Places to Go...
People to See...
Things to Do...
Honors Students in the News!
Top award to Samuel C. Bowles
During
the 2008 Commencement, Honors Program member Samuel C. Bowles
will receive the President’s Medal, the highest honor given by the
University to a graduate. The award recognizes academic excellence and
service to the University. He will graduate summa cum laude with a
Bachelor of Arts degree.
An English/Secondary Education major, he was awarded the Robert E. and
Judith E. Griffin Endowed Presidential Scholarship when he enrolled. He
is a four-year member and officer of the Honors Program. He also holds
membership in Alpha Mu Gamma, a foreign language honor society, and in
Sigma Tau Delta, an English honor society, which he served as vice
president and president.
The Crawford County resident was secretary of the Residence Hall Council
for one year, and he served as a student ambassador in the Office of
Admission for two years.
He is a world traveler who has visited Honduras, Brazil, Canada, the
Bahamas, Ethiopia, Tanzania, and Spain. Some of the trips have been
mission trips and other pleasure trips. He is interested in returning as
a teacher to Tanzania. He earned the All Campus Student Achievement
Award and the Top Student Leader Award in spring 2007. For four years he
was a student worker in the English Department. He values the
relationships he built with support staff and faculty who served as
teachers, mentors, and advisors.
After graduation, he plans to serve Hillview Christian Church in
Marengo, Indiana, his home church where he currently serves as part-time
ministry associate. He also will work in youth philanthropy for the
Crawford County Community Foundation. Graduate school, divinity school,
teaching, and the Peace Corps are future career options for Bowles. He
said, “Whether I am a minister or a teacher in southern Indiana or
Africa, I am confident that I will be serving people and working with
people, as that is what I love to do.”
Bowles joins Eric Norton '01, Rachel Miller '04, and Lindsay McGowan '06
as previous Honors Program members who received the President's Medal.
|
|||||||||
|
|||||||||
|
|
||||||
And from previous years...
President’s Medal honors service and scholarship
Honors Program member Lindsey Anne McGowan of Plainfield,
Indiana, is the President’s Medal recipient for the Class of 2006. The
President’s Medal will be awarded to her during the Commencement
ceremony at Roberts Stadium on Saturday, May 6, 2006.
McGowan is graduating magna cum laude from the Bower Suhrheinrich
College of Education and Human Services with a major in elementary
education. She is completing student teaching at Fairlawn Elementary
School in Evansville.
McGowan’s future goals are to earn a master’s degree and become a school
superintendent.
Her service to USI is exemplary. She was elected attorney general for
Student Government Association and has been a student ambassador and an
AMIGO orientation leader.
As an ambassador, McGowan served as student coordinator of Southern
Hospitality Days, the visit days when prospective students and parents
tour the campus and meet with counselors and faculty.
She is a member and officer of Kappa Delta Pi education honorary, the
Student Education Association, and the Evansville Area Reading Council.
She was a member of the women’s choir for two years, in the Madrigal
Dinner production one year, and a member of the 2005 Homecoming Court.
As McGowan recalled Homecoming, she said, “What girl doesn’t want a
sash!”
She was an officer of the Student Housing Association and a member of
the Resident Assistant Training and Selection Committee.
She lived on campus while at USI and credits housing as essential to her
academic success and her social development.
McGowan said, “Friendships are built with others who are experiencing
the same excitement, anxiety, and hopes you experience. I cannot imagine
going through college without having had this opportunity.”
As a high school senior, McGowan visited USI during a Southern
Hospitality Day and a friendship with a then-current student began.
McGowan observed that this woman effused enthusiasm and pride for the
University, and she wanted to model her college career after this
admission ambassador. McGowan said, “I looked upon her with admiration
and respect for her level of academic achievement, campus involvement,
and unending USI enthusiasm. It has been incredible for me to hear that
she is proud of my accomplishments.”
A housing supervisor noted McGowan’s integrity and initiative as a
resident assistant. In a letter supporting her nomination, he wrote,
“She served in a leadership role for 64 residents who lived in the
building where she was resident assistant. She connected with the
students on a professional and personal level. She developed programs
focused on the needs of students to insure their success at USI.”
