Nati Tapia

MAJOR: COMMUNICATION
MINOR: FILM AND VIDEO STUDIES 

Hello! My name is Nati Tapia, I am a freshman here at Purdue and I’m majoring in Communication with a minor in Film and Video Studies. I’m from Miami, Florida but originally from Puerto Rico! Both of my parents, my uncle, and my mom's best friend are Purdue alumni, so you could say being a Boilermaker is in my blood. When deciding on where to go to college I knew that I first wanted to go out of state, somewhere cold since I had only really known summer-type weather and knew I needed a change, and lastly somewhere that offered me a large campus experience but with a small classroom environment. At Purdue Liberal Arts I knew that I wasn’t going to be just a number in a class, that I would get one-on-one contact with my professors and form long-term relationships with them. The frozen tuition also helped.

I chose Communication because I love public speaking and writing and I loved the Communication program at Purdue. I remember attending virtual meetings with professors that are part of the Communication program here at Purdue and feeling like this was where I needed to pursue my communication education. One of the professors I met during virtual sessions was Josh Boyd, I ended up taking one of my first com classes with him since I was part of the Communication Learning Community (I definitely recommend doing the Communication Learning Community if you're majoring in Communication.)

Some stuff I am involved in on campus is the Association of Women in Communication, in which I am the secretary for the club. I am also a Dean's Ambassador in the College of Liberal Arts which I love being a part of because I get to tell prospective students about my experience so far at Purdue. It wasn’t that long ago that I was attending these sessions as a prospective student and now I’m the student sharing my own experience which I think is really cool.

Although I am only a freshman, there is so much you are able to do at Purdue that can help you grow and develop as a person. Your first year of college is very different from what you were used to but it’s all for the best! Also, you will be doing a lot of walking just a heads up.