When the University of Indianapolis hosted the NFC champion New York Giants for practices the week of the city’s first Super Bowl, the whole campus caught the spirit of the big game. In a tribute to halftime performer Madonna, rowdy groups and brave soloists hit UIndy’s karaoke stage during a Super Bowl-themed dinner. UIndy also hosted practice sessions for the halftime show and its hundreds of volunteer stagehands.

UIndy junior Megan Juchcinski, a social work and psychology major, loves children and animals, so she knew that a summer internship at Sea World’s Adventure Camp in San Antonio, Texas, would be perfect for her. But there are only three such camps in the United States (the others are in Florida and San Diego), and 250 people had applied to work in the San Antonio location last summer.

Megan snagged the job.

“The other 10 counselors at the camp were from Texas and most were studying in animal-related fields such as biology or zoology,” Megan says. “But I think it was my volunteer and psychology background that really helped me get the job. They wanted someone who was interested in working with the children at the camp, rather than just working with the animals.”

Facing fearsome creatures (& animals, too)

Although Megan was trained to give informative talks about the various animals, her primary job as a camp counselor included taking the kids around the park, teaching them about animals, and participating in evening activities with them, among other typical childcare tasks.

“I worked primarily in the expedition camp, which included mostly middle school students ages 9 to 13,” she says. “There were about 30 campers per week for 10 weeks.”

The campers didn’t always make it easy for Megan, of course.

“We had to deal with bullying between campers and become the mediator between them sometimes. There were also a few weeks when we worked with campers with disabilities, so it was really important to be patient with them, but also stern if they got too rowdy.”

Megan credits her work at UIndy for preparing her for her summer Sea World internship.

“I’ve helped with College Mentors for Kids and volunteered at Laurelwood,” Megan says, “so I was used to working with children.” (College Mentors is a program that brings elementary school kids from low-income families to campus for tutoring; Laurelwood’s an Indianapolis Housing Agency community.)

Megan felt that her psychology background was helpful when it came to managing her relationships with her coworkers.

“We spent a significant amount of time together, so it was important to know when we needed to act like coworkers and when it was appropriate to just be friends.”

Tubing in Texas

“Outside of the camp setting, we had a lot of fun together, including taking trips to the River Walk in downtown San Antonio, visiting the Alamo, and partaking in a common summer activity in Texas—floating down the rivers on tubes.”

Although her stint in Texas is over, there’s a lot that Megan has taken away from the internship.

“I learned so much about the business side of working with people. I was able to put what I’ve learned regarding ethics into practice by keeping good records and practicing confidentiality with the campers.”

Megan will be working with the Jobs for America’s Graduates program for her practicum this spring. She’s trying to get a wide range of experience so that, one day, she can work with children and families, preferably in a clinical setting.

She hasn’t forgotten the great time she had at Sea World, though and would love to go back and do another summer internship. I learned so much about the business side of working with people

When Arianne Villareal started looking for colleges, she knew it was going to be tricky. She was looking for a school that would allow her to double major in two very different fields: Nursing and Theatre. That path is unusual but not impossible. At least not at UIndy.

“UIndy was one of the few univer-sities that gave me the opportunity to do both fields, since ASN for Nursing and BA for Theatre are both offered here,” Arianne says. “Once accepted, I visited campus and I really loved what I saw. UIndy also offered me the most scholarship/grant money, so overall it was a perfect fit.”

Deciding to double major in such different fields is one thing, but actually doing it, and even being successful at it, is another story.

“Double majoring is extremely challenging because both of my majors require me to give 100 percent of myself to my work,” she says. “Theatre is not only classwork. It’s also many hours of rehearsal time, meetings, and crew work. There are many late nights as a Theatre major. On the other hand, Nursing requires an extreme amount of studying, homework, and practicing of skills. There is a great deal of vital information to be learned, and the School of Nursing has very high standards. There are lots of early mornings as a Nursing major.”

However, for all of the challenges she faces, “There are way more positives,” Arianne says. “The work I do for each major is so different from the other. I have to think in different ways every day as I encounter different people and different situations. I’m very passionate about what I do, and I’m proud of my work.”

On with the show(s)

Her acting credits at UIndy include productions of Arms and the Man (she earned an Irene Ryan award nomination), The Lover, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead, The Good Person of Szechwan, Five Women Wearing the Same Dress, Entertaining Mr. Helms, and Into the Woods.

