Change. This word has been the driving force of my life for the last two years.
When I became editor-in-chief of The Shield in May 2021, I had a staff of four people and was the youngest editor-in-chief in Shield history since its founding in 1968.
Just like everything else in the world, The Shield was struggling to stay alive during the COVID-19 pandemic. It had just transitioned from a print-first publication to a digital-first publication. It had no up-to-date processes, job descriptions, staff structure, policy manual or templates.
Fast-forward two years, The Shield now has a staff of around 40 students, which is the largest Shield staff in Shield history. It publishes online daily with a weekly newsletter and a monthly themed print edition.
In addition to our normal publication cycle, we produced a special-edition 56-page magazine called “Unmasked” to tell the story of how the COVID-19 pandemic affected the University of Southern Indiana.
We went from having no business team to winning second place for Indiana Collegiate Press Association’s 2023 Advertising Publication of the Year. We went from having little to no social media presence to winning second place for ICPA’s 2023 Use of Social Media.
In all areas of The Shield, we went from dying to thriving. How did this happen? Change.
The Shield had to change. It had to say goodbye to its past and hello to its future. The Shield has historically been an award-winning independent student publication both in the state and in the nation. Its past was good, but at some point, the past is not enough for the present or future.
Without change, things die. Without change, there is no growth. Without change, one cannot go from good to great. Where is The Shield headed now, you might be wondering? More change.
The Shield is about to welcome a new editor-in-chief, a new student leadership team and a new staff. For the last two years, the student staff at The Shield and the University of Southern Indiana has entrusted me to be the editor-in-chief of The Shield. It has been the most rewarding two years of my life.
Serving the university community at this level has been one of my greatest honors. I will cherish my time dearly. However, as the third-ever two-time editor-in-chief in Shield history, I decided not to reapply to serve for a third year.
It’s time for The Shield to have a new leader and to go to new places it’s never been before. It’s time for change.
Since I began as editor-in-chief, my staff and I have been preparing The Shield to transition to a new group of students. Next year will be the greatest test of our work and leadership. We’ve been preparing The Shield for change.
You see, positive change is not something that should be feared. If I have learned anything as editor-in-chief of The Shield during this historic time, I have learned how to embrace positive change.
It requires strong vision and direction. It requires flexibility and the understanding you might fail at times. It requires endurance to continue when the passion fades. It requires surrounding yourself with people who have different strengths and talents. It requires a strong support team.
“Warming up to Change” is all about warming up to the changes you will face in life and the changes the university is facing. It’s about warming up to the future.
For me, I am so excited to see where The Shield goes in its future. I hope it is bigger and better than anything I could imagine.
Thank you to my incredible staff for supporting me these last two years. I would be nothing without you all. Thank you to this university for entrusting me with your student publication. Thank you to the students of USI for embracing me and trusting me and my staff to serve as your voice and platform.
I am ready for this season of change in my life. See you in the fall Screagles, not as editor-in-chief of The Shield, but just me, Shelby Clark.
Cheers to change. Cheers to the future.
Clark, Editor-in-Chief of The ShieldCourtney Bourne, senior marketing major, has a full-time job as a benefits marketing analyst at Heritage Federal Credit Union. Bourne said she is looking forward to getting into her professional career. “After learning about something you’re passionate about, it’s exciting to actually practice it and develop professional skills,” Bourne said. One of Bourne’s favorite memories from her time at USI was traveling to New Orleans, Louisiana, as president of USI’s American Marketing Association chapter for the 2023 AMA International Collegiate Conference. “It was great building friendships with everyone and getting to be in New Orleans for five days,” Bourne said. The biggest challenges of Bourne’s college career include uncertainties about where she would be after college and having to take classes that did not align with her major or passions. “It was hard to stay focused on courses you don’t particularly have an interest in,” she said. Bourne emphasized the importance of connection to undergraduate students. “Don’t be afraid to network with others,” she said. “Meet everyone you can in your classes or in the community. Your professors are also your friends, at USI especially. You have that one-on-one connection. Using them as a resource will help in the future.” Bourne also encouraged students to get involved in as much as they can. “You don’t have to be a president or vice president to lead something,” she said.