Her academic strengths also have been listed in support letters. An
education faculty member wrote that Lindsey pours her heart and soul
into assignments, and she brings a creative force to everything she
does. When she demonstrated a book talk for elementary school children
on the topic of “Books about the Ocean,” McGowan donned complete scuba
gear from head to toe.
The faculty member ended the letter saying McGowan exemplifies the best
that USI has to offer: “She has taken full advantage of the
opportunities available on campus, and she has served the University
with flair and panache. She has endless potential in her chosen
profession and her loyalty to USI will serve the University well for
years to come.”
High-performance graduates
Four of the finalists for the 2006 President's Medal are members of
the USI Honors Program.
Jennifer L. Crowell will graduate summa cum laude with two Bachelor
of Arts degrees in the College of Liberal Arts. One is in
advertising and public relations with an emphasis in advertising and a
minor in marketing and the other is in art with an emphasis in graphic
design. She attended USI as a Presidential Scholar, and she has a 4.0
grade point average.
Crowell received the Academic Achievement Award in Graphic Design,
Academic Achievement Award in Advertising and Public Relations, and the
Mirabella Achievement Award, given to an outstanding student in Liberal
Arts.
Crowell is an intern in product design and marketing for Berry Plastics,
and she will become a full-time designer with the company after
graduation. She also has completed a marketing internship for Evansville
Dance Theatre.
She served as historian for the USI German Club and was a member of the
USI Art Club and the USI Advertising Club. A consistent Honors List
student, Crowell is a University Honors Scholar. She served as a member
of the Liberal Arts Advisory Board, was a recipient of a Research,
Innovation, Scholarship, Creativity (RISC) grant, and a two-time
presenter at AAF Student Advertising Competition and the Kentucky
Communication Association Conference. She is listed in Who’s Who Among
Students.
She exhibited in the USI Student Art Show and the Senior Seminar Art
Show. She was a singles and doubles champion in intramural tennis and
coed doubles champion in intramural badminton.
Lora DeFries, a Presidential Scholar, counts travel as one of her
priceless experiences as a student. She has traveled to China,
Egypt, Malta, Turkey, Bulgaria, Italy, and Spain. Next year as Rotary
Ambassadorial Scholar, she will represent Southern Indiana in Delhi,
India, taking classes and volunteering with local nonprofit
organizations.
She is a Baccalaureate/Doctor of Medicine (B/MD) scholarship recipient,
but her academic interest changed to economics and international studies
during her college career. She has been active in International Club,
Model United Nations, Student Christian Fellowship, Delta Zeta sorority,
USI Art Club, and Rock Climbing Club. She has helped with the
International Club’s Food Expo and their orientation activities for
first-year students. She was a principal organizer of “Rake Out Hunger
in Niger” as part of an economics class to raise money to donate to
Africare to address food shortages in West Africa.
In addition to intellectual challenges, DeFries has met physical
challenges because of a fall while rock climbing in 2003 that resulted
in two surgeries to repair her spinal column. Faculty members have noted
her academic success through diligent effort in the presence of
significant pain.
She is receiving a Bachelor of Arts degree, cum laude, in the College of
Business with majors in economics and international studies. She is
graduating with a 3.7 grade point average.
Janice Esker is a resident of Steeleville, Illinois, and attended USI
as a Deans Scholar and as a Nonresident Top Scholar. She also
received the Judy Benedict Hightower Memorial Scholarship. She will
graduate with a Bachelor of Arts degree in biophysics, magna cum laude,
in the Pott College of Science and Engineering. She has a 3.9 grade
point average.
Esker is a member of Sigma Zeta Honorary Science and Math Fraternity, an
Impact Ministries student volunteer, and a volunteer for Orientation,
National Down’s Syndrome Buddy Walk, the annual Alumni Picnic, the
Evansville Half Marathon, Deaconess Hospital, and she served as a judge
for the Tri-State Regional Science and Engineering Fair.
Esker enjoys competing for the USI DiscJockeys Ultimate Frisbee team,
and she is active in volleyball and softball intramurals.
