Testimonials Widget

I’m from Knoxville, Tennessee, and I’m set to graduate in 2028. I’m a double major in mechanical engineering and physics.

I found USI because of swim. I swam since I was 4 years old through high school. By the time I got to college, I was pretty burnt out, but I still wanted to give it a chance. When I got here, balancing swim with two degrees was just too much. I’m so busy even without it. Stepping away was hard, but it got me here, and that’s what matters.

One of the biggest things that’s changed me at USI has been creating CSU, the Chinese Student Union, and building relationships with professors. I studied Chinese for four years in high school and studied abroad in Taiwan the summer before I came to USI. I didn’t want to lose the language. If you don’t practice it, you lose it.

Through a scholarship, I met Sabrina Chen, and we decided to bring CSU back. It had shut down with COVID. We reached out to professors and helped get Chinese courses offered again at USI.

Now, in CSU, we host events for the Lunar New Year, make dumplings, have game nights to share the culture and much more.
Coming to USI was a challenge. I’m six hours from home and didn’t really know anyone. Most people are only a few hours away and can go home whenever they want. I couldn’t. Finding my own group and adjusting to everything was the hardest part.

I really felt supported when I decided I wanted to go into nuclear engineering. A professor recommended me to another professor I had never met, and he gave me one on one lectures for the rest of the semester. Now, we are working on trying to get plasma research started here. That opportunity meant a lot to me.

Nuclear is huge back home around Knoxville and Oak Ridge. I used to go to meetings with my dad where different nuclear companies talked about what they were working on. Seeing how passionate that community was inspired me. The more I learned, the more I knew that’s what I wanted to do.

My goal is to get my master’s and PhD and pursue a career in nuclear engineering back home. For now, I’m focused on keeping my 4.0 and learning how to make time for myself, too.

For Dr. Susan Ely, Assistant Professor of Engineering, making the move to USI was all about connection. Since, she's found a community, a calling and a campus that feels like home.

"Before USI, I was at Purdue, where everything was bigger. The class sizes were larger, the campus was larger, and there was more distance between people. When I transitioned from being a graduate student to faculty, I realized I wanted more connection. I wanted to truly know my students, not just teach them. At USI, that became possible. My classes are small, my door is open and students stop by just to talk. That kind of relationship is what makes this place special.

Getting involved in organizations like Society of Women Engineers and Engineers in Action helped me feel part of a community that values engagement. I have been able to work alongside students as they grow into confident professionals, travel across the world to build bridges (literally and figuratively) and return to campus as alumni who want to give back. Seeing that full circle is one of the most meaningful parts of my work.

Outside of the classroom, I find balance through yoga, reading, hiking, and spending time with my family. All three of my children attend USI, which makes this campus feel even more like home. I am currently working toward my yoga teacher certification and hope to offer simple stretch sessions for faculty and staff to help make the workday a little lighter.

I came to USI looking for connection and purpose. What I found was a community where people care deeply about each other and the impact they make. USI is a hidden gem, and I am proud to call it home.”

“I’m from Indianapolis, and I’m in my first year of the social work graduate program. I’ll be done in May 2027.

My path at USI has been kind of all over the place. I started at the University of Indianapolis and realized it wasn’t for me. I had friends in Evansville, visited campus once and thought it was beautiful, especially in the fall. I prayed about transferring, and the next morning, I had a free application code for USI. It felt like a sign.

Transferring wasn’t easy. I didn’t go to Orientation or take UNIV 101. I just jumped in. Living in the apartments made it harder to meet people, and it took about a year and a half to find my footing. I had to force myself to put myself out there. The friends won’t just come to you.

There was a time I moved back home and was failing classes. I was on academic probation. I changed majors and met with my advisor, Susan Todd, for two hours. That meeting changed everything. She showed me options I didn’t know existed and helped me find a path that made sense. I always knew I wanted to help people, but psychology wasn’t working for me. She helped me reset.

When my dad passed away before my senior year in 2024, I knew I was finishing my degree for him. I worked full time and pushed through. It took me an extra year, but that’s okay. You do not have to finish college in four years. It is okay to withdraw from a class. Give yourself grace.

Helping people has always been part of who I am. I’ve always been the friend people come to for advice, and I love seeing progress in people, even with setbacks. Social work is bigger than people think.

Now, after five years at USI, I can say I found my place. I have friends who feel like family. My cohort understands the stress of 425 internship hours in 16 weeks while working on top of everything else. I’m not doing this alone.

My goal is to graduate with my master’s, get licensed and then figure out what comes next. Maybe I’ll move home. Maybe I’ll travel. I just want to be 23 and enjoy my life. You don’t have to have everything figured out at 18. I didn’t. I’m 23 now and still figuring it out. And that’s okay.”

“I came to USI in the fall of 2015. I was searching for jobs in the Midwest and saw an opening to teach animal physiology. That was my dissertation focus, so I applied. I interviewed. It felt like a really good fit. And that was it. The rest is history.

I’m currently an Associate Professor in the Biology Department. My specialty is comparative physiology. I teach animal physiology, anatomy and physiology, ornithology and organic evolution. I like the range. Some days I teach seniors. Other days I teach freshmen. The mental shift can be a challenge, but that’s what makes it fun.

My research focuses on how animals adapt to their environments. I study physiology at the molecular level and how it affects the whole organism. Much of my work looks at lipids and how animals conserve water or regulate energy. I also oversee the bluebird box project on campus, which is now more than a 50-year study. Every spring, students monitor the boxes and track nesting patterns. We’ve seen bluebirds nesting earlier as the climate warms.

I didn’t always know I wanted to teach. That started in graduate school when I was a teaching assistant. I liked working with students in labs and getting to know them as people. At the same time, I knew academic jobs could be rare. I had only known life at very large universities—Michigan State, Ohio State. I started wondering what teaching would be like at a smaller, more teaching-focused school. I found a mentor at a small university and realized that kind of environment felt right.

One of my favorite memories here is my very first day teaching. I was nervous. You never know if students are going to accept you. But that class had so much energy. They talked to each other. They talked to me. It set the tone. It gave my career momentum.

What brings me to campus every day is the students. I work side by side with them in labs. I get to know them well enough to write real letters of recommendation. That kind of connection is rare at bigger schools.

I like finding creative ways to do research. I like figuring things out. And I like being hands-on.

That’s why I’m here at USI.”