Matt Wynn ’10 - Working for Computer Sciences Corporation this summer in Chicago has opened my eyes to the extent that technology has connected the world. CSC is a huge company with over 90,000 employees worldwide and we can all communicate with relative ease. In the span of a week I have spoken to people located all over the United States; but also in Canada, England, Scotland, Australia and India. The global reaches of this company have been fascinating for me as a student who spent 6 months abroad and has international career aspirations.

The alumnus that I am working for, Jake Koeneman ’06, and the rest of the CSC employees that I have worked with have done a terrific job of integrating me into their daily work. They have also done very well at making me feel like a team member rather than an intern. I have a company issued laptop and am fully incorporated into the address book and all of the communication software that CSC uses. The first project that I completed was interviewing the important players within our organization and then writing onboarding materials so that future new employees can quickly learn about our organization’s mission and role as well as learn “Who’s Who”. I am currently finishing up a project in which I have uploaded a Microsoft Access Database onto our Microsoft Sharepoint webpage so that more people can view and edit it, and have written working instructions for how to do so.

I like to think that my Wabash education has given me the thinking skills to quickly learn a complex organization as well as effectively communicate with people who have decades of experience within it. This position is definitely going to leave me with valuable work experience that will surely be necessary to be a competitive candidate in this tougher than desirable job market. Living in Chicago has been amazing and I would like to begin a career here in the future.

Posted by Ryan Stephens at 02:04 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Stanley Xu ’10 - When my dream of breaking into finance clashed with a deep recession, I was facing not just an uphill battle but a precipitous one. Fortunately, I am privileged and honored to have an internship with WP Global Partners at this critical time. Words cannot describe how grateful I am for this opportunity, which could not have been possible without the generous help and support from Mr. Jania ’93 among many others. My internship commenced on May 11, immediately after finals week. Looking back on the past one and a half months, I feel that I have never been busier, with the “dead” week, finals week, and my internship seamlessly weaving together. More important, I have never been happier because I am doing what I love the most.

When I eventually stopped living off of Red Bull, fled from Crawfordsville and came to Chicago, I knew I would have an excellent summer. My assumption was quickly proven by the rich and varied times at WP Global. I have been working on different tasks every day. Even if I do the same kind of work, I work on different businesses. I usually arrive at the office at 8 am. The first thing I do is always log into my email account and check if there is any information on new investment opportunities. If yes, I need to summarize the types, terms, and characteristics of the opportunities and record them into the company’s database. After a cup of wake-up coffee, I will finish the work left from the day before, assuming there is leftover. Otherwise, I will switch to several long-term projects. Currently, I am saddled with four such projects. Project #1 is writing investment memorandums for approximately 15 fund investments; project #2 entails consolidating cash flows of hundreds of private equity funds into one spreadsheet; project #3 focuses on constructing mathematical models to price toxic mortgages; project #4 encompasses developing statistical model to predict the performance of venture capital funds.

Besides these daily projects, attending meetings with Mr. Jania is another mundane activity. Managers of private equity funds from different regions of the world come to WP Global almost every day, pitching their funds in order to raise money. Mr. Jania always selects the meetings that can contribute to my understanding of private equity for me to attend. After every meeting, Mr. Jania shares his opinions with me and answers my questions from the meetings. Most of my learning takes place in meetings and conversations with Mr. Jania, whose office is just five steps away from my cube. Whenever I have questions, I can just walk into his office, anticipating the exact answers from an investment encyclopedia. Although there are routine projects and daily meetings, the everyday work can by no means be associated with the word “routine.” Assignments frequently pop up with close deadlines. I expect them to break the rhythm of my work and am ready for them because I do not like working without surprises or excitement. As a result, I have never been bored or needed to kill time on Facebook. More important, I look forward to working when I get up every morning.

The internship has also taught me how valuable my Wabash education is and how important it is to take advantage of it. Writing is important in this internship. I have written dozens of investment updates, research reports, investment memorandum, and meeting notes. My survival from the write-ups can be attributed to the College’s emphasis on writing and my numerous trips to the Writing Center. When working on quantitative projects that require more than calculating IRR and present values, I feel well equipped with the statistics I have learned from Dr. Thompson and the econometrics I have learned from Dr. Barreto and Dr. Mikek.