She is a member of the Biology Club, Indiana Academy of Science, and
American Society for Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics. She
served as a supplemental instruction leader and a student member of a
search committee for a faculty position. She was consistently on the
Honors List and made Who’s Who Among Students.
She did independent molecular biology research for USI RISC Showcase,
Indiana Academy of Science, and the American Society of Biochemistry and
Molecular Biology. Last summer she assisted a Vanderbilt University
professor with research, and next year she will complete a research
laboratory fellowship at the National Institutes of Health on topics
related to virus and infectious diseases. She plans to apply to a
Medical Scientist Training Program (MSTP) at an accredited U.S. medical
school after that year. Her career goal is to be a physician and a
public health laboratory scientist. At some point in her career, she
hopes to extend her practice and research efforts to underdeveloped
countries.
Amanda Kleiman will graduate with a 3.9 grade point average earning a
Bachelor of Arts degree, magna cum laude, in the Pott College of
Science and Engineering.
Kleiman is a Presidential Scholar, holds a B/MD scholarship, and has
been on the Honors List every semester. She presented at the Indiana
Academy of Science and the Rose-Hulman Interdisciplinary Research
Collaborative in biology and chemistry. She is a member of Sigma Zeta
Honorary Science and Math Fraternity, a student ambassador for USI
Admission Office, and an Evansville Vanderburgh School Corporation
volunteer science and math tutor.
Last year she completed summer undergraduate research as a fellow with
the IU School of Medicine Evansville Center in molecular biology
research.
She was active in intramurals and a volunteer for the Freshman Move In
Day. She is a past officer in the Biology Club, and an active member of
the USI Red Zone, the student cheering section at USI. She is a member
of College Democrats and the Exercise Science and Physical Education
Club. She plans to enroll in the IU School of Medicine next year.
Student trustee appointed at USI
Honors
Program member Lauren Fultz, a junior chemistry/pre-medicine
major, has been appointed to the USI Board of Trustees by Governor Mitch
Daniels. She is a resident of Seymour, Indiana, and will serve a
two-year term on the board as student trustee.
Dr. Mark Krahling, assistant professor of chemistry, describes Fultz as
outstanding academically. He said, “She does what it takes to complete a
task with distinction, and she has good writing and communication
skills.” He added, “Her appointment will be good for Lauren, and it will
be good for USI.”
Fultz is a student ambassador, chosen by the Admission Office to
represent USI to new and prospective students. During Welcome Week last
year, she helped freshmen, who were planning to study chemistry and
engineering, adjust to the college environment.
This year she will serve as vice president of the American Chemical
Society Student Affiliate and vice president of Sigma Zeta Science and
Mathematics Honor Society.
Fultz is the Pott College of Science and Engineering’s representative on
the Student Government Association and she is working with Dr. Jeanne
Barnett, professor of biology, to start a pre-med club at USI.
This summer she is serving an internship with the Indiana University
Medical School at the Evansville Center for Medication Education,
located at the University of Southern Indiana.
Fultz is the daughter of Wesley and Linda Fultz of Seymour, and she
graduated as valedictorian at Brownstown Central High School in 2003. A
community volunteer, Fultz has worked with physically and mentally
handicapped children and volunteers at the Hoosier Christian Village
Nursing Home. She also assisted with a Girl Scout program related to
chemistry last year at USI.
The student trustee serves as a full voting member of the board who is
expected to bring both the interests of students to Board discussions
and relate her perspective to issues dealing with the University
community.
Presidential scholar enjoyed “giving back” to USI
 |
Honors Program member Andrea Miller, '05 arrived at USI in fall
2001 as the recipient of the Arthur and Elsie Kanzler Endowed
Presidential Scholarship, a four-year scholarship available only to high
school students at the top of their class, and she will graduate in May
as a finalist for the President’s Medal, the highest honor given to a
graduating senior. She will receive a Bachelor of Arts degree in
management with an emphasis in human resources.
The daughter of Garry and Cathy Miller of Laconia, Indiana, Andrea was
raised with a commitment to service that has stayed with her through her
collegiate career. “Both of my parents are hard workers,” she said.
“I’ve never seen them think of themselves; they always spend their time
thinking about my brother and me, and anyone else who needs help.”
