Many students pick PNW because it’s close to home. 

Some of them can’t wait to graduate and move away. 

“The lovely emissions smell lets you know you are in Indiana,” said Arturo Silva, a freshman Computer Engineering major. “Just walking around smelling an 18-wheeler all the time gets old.” 

Indiana ranks number eight on a Forbes list of states that citizens are leaving. The publication reports that the state lost nearly 12,000 families last year.

Silva is hoping to be one of the migrants.

“I grew up my whole life here,” he said. “At some point, you have to branch off. … Moving where there are no blizzards and potholes would be ideal.” 

Mario Picazzo, a first-year Electrical Engineering major, shares the feelings.

“Growing up I had a family-oriented household and moving away can give me more room to breathe,” he said. “The big industrial industries are bad for the air quality.”

But Picazzo admits another reason to move is freedom from family rules.

“Everyone is able to go to parties and I’m stuck studying and doing class work,” he said.

But Picazzo admits one thing would keep him here.

“I would stay if there is a big job opportunity,” he said. “But that’s also a big reason I would leave the area.”

Junior Joseph Cioe, a Political Science major, looks forward to moving to achieve some freedom from parents.

“In my first year of college, my parents would always drag me out of bed,” he said. “I had to remind them I had an alarm set.” 

He hasn’t picked a destination, but is open to moving around.

“I always felt isolated living in an area where not a whole lot happens, and there is not a lot to do,” said Cioe. “Some families just stick within one city and I like the idea of a moving legacy so to speak.”