During the internship period, I have also been invited to a concert by two partners at WP Global, to a baseball game by Mr. Jania, and to eat at a couple of private clubs by partners of the firm. This internship is definitely one of my best Wabash experiences and would not be possible without Mr. Jania offering the opportunity, Career Center’s tremendous help, and my friends’ support. Last but not least, I would like to thank Mr. Jania, Mr. Scott Crawford, Ms. Betsy Knott, and all staff members at Career Services with great sincerity. Words are too feeble to express my appreciation. I can only work hard and hope that I can do something for Wabash in the future in the way it has helped me grow. Moreover, I want to suggest to incoming freshmen to take advantage of the services offered by Career Services and the Writing Center as early as possible and as frequently as possible.

Posted by Ryan Stephens at 01:20 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Clifford Kocian ' 11 - Some call it the “dirty underbelly of Wabash College.” It is the buildings on campus that are seen but never gone into. It is the people that students are not likely to know, and less likely to care about (“What exactly do they do over there all day?”). 

As I have come to learn over the past two months, this underbelly is Wabash College. Now I am not comparing Wabash to a dirty underbelly, although I do not doubt that the synonym has been used before (most likely by a Danny) but I digress. Without ‘it’, without these buildings and these people, the uniquely Wabash experience that we have as students- and that subsequently transform us into some of the most successful people would be drastically different.

In photo: Cliff looks over the shoulder of Director of Annual Giving Joe Klen, during a busy morning in the office.

Posted by Howard Hewitt at 08:32 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Bobby Ritz ‘10 - When I began my four years at Wabash, I never thought about becoming a lawyer.  The field of law was never a great interest of mine growing up, and I thought it sounded like a pretty boring career.  Three years later, I find myself sitting in my cubicle working on a will for a client of the Legal Aid Society of Louisville.  As an undergraduate, I consider myself fortunate to have the opportunity to work in a law firm since a law internship is hard to come by for undergraduates.  Also, to be surrounded by such great supervisors and attorneys who are more than willing to help me learn and experience what a career in law is like makes this internship great.
 
The Legal Aid Society of Louisville is a non-profit organization that provides free legal services to low income clients who cannot afford an attorney.  For the summer, I am mostly working with the development department since much of the legal work requires at least a one year completion of law school or a paralegal degree.  We have been working on several projects this summer, the most recent being a fundraising campaign, known as the Associates Campaign, which targets the associates in local law firms to donate money to support the mission and work of the Legal Aid Society.  This is just one of the many fundraisers the Legal Aid Society has throughout the year.  
 

Even with my primary work being in the development department, I have had the opportunity to observe and experience some of the legal work that takes place.  I have had the opportunity to sit in on client interviews, mainly walk-in clients who come in without an appointment, where attorneys or paralegals determine if a client qualifies for services.  I have also participated in some of the free clinics offered to clients who want to learn more information on a particular legal issue like foreclosure, bankruptcy, or divorce.  Everyday it seems like one of the attorneys is in court and the other interns and I have been invited by the attorneys and allowed by the judge to sit in on the court dockets and hearings in family court.  This experience has made me realize that family law is not a great interest of mine nor a field that I particularly want to get into.  Some of the client stories and testimonies were truly heartbreaking, and I could not deal with that every day.  
 
Most recently, one of the attorneys has allowed me to do some actual legal work.  He has instructed me on how wills and deeds operate and has shown me how to draft them.  So far I have done three wills and one deed.  When I first became interested in law, this was one of the fields I was particularly interested in.  I really cannot explain why I am so intrigued by it because it just involves a bunch of paperwork.  I think the satisfaction I see in it is you are ensuring that a person’s final wishes are carried out properly and smoothly.  The person does not want any hostility at the end of their life between their family and who gets what, and a will is the final obligation they have to those they care about.  I find it satisfying that I can be apart of that person’s life in the end in making it that much easier on them.       
 
However, the highlight of the week comes at the beginning, Monday night softball.  I remember my first day here when Jeff Been, the Executive Director of the Legal Aid Society and Wabash graduate, asked me if I would want to play on the softball team, and I of course said yes.  I did not know how competitive a league of lawyers could be.  When they get out of their slacks, dress shirts, and ties and put on their cleats and gloves, it is like a change of character.  There is of course the expected arguing of calls, but the determination and desire to compete is also there.  I play shortstop for the Legal Aid Society and it is great to get out there with co-workers and just have a good time, win or lose.