Arianne had the lead role of Hester Prynne in the original production of SHAME, written by two UIndy faculty and based on Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter. She earned an Irene Ryan nomination for that, too.

And that’s just her acting credits—she’s been racking up theatre production experience as well.

“Late nights, early mornings, and still having a social life means I have to manage my time very well, which is something I’m still working on. I’ve taken up drinking coffee!”

A senior from Wilder, Kentucky (about 10 minutes from downtown Cincinnati), Arianne is grateful for the opportunities and support UIndy has provided her. Not many schools are capable of making such dreams into reality, she says.

“Since it’s a smaller university, I have the opportunity to be seen by the best professors. This gives me so much more of an opportunity to learn. I also have the opportunity to perform, where at some larger universities I’d be lucky to be in one show a year.

“Plus, I’m given the opportunity to work on all aspects of theatre, making me a more well-rounded artist. I get to have hands-on, real-world experience in both fields, and I wouldn’t give that up for anything.”

On top of everything that comes with studying two demanding majors, Arianne is very involved on campus. She’s active in UIndy’s Concert Choir, Women’s Chorus, Alpha Psi Omega, and the National Honorary Theatre Fraternity.

(She also was a volunteer during Super Bowl week in Indianapolis. About 30 UIndy students, alumni, and faculty were picked to serve as talent escorts for the “NFL Honors” show, a primetime special on NBC the night before the game. Each was paired with a visiting celebrity to provide any necessary assistance. Arianne was assigned to escort pop star Katy Perry.)

Surgical theatre?

Arianne hopes both nursing and theatre will play a role in her future.

“I can see them both being a part of my life,” she says. “After college I plan to move to a bigger city—New York, Chicago, LA, maybe even London. I hope to work as a nurse and in the meantime audition for work as an actress. Though I genuinely enjoy helping people as a nurse, eventually I hope to be able to support myself with performing. I may learn something in one field that I can apply to the other, especially as both fields deal so much with people.”

The unique learning experience here is something she will always be thankful for. But one aspect of UIndy stands out for Arianne, beyond the academics.

“Most of all, the people I’ve met through UIndy have changed my life for the better,” she says. “I have met the best people and made the best friends. And that is truly priceless.”

—Sarah Stierwalt, Class of ’13

UIndy’s Anna Elzer is using an unusual approach in heading up her special service project. As a result, she’s now known on campus as the “colored pencil lady.”

With her passion for helping others,this creative education major raised funds for three organizations in the Central American country of Belize by creating and selling colored pencil bracelets. The University enjoys an affiliation with Galen University in Belize, and some UIndy students arrange to study there for a time in what’s described as a tropical paradise.

“This project came together quite unintentionally, to be honest,” Anna explains. “I made the first colored pencil bracelet for my sister as a Christmas gift, and just from her wearing it, popularity and demand for them became evident. I was planning my Honors project right then and was inspired by previous Honors students to make and sell the bracelets to raise money for an organization.”

Those students had created Inches International, a very successful venture that raises funds for schools in West Africa.

Believing in Belize

It wasn’t until Anna, now a senior, took her first trip to Belize in May 2010 that her project really came together. She worked at Hills of Promise school in Benque Viejo.

“I immediately fell in love with Belize and all the students there! I was just starting the Education program at UIndy, and teaching these students was such a new experience for me. I was ready to go back to Belize from the moment I left,” Anna says.

And that’s just what she did. She returned in May 2011 to work again with students at Hills of Promise.

Creating a bracelet craze

The bracelet sales had just begun, but it wasn’t long before they were a hot commodity on campus and around the city.

“It’s amazing how many people you see on campus wearing those bracelets,” says Admissions counselor Kari Martin. “You just see them everywhere.”

Anna says, “I really didn’t have to do any advertising, because they gained plenty of attention from everyone wearing them. I was soon asking for colored-pencil donations to keep up with the demand.”

Last fall, Anna participated in Masterpiece in a Day, an event in the nearby Fountain Square district for local artists to sell their work.

In that one day, Anna sold more than $1,100 worth of bracelets. Anna continued to sell the bracelets at other art shows in the city and on campus. By the time she made her third and final trip to Belize in December, she’d raised $4,000. The donations went to Hills of Promise school; to Mary Open Doors, a domestic abuse shelter for women and children; and to Octavia Waight, a senior living center.

“I had worked with each organization during my previous time in Belize,” she says. “It was great to be able to help them one last time.”

Pitching in, helping out

“I could not have done this project without the help of the UIndy community,” Anna points out.