Andrea attended South Central High School in Elizabeth, Indiana. “All
through high school I was in student council and Teens in Action, a
service group that did community projects like angel tree, Toys for
Tots, food drives – anything to give back to the community. It was
something I enjoyed, and I want to continue to do that for the rest of
my life.”
After she applied to USI, she was told that she was eligible for a
Presidential Scholarship. “When I visited USI, I fell in love with the
beautiful campus. Everybody was so nice, and seemed to care about the
students. I felt so at home. I decided that day that USI was where I
wanted to go. It didn’t take me very long to make up my mind.”
An active member of Delta Zeta sorority since 2002, Andrea said, “Delta
Zeta is a great organization that helps me continue doing community
service and meeting other people who want to do that, too. I wanted the
Presidential Scholarship committee to feel that their selection of me
was worthwhile, because the scholarship was given to someone who is
giving back to USI and to the community.”
Her community service projects through the sorority and the USI Human
Resources Club community involvement and fundraising committee have
included Habitat of Evansville, Christmas Angels, Alzheimer’s Memory
Walk, Relay for Life, Multiple Sclerosis Walk, Great North American
Canned Food Drive, Galludet College Speech and Hearing Impaired fund
raiser, Ear Institute fund raiser, Sound Beginnings fund raiser, Race
for the Cure, American Red Cross blood drives, Lambda Chi Alpha
Teeter-totter-athon, Phi Delta Theta Albion Fellows Bacon Center fund
raiser, and the Take Back the Night rally.
She helped make IV bags for Riley’s Children’s Hospital, was a College
Mentor for Kids, and volunteered at the Harrison County Hospital.
Within Delta Zeta, she was awarded Best New Member and Highest GPA. She
also won All Greek New Member of the Year and All Greek Woman of the
Year. She was elected Homecoming Queen in 2004, was an active member of
the Student Government Association, served on the Presidential Scholars
interview panel, and was a member of the student ambassadors, serving as
executive board membership chair.
Her extracurricular activities haven’t gotten in the way of her studies.
She is a member of three honor societies: Alpha Chi, Beta Gamma Sigma,
and Order of Omega.
Andrea has secured a position as a management trainee with Cintas
Corporation’s Evansville location, where she has worked since January.
“It’s a two-year program and you rotate through the four functional
areas of the company,” she said. “It gives you an idea of the entire
operation so you’ll know every side of it.” The company is headquartered
in Cincinnati. “It’s a good opportunity for me. I’ll definitely have a
job that relates to my major upon graduation, and that’s one of the
things I like about it.”
She said leaving the student organizations behind her will not end her
commitment to community service. “I think it can be an individual
effort,” she said. “I’ve always been interested in the Big Brothers Big
Sisters organization. Now I’m going to have the resources and the time
to pursue something like that.
“You can help a lot of people.”
Rachel Byerley is devoted to her
dreams
Honors Program member Rachel Byerley, '05 decided that she wanted to
be a doctor when she was a little girl. At the age of 21, she is well on
her way.
A finalist for the President’s Medal, the highest honor given to a
graduating senior, Rachel will graduate in May with a Bachelor of
Science degree in biophysics and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Spanish.
She plans to attend Vanderbilt University’s Medical Science Training
Program (MSTP); successful completion leads to both M.D. and Ph.D.
degrees.
“I have been interested in diabetes for a long time,” she said. “My
grandmother took care of me when I was little, and she had diabetes.
It’s in memory of her that I would like to work on diabetes and find out
how it starts and what we can do to help people.” Vanderbilt has a
Center for Diabetes Research.
Rachel is the daughter of Gary and Judy Byerley of New Albany, Indiana,
and attended New Albany High School. During her senior year, she
received a brochure from USI. When she came to campus, she said,
“Everybody was nice and really excited that I was interested in the
school.” On a second visit, Dr. Jeanne Barnett, professor of biology
(who later became Rachel’s advisor), remembered her specifically,
including the outfit she had been wearing. “That made me realize that
they really care about their students here,” Rachel said.
Rachel received USI’s Homer L. and Olive Carruthers Clift Endowed
Presidential Scholarship, a four-year scholarship available to qualified
Indiana valedictorians and salutatorians. It covers full tuition and
housing and includes a stipend for books and food. She also received the
USI Biology Department Scholarship for all four years.