Posted by Ryan Stephens at 03:02 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Will Hoffman '10 - With the start of my senior year right around the corner, I knew it would be important for me to find a ‘real’ internship that allows me to work more with my mind, as well as work alongside well-educated people.

I started applying for internships that interested me and might give me the opportunity of trying something that I might make into a career. With the current economic status, I knew it would be hard to find a paid internship that would allow me to do this. But, after sitting through numerous interviews, I finally accepted a position at Raymond James and Associates on the north side of Indianapolis working for John Reuter ’80. The internship seemed challenging and would really allow me to show what I have learned through class at Wabash as well as give me some insight on the financial industry.

The financial industry is a unique one to say the least. The majority of the advisors have TVs in their offices to watch CNBC during the day to keep track of the constantly changing stock market (or for the US Open Golf tournament that fortunately had to be finished Monday during the day.) They meet with different clients each week and most weeks they have the pleasure of being treated to lunch by a wholesaler with an investment company. And these aren’t your typical college fraternity food lunches either… TGI Fridays, Sullivan’s Steak House, Konah Grill, and Ruth Chris Steak House just to name a few. I’m beginning to like this profession,

Posted by Howard Hewitt at 01:30 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Nick Marzotto ‘11 - When Wabash students head home or off to internships for the summer, many believe that the campus slows down to a crawl with professors and others researching or vacationing. On the contrary, a few offices are still in full gear, one in particular is the Admissions Office.

This summer I wanted to observe and participate in the inner workings of the admissions process at Wabash. During the school year, I worked as a recruitment assistant and office aid so I had some sense of the process. I found out in the first week that the Admissions Office can easily be considered a business that is selling a very marketable item, a great college education/experience.

Admission counselors keep everything moving, throughout the summer, with new projects/ideas that they hope will bring in more applicants and a new class of Wabash men. I have been lucky enough to work with most of the admission counselors on many of their projects. These projects range from the fields of marketing and networking. I have traveled to a college fair with Marc Welch and represented Wabash to prospective students as well as networking with alumni in order to seek recommendations of potential students.

My co-worker, Andre Adeyemi ‘12, and I have also worked with Chip Timmons and Kim King in some marketing for the Admissions Office. We have revised out of date literature and created a brochure for prospective Chicago students so those who might not be able to make the trip to Crawfordsville will know what travel opportunities are available to them.

The opportunity to work with those who represent Wabash and recruit for the College has been a real eye-opener. From the administrative assistants to the Dean of Admissions and Financial Aid, the long hours and hard work of the Admissions Office produces a new class of Wallies every year, each having its own swagger to it. My involvement in the creation of the class of 2013 has been a great experience.

Posted by Howard Hewitt at 10:23 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Rich Fern ’10 - As my final year at Wabash College approaches, I wanted to continue taking advantage of the opportunities the school has to offer. This summer I have been working an internship, thanks to Career Services, with Facets Multi-Media, Inc. in Chicago, IL, alongside friend and fraternity brother Adam Auter. Together we work as a team, directly under the founder of the organization, Nicole Dreiske, to develop a media-integrated arts education curriculum.

The mission at Facets is to preserve, present and distribute independent, world and classic film, as well as to educate adults and children in film. This nonprofit organization works with dozens of schools and thousands of people teaching them to critically evaluate film and the media.

The ongoing task we have been given is to create a resource specifically for teachers and parents to give them tools to teach their students or children using appropriate media. Accomplishing this goal means creating new teacher oriented synopses for hundreds of children’s films and to create several example lesson plans that teachers will be able to modify for movies of their choosing.

My Teacher Education area of concentration gave me the tools to really excel in this position. I could not imagine what it would be like trying to create a curriculum not having this background. I have been in the Teacher Education Program and taking Education classes at Wabash for the past six semesters but my recent experience, teaching a two-week unit on film at Crawfordsville High School for my Education 302 class, gave me a first hand teaching experience from planning to implementing lesson plans in the classroom. During my teaching I ran into a lot of the successes and problems that teachers run into daily. I learned a lot about student learning and teaching methodologies that stuck with me. There is a vast difference between reading something in a book and actually doing something in front of a class. It is your own personal experience so it sticks with you. The Teacher Education program has a foundation leading to my success and contribution at Facets.

