WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — In a high-tech era where AI is slowly becoming an integral part, and its tools promise assistance for everything from writings to business strategy, Purdue University’s Toastmaster club held a timely roundtable on October 15, 2025. This event was titled, “Win with AI: Use It Right & Gain Real-world Leverage” drawing over 120 attendees from across Purdue’s diverse vocations like engineering, business, health sciences and liberal arts; eager to learn methods to wield AI ethically and effectively.
Organized by Toastmasters at Purdue in collaboration with Ascend HSI Advisory Partners and Purdue University’s Roger C. Stewart Leadership and Professional Development Department, the session featured eight invited experts, with an agenda tackling sub-themes that reflected real student quandaries, like dodging academic cheating with AI study aids, and crafting a 90-day skill-building plan. Attendees heard how to spot the difference between leverage and misuse, protect sensitive data in tools like ChatGPT, and even explain AI-driven decisions to skeptical seniors or professors.
Vasanthan Ramakrishnan, founder of Ascend HSI Advisory Partners, a Chicago-based company specializing in immigration consulting for high-skilled talent, set the tone early. Drawing from his experience helping professionals with regulatory mazes, Ramakrishnan emphasized communication as AI’s unsung hero. “My work has always been about helping people move forward with clarity and dignity,” he said. “We want students to use AI with care, protect information, and communicate their decisions clearly.” His comments aligned with Ascend’s mission to equip clients with precise documentation and forward-thinking strategies, extending that ethos to AI’s global challenges. The session’s strength lay in its diversity of voices, each tethered to a sub-theme that resonated across disciplines.
The session’s engagement was greatly enriched by an inspiring talk from one of the expert speakers, Srinivasa R. Atta on “Build Your Personal AI Toolkit, Ethically.” As a Staff Solutions Architect at Google Cloud, Srinivasa specializes in AI and cloud technologies, working as a trusted advisor who guides organizations through complex digital shifts by designing scalable, secure, and reliable cloud architectures. Drawing from his extensive industry experience in assisting companies adopt responsible AI at scale, he brought out that AI is not a shortcut but a collaborator; a powerful partner that provides meaningful outcomes only when directed with purpose, responsibility, and ethical intent. A published author and Senior Member of IEEE, Srinivasa Atta is also dedicated to mentoring and helping the next generation to steer through the evolving AI landscape with confidence and integrity.
“AI is for brainstorming, not writing”
Atta opened with a simple, memorable distinction drawn from his presentation slides, “AI is for brainstorming, not writing. Protect your data. Verify everything.” He illustrated this through a real-world case snapshot, where a student used AI to draft a research paper on healthcare innovation. By using AI only to outline key themes such as diagnostics, drug discovery, and ethics, the student saved hours while still maintaining academic integrity. “That’s the right balance,” Srinivasa emphasized. “Leverage AI for structure and clarity, not substitution.”
The AI Assistant Checklist
In one of the most photographed slides of his presentation, Srinivasa introduced what he called the AI Assistant Checklist, a practical guide that drew enthusiastic nods from the audience:
- Do: Brainstorm, outline, and summarize public information.
- Don’t: Paste private data, copy-paste AI text verbatim, or blindly trust citations.
He explained that every AI interaction should start with awareness of context and data sensitivity. “When you feed private data into public models, you’re handing over control of your information,” he warned. “Privacy is not optional, but is your professional credibility.”
Building Custom Workflows Ethically
Explaining on the theme of “personal AI toolkits,” Srinivasa introduced the concept of Custom AI Agent Workflows, a technique to chain small, purposeful AI tasks rather than depend on one monolithic model. “Think of it like a relay race,” he said. “Each AI agent has one job, that is summarizing data, checking grammar, suggesting visuals; and you are the coach keeping them in line.”
His minimalistic slide deck featured a clean flowchart showing this “anatomy of a custom AI workflow,” prompting several audience members to snap pictures for later reference. Srinivasa linked this approach to Google’s AI Principles and Purdue’s own AI usage guidelines in teaching and writing, reinforcing the shared responsibility between developers, users, and institutions.
Turning Curiosity into Capability
Srinivasa Atta’s session came to an end with three actionable takeaways, which many attendees later cited in feedback as the event’s most practical advice:
- Start with an AI journal. Record prompts, outputs, and lessons learned each week to trace and improve your reasoning.
- Test ethically. Begin with public or low-stakes data projects to learn tool limitations before applying AI in coursework or research.
- Commit to continual learning. Explore resources like Google’s Responsible AI Practices and Purdue’s AI literacy materials for structured, ethical upskilling.
During Q&A, a student asked whether open-source AI models were safer. Srinivasa Atta replied with distinct pragmatism: “Open source gives you transparency, not immunity. Always ask: Who benefits, and who pays the hidden cost?”
Communication as the Common Thread
While Atta’s talk was one of the standout for its technical and ethical clarity, the event’s overall tone aligned with Toastmasters’ mission of supporting students to communicate complex ideas responsibly. Post-event many highlighted how his framework replaced vague anxiety about “AI misuse” with a simple, sustainable habit of ethical experimentation.
As AI is becoming an everyday collaborator, Srinivasa’s message, “curate your toolkit, protect your data, and stay accountable,” resonated as both timely and timeless.
About Toastmasters at Purdue University
Toastmasters at Purdue is a student-led club and the Purdue chapter of Toastmasters International, dedicated to developing communication and leadership skills through structured practice speeches and feedback.
About Ascend HSI Advisory Partners
Ascend HSI Advisory Partners, a Chicago-based consulting firm, supports high-skilled professionals in helming complex immigration and career pathways, underlining clarity and ethical communication in every step.