“My professors have truly influenced this project, from introducing me to Belize to helping me appreciate culture and diversity and understanding this project’s potential. I’m so grateful for the support and guidance given to me from both professors and students. Everyone donated, bought, sold, and helped make these bracelets, which in turn allowed this project to become such a huge success.”

Anna finally had to stop cranking out the bracelets this semester to focus on her student teaching and finish her education degree.

But, she says, “I want to keep traveling to other places internationally and experience even more. Belize will always have a place in my heart and I would love to go back again. But for now my sights are set on new places and new adventures.”

—Candi Witzigreuter, Class of ’12

It’s hard work being top dog.

Press releases need to be written and delivered in a timely manner. Upcoming events need a brochure. Ideas for a new brand-awareness campaign have to be pitched to the client. Scripts for radio spots have to be written and recorded.  These are typical tasks in a day of a public relations professional. They’re also typical at UIndy’s student-run public relations firm, Top Dog Communication.  These students are getting a preview of the professional world and hands-on experience in the field while still in school—earning national kudos for their efforts and adding some serious weight to their résumés.

We’re number 1

Top Dog was named Outstanding Chapter Firm by the Public RelationsStudent Society of America at its 2011 PRSSA national conference. The criteria included the campaigns conducted for clients, the structure of the firm, and the students’ professional development. Top Dog is structured the way a PR firm would be in the real world, and its director works with the faculty advisor to run the firm.

Three account managers are in charge of the client’s account.

Top Dog’s clients are nonprofits and all the work is done at no charge. The clients change each semester, and the Top Dog group creates an entire campaign to meet every client’s objective.

“For me,” Jenn Meadows says, “being a part of Top Dog has given me a taste of the real world. There’s only so much that a textbook could teach me about public relations, and this hands-on-experience is so valuable to my education. Because of my involvement with our firm, I’ve learned how to manage my time efficiently and how to meet deadlines. I would have never learned this from a book.”

A class that gets you out of the classroom

Top Dog Communication centers on a class called Applied Public Relations. The course requires each student to complete a professional development assignment.

Required activities include attending a Hoosier Public Relations Society of America luncheon, shadowing a public relations professional,
attending workshops and conferences about public relations, and attending UIndy PRSSA meetings.

“These activities force us to get out there and meet professionals and other PR students to network,”  Jenn says. “Some of our students have found internships and jobs by attending a luncheon or a conference.”

PR professor Rebecca Deemer has been with the Top Dog program for five years now.

“I’m so proud of our students and alumni, and what we’ve created here,” she says. “The Top Dog experience has proven so helpful in providing a great start-up
network for the students. The professional experience is beyond comparison, as students work the entire semester on a strategic plan and then implement the plan directly with the clients. It’s 100 percent real-world.”

“It’s such an awesome opportunity,” account manager Lara Parker says. “I feel lucky to be a part of it. I feel so proud and honored to be a part of this firm and I know it will prepare me for the next step of my life.”

The HD2 and HD3 channels put 
more WICR programming into the 
community while offering more on-air 
experience for students. Styled as the “mirror image” of WICR-FM and HD1, HD2 lets HD listeners enjoy 
jazz or classical music throughout the day. When HD1 is playing jazz, HD2 cranks 
out the classical—and vice versa.

WICR-HD3, UIndy Radio, caters to 
the college audience, broadcasting over 
the Internet, campus TV, and HD radios, and playing an iPod-like shuffle of pop, 
hip-hop, and R&B. First-year students enrolled in the Applied
Radio courses in the Department of Communication are getting more on-air practice, while advanced students are still heard on WICR-FM.

“We’ve created a larger playground for 
students—a real-life, lower-risk environment where students can improve their skills and be better prepared to speak to the 2,000 or so listening at any given time during the day,” says Scott Uecker, 
general manager of WICR-FM.

Business students are relying on UIndy’s Center for Business Partnerships to find internships, professional experience, and jobs after graduation. The School of Business created the CBP to help connect its students to professional opportunities throughout Indy and central Indiana. The center is run by students for students, and all events are planned and led by students, too. And UIndy is just minutes from the heart of downtown, so it’s no wonder UIndy is good for business, and vice versa.

Connecting

Junior Mackenzie Klaes knows all about business in the Indy area and the opportunities that the CBP has to offer. Mackenzie has accomplished a lot in her short time as a student at UIndy and says she owes much of it to CBP.As a member of the Center’s Student Employment and Internship Team, called SEAiT, she’s helped connect more than 40 of her fellow students to internships in human resources, marketing, finance, and accounting around the city.