Posted by Ryan Stephens at 09:18 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Robert Campbell '10 - Recently, I was conversing with alum Bruce Gras ’68, who was on campus for Big Bash Weekend. During our conversation, he commented that while walking around campus, he realized that he had been walking along the same brick path he had once walked 40 years prior. The work I have been doing this summer as the Ramsay Archives Intern has taken me on a stroll through the past as well.

Through this internship, sponsored by the Lilly Endowment Inc., I have worked with primary documents given to the college from Winfred A. Harbison ’24. Among these documents is a manuscript on the life of Richard Yates, the Civil War governor of Illinois.

I work with documents such as Harbison’s work all the time as a history major; this however provided a unique opportunity. The transcript with which I am working is an un-finished biography of Richard Yates. Harbison finished just three chapters before passing away in November of 1985. He wrote simply with a pen and paper, a stark contrast to using a computer with a word processor like what students, authors, and professors use today. This however is my task for the summer; transcribe this document, and other handwritten notes, into an electronic file for future use.

This task is incredibly unique; working with a secondary document such as this which is raw, unpublished, and un-edited, save Harbison’s own notes, is incredibly rare. Typically, I would simply go to the library and check out a book such as this one and use it in a paper. Here, I am actually handling the same document the author was handling decades ago, taking Harbison’s voice and bringing it to life once again. I feel as though I have stepped back into Harbison’s mind, seen what he saw, felt what he felt. I feel as though I have become a better historian.

To work on a project like this is both fascinating and a bit un-nerving. In finding Harbison’s voice, I am both proud and rejuvenated, but through my attempts to bring this once lost document back to life, I feel an intense obligation to Harbison, an obligation to make this voice not only heard, but to ensure that this voice adheres as closely as possible to what Harbison intended to speak. I realize, as a history major, that although I can never grasp his full voice, I can come incredibly close.

Bruce and I have enjoyed a shared experience this summer as we have travelled along paths once taken. He has relived his own past experience and I have stepped into the shoes of another Wabash man. It truly has been an immense pleasure, and will continue to be a pleasure through the end of my internship in July.

My thanks goes to the Lilly Endowment, Beth Swift, the head archivist, and Laura Conners for making this experience possible.
 

Posted by Howard Hewitt at 08:49 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Greg Slisz '10 - When I began my internship with the Adorant group, I was unsure what to expect. When I searched for the company on the internet in an attempt to find some background information for my interview, I found no results other than a mention of a resume of a Wabash student who had worked as an intern during the previous summer with the company. Upon further investigation, I found that the company's primary (and only) product was still in development. Due to the confidential nature of new products, I was given very few details until after the internship began. Furthermore, because the company does not really have a permanent residence, I have also been able to work from home. These factors have combined to make my internship experience especially unique. 


Even in the internship's first week, my assignments were unusual compared to many traditional summer internships. Rather than diving right in to working on business-related projects, my boss (and Adorant founder), a Wabash alumnus, gave me numerous articles to read on retirement savings and consumer finance. He also had me brainstorm about savings as well as scanning websites for best business practices. After this process, which lasted approximately two weeks, I finally got a chance to meet my boss and have my first Adorant meeting. Since my boss lives in Chicago and I live in Indianapolis, all our previous correspondence, including the initial interview, had been over the phone. I joked with my family and friends that my boss was like the Wizard from The Wizard of Oz.
Upon meeting my boss in Chicago, we immediately went to work, and he briefed me on many of the preexisting promotional materials that had been created by interns over the past two years. It was a very exciting experience for me, because I was witnessing all the promotional materials of a brand new business that was nearing its launch. I also felt a great deal of responsibility as I realized that, as of this summer, I am my boss’s only employee. Sitting in that meeting, I felt more like a high-ranking employee than an intern. While many interns will be stuck filing papers all summer or doing some similar mundane work, I have been charged with helping to make sure a company is ready to go to launch in a few months. While this can cause some pressure, it is also an exciting time and has given me a great opportunity to do serious marketing and market research work that will directly affect a company's success. 

