The programs in the College of Liberal Arts lead graduates to exciting, fulfilling and, oftentimes, unexpected places in their lives and careers.
Experience the unexpected with a degree in Liberal Arts!
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Know a Liberal Arts alumnus who is traveling on an unexpected path? Let us know!
Kennedy Salts
Class of 2019
Kennedy Salts came to 91社区 from nearby Newburgh, IN, as a first-generation college student. At first, she drove the Lloyd Expressway to-and-fro every day, listening to classic rock, before taking residence in a sorority house. Starting out, she thought that she would go into nursing and then switched to respiratory therapy. One day, one of her respiratory therapy professors asked her if she was enjoying the program. She said it was fine. Then the professor mentioned that he had happened to see one of her posts in a pop culture blog to which she contributed and said how much he liked it. Kennedy thought that she possessed a 鈥渒nack鈥� for writing, but her professor鈥檚 comment put in her mind a notion that perhaps she should consider switching majors again to English. In time, she did, and she did enjoy herself.
What happened next? You might say that Kennedy鈥檚 journey exemplifies that oft-heard advice to 鈥渄o what you love鈥� or 鈥渇ollow your passion.鈥� After college, Kennedy got a job as a content writer for Shoe Carnival, a national retailer headquartered in Evansville that does over $1 billion per year in revenue. As a content writer, Kennedy wrote product descriptions for the website. When the pandemic struck in 2020, Kennedy was elevated to copy writer, one of two in the company, where she became responsible for social media, maintaining key company web pages, and customer relations management鈥攊n other words, doing all the things one needs to do to run a successful e-commerce enterprise. Sales soared to record levels. 鈥淢y English degree taught me to be creative,鈥� she says, 鈥渢o learn how to grab a consumer鈥檚 attention and make our message stand out.鈥� In 2022, Shoe Carnival sponsored Day 11 of听 Ellen鈥檚 12 Days of Giveaways, raising the company鈥檚 profile even higher. Kennedy鈥檚 鈥渒nack鈥� for writing and her decision to follow her passion have paid off well.
Carlysle Garland
Class of 2020
After high school, Carlysle Garland 鈥�20 knew that she wanted to work in film and television as an actor, and for a while, she was successful in moving from goal to goal, studying musical theatre at Florida School of the Arts and touring with the Missoula Children鈥檚 Theatre.听 But there came a moment when she realized that, without a bachelor鈥檚 degree, her earning power would always be a little 鈥渓esser than.鈥澨� So she decided to transfer to 91社区 to finish her theatre degree.听 She had been recruited by Professor Eric Altheide upon graduating from FloArts but had been putting it off because, in her words, she had 鈥渘ever really liked being in school all that much.鈥� After visiting campus twice and asking Professor Altheide "a million questions," she was won over by the genuine care and compassion she could already gather from the professors in the theatre department.
Once here, she applied herself, taking 19-20 credit hours per semester so that she could finish her degree quickly and get back on the market.听 Things were going well.听 Her senior year, she auditioned for鈥攁nd got鈥攁 leading role in Shakespeare鈥檚听Midsummer Night鈥檚 Dream, a play that she loved.听 And then, as opening night was nearing, her sister suddenly died.听 Carlysle was devastated and missed a lot of rehearsals.听 She wondered if she would be up for the performance, physically and emotionally, and at her lowest point, she remembers calling on her professor and director, Professor Elliot Wasserman, and expressing her doubts, even offering to bow out of the production.听 Professor Wasserman told her to take the time to do what she needed to do but that he and the cast still wanted her in the role.听 Feeling supported, Carlysle remained in the production and, in fact, performed so well that she was nominated for an award by the Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival!听 Looking back on that time, Carlysle remembers learning something not just about her craft, but about herself:听 鈥淚f I can get through this,鈥� she told herself, 鈥淚 can get through anything.鈥澨�
These days, Carlysle is living and performing theatre in Atlanta, GA. She recently completed a project with Tyler Perry there and is currently a part of the听Stranger Things Experience.
