From Shanghai to Maryland and finally Fairfax, Virginia, Samuel Zhang continues to live a busy life here on campus.
HC Purdue: What is your major?
Samuel: I am a sophomore in Aeronautical and Astronautical Engineering (AAE). Although the two subjects deal with different scenarios, air and space respectively, there is a lot of overlap and the AAE program at Purdue gives you the experience to work in either industry upon graduation.
HC Purdue: What made you come to Purdue?
Samuel: I came to Purdue because it had a great program for the major that I knew I was going to pursue. Becoming an astronaut has been a lifelong goal for me, and knowing that Purdue has so many astronaut graduates that it’s dubbed the “Cradle of Astronauts” really got me pumped to come here.
HC Purdue: What do you like to do in your free time?
Samuel: What free time? Just kidding…sort of. Between classes, ROTC, clubs, studying, and exercise, it can be hard to come by abundances of free time as an engineering student, but that doesn’t mean there isn’t room to do something fun. I try to make the most out of my commitments at Purdue. For instance, as a project leader at Purdue Lunabotics, I enjoy working with all the members of my project and get to know them personally. As an Air Force cadet, I take the opportunity to interact and communicate with amazing fellow cadets whenever we meet up. If I do have time, I usually try to discover some new music, watch a movie or grab a meal with friends.
HC Purdue: What’s your favorite thing about campus?
Samuel: What I love about campus is that there are so many opportunities. If there’s anything that you want to do, there is most likely a club or organization for it. When I first came to Purdue as a freshman, I was big on Super Smash Brothers Melee. I quickly found a scene for playing Smash Bros, met with many friendly faces, and began participating in tournaments competitively. Alternatively, there is no better time than college to jump into a new interest. Student organizations play a huge role for personal growth and meeting new people.
HC Purdue: What is the best place to eat at outside of campus in West Lafayette?
Samuel: One of the places I frequent is Fiesta in Chauncey. It’s probably not the finest eat around, but I think it’s great. I’m a big fan of Mexican food, and Fiesta satiates my cravings with large portions and fast service. It’s became a bit of an ongoing joke among Lunabotics, since it’s practically the only restaurant we go to and we go there every meeting for lunch.
HC Purdue: What are you looking forward to this semester?
Samuel: There are a lot of things I am looking forward to. I’m looking forward to meeting new people, completing our Lunabotics robot, learning new things in class, and finding new opportunities to improve myself, to name a few. Probably most of all, I’m simply looking forward to seeing what kind of person I will become within just one semester at Purdue. If my freshman-self saw me right now, he’d be astounded by how much I’ve changed and how far I’ve made it!
HC Purdue: What has been the most memorable experience while at Purdue?
Samuel: This may be cheating a bit, because it’s not actually not at Purdue. However, I would be lying to you if I said this wasn’t my most memorable Purdue experience. At the end of each academic year, Purdue Lunabotics participates in the NASA Robotic Mining competition in Florida. Getting to explore Kennedy Space Center, eating at amazing local and popular restaurants, and even sitting through the 14 hour car ride with friends that I had the pleasure of working with for a year, was so ridiculously fun and relaxing. My fondest memory, which could’ve been cut straight from a (cheesy) film, was us at a seafood restaurant peering over the porch into the sunset. That’s a scene that I will remember for the rest of my life.
HC Purdue: If you could be any superhero, who would you be?
Samuel: The Flash. That guy is so fast that he can practically do anything. I strongly consider him to be the most powerful superhero. Seriously, his dW/dt would be insanely high considering strength and speed are relative, and the Flash moves 10 times faster than the speed of light. If breaking the laws of physics isn’t cool, then I’ll stick with Bruce Lee since he was a real-life superhero.