My boss has served as an excellent supervisor and is both extremely knowledgeable and personable. I was even able to meet his wife and children during my first visit to Chicago. After spending just one weekend with him in Chicago, I felt as though I knew him on a more personal level than merely being his employee. Many people talk about the Wabash alumni network being an excellent tool for students to use, and my boss has definitely done an excellent job of mentoring me and welcoming me to the city of Chicago with a great deal of hospitality. This internship that has been made available through the Small Business Internship Fund has taught me a great deal about business and marketing, and I am enjoying an experience that I would not likely be able to get anywhere else.
 

Posted by Ryan Stephens at 10:18 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

David Rosborough '10 - During these times of economic hardship finding a job may seem nearly impossible. Unfortunately, Americans see it in the news more and more each day. However, this is an area in which I believe Wabash men truly are “well endowed”. We are equipped with the ability to think critically, act responsibly and lead effectively. Employers love to see these qualities, which ultimately gives Wabash students a considerable advantage when it comes to today’s competitive job market. Thanks to the awesome staff at the Career Center I was fortunate enough to be among the many Wabash Men who acquired an internship position for the summer.

Currently we have two artists on display. In the main gallery Jen Davis showcases her collection entitled New Photographs. In this series, Body-image issues, self perception and attraction are all addressed in a unique manner. "I deal with my insecurities about my body image and the direct correlation between self-perception and the way one is perceived by others," said Davis. With her photographs of men, "I am interested in investigating the male gaze not as a theoretical abstraction, but as a personal and sexual exchange," she said. "Every frame is a record of a hypothetical and fictional relationship that formed between us … a visual record of not what actually took place, but what I imagined it to be."

We also have Lauren Zoll’s exhibit on display, entitled Holes on the Wall. This series is made from deconstructing drywall. She forms these holes by cutting, kicking and tearing intuitively into the drywall eventually gluing the holes onto paper and into a frame. While the act of hanging a hole on the wall could be seen as radical, her intention is to renegotiate our often categorized and preconceived ideas of what we think things should be and should not be.

Posted by Howard Hewitt at 10:56 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Kevin Stevens '11 - Among the many things Wabash seeks to impart upon its students is perfecting the ability to think critically, act responsibly, lead effectively, and live humanely. As an intern working with the General Lew Wallace Study and Museum for the past couple of weeks, I have found that these attributes are of importance in my daily tasks.

My main responsibility is doing research on the various artifacts the museum has in its collection, gathering the historical context behind a particular object as well as discovering how and why it came into Lew Wallace’s possession. This task often requires a critical reading of primary sources that may offer insight on a given object, but most of the time it takes some innovative thinking on my part to hypothesize how Lew Wallace might have come about in obtaining a stone from the Appian Way, cannon balls from the siege of Constantinople during 1453, a tile from the Mosque of Omar in Jerusalem, as well as scores of other artifacts.

Not only am I responsible for doing the historical research for these objects I also often give tours for incoming guests. With a small staff of four people, I have to multitask on the job. I might be deep in a train of thought reading Lew Wallace’s autobiography trying to discover how he came in possession of a given object and then suddenly a guest may walk in. I usually have to set aside my research for the moment and start the process of giving a tour, which is probably the part of the job I like the most. I get to tell the narrative of Lew Wallace who has an impressive life story.

Most people either know that Lew Wallace was a general during the Civil War and/or that he is the author of Ben-Hur. Yet, he was also a painter, an inventor, a violinist, the ambassador to the Ottoman Empire, and governor of the New Mexico Territory. Probably one of the most overlooked story in Lew’s life is his role he played in the Battle of Monocacy during the Civil War.

During the summer of 1864, Washington, D.C. was exposed to Confederate attack under Jubal Early. Wallace noticed this and took his ragtag band of men to stop Early’s advance. In doing so, Wallace was able to delay Early’s attack on the nation’s capital, allowing Union general U.S. Grant to send reinforcements to defend Washington. This led to the claim that Wallace had “saved Washington” from being captured by the Confederates. An event such as the Battle of Monocacy illustrates the effective leadership that Lew Wallace displayed as a commanding officer in a pivotal moment that could have altered the course of history.

I think that my time here at the General Wallace Study is part of the Wabash experience that furthers to enhance the values that the college seeks to impart upon its students. One can learn the abilities to think critically, act responsibly, lead effectively, and live humanely yet they become ineffective if one does not use them in their day to day life. Interning at the Study has allowed me to see what I do best in and what I can improve on.
 