Ryan Hadley
Class of 2015
Ryan Hadley 鈥�15 is presently the Chief Energy Officer of the State of Indiana. He was appointed by Governor Holcomb to advise him on energy matters, which might pertain to economic development or production and distribution through the grid. He regularly meets with lobbyists and testifies before the state legislature. His office will have a lot to say about the way that both the massive federal Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act and the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 will impact Hoosiers. It鈥檚 an important role. In a way, he is what people now like to call 鈥渁n influencer,鈥� because the work that he鈥檚 doing shapes the decisions that the governor and legislatures make around vital questions for the state.
Hadley didn鈥檛 set out to attain this position. When he showed up at 91社区 as a freshman coming from a small high school outside of Indianapolis, his main concern was overcoming some shyness and reinventing himself in a larger, more active social environment. He began to make friends, and his second year he joined a fraternity and got involved in student government. He thought that he might want to become an attorney. His father was a police officer, his mother was a dispatcher, and a career in law seemed like an interesting path for him. He majored in political science here and did well, but when he took the LSAT and didn鈥檛 get the score that he wanted, he experienced a shock. 鈥淚f not law, then what?鈥� he asked himself. A week later, while walking through the Liberal Arts Center, he noticed a flyer that read, 鈥淟egislative Internships Available.鈥� He asked himself 鈥渨hy not?鈥� and applied. He was accepted, and the experience next semester in Indianapolis turned out to be life changing. Through his classes, he had built up a broad store of knowledge about the workings of government. But on the floor of the State House, that knowledge came to life. Every two weeks he would meet with his professor to discuss the behind-the-scenes action that went on in regard to the Religious Freedom Restoration Act, which dominated the session. When he returned to campus at the end of the semester, he gave a presentation on his experience. People listened with great interest.
Today, people are still listening, of course, more than ever. 鈥淭hat internship was a turning point in my life,鈥� he reflects when asked about it. 鈥淚 had a very narrow point-of-view of where I was going in life. My education allowed me to be flexible and adapt.
Kenya Santiago
Class of 2016
When Kennya Santiago first arrived at 91社区 in the fall of 2016, her main concern was fitting in.听She was a first-generation student whose family had immigrated from Mexico when she was 4 years old, and she was undocumented until she was 17. 鈥淢ake sure that you鈥檙e meshing,鈥� she was told, and she recalls spending a lot of time making sure that her campus apartment was just-so. 鈥淚 cared a lot about what it looked like,鈥� she remembers. 鈥淚 really cared about what others thought.鈥�
She was also told to be practical鈥斺�渓inear,鈥� she says鈥攚hen it came to choosing a major, i.e., to choose something like accounting, nursing, or engineering. She tried the first two options and didn鈥檛 like either. Then she took a Shakespeare class. 鈥淚 had such a good time!鈥� she says. 鈥淚 got to pick apart words with other people and argue passionately with people about interpretations. It wasn鈥檛 even like I was in class.鈥澨� She changed majors and thought that she might become an English teacher鈥斺�渓inear enough,鈥� she says.
Eventually, she switched to creative writing. 鈥淣ot linear at all,鈥� she says, 鈥渂ut I loved it and decided my life was my life.鈥�
These days, Kennya is the Guest Experience & Programs Coordinator at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, where she manages non-profit fundraising and oversees events for high-end brands like Porsche and Ferrari. She also runs the College Program for Penske Entertainment, which involves recruiting and managing students to work at the track during peak-season. When she assumed leadership of that program, it employed about 150 students. Now it employs over 300, and she has transformed it into more of a high-touch experience for them that enriches their professional development and general betterment.
What did she learn from studying English at 91社区 that makes her so successful in Indiana鈥檚 iconic sporting venue?听 鈥淓verything I do at work involves people, and a lot of the people I work with are very intelligent. My degree allows me to understand them. It taught me how to be open-minded, to read a room, to connect.鈥� And, of course, she learned to be herself, and good with words.
