IU Business students explore college life in Kelley’s new LLC

Freshmen interested in business now have the opportunity to surround themselves with similar students at the Kelley Living-Learning Center.

The 250 students, all Kelley direct admits or Kelley prospects, will call the Crone building of the McNutt Quad home for the next school year.

Joanne Namy, director of the business residential community, said the main goal of the LLC was helping students during their first year of college.

“We wanted to help students get connected,” she said.

Residents will have direct contact with many instructors within the business school and access to mentor groups and special classes.

Residents of the LLC are required to take a Kelley community development class, and there are other Kelley classes available exclusively to them.

When they aren’t taking the class, students can speak with sophomore business students who are part of their mentor groups, Namy said.

A special group of sophomores were trained by Namy to help the incoming freshmen in any way possible, she said.

They are there to help the freshmen with their transition into college and answer any other questions about campus or college life.

When looking for students to accept into the community, Namy said IU looked at a wide range of students. They looked for students who wanted to become a business leader.

She said the group includes a mix of direct admits and students with a strong interest in business. Students interested in living in the LLC had to submit an application that asked them about their career interests and passions.

Kelley LLC resident and Kelley direct admit freshman Beth Kulyk said she wanted to live there so she could meet other students interested in business. She said this has helped make the campus feel smaller.

So far, Kulyk said the residents have had the opportunity to listen to a speaker from Ernst & Young and to speak with business professors.

“I definitely think it gives us an advantage,” Kulyk said.

Junior business student Jenna Jusich said she thought this opportunity was good for them to have a business learning community.

She said a lot of students have problems with K201, a course about computers and information technologies in business, now they can work together on it.

Namy said although business school faculty had been talking about forming the LLC for a few years, the bulk of the planning had been done just last year.

While most learning communities take four years to create, she said the Kelley LLC was put together in one year.

Many faculty members of the business school were very involved with putting the community together and the students they chose were a select group, Namy said.
“They really are an exciting group of students,” she said.