Since the seventh grade, Rachel has volunteered at Floyd Memorial
Hospital in New Albany almost every summer. She helped file paperwork,
escorted patients, and made Emergency Room patients more comfortable.
“My mother has worked at the hospital for about 30 years, so she knew of
the volunteer program they had for junior high and high school
students,” Rachel said. “Even back then, I knew I wanted to go into
medicine, and my mother thought it was a good opportunity for me to get
exposed to a little bit of what it’s really like.”
When Rachel came to USI, she knew she wanted to go to medical school,
but after the University offered her the opportunity to work in a lab,
she realized that she wanted to do research and go to graduate school as
well. “My ideal job would be at an academic medical school where I would
have my own lab for research and also go to the hospital and treat
patients,” she said.
At Dr. Barnett’s recommendation, Rachel began working in a research lab
at the Indiana University School of Medicine, which is located on USI’s
campus. She was the first person hired to work under Dr. Tracy Anthony
in her lab. Rachel worked in the lab for three years and also assisted
with a summer project in the summer of 2003 researching a drug called
asparaginase, which is used to treat acute lymphoblastic leukemia.
“It’s been used for a long time to treat this kind of leukemia, and it’s
very good at treating tumor cells, but also has side effects such as
liver toxicity, pancreatitis, and immunosuppression. We wanted to see if
we could decrease the side effects that occur with treatment.” Rachel
presented her research on the asparaginase project at the Vectren RISC
Showcase in spring 2004.
“We found that asparaginase does affect certain signaling pathways
inside the cell within different tissues,” she said. “We are still
trying to investigate how the side effects might be alleviated with
dietary supplements or dose adjustment.”
Joey V. Barnett ‘81, associate professor of pharmacology and medicine at
Vanderbilt, found Rachel lab work there in the summer of 2004. “I worked
with Dr. Kathy Murray, a cardiologist who studies atrial fibrillation.
She is one of my mentors because she’s actually a physician, so one of
her main focuses is running a lab, but she goes to the Vanderbilt
University hospital and sees patients there.”
Rachel decided to add the Spanish major because of her professor, Oscar
Ozete, who has since retired. “He had such a passion for teaching and I
loved taking his classes. He inspired me to get the second degree. It
was something that I really enjoyed, so it wasn’t difficult to continue
with it.”
She’s sure the Bachelor of Arts degree will apply to her medical career.
“I’ve heard the Hispanic population has higher incidents of diabetes,
and there are Hispanic people who have a hard time communicating with
doctors, so knowledge of the Spanish language will definitely be
helpful.”
Rachel was in the Honors Program and took on special projects. During
her freshman year, she managed to work a medical angle into her English
composition class project.
“We were studying how to do research on writing skills in the workplace,
and my classmate and I chose to do a project at St. Mary’s Medical
Center. We interviewed nurses and other hospital employees about writing
skills and how their college classes affected their writing abilities in
the workforce. That was interesting to me because as a pre-med student,
you don’t think of writing skills as being important, but then you see
people in the medical field using writing skills every day. Adding my
interested in medicine to the assignment was a way to keep my interest
in a class that was not in my major.”
In another Honors Program project, she tutored a Hispanic child at a
local elementary school for an entire school year.
Rachel carried 14 to 18 credit hours per semester, played on the
volleyball team for one year, and also participated in intramural euchre
and volleyball. She was a member of Sigma Delta Pi Spanish honor society
and treasurer of Sigma Zeta science and mathematics honors society. In
2004, she was a national finalist for the David S. Bruce Award for
Excellence in Undergraduate Research. She won the Academic Award for
Pre-Medicine Studies at the School of Science and Engineering Honors
Convocation in March 2005.
Her drive to succeed is not altered by the prospect of another seven
years of school at Vanderbilt. “It’s what I want to do,” she said.
Senior English major maximizes benefits of college life
 |
She was homeschooled from kindergarten through high school, and
enrolled at USI as a part-time student at the age of 14. Her interests
are broad, and include creative and nonfiction writing, the violin,
photography, volunteerism, Spanish, geology, and competitive running.
