May 2005

Profiles of Success

Matt Martin, B.S. 2000, Biological Sciences

Matt Martin arrived at Purdue from his home town of Fort Wayne, Indiana in 1996, intending to major in biochemistry and continuing on to graduate school for a Ph.D. “I have always loved science and technology, so I thought research would be a natural fit,” he says. “I enrolled at Purdue with the intent of eventually getting a Ph.D, knowing Purdue would provide a solid academic foundation.” Despite this early resolve, like many students, Matt found his interests evolving throughout his undergraduate career as he became active in extracurricular activities and progressed in his coursework.

Matt quickly discovered that campus activities augmented the core education which had originally attracted him to Purdue. He became a member in both Purdue Science Student Council (PSSC) and Science Ambassadors almost as soon as he arrived on campus. “The College of Science activities provided a great platform to interact with some of the best and brightest in the College,” he says. “PSSC and Ambassadors provided camaraderie with fellow students, professors, administrators, and alumni.”

Aside from College of Science activities, he was President of Cary Quad in his junior year, and a Resident Assistant at Shreve as a senior. “Many of my favorite memories involve staying up late an obscene number of hours looking for any reason not to do homework,” he says. “All of the extra-curricular activities available to students are one of Purdue’s strongest assets. It’s these activities that give you a chance to grow as a person.”

Matt also participated in undergraduate research. While the curriculum provided Matt with a solid science foundation, it is his time spent in research labs that he remembers best. “I still regale people with stories about my senior research working in Dr. O.E. Rhodes’ (Forestry) lab trying to extract DNA for population genetics from deer droppings,” he says. “Odd how I had most of the lab to myself!”

“Three years of working in the lab showed me that I loved science and technology, but that pure research was not my true passion,” Matt says. However, it was a chance encounter with a guest lecturer in a biology class which inspired Matt to think about other career directions. “In my sophomore year, I had taken a survey class from Dr. [Lou] Sherman and listened as one of the guest lecturers discussed Ph.D/M.D. degrees. The speaker was trying to make the point that undergraduates should think outside the box for careers and he mentioned that he had a classmate who earned a J.D. degree from law school. For some reason, that stuck in my head. When I started looking for other career options after my junior year, I recalled that lecture and I began researching law school. Through Science Ambassadors and PSSC, I had met a few Purdue alums who were already successful lawyers, which helped to solidify my decision.” By his senior year, Matt changed his major to general biology to provide enough flexibility in his schedule to allow him to take courses that would benefit him in practicing law.

Upon graduating from Purdue, Matt enrolled at The John Marshall Law School on full scholarship, finishing in December 2002 second in his class. Matt is now an associate attorney at Foley and Lardner, LLP, one of the largest law firms in the country. Continuing to draw on his undergraduate education, Matt practices patent law, specializing in drafting patents in the electronic, chemical, and mechanical arts. He also relies on his Purdue education in his dealings with public utilities companies. Reflecting on his Purdue education Matt says, “Right now, I am about as far as I could be from where I envisioned myself as a freshman, but my experiences and education at Purdue have prepared me for everything.”

Aside from the education, Purdue also provided Matt with something else; Matt met his wife, Tisha, at Purdue. Tisha graduated in 1999 with a B.S. in Biochemistry. She is currently a Planning Specialist in Abbott Laboratories’ Diagnostics Division.

Matt joined the Science Alumni Board in 2004 because he wants to share his ideas and help make a difference for Science alumni. “I would like to see the board reconnect alumni with the College,” he says. “I want to work to ensure that all of the students in the College can have the opportunity for connecting with the College in their own way.”

Matt credits his experiences at Purdue with a large part of his growth and success, stating, “the broad experiences you gain at Purdue and in the College of Science, both through rigorous courses and a plethora of activities and opportunities, all set the table for College of Science graduates to succeed in whatever they do.”

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