Low-key and level-headed are two words that might best describe Abbey Donahue, a nuclear engineering senior with her eyes set on the future who has Purdue in her blood. “Both of my parents went to Purdue,” she says. Earning a degree in nuclear engineering takes lots of mettle. But the true grit of any student reveals itself in one who actively pursues a love of photography, travel, and a well-balanced life in addition to important studies and career preparation.

Recently, Donahue was named the new president of Purdue’s chapter of the American Nuclear Society (ANS). It comes at a time when she is transitioning between her education and career, all the while handling a schedule chock-full of commitments.

Donahue plays bass in Purdue’s orchestra, an instrument she has played since she was 11. She also participates on the professional practice student council, a way of giving back to the next generation of students who are where she was four years ago. “We set up co-op days where companies come to the Union,” she says. “We set up interview spots, call-out meetings, and question and answer sessions. It’s great to be in the reverse role—to have gone through it as a freshman myself and now to be the person checking them into the co-op days, showing up as a mentor and answering all their questions.” 

In addition to being president of Purdue’s ANS next year, Donahue will take on a new role as a resident assistant in Earhart Hall, where she hopes to land a Learning Community. “My freshman year,” she says, “I was in a Women in Engineering Learning Community.” Purdue offers several learning communities, where groups of students with the same major take courses together and sometimes live in the same residence hall. Earhart offers one of the residence learning communities, sponsored by the Women in Engineering Program. When asked her views on being a woman in her field, Donahue demonstrates a modern sensibility about how things have changed during her time at Purdue. “It’s good to see things leveling out. I think a lot of engineering fields are seeing that, especially nuclear.” There are only two women graduating from NE this year. “Now there are five or six girls in any given course which is more than twice the number in my class; it’s increasing.”

All of Donahue’s coursework and involvement with Purdue’s many student programs have been balanced with a co-op opportunity in Richmond and North Anna, Virginia where she continues to work for Dominion Energy, a nuclear power supplier. She has been there every other semester getting hands-on, real-world practice. “I’ve been doing core design work for them and then this summer is my last session. I will be doing reactor engineering and working at a power station. Working for Dominion has been a great experience for me,” she says.

It seems she has been given a glimpse of an industry that is also in a time of transition. One of the biggest challenges facing the industry has undoubtedly been its image. “It’s about over-riding peoples’ misconceptions. [Nuclear energy] is very, very, clean, and very, very, efficient.” As far as her plans for the future, Donahue exudes the excitement of a young woman with a world of opportunities. “I went to the ANS student conference in February. Several speakers from Areva talked about the Young American Engineering Program. If you are hired you go to their headquarters in France. I’ve signed up for French next year and I’m hoping to get an edge in that application process,” she says.  In the tradition of a true Boilermaker, Donahue’s career and life are well on track.