“I’ve been immensely thankful for the opportunity to be a part of the SEAiT team,” Mackenzie says. “It’s an incredible feeling to know you helped someone lay the groundwork for their future career.”

Mackenzie keeps busy when she’s not in the Center or in class. She’s completed a number of internships, including her most recent in downtown Indianapolis at Brightpoint, Inc., a communications technology firm, working as a Global Human Resources intern. Much of her work centered on branding the company’s social media and developing a new employee training program, which the company has built into its operations.

“Without SEAiT, my goal of working for a Fortune 500 company would still be merely a dream,” she says. “The team goes above and beyond to ensure their peers gain the experience necessary to obtain a job post-graduation.”

Mackenzie eventually wants to earn her MBA from UIndy with hopes of one day working in training and development programs.

Networking

Senior Jenny Simac didn’t waste any time as a freshman. She became involved in the Marketing and Communications area of CBP and they put her right to work: she was charged with rebranding the entire organization. Jenny had been drawn to UIndy’s business program because of its proximity to downtown, which she knew would allow her to complete internships while still taking classes.

“I knew that being so close to downtown would make for promising opportunities,” Jenny says.

During her time at UIndy she has completed a few internships that she obtained through networking via the CBP. Last summer, Jenny interned at Digitas ad agency in Chicago. As a New Business intern, she specialized in completing research for big-name brands. Jenny was able to draw on all of the skills she learned in her classes and from her involvement in CBP.

“CBP represents my network of contacts and professional training, which has prepared me for the business world.”

Prior to her summer internship, Jenny worked at Publicis in downtown Indianapolis, where she had the opportunity to work with actual clients and pick up workplace skills that will benefit her for the rest of her career.

Leading

“Aside from learning from professors who have real-world experiences, I found so many opportunities for leadership with the School of Business,” she says.

“Learning how to motivate and lead a team has been, by far, the largest lesson that I will take with me after my graduation.”

More good news: Jenny has been hired as a part-time associate by the advertising agency Publicis and is continuing to work there while she finishes up her degree.

Lela works with students on an individual basis and truly cares about the success of each student she helps

Planning for a career while you’re in high school is a pretty tall order. Interviewing for a job or an internship as a college student is a daunting prospect, too. Building a résumé from scratch can be intimidating. But we’re ready to help you overcome those challenges. Just walk through the doors of UIndy’s Career Services office to get some of the best advice you’ll find anywhere.

Through one-on-one sessions, fairs, and workshops, you’ll get help preparing for employment, internships, even grad school. Friendly folks like Lela Mixon (above) offer career counseling and show you how to build your résumé, practice your interview techniques, and make employer connections. One of the six staffers in Career Services, Lela spearheads efforts concerning internships on campus. But like everyone else in the office, she works tirelessly in each aspect of career services.

As she says, “My title is associate director, but we are all generalists in our office—meaning we pretty much address all topics with each student. However, my focus area, where I am charged with making things happen, is related directly to internships.”

Events, workshops, and fairs will provide you the connections you need to find jobs or internships. But in the end, it’ll be up to you to take the final steps in securing a position.

“We’re very student-oriented,” Lela says. “We try to find new and interesting ways to engage students. We market our events like crazy, and we definitely communicate with the campus a lot, which is why we usually have success with students attending our events.”

It’s never too early to start looking toward future jobs or schooling opportunities. The UInternship Fair is an opportunity for you to connect with employers about potential internships.

“Employers are looking for candi-dates sooner, even for positions that start in semester two or the following summer,” Lela says. “That’s why the UInternship is held in the first four to five weeks of the fall semester. The first month of school is often a hectic time for students, but that’s when employers are looking.”

Among the dozens of companies attending last fall were Rolls Royce, Target, Finish Line, Simon Property Group, the Indiana State House, the Indianapolis Mayor’s office, and the Disney College Program. Students are welcome to come through the fair at any time to talk with prospective employers. It’s an excellent opportunity to make connections and apply for positions.

Mandy Weber, a senior at UIndy, knows well the benefits of obtaining an internship in college. She’s had internships with Emmis Communications, the American Liver Foundation, and One Click Ventures.

“I learned so much through my internships.” she says. “They taught me a lot about the outside world and how to interact with different types of people.”

