By: Kayla Hagemier

Two weeks ago, a list of “The Top Five Reasons to Love Kelley” was posted on our Instagram page. Now this may just seem like a marketing tool to get others to love Kelley as well, but I am here to give a firsthand account of why these reasons are absolutely true! As a matter of fact, it is going to be difficult to contain my love for Kelley to one small blog post.

1. “Our location in beautiful downtown Indianapolis not only provides a great view but also countless opportunities.”If you haven’t visited the city in person, have you at least seen a picture of downtown Indianapolis? That should be reason enough to love Kelley. Not only is Indy a beautiful place to live, work, and visit, but also to receive a college education. Though I have commuted from the west side throughout the duration of my college career, I have found myself spending the majority of my time either on campus or out and about enjoying the city. Besides studying and working, some of my favorite things to do downtown are attending sporting events like Pacers and Indians games (a college budget doesn’t allow for many Colts games), visiting Mass Ave, and hanging out by the canal (especially during the Regatta.)
2. “The sky is the limit when you have a Kelley degree.”As I enter my senior year, I have been able to see friends and peers graduate from Kelley and do remarkable things. A Kelley degree can take you anywhere you want to go if you are willing to put in the hard work and make the most of your college experience. A key factor to success within and beyond Kelley is building genuine relationships. These relationships can be built with faculty, peers, alumni, recruiters, executives, advisors, etc. When you take the time to talk with and get to know these individuals, unexpected opportunities might arise. You never know, your professor’s cousin’s daughter’s friend’s mom could be the CEO of the corporation you have dreamt of working for your entire life and have a job opening just for you!
3. “Kelley helps students find and be prepared for awesome internship experiences all over the world.”Kelley provides assistance along each step of finding and preparing for an internship, from freshman year all the way through graduation. I have been fortunate enough to find an internship working for the very school that I love so much! As an event planning intern for the Kelley External Affairs office, I have been able to learn from the best about things that interest me. I have had several friends find internships with places like the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Finish Line, Ernst and Young, Katz Sapper and Miller, enVista, J.P. Morgan, and several others. I think they would all agree that they would not have been as prepared for these opportunities without a Kelley education.
4. “Many of our students take the opportunity to study abroad. With a growing number of programs, there is a #KelleyAbroad opportunity for all.”One of my most treasured Kelley memories thus far has been studying abroad in Spain. This past March, 22 business students, three faculty members and I traveled to Madrid and Barcelona for the spring break of a lifetime. The program was called “The Business of Sport” and gave students an inside look at the business side of the sports industry. For a sports-lover like me, this was the best combination imaginable. While in Spain, we attended a Real Madrid soccer match, visited the national soccer team’s training facility, a motorsports company, and several other facilities. In addition to the trip to Spain, our class got to meet and learn from individuals who work with local sports teams like the Indy Fuel, the Pacers, and the Indians.
5. “Fantastic Faculty and Advisors”This is perhaps the most distinctive reason to love Kelley! Faculty members are not just here to teach, they are also here to help outside of the classroom. Some of the most important lessons I have learned in college have been from conversations with professors either during office hours or just chatting in the hallway. They have clearly done something right to get to where they are, so pick their brains and take their advice when you get the chance because it is probably insightful. Kelley faculty and advisors are here to help you on the path to success; they care about students and are a huge factor in what makes Kelley so special.