Posted by Howard Hewitt at 10:29 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Adam Current '11 - Did you know that during World War II, a Wabash graduate did for penicillin what Henry Ford did for the car? Did you know the first game of high school basketball was played in Montgomery County (and won by Crawfordsville High School)? And did you know that the mysterious shadow in the Museum’s window is none other than Santa? Neither did I till I worked at the Carnegie Museum of Montgomery County (CMMC).

Thus far, to describe my experiences at the CMMC, I would have to say I have learned something new each day. For starters, let’s take the museum itself. Built in 1902, the CMMC was the first Carnegie Library to open in Indiana, and served as Crawfordsville’s public library until a newer structure was built in 2005. Second, take the fact that the CMMC is capable of entertaining both children and adults. Who would have known that this was possible outside the Children’s Museum? Speaking of children, did you know that today’s average third grader has never used a cassette player? I found that out the hard way when describing an old Victrola. I think the dialogue went something like this:

I may only be 19, but for the first time in my life I felt sort of old. Since when did the cassette player become something to be talked about in a museum? Oh well. It must be hard growing up with an iPhone. Let’s skip to some other things I have learned.

Posted by Howard Hewitt at 08:33 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Luke Robbins '11 - As I prepare to shut down my computer today, I look back on the last five weeks during which I have served as the administrative intern for Kara Moreland. She is the Assistant Manager of Youth Audience Development and Youth Conservatory Coordinator at the Indiana Repertory Theatre in downtown Indianapolis. 

Starting Monday I will follow in the footsteps of Spencer Elliot (’10) and Anthony Morton (’10), Wabash Men who served as Conservatory interns last summer. Anthony also worked as Kara’s administrative intern for four weeks, too. Since May 11^th, minus the week of June 1^st, I have helped Kara to prepare for the 76 participants in this summer’s Conservatory who will be arriving bright and early on Monday morning to begin their four-week summer theater training.

Posted by Howard Hewitt at 08:31 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Adam Auter ’11 - As I prepare to enter my junior year at Wabash I consider myself to be quite fortunate to have been given an internship opportunity with Facets Multi-Media, Inc. in Chicago, Illinois this summer.  This non-profit organization is best known for hosting the Chicago International Children’s Film Festival which is the largest and longest running children’s film program in North America and the only children’s film event to be recognized by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences as an “Academy qualifying” festival.  Facets also specializes in preserving and distributing independent and foreign films. 

Before I began working at Facets my assumption was that the central focus of their efforts was entertainment.  However, I was pleasantly surprised on my first day of work when I was informed that the mission of this particular organization is to change the way kids relate to media and give parents and teachers the tools and resources to develop these skills with the children.  In order to achieve this, Facets offers a number of programs and workshops to both children and adults such as the Young Chicago Critics film camp that I will help run this summer.  During this week and a half program, kids will learn how to critically analyze the images and sounds that are constantly exposed to them by the media, and they will also have the opportunity to make a short film of their own.  As the 3rd Party Evaluation/Teaching Assistant, the Young Chicago Critics film camp will be my main focus for the summer. 

It is my responsibility to help develop the curriculum for the camp, make sure everything runs smoothly during the camp sessions, and evaluate the academic effectiveness of each activity and teaching style.  In addition to these duties, I have also been assigned various tasks such as developing an action plan to provide teachers with more user-friendly resources that will help them successfully incorporate film into the classroom. 

What makes this position even better is that I get to work side-by-side with my fraternity brother, Rich Fern.  We are both interested in film and education, and we have both developed a strong work ethic after several semesters at Wabash; therefore it is no surprise that we have already made a strong impression with our supervisor, Nicole Dreiske, who is also the founder of Facets.  We have already accomplished a lot in these first few weeks and we expect to be even busier once the actual camp starts.  The first session begins next week, and I am anxious and excited to see the way each student develops as a critical thinker over the course of the camp. 

Posted by Ryan Stephens at 12:55 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Kaleb Hemmelgarn '12 - This past Friday 12 of us just finished our third week in the Wabash College Business Immersion Program.  The first day of class was by far the most entertaining. When we walked into class, we were each handed five dollars and told to invest in something and to make the five dollars turn into as much money as possible. The rest of the day each of us was out making our “fortunes”.

