New hire brings relevant experiences to Admissions post

Though she only recently moved into her new office, there are already several indicators why Makenna Adams is a great fit for Purdue University Fort Wayne's Office of Admissions.

After transferring to PFW from Purdue West Lafayette for her final two years, Adams graduated in May with a degree in psychology, and during her senior year, she worked the front desk in admissions. The experience exposed her to many of the questions a visitor might ask.

Like many students exploring the possibility of attending PFW, Adams faced those same questions earlier in her academic journey. That phase included discovering how many misconceptions she had.

"Like a lot of people, when I first came here, I had the idea that this was a much smaller campus," Adams said. "Many people think this is just a satellite school, or we only have a couple of buildings, or we only offer a few majors. But we have tons of buildings, and our campus is bigger than you think. I feel like it's a bigger school, but it feels like you are at a small school."

After graduating from Fishers High School in 2020, Adams attended Purdue through online classes her freshman year. She moved to West Lafayette as a sophomore, but couldn't find a solid base among the masses of students, saying her only friends were a few from high school.

Adams said one of her lecture classes included 350 people. She'd make an effort to talk to someone at a class, and then never see them again. Making connections in or out of class was arduous.

"It's harder to get opportunities there and stand out and feel like you are making an impact when there are so many people at school," Adams said.

Still wanting a Purdue degree, Adams decided to transfer to PFW. She jumped into research opportunities, made new friends, and enjoyed the campus social life. She also enjoyed opportunities in Fort Wayne, which included catching up with friends who were attending other local universities.

"Coming here, you'll get just as many opportunities, and we have lots of campus events," Adams said. "Almost every student gets an internship or field experience, whereas at many schools, you can get your degree from there, but you are not necessarily going to get hands-on experience. There are just not as many opportunities available that you can put on a résumé."

Adams worked with Jody Ross, associate professor of psychology, researching predictors of prospectively reported intimate partner violence, or IPV. The work measured characterological factors-borderline personality disorder traits, antisocial personality disorder traits, and attitudes toward IPV-and situational factors such as an individual's partner using IPV toward them. The goal was to discover if characterological factors could predict intimate partner violence better than the situational factor alone.

While working in admissions as a student, Adams interviewed for the full-time position as an admissions counselor. Having landed the job, she's now anxious to start spreading out across the area to tell her story to high school seniors and convince them they should consider PFW. She can also offer guidance to potential transfer students.

To her other team members, Adams is not a typical rookie.

"She is able to communicate effectively to students and their parents who walk in or call in," said Roy Danielian, assistant director of admissions. "When the pressure is on at the front desk, she has been able to answer the tough questions, relying on her personal student experience here as a recent graduate and her training through our office staff. As a Purdue West Lafayette transfer, Makenna can answer firsthand the questions we receive about the differences between the two universities. That is a great help for us!"

Now PFW feels like a home where Adams is comfortable; where she can thrive and start her professional career working with people she already knows and likes.

"When I walk on campus, I'll see a familiar face," Adams said. "You always see people you know, which makes it a lot easier to get a contact if you have questions about a homework assignment. People actually know you, know your name, and professors know you, so it's easier to get involved and feel like you are making an impact here."

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