This accomplished 21-year old is Emily Rose Divine, '05, a USI senior
and Honors Program member from Newburgh who will graduate this spring,
and who was chosen as a finalist for the President’s Medal, the highest
honor granted to a graduating senior.
Emily is the daughter of Jim and Judy Divine, both employed at USI. Jim
is associate professor of education and Judy is a lecturer in Academic
Skills and in education classes. Both participated in homeschooling
their daughter.
As a part-time student, Emily had time to pursue her interest in the
violin. She made weekly trips to St. Louis with her mother to study with
David Halen, concert master with the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra. She
took lessons, prepared for competitions, and played with the city
orchestra. In 2000, she received the grand prize in the Evansville
Philharmonic Orchestra Young Artist competition and was a finalist in
the Indianapolis Symphony Young Artist competition.
Violin was the center of Emily’s world until a car accident made it
difficult for her to continue to practice and play. A realist, she
considered other options and decided to pursue a degree in English.
When she was 17 she enrolled as a full-time student.
Matthew Graham, associate professor of English, offered extra credit to
Emily and other students in a creative writing class for attending a
RopeWalk Reading Series program. Emily found the session intriguing, and
enjoyed going to other readings in the series.
RopeWalk helped fuel her interest in poetry and creative writing, in the
same way her father’s family history stories sparked her interest in
nonfiction writing. “My father is a huge storyteller, so I have enjoyed
getting his accounts on paper. Each Christmas I give him another written
story as a present.”
She serves as the nonfiction editor of the Aerie, a literary journal
published annually by writing students. In this capacity, Emily reads
the nonfiction submissions, offers suggestions and edits to the writers,
and selects works for her section. “It gives students a chance to be
published,” she said.
She also is a member of the Student Writers Union and the Honors
Program, a student activity she favors because it is similar to
homeschooling. Moving through material more quickly because of time
constraints in a semester is how she describes the difference in
traditional classroom learning to home school education. “With the
honors requirements, it has been nice to focus on topics for a longer
period of time and then prepare presentations,” she said. During an
Honors Conference, she gave a presentation on the Landing Ship Tank (LST)
and the Evansville shipyards. The presentation, which covered how the
shipyards changed Evansville, included the history of the LST, its
construction in Evansville, and interviews with people who were shipyard
employees.
Emily is on a three-member team that will present at the Vectren RISC
Showcase on April 23. Their topic is African culture, and Emily will
discuss the political structure of African tribes, while other team
members talk about African art, music, and religion.
Geology was one of the first classes for which Emily registered. She
wanted to do well on the first test, so she introduced herself to the
professor, Paul Doss, and asked about the material to be covered. She
said she was impressed with how approachable he was, and how he offered
help with the material. She later gained camping experience on a geology
field trip, met Dr. Doss’s family, and sometimes babysits for his young
son.
As an international student, Emily improved her Spanish language skills
and interacted with native people. Her study abroad program took her to
Queretaro, a city located north of Mexico City that is characterized by
its colonial architecture and beauty. Her host family included four
children — three sons and a daughter about Emily’s age. She said it was
the perfect placement. The father was a lawyer and the whole family
enjoyed running, a sport in which Emily competes. Emily’s plans after
graduation include continuing to study Spanish and applying for law
school.
Volunteering in the community is also on the list of Emily’s activities.
She has worked as a painter for Habitat for Humanity in Warrick County
and offers music therapy and violin performances in nursing homes.
During one visit, she performed songs from the 1940s and observed a
resident who seemed uninterested in the program tapping her fingers on
her walker. Another elderly resident said when Emily played “Stardust”
it made her so happy. Her volunteer efforts also extend to the Newburgh
Public Library, her church, Historic Newburgh, and the Newburgh Women’s
Club, among others.
After she registered for a photography class with Eric Braysmith, Emily
had a photograph entitled “A Curve in Nature” accepted in the spring
Student Art Show. A curve is a line deviating from straightness in a
smooth, continuous way. Expectations are that Emily will follow the
curve she creates through a continuous path of excellence and
productivity.