I chose to do a 50-50 drawing. I had to buy a roll of tickets (which cost about $4) and then I went to work. I went door to door asking individuals to participate in my drawing. At the end of the day I made $150, half of which went to the winner. So my net profit was $75, which I thought was pretty good for starting with only $5. The next day in class we took our money and donated it to the Animal Welfare League.

These past 3 weeks we have also begun work on our business plans and our consulting project. Our consulting project is being done with the Animal Welfare League in Crawfordsville. All 12 of us are working with them to help maximize their limited amount of space. We are also helping them design a euthanization room in which animals can be put to sleep.

As for the business plans, we have divided into four teams of three. The only requirement for the business plan is that the business is located in Indiana and that the plan is realistic. Our group has decided to write a business plan for constructing and operating a reception hall in Montgomery County. When we are finished, we will have a 30 to 40 page plan that can actually be carried out if we want to do so.

Lastly, I should mention who is running the program this year. Jimmy Cruse, who is a MBA graduate from Purdue, is overseeing us this summer. In fact Jimmy is working on starting a company right now, so we are getting real life examples from him and his company. So far he has done a great job and has been the source of a wealth of information. Look for more posts later this summer to see how the program is going. I hope everyone is having a great summer!

Posted by Howard Hewitt at 03:06 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

John Grashof '10 - Greetings to all of you from beautiful Colorado! The last fewweeks, I have been working as an intern at Liquor Mart in Boulder, Colorado through the Small Business Internship Fund. Not only are there big changes of natural scenery from Indiana, but the people out here are quite different as well. It took some time for me to understand the people, but now I hardly notice the very relaxed and free spirited atmosphere that Boulder has to offer. To an outsider, I would basically say that Boulder is the L.A. of the Rocky Mountains. The people are very health conscious, super eco-friendly and are very into fashion and high-dollar items.

My first week as an intern at Liquor Mart went quite smoothly. I started off as a cashier and met many wonderful people. All of the employees and the management have been quite helpful and really made me feel as if I was part of their family. Being a cashier at Liquor Mart has been quite tough, as the hours were long (mainly closing hours) and the customers come in almost nonstop!  The product flow out of this store is unbelievable!

My second week at Liquor Mart consisted of learning about wine. Well, to sum it up, I basically learned how to stock wine. Over half of the store is wine, the store being 33,000 square feet.  There is a LOT of wine! The work was boring and tough, but the wine staff is superb! Many of the days were spent tasting wine from the vendors….although I can officially say that I am sick of cheap tasting wine after all that I had to taste!

As for my third week of the internship, I was placed upstairs to work with web sales.  I really enjoyed working with the leader of that group and learned a lot about the website, web sales and delivery. After a week working on some of her projects, I’ve been cast out on my own.

With all that I have learned, I have landed in my current and possibly final position at Liquor Mart. My job is to process all web orders, keeping track of the progress of each order, as well as packing the items and getting them to their final destination. I have to work with all of the departments in the store and together, we find a way to complete all delivery, phone and web orders. It is our job to find the product or find out how to get it before it is scheduled for pick-up, delivery or shipment. This is quite an intriguing job and I am eager to see how it will turn out.

Posted by Ryan Stephens at 03:01 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Tian Tian '11 - Before I fully recover from the five final exams of my sophomore year, my summer internship at the Children’s Museum of Indianapolis started on May 12, 2009. Unlike what I would normally do during a typical summer break, I wake up every morning at seven o’clock and dress up neatly in business casual - Monday through Friday.

The first week of my internship was entirely about orientation and training. In my training group, there are nine interns from different universities around Indiana area. The training contents were extremely comprehensive and professional. We went through almost every aspect about the museum. I am surprised at how seriously the museum staff treats the interns. It feels like they are treating us as prospective full-time employees. The president, the CFO and seven vice-presidents from different divisions each spent one hour talking to us and introducing their careers at the museum.

I have absorbed a lot of precious information and experience through their introduction. I used to hear the word “nonprofit organization (NPO)” a lot but never understood how it really differs from a profit organization. During the training session I was fully informed about the nature of an NPO and how it operates. Throughout the training, it gave me the impression that the museum has a very strong and well-rounded corporation culture. This explains why the Museum of Indianapolis is widely regarded as the No.1 children’s museum worldwide.
 

