Sunlight blazed through Luddy Hall windows, illuminating all-things-are-possible Luddy School of Informatics, Computing, and Engineering freshman optimism. A few days before fall semester classes began and excitement, nervousness and uncertainty resonated throughout Luddy’s New Student Orientation. Without parental oversight, perhaps for the first time, freedom beckoned, and wise choices had never been so important.
“Now I have to be responsible,” said Allen Poston, a freshman Computer Science major out of Indianapolis’s Purdue Polytechnic High School, with a laugh. “I’m ready.”
Readiness included eagerness to capitalize on Luddy opportunities to get a positive perspective on computer science as well as experience living on his own.
“I can’t wait to get started,” Poston said.
Out of a crowded Luddy Hall orientation gathering emerged freshmen Intelligent Systems Engineering majors Aryaa Bhusari and Alekhya Vadiala. They had met a few hours earlier, bonded quickly and begun a friendship that might last a lifetime.
“She’s so fun,” said Vadiala, who is from Texas. “We’re going to have dinner after this.”
Bhusari, who is from New Hampshire, shared that connection sentiment.
“It’s nice to have a new start where I don’t know anybody,” she said. “I’ve already made a lot of new friends.”
New friends, and the relationships that come from them, are a huge part of the college experience.
“I’m really excited about the connections I’ll make and where I’ll take my IU education,” Bhusari said.
Possibilities go beyond Luddy’s impressive academic opportunities, including its 20-plus student organizations, because a real education, a Luddy education, is more than books and classes and even robots that can help with elderly dementia patients and sub-orbital spacecraft that can reveal solar eclipse mysteries. Bhusari, Vadiala, and the 460 other new students aim to take full advantage.
“I wanted to join a community of people I knew had similar interests to me,” said Eddie Harris, a freshman computer science major from Munster, Indiana. “I knew that joining Luddy would get me immediately involved. That was the case.
“We started with orientation at the LLC and from then on it was non-stop. It was a little bit of everything -- fun, tiring, exciting. I enjoyed the experience. I like meeting new people and making new friends. I enjoyed meeting peer mentors -- I could be one of them next year.”
Luddy’s three-day event culminated with an induction ceremony and a carnival. Luddy Dean Joanna Millunchick said no other school in the country is like Luddy because of its focus on technological excellence and societal impact. She emphasized Luddy’s core values of developing thought leaders, of integrity and ethics, and of building a sense of belonging.
“You will help invent new technology while understanding the impact on society,” she said. “That will make you unique.”
The Luddy School intrigued Bhusari because it allows her to explore a medical school option -- a cardiologist is a possibility -- as well as an engineering career.
“I thought the Intelligent Systems Engineering was very interesting and unique,” she said. “I like the bio-engineering concentration aspect of it where I can combine medical and engineering.
“I love everything Luddy has to offer. There are so many things to learn and so much I haven’t experienced. I’m super excited for all the opportunities.”
Vadiala wants to go to law school and, for now, become a patent attorney. A science or an engineering background is required, and insight into areas such as artificial intelligence could help. She’s also interested in ISE’s accelerated master’s program.
“It would be cool get my master’s and then go straight to law school,” she said. “And, if law school doesn’t work out, I’m also interested in engineering, so I would have a good fallback option.”
Harris hopes to use his computer science skills as a software engineer to write programs for a major company.
“Programming is something I’ve always wanted to do.”
Peyton Miles, a freshman Informatics major from Washington, Indiana, comes from a family of IU graduates, including his mother, who has an Informatics degree. He said he chose the Luddy School because it offers more chances to meet people and build better connections.
He said an Informatics degree will give him the tools to explore multiple career options. He wants to get into Intelligent Systems auditing -- using artificial intelligence and machine learning to catch business spending misuse and anomalies -- and work with big companies to help improve and boost their systems.
Miles said his long-term goal is to start his own auditing business.
“I want to build something with my own hands and help make companies more effective.”
Using a Luddy degree to impact the world is a goal for Cedric Chen, a Computer Science major from Taiwan who hopes to become an entrepreneur.
He was drawn to Luddy’s program flexibility and diverse community.
“I’m able to explore more and learn new things.”
Gabe Harris, a freshman Informatics major from Aurora, a city near Chicago, said he was first drawn to Luddy for computer science because of his interest in technology.
“Then I went to a Why Luddy event and saw Informatics offers way more range,” he says. “That drew me in.”
Harris, who might also major in Spanish and study overseas in Spain, plans to become involved in the entire Luddy and IU experience, including joining the bowling team and participating in intramural basketball. He’s already in the Living Learning Center which encourages students to explore academic, personal and professional opportunities.
“I’ve been counting down the days of going to college and getting here,” he said. “Because I’m in the LLC, I already have a community and got a kick start to my college experience.
“I want to see what’s available and meet a lot of people,” he says with a smile.
As a Data Science master’s student from India, Sanika Marathe is new to IU and the Luddy School. With a goal of becoming a data scientist doing difference-making research, the Luddy School seemed the perfect choice.
“I love the course work here,” she said. “It has great possibilities.
“I’m excited and nervous. I’m not used to this kind of course work, and it’s a completely different culture and country.”
Stacey Arnold, assistant dean of Student Services, encouraged students to make the most of their Luddy experience by joining clubs, participating in the university’s many activities, and exploring the campus.
“This is a journey you’ll remember for the rest of your lives,” she said.