Edwin Daniel Ramirez, senior foreign exchange and industrial engineering major, said USI is a stage of his life that he will hold close to his heart. His current postgraduate plans include finding a job after college to work at for a year or two and eventually applying for an MBA at a business school, possibly in the United States or England. His favorite memory from USI was doing life with his friends. “Most of my memories are focusing on friends,” he said. “Taking lunch with my friends and going to the library, staying in the library until midnight doing homeworking and, at the same time, having fun and jokes. So, I can say this is something that I will remember for the rest of my life, working with friends.” Ramirez said his advice to underclassmen would be that while it’s important to focus on classes, take advantage of all the activities you can while you have the time. “College is the time to have fun,” he said. “You need to take advantage of the other activities that are involved in college because life is not only your work. Being a part of clubs and activities help you develop your social skills, and outside, these are things people are looking for. I already had a couple of interviews and the first things that they ask you is not about your skills in your major, they ask you about your hobbies and your life. Take advantage of the other activities and get involved.”
Kaitlynn Walls, senior English major, is ready to begin the next chapter of her life. In the future, Walls hopes to be an author and has looked into different social media jobs involving editing and publishing. Walls said she is enthusiastic about “establishing a foundation for myself and being able to start my life and make it on my own.’’ Walls has gained better writing skills, responsibility and time management from her time at USI. She is happy to take the friends she has gained over the last few years with her to the next stage of her life. “I love the closeness of the campus community,” Walls said. “USI has brought a lot of good friends into my life. The closeness of campus has made us become and stay so close.” Walls said one of the challenging things about her college career has been motivation. “College is not easy, in the aspect of learning how to do things on your own, not having someone tell you what to do, being responsible for yourself and depending on yourself,” she said. Walls encouraged current and upcoming students to set a schedule. “Having a lack of uniformity in your day makes everything feel off. Having a plan in place every day would have dramatically changed how I performed in my college career,” Walls said. “Don’t study your life away. It’s important to be productive, but it’s also important to go out and do things. Protect your mental health.”
principals and guidance counselors to improve recruitment.
“Instead of just looking at data like GPA or test scores, we go out and ask high school principals and counselors,” Doughty said. “It’s kind of like a holistic way of looking at students and trying to find the right fit for them.”
Doughty said the College of Liberal Arts and the Romain College of Business are looking for students who are “curious, intellectually adventurous” and have “untapped potential.”
sociology and German major, said he has done over 20 tours for the Student Ambassador Organization.
“I always try to establish a genuine connection with the individuals I’m guiding,” Rosignol said. “They’re usually not set on what college they are going to, so it’s important that they have a USI student guide that they feel is approachable. This casual yet approachable connection allows me to connect on a level not all universities do.”
BY IAN YOUNG Staff WriterStrategic Enrollment Management is working with local high schools to build relationships and communication to increase enrollment. The university’s student enrollment has decreased for the 11th year in a row. Rashad Smith, executive director of Strategic Enrollment Management, said enrollment always starts with people.
“Folks and staff are passionate about this university and want to continue to work toward bringing in new students that are a good fit,” Smith said. “Our ambassadors are committed to making sure that when students and families come to campus, they have a
great experience.”
Smith said the university is always working to push direct communication and travel to campus.
“A big part of our tours is that when students have a great experience, they are going to tell others what that experience was like,” Smith said. “We have seen an increase to campus visits from students and families, and we get great reviews from our student surveys. We have even seen an increase of students coming to campus from schools, and we are looking at more ways we can do that.”
Del Doughty, dean of the College of Liberal Arts, said representatives from the college are beginning to work with local high school
Sudesh Mujumdar, dean of the Romain College of Business, said the college has made contact with several schools in the Evansville Vanderburgh School Corporation.
Mujumdar said the goal is to build long-term relationships with high schools.
“I talked about building these bonds with high schools early on when I applied for the position as dean,” Mujumdar said. “If we build these bonds early on, maybe they’ll choose us as their partners in their journey to their successful future.”
Mujumbar said improving enrollment numbers is more than making the right advertisement campaign, it is creating the university students want to see.