As an entitled “New Media Graphic Design Intern” for the Science Port division of the museum, I started working on projects immediately after the one-week training. On the first day of my work, my mentor Mr. Rick Crosslin gave me the first design project, which was to come up with two designs of a bird’s view and a horizontal view for a new exhibition area called the “Green Wind Terrace”. Thanks to my work experience at our Wabash Media Center, I was able to conceptualize the idea into actual design in a short time. I started working on this project at 8:30 am. By 1:10 pm of the same day, my boss Rick said, “Tian, I need you to attend a meeting with me and show your design to the VPs”. So at the first day of my internship, I showed and explained my design at a meeting attended by three VPs of the museum!

During the following three weeks, I was given several design projects to work on. One of the most interesting projects called “What’s in a dinosaur’s name” required me to design a multi-media program for a huge Smartboard touch screen that the visitors of the museum can interact with. During my design process, all the flash, 2-D graphic, 3-D graphic and website design skills and software applications I have been developing have come into use. This is exactly one of my main goals from this internship, which is to apply and further develop my achieved skills into specific real-life projects. Moreover, on the Saturday of May 30, during the 5th anniversary celebration of the “Dinosphere” exhibit, a series of twelve exhibition boards I designed were displayed on the first floor of the museum. It is such a big reward for me as a designer to see my work being presented and viewed by thousands of visitors.

Now my eight week’s internship is almost half-way done, I have been enjoying every moment and learning so much from this experience. So far I have received several positive comments from my colleagues and mentors about the efficiency and high quality of my work. Without doubt, such work ethics and professional development I have shown at my workplace come from the education I have received at Wabash College. I would also like to address my special thanks to Ms. Laura Conners who is in charge of the Know Indiana Internship Program and our extremely helpful staff from Schroeder Career Center.

Posted by Howard Hewitt at 01:55 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Austin Flynn '11 - This summer I am privileged to serve as the Collections Intern at the Carnegie Museum of Montgomery County, an opportunity made possible by the Know Indiana Cultural Internship program. During the past four weeks, I have been acquainted with the ups and downs of museum operations.

As the Collections Intern, it is my primary duty to catalogue and update the museum’s extensive database. This allows for accurate documentation of everything the museum has in its possession, whether it was given as a gift or simply loaned for a time. While this process was overwhelming at first, I soon became adept at operating the database and have since documented several new accessions and loans. While a majority of this sort of work involves time at a computer, I recently ventured down into the storage rooms where I discovered the artifacts that I have been documenting.

To copy a brief description into a database is one thing, but to actually see and touch the artifacts is something entirely different. I have been asked more than once during this internship why I chose to seek employment at a museum. For a while I pondered this, and my experience in the storage rooms has made me realize exactly why I sought this job. I am a lover of stories, and each item within the walls of the Carnegie Museum has a story. The simplest farming implement once had a function. It meant something to someone; it represented his or her livelihood. To be exposed to these relics, each with their own unique background, has given me a greater appreciation for the role of history as a means of telling the story of the past.

Being from a small county, I understand that the richest aspects of a region’s history can be easily lost in the big picture. Many are unable or unwilling to take the time to look around them and realize that there is a story to everything. I appreciate what the Carnegie Museum is doing for the community. It gives Montgomery County citizens, old and young, a chance to experience that which has been lost over time. They can rediscover what it is that makes their community unique and special. Seeing older citizens of Montgomery County looking at the exhibits and reminiscing about businesses that have long since closed or telling a story about a past community figure is an enriching experience.

It is even better to see 3rd graders in awe at the fact that Crawfordsville native Joe Allen worked for NASA and clocked over 300 hours in space (we have his space suit!). It shows them that there is something cool and interesting about the small town in which they live. I love being a part of this and getting to see the reactions of everyone who visits. The community emphasis of the Carnegie Museum shows its devotion to the preservation of small town history.

I would like to thank Laura Conners and the Career Services staff at Wabash College, as well as the professors who helped me with letters of recommendation, for making this possible. I would also like to give a big thank you to Ms. Burkhart and Ms. Fairfield at the Carnegie Museum for acquainting me with everything and continually helping me have a great internship experience. I am privileged to be able to not only gain valuable workplace experience but also a greater appreciation for Montgomery County history.

Posted by Howard Hewitt at 01:49 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)