Eagle Spirit: Amanda Diehl’s enthusiasm for USI has had concrete results
|
|
There are few things that Honors Program member Amanda Diehl, '05
hasn’t accomplished in her four years at USI. She is graduating in
spring with a degree in business administration with an emphasis in
management and a minor in marketing. She has been on the dean’s list
every semester, is vice president of Alpha Kappa Psi business
fraternity, and a member of Beta Gamma Sigma honorary business society,
and Alpha Chi honor society, for which membership is limited to the top
10 percent of juniors and seniors. She also has been involved with the
Student Government Association since her freshman year, serving as
attorney general her junior year and associate justice her senior year.
She has received multiple scholarships and is a finalist for the
President’s Medal, the highest honor given to a graduating senior.
Amanda’s academic success is matched by her enthusiasm for the
University. She’s been an active member of the student ambassadors since
her freshman year, and was elected president of that organization her
senior year. She has rooted for the Screaming Eagles as part of the Red
Zone in her role as mascot Archibald the Eagle. She was crowned
“craziest fan” at the 2003 Basketball Fan Jam. She met Barry
Schonberger, dean of students, through her involvement in student
government, and he said to her, “I need an Archie. You’re so
enthusiastic; I need somebody like you.” Amanda attended mascot “boot
camp” at the University of Louisville, and is one of three alternating
students who don the Archibald costume for games and events.
During Amanda’s senior year at Merrillville High School, in
Merrillville, Indiana (about 30 minutes from Chicago), she considered
other Midwestern universities, but didn’t like the fact that their
campuses were in the middle of the city. “I was just blown away,” she
said, when she visited USI on Southern Hospitality Day. “The campus is
beautiful and that impressed me. And Evansville is close, but USI is its
own community.”
She knew she wanted to pursue a career in business, and appreciated the
welcome given her by Dr. Phillip Fisher, who was then dean of the School
of Business. “He shook my hand and introduced himself to me right away,”
she said.
“All of my professors know my name, and I’m impressed by that. I don’t
like being a number. I’m totally comfortable going into their offices,
and when I pass one of them on campus they always say hello,” she said.
“I also like that the classes are interactive, with power point
presentations and group work. I get to know the professors, and I get to
know the other students in my classes.”
She said her classes in business and her extracurricular activities have
gone hand in hand. “The business courses have helped me to organize
myself: I live by my daily planner, and I have to-do lists. And because
of all my activities, I’ve had to learn how to speak to people
professionally. As president of the student ambassadors, I have learned
how to delegate responsibility, and that’s going to help me in the
business world, as well.”
Amanda also gained experience by serving on several University
committees, including the Student Trustee Search, Student Affairs,
Student Development Advisory Board, USI Foundation Student Travel Grant
Allocations, and University Living Learning Community committees, but
she said her involvement with the student ambassadors has been the most
rewarding.
“I get to interact with families, and I understand their concerns
because I was the first in my family to go to college, and I wanted to
know everything. I relate my personal experience to them, put them at
ease, and show them that, yes, choosing a college is a big decision.”
She’s gone back to Merrillville High School with applications and
viewbooks and set up shop in her former counselor’s office, talking to
high school students about USI. “There are a number of people at USI
from my area of the state,” she said. “More and more each year. I tell
students at my high school, ‘You’ve got to come see USI. It’s such a
great school,’ and they come down and love it.”
Her enthusiasm and support for the University have had concrete results.
“During my sophomore year, a prospective student came down and stayed
with me, and I took her and her parents on a campus and housing tour.
She ended up coming here and is now a Presidential Scholar and a student
ambassador, too.”
Amanda was the student recipient of the Spirit of the Eagle award at the
Student Leadership Awards and Recognition Ceremony during her junior
year. The award, presented by the Student Government Association, honors
excellence and those who bring recognition to USI. Amanda was honored
for her dedication and involvement as attorney general of the Student
Government Association, president of the student ambassadors, and vice
president of Alpha Kappa Psi. She also won the All-Campus Student Award
that year.
What hasn’t Amanda accomplished while at USI? She decided there were two
things she wanted to do before she graduates. One was to serve as USI
mascot Archibald the Eagle (check), and the other was to ride around
campus in one of the University’s golf carts.
