Meet Colin Mixon

Meet Colin Mixon! He's from Indianapolis, Indiana, and he's a junior in Computer Engineering.

Why did you choose Computer Engineering?

I liked Computer Engineering because it uses Computer Science, but allows me the ability to go to the hardware side of computers, as well, so I’m not limited to any one area of a computer. It offered the most flexibility for what I want to do.

Why did you choose Purdue Engineering?

I chose Purdue Engineering because of the strong alumni network. Before I came to college, an alum of the program told me that Purdue Engineering has strength all over the world. I didn’t realize the weight that a Purdue Engineering degree holds!

What are your campus involvements?

I’m a member of the National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE). The mother chapter! We were founded here at Purdue! I’m an ambassador for the College of Engineering. I’m a pre-college advisor for the Office of Future Engineers, a recruitment office for Purdue Engineering. And I’m newly involved with EPICS, on a team working on improving an interactive learning center by designing and building an interactive map that will display wolf populations around the globe. I’m loving this experience because it’s giving me an opportunity to use my CE education to positively affect an awesome organization and community partner that wouldn’t be able to do this without Purdue.

What do you do in your free time?

When I have time, I love watching movies and tv! I also love spending time at the CoRec playing basketball or soccer with friends.

What is your internship experience like?

From June to December of 2018, I was working with Intel in Sacramento as part of their nonvolatile memory solutions group, working on hard drives to sell to companies or customers. I was doing validation to make sure all the features worked correctly and fixing them if they didn’t. I also have my plans set for next summer! I’ll be in Seattle with Microsoft as a software engineer and product manager.

What are your career aspirations?

Short-term, I’d like to go to grad school for embedded systems or control systems. Long-term, I want to be the lead engineer of a group that makes a product customers are able to use. I’m heavily influenced by Steve Jobs, I want to be the person on stage introducing a new product and telling the world what our accomplishments were.

Do you have an advice for prospective students considering Purdue Engineering?

Align your major with your career goals, not the other way around. There are many paths to one result, so make your education work best for how you want to use it. Also, be willing to seek help when you need it. Purdue has so many resources and people want to help you!