‘Life changing’ time at Purdue

Written by Wentong Zhang

Published on 03-21-2025

Before I went to college, I knew I wanted to study abroad. I looked up programs at universities in my home country, China, and found China Agriculture University, a school with a good connection to Purdue. With my good GPA in my freshman and sophomore years, I was selected for the program that would allow me to finish my last years of my undergraduate degree at Purdue.

Coming to the U.S. felt like a new world. I don’t see myself as introverted or as someone who has a hard time blending in, so I registered for five classes, three of them economics courses.

Still, I had some mental anxiety about mis-speaking in front of native speakers. But I kept raising my hand and asking for feedback from the professors. I realized it’s not a big deal as long as you make yourself as clear as you can, and you’re providing valuable contributions in the classroom.

I achieved the most participation points in my class with Professor Joe Mazur. He helped me overcome my language barrier and feel confident about being one of the most interactive students.

I became close with Professor Mazur. He helped me adapt to my new environment, and he made me realize there are many professional opportunities to try.

Before coming to Purdue, I had a clear path I wanted to take. Undergraduate degree, master’s degree and be the first in my family with a PhD. Professor Mazur showed me there are many different career options than what I had first envisioned for myself. I needed to open myself up to new opportunities and find specific jobs that would allow me to explore myself more.

As an international student, the professional environment has many obstacles. I wanted to show that not only did I deserve to be here, but that in the job market I was better than my competitors. It's hard for foreigners to be hired when there are U.S. citizens who are just as qualified. This is why I needed to show that I go above and beyond. I did this by becoming one of the few undergraduate research assistants.

I became an undergraduate quantitative finance research assistant and teaching assistant. This gave me valuable knowledge that I will take into the workforce with me. As a research assistant, I work closely with professors and directly ask them if I can be a part of their research. I am one of the only undergraduates among graduates, and this is helping me gain hands-on research experience. Being a teaching assistant develops undergrad students. I have maintained good relationships with other teaching assistants and communicated the course concepts well to students. During office hours, I come up with some practice exam questions. All of this combined helps me be a standout candidate for a future employer.

There are legal barriers for foreigners for where you can work and how long you can stay. Because of this, many companies are discouraged from hiring international students and finding internships can be hard. To set myself apart and show companies they should go through the paperwork to hire me, I took the CFA exam and passed level one. The CFA can jumpstart careers in finance and is known globally for its investment analysis and real-world skills.

Purdue has become a home to me, and it has pushed me to step outside of my comfort zone and thrive. I entered a case competition last spring semester where my team won first place. It was put on by the Purdue Federal Credit Union. This taught me risk management, how to work closely as a small team to solve difficult problems together and how to be creative and innovative during this process. This was one of the most enjoyable team experiences I’ve ever had and pushed me to practice all I’ve learned into a project outside the classroom.

While being at Purdue, I have learned more about myself, acquired many new skills and overcome barriers. I am now ready to take on the professional environment and compete for the career I want.