- Name:
- Danen Detloff
- Major:
- Industrial Engineering
- Minor:
- Business Administration/Engineering
- Year:
- Senior
- Home:
- Geneseo, IL
Being from a small town in Illinois, not many students ventured north towards Wisconsin - this was of course before the days of the Tri-State Initiative, making UWP so affordable for out of state students. I was lucky enough to have found Platteville at the young age of 14. Thankfully, my oldest sister went to Platteville and while visiting her we picked up a flyer for a Women In Engineering Summer Camp that was held at UWP. Both my other older sister, Dominique, and I ended up attending the camp twice because we loved it that much, and the rest is history. My family is a tight-knit group, and it was odd being away from home, but at Platteville, I've gained a second family.
I have been able to participate in a fantastic co-op experience. Working full-time for over seven months for the Department of the Army's Chem/Bio Defense has been an amazing experience. I have been able to travel from a Marine Corps Base in California to an Air Force Base in Florida, meeting with other DOD service representatives to try to improve how we do things. I started my co-op at the same time the program I was to be working on began and have been able to become more involved as it grows.
There are over 100 organizations to become involved in at UWP, and if you don't find one you like, you can always make one! I like being involved in campus activities because they spice up my everyday class routine. I might not have ever known how much I loved rock-climbing, mountain biking, and lighting the world's largest M on fire if I hadn't come to Platteville.
I would have to say many of my most memorable moments occurred when I least expected them to, whether it was playing darts or the magnet game after a Student Senate meeting, enjoying my first bacon-cheeseburger after a Student Ambassadors event, or helping host professors and fellow students at a reverse progressive dinner. I guess it's some of the small, seemingly "everyday events" that have been some of my most memorable. But don't get me wrong, lighting the M on fire and eating dinner with Emerson Drive were both pretty memorable experiences, too.