Connect online

Making connections is what Career Services is about, and one powerful tool available to UIndy’s Greyhounds is its JobHound Connect website. This site is designed to help you market your skills to obtain any type of job or internship.

The JHC website is built for students as well as employers so that each can connect in an easy and user-friendly way. After creating a personal profile, students are able to view each company registered with the website. If the company seems like a good fit, you can submit a résumé to the company directly from the site. JHC also allows employers to view the profiles of students registered.

“I’d definitely recommend using this site,” Mandy says. “It’s a perfect way to find internships and jobs, and it also contains a lot of other excellent resources.”

Mandy has some advice for every student at UIndy.

“Meet with the advisors in Career Services! They’ll help you in so many ways, and the programs they have to offer are extremely beneficial!”

So after you get enrolled at UIndy, stop in to make an appointment. Or attend one of their frequent events on campus—you won’t regret it!

—Elizabeth Hale ’15

Indianapolis is encouraging students and other Indy residents to abandon four wheels in favor of two.

The city has been recognized as a “Bicycle-Friendly Community” by the League of American Bicyclists, so it makes sense to keep adding new bike trails and improve existing ones. More than 200 miles of bike trails will be added to the city in the next dozen years or so, and new and improved bike trails already have popped up around town.

What that means for students at UIndy is a fun and healthy way to get around town. It’s made it even easier to visit funky Fountain Square near campus as well as downtown attractions on the Cultural Trail. And all that’s just for starters. Don’t forget all the things that downtown Indianapolis has to offer. Just five or six miles from campus, you’ll find Circle Centre Mall, Bankers Life Fieldhouse, the Indianapolis Zoo, and Lucas Oil Stadium, home of the February 2012 Super Bowl.

Bike trails are a great way to reach destinations all over the city, in fact —Broad Ripple Village, “Mass Ave” (aka Massachusetts Avenue, an artsy, restaurant-rich area) the Wholesale District, the Canal, and much more. And the City Market, which has stood since 1886, has just added the Indy Bike Hub YMCA, which includes a full-service bike shop.

Square wheels

But probably the quickest connection for students is to Fountain Square, just a ten-minute ride from campus via the new bike trail. Nestled southeast of downtown, Fountain Square offers interesting shops, affordable specialty restaurants, an exciting arts scene, and live music venues. Calvin Fletcher’s Coffee Company donates all profits to nonprofit organizations serving the community and serves fair trade and organic coffee.

Unusual stores in the area sell comics, musical instruments, home décor, fresh flowers, and even bicycles, among many other things. Fountain Square features free admission to art galleries and studios the first Friday of every month—a great way to see some local art or neighborhood artisans in action. Nights at Fountain Square include dancing, duckpin bowling, theatre, and lots more. And you never know what treasures you’ll find in the Square’s unique vintage stores and antique shops.

Get green

The bike trails in and around the city will improve your fitness and promote a healthy lifestyle, and it’s much friendlier to the environment. So the next time you think about heading downtown or to Fountain Square, skip the car.

Bikeless? Consider a self-guided walking tour of downtown Indy, highlighting buildings of architectural and cultural significance. Visit www.walkindianapolis.com.

In this age of smartphones, tablets, and e-books, UIndy biology professor John Langdon still has his nose stuck in a book.

You might see him walking across campus, weaving his way around students, trees, and other obstacles, yet barely lifting his eyes from the pages in front of him. What makes him risk bodily harm in order to keep reading?

“I just don’t like to waste time,” the graduate of Harvard and Yale says. “I don’t like part of my mind not being used, so I always have a book with me, even while walking.”

The topics and authors on his reading list vary, though he seems to be particularly interested in history books lately. It’s not uncommon to see him with one of Robert Sawyer’s science fiction novels, a favorite author of Dr. Langdon’s. Thankfully, Dr. Langdon has yet to collide with anything or be injured while walking and reading.

So far, he says with a laugh, “The worst part is having rain land on the pages.”

Dr. Langdon has been teaching at UIndy for almost 30 years. He teaches everything from freshman seminars—he’s leading one on dinosaurs this fall—to a human evolution course for graduate students.

Word to the wise

“I’d encourage freshmen to keep their eyes and options open,” he says. “You might find something that you are interested in that you didn’t even know about before you came here.”

Planning to major in biology?  Dr. Langdon suggests looking at careers in health, science teaching, or industry science.

“Look and see what you’re interested in,” he says. “Explore—and be interested in learning, not just in landing a job.”