It鈥檚 also nice to know that Shakespeare has a place at the Brickyard.
Zach Martin
Class of 2003
Zach Martin 鈥�03 had dreams of playing golf at the highest level possible. He grew up living next door to a PGA TOUR professional and caught on to the sport quickly. When he received a scholarship offer to play division one golf, it seemed like the next step towards realizing his dream. He accepted the听scholarship and declared a major in business administration.
But things didn鈥檛 quite click the way he thought they would. The everyday stressors of balancing an NCAA athletic schedule and managing academics soon became overwhelming for Zach. He felt like he needed a mentor, someone to help him navigate. After a brief period of struggle, he had a talk with himself. He realized he was not enthusiastic about the course of study he originally selected and needed a change. Zach looked back to his grade school years to recall what courses brought him the most joy and fulfillment. Drawing, painting, jewelry, and sculpture classes had always been his passions and he knew then he needed to shift his focus back to art. This is where 91社区 comes in.
Zach learned that 91社区 had an excellent art program with several courses to choose from with great facilities and professors, so he transferred. He soon fell in with a faculty member and a couple of fellow students who would gather between classes to draw, challenge each other and discuss art styles and composition. Those relationships gave him the structure and the navigational aid he had been seeking to get his academic career back on track. But it was an assignment in one of Professor Chuck Armstrong鈥檚 graphic design classes that really woke him up.
The assignment was to create a complete brand identity for a fictitious company, starting with a corporate logo. Zach got into it, spending hours in the drawing lab or sitting in front of a computer obsessing over details like color saturation, symmetry, and precise edges. 鈥淚t was the first time I felt I could use my creativity and mesh it with business,鈥� he said. 鈥淎nd that creativity became ingrained in me.鈥�
Today, Zach is the Vice President of Development & Construction at Woodward Commercial Realty, where he continues to draw on that creativity every day, whether he鈥檚 engaged in the architectural design of a multi-million-dollar project, creating proposals and bid packages, or overseeing the construction of a new commercial building. Zach also uses his creativity to provide a customized mentoring approach for students and young business professionals in our community.
Christina Harlow
Class of 2010
When Christina Harlow 鈥�10 came to 91社区 from a small town in the late 1990s, her college career could hardly have gotten off to a better start. She liked her classes and did well in them, even going so far as to publish some research as an undergraduate with one of her psychology professors.
Like many students, she worked part-time while attending school; one day, she got offered a full-time leadership position that paid $9.51 an hour. She was so excited that she called her mom 鈥� she had arrived! Soon after, she put her education on permanent hold while she worked and started a family. For a while, her career progressed and she was afforded many opportunities to grow and develop, learn new things and contribute to the company in different areas of focus. However, it did not take long to come to the realization that she had topped out without formal education and the career expectations she had set for herself would not align to opportunities available with a high school diploma.
So she returned to school, taking classes on her lunch hour and in the evenings. It was challenging, but her professors encouraged her, and in 2010, she graduated with a psychology degree. 鈥淚 could have finished faster with a general studies degree, but I really wanted to understand industrial org鈥攑erception, organization, motivation: everything directly related to leadership and engaging with people and teams.鈥�
Soon after graduation, she transitioned to human resources. Today, she is the Vice President of Human Resources at CenterPoint Energy. Headquartered in Houston, Texas, CenterPoint Energy provides gas or electric service to more than 6 million customers across 6 states. The company employs nearly 10,000 people, and it is Harlow who oversees their talent acquisition and employee and labor relations areas. 鈥淚 have a lot of opportunities to talk about talent pipeline development and succession management, both internally and with external candidates,鈥� she says. 鈥淢y psychology degree is the best education I could have pursued to prepare me for my current role. I apply that learning every day in my organization: in leadership, team building, people development, project management, in resilience鈥he list goes on and on. I never asked myself 鈥榳hat can I do with a liberal arts degree?鈥� It was more like, 鈥榳hat couldn鈥檛 I do with a liberal arts degree?鈥欌��