He said, “If you don’t do the hard work early on, thinking about what value our students want to see, it’s not going to be that meaningful.”
Timothy Rosignol, freshman
Troy Miller, vice president for Strategic Enrollment Management, said building relations with high schools is what every college institution does.
“We coordinated with all of our colleges to build that relationship with high schools,” Miller said. “That’s how we’re recruiting along with the college fair, just coordinating on what we look like and presenting our best self to potential students and their families we are conversing with.”
Miller said enrollment is about relationship building.
“It’s like dating,” Miller said. “The more consistent you are, the more you are engaged with someone. Relationships work both ways, so it will not always be about us going to recruit new students from the community. We can be a service to the community, that way we can build a two-way relationship here that is fundamental to building those relationships.”
The physical landscape of USI is set to continue to change in Fall 2023.
The Recreation, Fitness and Wellness Center has been undergoing renovations since the beginning of the 2022-2023 academic year to become the Wellness Center and is set to finish in the first quarter of Fall 2024. The Health Professions Center will begin renovations over summer and is set to finish by Fall 2023.
Jim Wolfe, director of facilities operations and planning, oversees the construction projects.
“I am involved from the beginning of when a project is even thought about being done,” Wolfe said.
Wolfe said the budget for the RFWC is around $16 million and $12 million of the sum will go toward construction. He said the budget for the Health Professions Center is around $18 million with around $9 million going toward construction and $6 million going to new equipment.
He said the budgets for the construction projects at the RFWC and the Health Professions Center came from state funds, and the leftover money within the budget will go toward design fees for engineer and design technicians, furniture and small fees.
A big portion of the RFWC construction is relocating wellness
offices, such as Counseling and Psychological Services and Public Saftey, into one center.
Wolfe said moving these organizations into the RFWC will help incoming students visiting the university see the services all together if they ever need to use them in the future.
“It will be bringing those to where they are actually visible when you’re in a main part of campus,” Wolfe said.
Holli Miller, junior psychology major, said she thinks the construction will allow Public Safety to be more centralized and respond to emergencies quicker.
“I also think having an area where student wellness is the focus will help USI students,” Miller said.
Wolfe said CAPS could “lose some time” to be available for students during its transition into the RFWC.
“Now, Public Safety is a little bit different because it’s all the radio programming and the alarm systems,” he said. “All that has to be transitioned over there.”
The dental hygiene department in the Health Professions Center will be updated with new dental chairs and equipment.
“The entire clinic suite is going to be changed,” said Jennifer Fehrenbacher, assistant professor for dental assisting and hygiene.
Fehrenbacher said the dental hygiene program is also getting
radiology rooms so students can take radiographs sooner. She said other changes are also coming.
“The dental assisting students are getting a simulation lab for the first time, which means they will have a dedicated space to learn within the program,” Fehrenbacher said.
She said she is excited for the changes coming to the dental hygiene department.
“I think it will be a lot of work, but I am excited for the challenge of learning the new equipment so we can provide a cutting-edge education in the dentistry field for our students,” she said.
Fehrenbacher said the changes to the dental hygiene department will be better for USI’s branding.
“In my opinion, the setup
and look of the clinic suite will represent a dental practice more for the campus and for students not involved in or aware of the program,” Ferenbacher said.
Wolfe said the dental hygiene department construction will not begin until May 8, and it is planned to be completed before the Fall 2023 semester.
Fehrenbacher said she thinks the changes to the dental hygiene department will “present more unity within the campus.”
“Although our students are providing a great service and care to members of our local community through their learning experiences, I think it’s important to have that campus connection too,” Fehrenbacher said.
The university’s first year of NCAA Division I athletics is coming to an end and has changed USI. Students, student athletes and athletic administration report higher student attendance at sporting events, more school spirit and increased excitement for the future following USI’s first year in Division I.
The Board of Trustees voted unanimously Feb. 7, 2022, to apply for the transition of university athletics from DII to DI. As of April 27, USI is three years away from fully transitioning to DI and being allowed to compete in national NCAA-sanctioned tournaments under the current NCAA Division I transition guidelines.
