Wendel leaving a blueprint for involvement

While growing up in St. Henry, Ohio, Isaac Wendel’s parents and family instilled in him the constant desire to get involved, especially with opportunities to help others.

“Service was always such a big thing for me,” Wendel said. “Our area is all about `Help the neighbor.’ If you need help, I will help you. I always have to keep my brain occupied, can never sit still, and always have to be doing something.”

Positive examples were always prevalent while growing up. In fact, every male member of Wendel’s family over the past few generations has been part of the St. Henry Volunteer Fire Department. His grandfather was the chief, his father is the assistant chief and has 22 years of service, and his brother has been a member for a year. Wendel joined six years ago as a 16-year-old.

Since arriving at Purdue University Fort Wayne, Wendel has rarely been caught standing or sitting still. His time has been filled with the need to enthusiastically try a little bit of everything on campus. He’ll graduate in May as a Chapman Scholar with a degree in mechanical engineering—and a million other experiences.

Wendel has also been selected for the second time a Top 50 designee. The 2024 Exemplar and Top 50 classes will be honored during a 6:30 p.m. banquet on Friday in the International Ballroom at Walb Student Union.

Starting as a freshman, Wendel volunteered in the lab of Ahmed Mustafa, professor of biology, and studied aquaponics, stress, and biology – even though he’s actually an engineering major. He also volunteered randomly with the Student Activities Board to set up and tear down events, and checked out several Student Government Association-sponsored clubs.

As a sophomore, Wendel played on an esports team for a semester, started an esports company with a buddy, mentored with the ETCS Lead Mentor Program, and helped start the Engineers Without Borders program which had to disband because of pandemic travel restrictions.

Then Wendel really got busy as a junior, helping found The Herd and the Summit City Journal, where he started as president and this semester added managing editor duties. He’s also co-lead of the lead mentor program and president of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers chapter.

Wendel has also presented research at national and world conferences. Throughout his four years, he has worked part-time during the fall and spring semesters and full-time during summers for Garmann Miller, an engineering firm.

And in the believe it or not category, Wendel found time to date psychology student Daphne Kies. They are set to be married in October.

Whew! That’s a lot to keep up with—and arguably only the highlights.

“I wanted to try absolutely everything on campus and do random things,” Wendel said. “Even if I didn’t like them, I tried them. That’s kind of what college has mostly been about for me.”

It’s all part of Wendel’s passion to learn.

“When I first met him, even though everything was shut down, he still kept going,” Keis said. “He was still finding ways to talk to people, finding ways to be active in his community and help people.”

Kies supports Wendel’s efforts, though they hold weekly meetings to sort schedules and see when they can spend time together. She knew he was going to attend all homecoming events, and she was there for most of them too.

But life for the couple is about to change with graduation. They’ll move to Columbus, Ohio, where he’ll work full-time for Garmann Miller and she will attend law school. Wendel said he’ll miss the social interaction around PFW’s campus where almost everyone seems to know him.

“I’m a firm believer that a lot of the time it’s not what you know, but who you know,” he said. “The more people you can shake their hands the better and put a name to a face.”

But is there anything he’s wanted to do the last four years but hasn’t been able to?

“I wanted to be the mascot,” Wendel said. “I don’t know how many times I’ve asked Jacob [Allard], PFW’s fan engagement and marketing coordinator, `Just let me be Don for a day to walk around campus.’”