working to expand my experiences in many fields to become as well-rounded as possible. Currently, I'm focusing on expanding into Civil, Environmental, and Mechanical Engineering as those are the major fields I'll be working in the day-to-day.
My Story
I grew up in a tiny town in central Michigan, the cows may have outnumbered the people but it was a cozy and wonderful place to grow up. As much as I loved it, I knew I wanted to get out and go to a large well-known university like Purdue.
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For the longest time, I thought I knew exactly what I wanted from college, I was going to be a biomedical engineer and design prosthetics and other aid devices. I got to college and I was so excited to start on that path only to find that being in a lab for the rest of my life was a terrifying prospect.
A big part of this discovery came from my involvement in the EPICS program here at Purdue. EPICS gave me an opportunity to experience a more “boots on the ground” design style and allowed me to see the impact my work can have on families and communities. If you’re interested in EPICS and the projects I’ve been a part of check out my Projects!
Where I am now
After realizing what I thought I wanted wasn’t right for me, I transferred to the Multidisciplinary Engineering track with a concentration in Humanitarian Engineering. Now I’m working on my education and gaining the skills I’ll need to help struggling communities recover and rebuild better.
Future plans
Looking into the future I’m hoping to work for a global non-profit or government organization providing aid for communities following a disaster.