Virtual consulting experience generates safe campus solutions

COVID-19 has altered the academic landscape in a multitude of ways, not least of which are the manners in which college campuses operate. Purdue is no exception. As plans took shape to determine how to orchestrate a safe return to campus in August, it was clear that students, faculty, and staff would all play a role. Rising to the challenge, over 300 students demonstrated their desire to help create a safe space through their participation in the ProjectX Safe Campus Virtual Consulting Experience.

From June 15 through July 17, 310 student contributors and 77 alumni coaches tackled four scenarios designed to make campus safer as part of the Protect Purdue initiative. David Hummels, the Dr. Samuel R. Allen Dean of the Krannert School of Management and cochair of the Safe Campus Task Force convened by Purdue President Mitch Daniels, sought internal help for the project. “Dean Hummels was adamant that he wanted students involved in the Protect Purdue initiative,” explains Melissa Evens (HHS’86, MS LA’15), director of the Krannert Communications Center. With that in mind, Evens — a veteran creator of student engagement frameworks — conceptualized the experience in collaboration with a team of current students and recent graduates. The office of the vice provost for student life was the client.

Students met the challenge eagerly. “We initially planned for 100 students but received applications from over 300,” says Evens. “The response was so overwhelming that we had to merge teams and allow up to six participants per team to accommodate everyone. These students did not get paid to participate, nor did they receive credit. They simply came together to support a community they love.”

Over the five-week experience, 67 teams sought answers to four scenarios. Scenario 1 considered how best to maintain health and safety practices on campus given that two-thirds of the Purdue community leaves campus each day to return to off-campus housing. Scenario 2 challenged students to suggest ideas for creating and building a sense of community given the remote and hybrid educational environment currently demanded by the pandemic. Scenario 3 asked students to suggest ways in which the University could safely preserve the residential student experience. And Scenario 4 queried participants for ideas on providing a robust cocurricular and career development experience to students studying on campus and remotely, particularly with respect to professional development and leadership development. For each scenario, 28 corporate and alumni judges selected a top team, an honorable mention team, and a Boilermaker Spirit Award team.

Participant Noor Abdullah, a junior biology and global studies major with an interest in premed, says she was drawn to ProjectX after realizing that her summer study-abroad plans were no longer viable. “My friend Kareem Harb is a finance major in the Krannert School,” she says. “When I saw the notice about the experience in a group chat, I reached out to him, as it seemed like a great opportunity.” Abdullah joined Harb and teammates Gwynelle Condino, Jack Sharba, and Calvin Huang on Scenario 1 to address the challenge of promoting safe practices in the off-campus population. The Suclean-Theorists, as they dubbed themselves, ultimately took top team honors for their solution, an online app called Purdue Pass that controls people’s access to campus via a link to their Purdue ID card.

Abdullah found herself energized by the experience. “Our team dynamic flourished,” she says. “We come from diverse majors, and each of us asked different questions, which enabled us to come up with solid recommendations.” Working with alumni coach Cody Mullen (M’12) was fun, too, she observes. “Cody was insightful and encouraged us to develop our ideas and plug holes in our concept. He was really helpful.”

Alumni coach Jennifer Liu (M’98) also found the experience rewarding. The program management office director for OBXtek, an information technology and professional services company, served as the sounding board for Quaranteam, the group of four students who took top team honors in Scenario 2. Liu lauded the consulting experience, both for the exposure it offered the students and for the opportunity it offered her to give back to the University. “I think it’s important for the students to have contact with individuals they could be working with after they graduate,” she says. “Initiatives like ProjectX teach them to ask the right questions and develop their thoughts. And I would like to think that as their coach, I posed some provocative questions; for example, ‘How do you incentivize people to use your app? What’s in it for them?’”

Given the positive feedback from students and alumni alike, Evens is confident that ProjectX will not be the last university-sponsored consulting experience involving students. “There’s no doubt it’s going to live on in some form,” she says. “The framework we constructed for this experience will work in numerous situations.”

Evens concedes that the pandemic has presented challenges, but she is confident that by working together, Boilermakers will prevail. “We’re a strong community, and our students and their ideas are valued,” she asserts. “During the ProjectX consulting experience, the students worked together to contribute to a community they love, and we all emerged as winners. The school wins with every idea that’s implemented, and the students win by building on their experiences, ideas, and friendships.”