A spotlight on our donors and recipients
Every year, dozens of Kelley School of Business Indianapolis students receive scholarships and awards at the annual awards breakfast.
Each scholarship is made possible by those who give selflessly to the Kelley School of Business at IUPUI: no matter how big or how small the contribution.
In the upcoming blogs, we will highlight just a few of our donors and recipients, to thank them for the gifts that mean so much to so many.
Nanette Schulze, MSA’10, CPA
Kelley Biz Blog: Tell us about your experience at the Kelley School and IUPUI. Why did you choose to get your MSA (Masters of Science in Accounting)?
Nan Schulze: The MSA program at the Kelley School in Indianapolis took me directly from my non-business bachelor’s degree to CPA in record time. The reputation of the Kelley School is known world-wide and the Indianapolis campus offers a full-bodied experience that met my needs as a returning non-traditional student. The support I received from the Graduate Accounting Program staff and professors was an integral part of my success. As an officer of the Graduate Accounting Student Board, I was given additional opportunities to interact with my fellow students, teachers, accounting professionals and recruiters who are an important part of the Kelley program.
Kelley Biz Blog: Do you have a “Kelley moment?”
Nan Schulze: My goal was to become a Certified Public Accountant and the Kelley School knew exactly how to make that dream a reality. My first Kelley moment was receiving the MSA Leadership award at my graduation. At that moment, I realized that I had put in the time, the hard work and the effort, but the Kelley School had made the journey from my first informational meeting to receiving my degree and that award effortless. I knew there was no limit to the success I could achieve by accepting my place as a proud Kelley Alumni.
My second Kelley moment came on the day I received the offer for my dream job, as a CPA at La Rosa & Co., LLC: a firm in downtown Indianapolis with an office overlooking the World War Memorial. This was a job for which I had been referred by a fellow Kelley grad. Five years later, I am continuing to have Kelley moments: Returning as an alum to speak with the incoming MSA and MST students at their orientation and continuing to develop those relationships every year by coordinating with the Graduate Accounting Student Board to volunteer for the Indiana CPA Society Annual Day of Service. For the past two years we have also been fortunate to work with Greater Indy Habitat for Humanity.
Kelley Biz Blog: Why did you choose to give back to Kelley?
Nan Schulze: I was very fortunate during my master’s studies to be the recipient of what I like to think of as grace – through an odd set of circumstances, part of my tuition was paid for. Rather than worry about how I was going to pay for school or how much my loans were going to be when I was done, I was given the opportunity to focus on my studies. I knew then that I would pay it forward – when I was done with school, I would make it my next goal to do for someone else what was done for me.
Kelley Biz Blog: What has it meant to you to give back?
Nan: Initially, I was intimidated by the whole idea of setting up a scholarship – I mean who does that? I don’t have that kind of money! But when I met someone from the Kelley School of Business Development department at a lunch meeting, I became inspired to ask some questions.
What would it really take to do this? How does this work? How much money DOES it take?
The answers were 1) all it takes is willingness, 2) It can be any amount you like and 3) it feels AMAZING! I named the scholarship after my dad, Douglas Edward Fischer, whose military service contributed to my educational opportunities and because it did feel a little too weird to name it after myself.
Right now I am doing a set amount each year that fits in my budget, but I intend to increase that amount yearly until I am able to fund an endowed scholarship.
Kelley Biz Blog: Do you have any advice for current students?
Nan Schulze: Dream big! The people here at the Kelley School are completely invested in your success. Take advantage of what they’re offering. If there’s something you want to do and don’t know how – ask!
And if you’re planning on sitting for the CPA exam – here’s my advice. Take a year – shut down as much of the outside world as you possibly can. It’s so different from studying for and taking college exams. Really commit to spend 110% of your time for that one year to doing the work and pass that exam the first time through. I know it can be done because I did it. Once you pass – you have the rest of your life to make up for all of those missed Friday nights and weekends.
Andrew Wheeler, BS’02
Andrew majored in management, human resource management, and international studies during his time at Kelley Indianapolis. He works for the U.S. Air Force Reserve Command in Georgia.
Kelley Biz Blog: Tell us about your experience at the Kelley School and IUPUI.
Andrew Wheeler: My education from Kelley has definitely impacted my life. I use skills learned while attending Kelley every day in my current career. Also, I loved attending IUPUI. The downtown atmosphere of the campus was amazing, and Indianapolis is a great city.
Kelley Biz Blog: Do you have any advice for current students?
Andrew Wheeler: Stick with it, study and get involved in volunteer programs and clubs. Don’t pass up opportunities for internships. There are a lot of great companies in the local area.
Kelley Biz Blog: Why did you choose to give back to Kelley?
Andrew Wheeler: I chose to give back to Kelley because of all the great opportunities they provided for me while I was a student. I hope that giving back helps current students enjoy the same great opportunities that I enjoyed while I was a student.
It feels good to know that what you do is impacting the lives of others.
I would recommend that other alumni give back to Kelley, so the school remains one of the best business schools in the country. The donors have a huge impact on providing for current students to get the resources they need to be successful and get the best education that could be provided for them.
John Reed, BS’15
Currently, I am working as a contracted Business Analyst at Eli Lilly through Unisys Corporation. My department manages the data repositories for all clinical data for Lilly research. I also manage my own family baking business, Reed Family Baking.
While attending the Kelley School of Business Indianapolis, I received the Mays Family Rise Scholarship for Men in Business. I also received several other scholarships from IUPUI, and I received the Plater Civic Engagement Award.
Scholarships allowed me to work less and study more; I was able to meet with classmates or teams as Kelley has many group projects. The flexibility to work when needed helped during midterms and finals as well.
As a student from a working class family, I did not have a savings account built for college and had to fund my own college experience.
Funding scholarships impacts not only the student, but their families. The significance of these funds transcends the words thank you.
To current students – please apply for scholarships; they provide a peace of mind and support that could go unclaimed.
Taking the risk in applying can come with a major reward.
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