For many students, four majors, two minors and recognition as an Honors College scholar would complete a successful college career. Not for Daniela Klaz. Among the Kelley School of Business Indianapolis senior’s most important achievements is the title civic leader.
Since her first semester on campus, Klaz has volunteered for many community organizations and has encouraged Kelley and IUPUI students alike to join her in these endeavors. Her meaningful, positive impact on the community has not gone unnoticed. IUPUI has honored Klaz with one of its most prestigious awards—the William M. Plater Civic Engagement Medallion.
The Plater Medallion recognizes students who have demonstrated exemplary commitment to their communities while exhibiting personal development and intellectual growth. The award is named in honor of William M. Plater, who served the campus as executive vice chancellor and dean of faculties from 1988 to 2006. Plater is a strong advocate for student civic engagement, and his legacy is IUPUI’s position as one of the nation’s most recognized universities for service learning and community engagement.
Klaz, an international studies, management, marketing and supply chain management quadruple major, personifies the Plater vision for student engagement. She leads peers to action with a strong sense of social injustice and desire to right those who have been wronged.
When tasked by a marketing class project to organize and promote the 2011 Homeward Bound walk, a fundraiser for nonprofit agencies working to abate homelessness in central Indiana, Klaz encouraged her classmates to focus on the need they were solving. She emphasized the families impacted by their work and thought little about the grade they would receive at the end of the project. Because they fully committed to the cause, Klaz and her classmates raised $48,000, which will help the nearly 7,500 men, women and children who will become homeless in Indianapolis over the next 12 months.
“Daniela Klaz personifies what we are trying to develop as a civic-minded graduate,” said Kim Saxton, clinical associate professor of marketing and Klaz’s marketing strategy instructor. “She has the knowledge to find opportunities to volunteer on important social issues, while bringing all of her education to help make these efforts successful.”
“It’s clear having a social impact is part of her persona and will be an important part of her life over time. I believe she will either seek employment at a nonprofit or work to make her employer more socially responsible.”
Klaz believes that those who can, should. She is a civic leader who understands her obligation to make an impact on society.
Learn more about the 2011 Homeward Bound walk organized by Klaz and her Kelley classmates.