Jon Mark Hall, director of athletics, said the transition to DI increased student attendance at athletic events, matches and games.
“From an attendance standpoint, between all of our sports, our student attendance was up and is up,” Hall said. “It’s just because of that level of change, knowing these institutions we’re competing against.”
Coltan Tang, freshman swimming and diving sprinter, said campus is definitely more lively with the move to DI.
“I’ve seen a lot of people, like at basketball games they’re getting themes going,” Tang said. “There’s good energy in the arena. When I’m swimming, and I look up into the stands, and it is full, and there has to be people sitting out in the hallway
area, there’s people looking into the windows, that’s a great feeling.”
Lauren Carie, sophomore women’s basketball forward, said, “There were some nights where it was record numbers of people, so the community has just been so great and so supportive. It’s been awesome.”
The university had its first DI victory when women’s soccer defeated Winona State University 1-0 Sept. 9, 2022. Peyton Murphy, freshman midfielder, scored the first DI goal in USI’s history.
Murphy was the recipient of the first award given to a USI athlete in the DI era when she won Ohio Valley Conference Offensive Player of the Week.
The women’s soccer team was also the first USI team to qualify for the postseason when it was the eightseed in the OVC tournament before being eliminated in the first round by Lindenwood University 2-1.
The men’s and women’s basketball teams also had their first DI season.
The men’s basketball team was the
first to play a power five school in the game against University of Missouri Nov. 7, 2022. The team ultimately fell short in its home opener 9791, but it marked the beginning of the first DI basketball season. The men’s basketball team was also the first USI team to be put on national television when they faced fellow OVC newcomer the University of Arkansas at Little Rock Jan. 12 on ESPNU.
Men’s basketball was the first USI team to finish the regular season with a record above 0.50 at 16-15. These stats were good enough to qualify for the OVC tournament where they were defeated in the first round by Southern Illinois University Edwardsville 68-54. Its record earned the team an invitation to the College Basketball Invitational at Daytona Beach, Florida where it lost to San Jose State University in the first round of the tournament 7752. Despite this loss, it marked the first time a USI team was invited to a postseason tournament outside of the OVC in DI history.
The move to DI showed a new view through the lens of the athletes.
Olivia Howard, sophomore women’s softball outfielder, said, “I just see a lot more people taking more pride in the campus because they see that people are putting the effort into it, and they’re like, ‘Wow, like, this is actually a really beautiful campus.’”
Men’s baseball and women’s softball seasons will continue in Summer 2023.
“I just see a lot more people taking more pride in the campus...”
- Olivia Howard
BY BRYCE WEST, Assitant News Editor
“The community has just been so great and so supportive. I really think that campus is going to probably expand or grow.”
“I think definitely it will bring more, like, you know, people to USI.”
“One of the reasons we did it was to put a spotlight on our institution.We hope we see quickly the name recognition that we hope to have will spill throughout the region.”
“This campus is always growing, and that’s what I love about it. The facilities here are awesome. I think everything’s brand new, and I think this is just gonna grow.”
“I think it’s just — it’s new. I think it’s gonna take a little bit more time to change a lot. It’s just like baby steps.”
“I think campus is just going to keep growing and keep getting bigger and better. With the growth, our sports teams are going to grow.”
The Shield is a designated public forum and the student publication of the University of Southern Indiana.
Read more and subscribe to our digital newsletter at usishield.com.
BY ELIZABETH HARRIS Cartoonist
M
F o
“BlackBerry”
BlackBerry”
“Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 3”
“Fast X“
“You Hurt My Feelings”
“The Machine”
“Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse”
“Past Lives”
“Asteroid City”
“The Flash”
“No Hard Feelings”
“How Do You Live?”
How
“Mission: Impossible Dead Reckoning Part One”
“Theater Camp”
“Barbie”
“Oppenheimer”
“Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem”
Teenage
“Nimona”
“Dune: Part Two”
“The Killer”
“Mickey
“Mickey 17”
Cover: Kalie Fry, junior nursing major, and Charity Pflederer, junior biology major, share a hammock April 13 on The Quad.