I am excited to share some insight with you on life in the KLLC.  I think that, for the most part, you will realize the benefit of living in this community as you go.  I am not here to convince you to join the LLC because you are already there.  What I would like to share with you is some advice to make the best of your opportunity.  There were a million opportunities when I was a member 2 years ago so I am sure that there are even more now.  What I want to tell you is simple, take advantage.  The most that anyone can do is to provide you with the opportunities, no one is going to hold your hand and walk you to each event.  As a freshman you have the ability to try out everything that sounds appealing to you and get involved if it interests you or drop it if it doesn’t.  Don’t have any regrets in missing anything and wishing later that you had tried it.  As a member of the KLLC you have even more opportunities than the average freshman, specialized in your potential interest in business.  Even if the events offered aren’t at the most convenient time or there are other things you would rather be doing, sometimes it may be worth it.

I came to IU from Cincinnati, Ohio interested in Finance and Accounting.  I attended as many events as I could (because I am a nerd) and it paid off.  One event that I remember most clearly was a CFO Roundtable.  Several CFOs from several big name companies came to visit a select group from the KLLC.  It was an honor to be a member of a community they wanted to take time to visit specifically.  Although it was a breakfast event at 8:30 in the morning, it was worth it.  Free breakfast, good insights from awesome people AND I was selected after breakfast to walk one of the many CFOs down to the Kelley School.  During the walk, another KLLC member and I had the chance to chat with her about her background personally and professionally.  At the end of the short walk she even gave us her card and told us to email her if we ever had any questions.  She just so happened to be a CFO for the accounting firm Ernst and Young and I just so happened to be an accounting student.  As a freshman you may not know as well as I did exactly what you want to do, but it never hurts to make connections like this.  As it turns out, I am going to be a junior this year and have secured an internship for the spring with you guessed it, Ernst and Young in Chicago.  It may not necessarily be that I wouldn’t have gotten the internship without having a chance to network with this particular CFO, but it is cool to look back and see the connections.

My main advice for you this year is to have fun, make great friends, and work hard.  You have all heard how awesome it is to have so much support from other business students in your building so you can all do homework together, etc. but you will learn that on your own.  What I am telling you is go to the speaker series talks that sound interesting to you, go on the KLLC trips, and go to the events the KLLC puts on because it will benefit you in more ways than one.  My mom is even going to be part of the speaker series and she is definitely someone it would be good to hear from if you are at all interested in a company like Proctor and Gamble or a career in the field of finance (or business in general).  And get involved outside of Kelley too; it will make you more of a well rounded person!  Finally, make sure you are having fun along the way and making lots of friends.  The friends you make this year are the ones you will have for a long time.  My current roommates are 2 girls I met on the first day of living in the KLLC.  There are so many people there to help you so be sure to network and always ask for help when you need it.  You may only be a freshman, but you will have such a leg up on everyone else that it will be worth starting early!

Let me know if you have any questions or want to talk anymore about the KLLC, Kelley, IU or life in general.  I would love to help out!

Katie List

kelist@indiana.edu