When he was a freshman in high school, Christopher Raymond attended an international Christian camp held that year at Purdue. Beyond his time on the West Lafayette campus, he received a free sweatshirt.
A native of New Jersey, Raymond kept the apparel tucked away until he began considering his college choices. “I remembered the name Purdue and looked it up online,” he says. “When I learned about the Integrated Business and Engineering (IBE) program at the Daniels School, I was intrigued.”
Raymond returned to the Purdue campus for another visit, and made his decision that day. “The IBE program sealed the deal,” he says. “It was a true blend of business and engineering, and there wasn’t anything like it at the other colleges I was considering.”
Raymond started his freshman year by joining Engineers Without Borders as a business development team member, with the objective to raise funds towards the development of a water distribution system in Rubona, Rwanda, capable of reaching more than 7,000 people. “In the span of a year, we raised about $24,000,” he says. “I was personally responsible for about $7,000 of that amount.”
During his second semester at Purdue, Raymond turned his extracurricular activities up a notch, leading his team to a first-place finish in the Caterpillar Case Competition for IBE majors. He also joined PurdueTHINK, a student-led organization founded to advance the university by generating meaningful change in the form of consulting with student organizations and various administrative departments.
Raymond finished his first year at Purdue as a business growth strategies intern for Wisdom4Humanity, a life-coaching firm led by Patrick Mosher, a project manager at the Daniels School. “Patrick is a great mentor and taught me a lot about navigating the corporate world,” Raymond says. “Working with him was a great experience.”
Raymond began his second year at Purdue as a Boiler Gold Rush team leader overseeing a group of 16 incoming freshmen. He also took on another new role — Purdue cheerleader. “I have a friend at Rutgers who’s on their cheer team and he thought I’d enjoy it, so I emailed the coach at Purdue and asked about joining,” he says. “They kept inviting me back to practice, which eventually led me to becoming part of the team.”
“If I were to do it all over again, I would still choose Purdue and the IBE program. It’s given me limitless opportunities and potential.”
As a Purdue cheerleader, Raymond is officially a student-athlete, which requires a significant time commitment. “Between practice and games, it’s about 20 hours a week,” he says. “But there’s nothing more energizing than walking into Ross-Ade Stadium or Mackey Arena on game day and hearing the cheers of the crowd. You can’t replicate that anywhere.”
In addition to his time as a cheerleader, Raymond balanced his sophomore year with continued roles for PurdueTHINK and Wisdom4Humanity. He led his team to a second-place finish in a case competition hosted by Endress+Hauser and the Purdue chapter of the National Society of Sales Engineers. He also joined the Larsen Leaders Academy executive board as vice president of its Larsen Academy Mentor Program (LAMP).
“We’re restructuring the internal processes and key metrics of LAMP to foster a more inclusive and welcoming community,” he says. “How do we take the mentor-mentee relationship and make it more robust? How can we enhance the atmosphere of learning? How can we do a better job of assimilating students into Purdue and the Larsen Academy?”
Raymond is now beginning his junior year coming out of a summer supply chain internship with Lafayette-based trailer manufacturer Wabash Corp.
“The easiest way to describe what I did was that I translated human logic into computing logic to save time for my team members and money for the company,” he says. “I used my background in Python to observe and clean supply chain data, turning two-hour weekly reports into an automated, 20-minute process.”
Along with his commitment to Purdue cheerleading, Raymond is taking 19 credit hours this semester, which he admits will limit his involvement in other activities. “I love the grind and will still contribute to as many organizations as possible, but with my current course load, I really need to focus on academics and cheer,” he says.
And while his Purdue career is only beginning its second half, Raymond is certain he made the right decision. “If I were to do it all over again, I would still choose Purdue and the IBE program,” he says. “It’s given me limitless opportunities and potential.”
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