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Department senior selected for prestigious Orr Fellowship for future leaders
A department senior beat out thousands of applicants statewide to earn a 2006 Orr Fellowship, a prestigious honor designed to keep talented college graduates in Indiana. Emily Hambidge, a senior in Media, Technology and Society, is the fourth department senior to earn an Orr Fellowship in the last four years. Past department recipients include Stephanie Rhoads (2005), Mandy Brettnacher (2004), and Carrie Strong Langellier (2003). Named after a former Indiana governor, the fellowships offer two-year placements in an entrepreneurial Indiana company and continued leadership training. Brettnacher was placed with VMS, a meeting management company, in Indianapolis as a sales and marketing coordinator. "I have certainly been challenged beyond my wildest dreams," she said. "I think my first job seemed much easier in theory, but I am happy to report it has been a great fit." Hambidge was chosen from among an initial applicant pool of about 6,000 seniors at Indiana colleges. From that pool, 120 applicants were selected for on-campus interviews. "During the first interview, on campus, we each sat down with someone for about 45 minutes and talked about what the program is and just gave them an overview of ourselves. It wasn't a traditional interview, more like a conversation," said Hambidge. About two months later, Hambidge heard she had made the final cut of 50. Those 50 were invited to the offices of Exact Target, one of the participating companies. The finalists talked with current fellows and heard from two representatives of the Orr Fellowship program about its intent and benefits.
Of those 50, 23 made it to "Finalist Day" in January and interviews with actual companies. "It was an 8-hour day. Personally, I had 8 interviews," said Hambidge. "I picked companies that interested me and they picked people who had resumes they liked, too." "It was a pretty incredible, albeit overwhelming, experience. I met so many amazing people. When I wasn't in interviews, I was able to sit in a lounge and chat with other students who were interviewing and current fellows." Hambidge found out that same day she had been offered a position with The Theron Group, a biomedical engineering firm in Carmel, Ind. She will begin work in June. Of the original 6,000 applicants, only 12 ended up garnering fellowships. Hambidge was the only finalist from the College of Liberal Arts. "The greatest thing about the fellowship is that I will have an instant network when I graduate," Hambidge said. "Of course having a job is wonderful, but I am even more excited to have a group of my peers to be instantly associated with. We will each be at different companies but sharing similar experiences." The program arranges retreats and recreational weekends that allow the fellows to get to know each other and establish a support network. "The basic idea is that we will be the future leaders of Indiana. After the two years are over, most fellows stay with companies that are in the program. There are several who are executives already - at age 24!" Orr Fellows also attend monthly meetings with some of Indiana's top entrepreneurs and business leaders. "Part of the agreement with the companies that participate is that they must agree to have the fellows work directly with the CEOs. I will be able to learn a lot from this," Hambidge said. "It's just filled with endless possibilities." |