Even with her busy schedule, she’s still got time.
Honors Program Senior is 500 Festival Princess
April
Dawn Williams, '05, a USI senior from Lyons, Indiana, has been selected as
one of the 500 Festival Princesses who in May will help celebrate the
2005 500 Festival and the 89th running of the Indianapolis 500, the
Greatest Spectacle in Racing. She was one of 33 princesses chosen among
193 applicants.
The young women are selected based on communication skills, poise,
academic performance, and community and volunteer involvement. This
year, the princesses are from 11 Indiana colleges and universities and
24 Hoosier cities and towns.
Williams is the daughter of Mike and Dee Williams, also of Lyons. She is
a graduate of White River Valley High School.
She will graduate summa cum laude in May from USI. She is earning a
Bachelor of Arts degree with majors in accounting and professional
services. She attends USI as a Presidential Scholar and has been on the
dean’s list every semester. She is president of Beta Alpa Psi honorary,
a member of the Beta Gamma Sigma honorary, a member of the Honors
Program, and a member of the Dean’s Student Advisory Council for the
School of Business. She was an accounting intern for Harding, Shymanski
& Company.
Williams was a student athlete for the women’s basketball team in 2001
to 2004. She was on the Academic All-Great Lakes Valley Conference Team
for 2002 and 2003.
One of the 33 princesses will be selected as the 2004 500 Festival Queen
and receive a $2,500 scholarship. The queen will be crowned May 21
during the Indianapolis Life 500 Festival Mayors Breakfast at the
Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
Miller wins USI’s 2004 President’s Medal
Senior Rachel Miller, '04 received the President’s Medal at USI’s Commencement ceremony Sunday, May 9. The President’s Medal is the highest honor given to a student at graduation.
Miller, who is from Delphi, Ind., was recognized for her commitment to
academic excellence and service to the University and the community.
She will graduate summa cum laude with majors in mathematics, math
teaching, and French.
Her career goals include teaching secondary mathematics and pursuing
master’s and doctoral degrees in mathematics in preparation for a
professorship teaching math methods courses and all levels of calculus
in addition to a variety of other topics.
“Rachel is very strong academically. She accepts responsibility for her
own learning. She has the natural ability and the self-discipline to be
very successful in life,” said Dr. Kathy Rodgers, chair of the
USI Mathematics Department. “She approaches each new task with the
energy and dedication to be successful.”
The recipient of the USI Trustees Distinguished Merit Award and Liberal
Arts Mirabella Award, Miller also won the Student Academic Excellence
Award for Calculus, the Academic Excellence Award for French, the USI
History Club Award, and the Ford Motor Co./Golden Key International
Undergraduate Scholarship during her tenure at the University. A
Presidential Scholar, she was named the Ambassador of the Year and to
Who’s Who Among Students in American Universities and Colleges as
well as the USI 2002 Homecoming Court.
She also was selected to win a Fulbright Award for a French Government
Teaching Assistantship but declined in order to pursue her passion for
teaching mathematics in England, where her fiancé resides.
An active student leader, she is a member of Mu Gamma Pi, the Math Club,
which she served as president, vice president, and secretary; the French
Club, which she served as vice president; the Honors Program, which she
served as historian; and the Student Ambassador Organization, which she
served as Southern Hospitality Day coordinator.
Miller also is a member of the Student Education Association, the
Mathematical Association of America, Golden Key Honor Society, and Sigma
Zeta Math and Science Honorary.
In addition to grading papers in the Mathematics Department and working
in the Office of Admission, Miller has served as a residence hall mentor
and a math tutor for Evansville and Newburgh students. In 2003, she
studied abroad in Sunderland, England, and she has participated in the
Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure, the Foreign Language Winter
Celebration, the AMIGOS, and in intramural softball, bowling, and
caving.
Copyright
© 2001 by the Trustees of
Academics
| Calendar
| Athletics
| Visitors
| Events and News
| Administration
8600 University Boulevard - Evansville, IN 47712-3596 - 812/464-8600
Copyright © 2008 University of Southern Indiana. All rights reserved.
The
University of Southern Indiana
All Rights
Reserved
