Graduated

WE ARE COLLEGE GRADUATES!!!

We took our finals, hosted a party, slept until noon, shook President Smith's hand, and had some quality time with family. It was a full week.

I have to say, I did get a little emotional during the commencement ceremony. As I watched my fellow  grads walk across the stage, I couldn't help but think about all of the memories we have made together in the passed four years. IWU has been the source of a lot of stress, but mostly a lot of joy and growth. During my time here, I have done missions in Greece, became a barista, started this little blog, got elected as Vice President of PRSSA, got engaged, lived in Ireland, spent a weekend in Paris, interned with The Boys and Girls Club, got married, and all the while forming deep and lasting friendships with some really amazing people. Now it's time to say thank you, and farewell.

And hey, we're done. We did it. We have bachelors degrees. What??!!!

graduating seniors party on Race Street!!!! 

celebrating our first day of post-grad life with breakfast at a new local diner

walking to the senior picnic at President Smith's house

Friday night baccalaureate ceremony

our lovely caps & tassels (plus Jordan's Cum Laude Honors cord!)

my boys.

about to enter the chapel!

Public Relations degree....

...Marketing degree

President Smith. Love that guy.

all the pretty grads

yayyyy!!!!

:) 

Dowell fam

Shepherd brothers & sisters

Shepherd fam

party at the Shepherd house with yummy food, coffee, Toby the dog, and gifts

Shepherd bro/sis Ben & Jerry's pajama party

A few of my gifts - leather name embossed Bible & a new road bike to take with me to Colorado!

To our parents,

You have made this experience possible. Thank you for all that you do for us. We can't express enough how much we appreciate your support and love and sacrifice. It is because of you that we are here living out our dreams. We love you!!!

- Alli and Jordan

[Art & Copy]

As people who love advertising, Jordan and I watched Art & Copy and couldn't stop talking about it. We have a deeper appreciation for the creativity, intimacy, and passion that is involved in the business. We study it, we are surrounded by it, and we interact with it as consumers and marketing/PR majors. Often we find that people have a strong negativity towards this industry, and that is mainly because they don't understand what it is at the core. This film captures the truth, and it reveals its raw potential for greatness. 

"ART & COPY is a powerful film about advertising and inspiration. Directed by Doug Pray (SURFWISE, SCRATCH, HYPE!), it reveals the work and wisdom of some of the most influential advertising creatives of our time -- people who've profoundly impacted our culture, yet are virtually unknown outside their industry. Exploding forth from advertising's "creative revolution" of the 1960s, these artists and writers all brought a surprisingly rebellious spirit to their work in a business more often associated with mediocrity or manipulation: George Lois, Mary Wells, Dan Wieden, Lee Clow, Hal Riney and others featured in ART & COPY were responsible for "Just Do It," "I Love NY," "Where's the Beef?," "Got Milk," "Think Different," and brilliant campaigns for everything from cars to presidents. They managed to grab the attention of millions and truly move them. Visually interwoven with their stories, TV satellites are launched, billboards are erected, and the social and cultural impact of their ads are brought to light in this dynamic exploration of art, commerce, and human emotion."

"most advertising is pretty offensive, intrusive, aggravating, annoying, and intellectually based at the lowest common denominator, so its a hard business to remain prideful. But I happen to believe that when advertising is done well, the wall or the billboard that celebrates a brand artfully and beautifully can be part of our culture as opposed to some form of pollution."  -  Lee Crow 

This is a brilliant documentary. I promise it will inspire you. 

Beautiful city of Indy

Everything I have ever wanted in a city is in Indianapolis. I absolutely love it, and thankfully, IWU is just a short one hour drive away.

It has been our place for adventure and discovery. Every time I'm there I learn something new about it, and I have an appreciation for Indy that I don't have for any other city. The culture and environment is charming, warm, and welcoming, which automatically makes you feel at home when you're there. Jordan always says that it is a big city with a small town heart.

The business downtown district has endless opportunities. We have taken so many agency tours and visits to marketing, advertising, and public relations companies, all of which are places I would absolutely love to work. Broad ripple is the center for party and night life, and Mass. Ave. is the place for the arts. The old homes, and the historic elements of the city give it a richness and beauty that you can feel just by driving through the neighborhoods.

Here are a few pictures I snapped of the circle and downtown while we were doing Half Day With a Pro for PRSSA. (You can read about my visit to Young & Laramore Advertising here, on the other blog I manage for our chapter).








I love the Midwest, and I am grateful to live where I do. I wonder if I will get the opportunity to work and live in Indianapolis someday... because I would like that.

Coming back to school early is harder than I expected. My days have been planned to the minute lately with all of the work I have been doing. This year I am getting deeper into my Public Relations major while also juggling two jobs, entering into the position of the Vice President for Public Relations Student Society of America (PRSSA), and hopefully still holding on to some kind of a social life.

I was hired for Student Government Association as the Vice President of Public Relations. This is the most challenging but rewarding thing I have ever done, and I only just started a week ago! My position is loaded with responsibility. I'll be doing all of the PR and promotion for SGA, which involves some design elements, creative thinking, and strategizing about how to best maintain the branding of SGA. I'll be working with the rest of the cabinet as we strive to be the voice of our student body. Since there are only ten cabinet members (the President and the rest of us VP's) we have already formed a tight bond and connection with one another.

And I do love dressing in business attire and getting my own desk in the SGA office :-)





My other amazing job this year will be for McConn, our coffee shop at IWU. I'll finally be a barista! Gosh I can't even explain how excited I am for this. I know it probably sounds pathetic, but I have always wanted to work at McConn since I came to this school freshman year. I love coffee...a lot, and soon I will have learned all about the process of growing, roasting, brewing, and making coffee. I want to soak up every detail of training so that I can one day make a perfect shot of espresso and maybe even some latte art.

I'm not complaining that my boyfriend Jordan, one of my best friends Beth, and so many other great people will be working at McConn as well. It really is the most social job on campus...but I would honestly do it for free.

so yeah, I will be extremely extremely busy this year.

This past week I have been growing closer to the SGA cabinet, while training rigorously for my position. Let me just say that I am going to love it even more when the year is done.

Now it's on to McConn training this week!! Today was the first day and oh what a wonderful experience it was.