CLASS ACTS

1960s

Larry Lain, ’69, has retired after 43 years of teaching. He taught for seven years at junior and senior high schools in Frankfort and Marion, Ind., and for 36 years at the University of Dayton, where he was the professor of journalism. He has written three books on journalism education and eight travel books and has worked for several newspapers. He is married to Barbara (Bakel) Lain, ’69, and they reside in Dayton, Ohio.

1970s

George W. “Sandy” Schaefer, ’70, received the 2013 Teaching Excellence Award the Nebraska State College System Board of Trustees.

Joe Evelo, ’72, financial advisor and co-director of the Cintas Institute for Business Ethics at Xavier University, presented at the eighth annual Ethics and Corporate Social Responsibility Conference in April.

Tony Lux, ’73G, has retired as superintendent from the Merrillville Community Schools.

Steve McColley, ’73, ’76G, ’99G, has retired as superintendent of Wes-Del Community Schools.

Anibal Taboas, ’73, was appointed by Illinois Governor Patrick Quinn to serve a seat
on the Governors State University board of trustees.

Jerry Reese, ’74, ’79G, has retired from teaching at Castle South Middle School.

Todd W. Brown, ’75, ’76G, has been named vice president of food safety and quality at Blount Fine Foods.

Bruce Lemmon, ’75, will continue to serve as commissioner of the Department of Correction under Governor Mike Pence’s administration.

Pam Blesch, ’76, ’94G, gave a presentation at Indiana State, entitled, “Serving Through Giving: A Lifetime of Servant Leadership.” The speech was focused on her journey through her nursing career.

Kevin Leissring, ’76G, was named president and CEO of First Merit Wisconsin, pending the acquisition of Citizens Republic Bancorp by First Merit Corp.

Craig McKee, ’79, gave the alumni commencement address to December 2012 graduates at Indiana State University.

Terry Modesitt, ’79, of Modesitt Law Office was the guest feature at Lunch with a Lawyer at the Wabash Senior Activity Center in Terre Haute.

1980s

Abigail Eutsler, Mark Eutsler, Governor Mike Pence, First Lady Karen Pence, Andrew Eutsler, and Therese Eutsler

Mark Eutsler, ’80, IPL 500 Festival Parade Co-Chair of Linden, was presented with an autographed copy of John Philip Sousa IV’s book, John Philip Sousa’s America: The Patriot’s Life in Images and Words at the 66th Mid-West Clinic, An International Band and Orchestra Conference held at McCormick Place in Chicago. Eutsler attended the conference with Parade Director Toni Meyer promoting it to band directors and travel consultants.

Abigail Eutsler, Mark Eutsler, Governor Mike Pence, First Lady Karen Pence, Andrew Eutsler, and Therese Eutsler share a moment at the Indiana Society of Washington Inaugural Ball at the Omni Shoreham Regency in Washington, D.C.

Olga Imperial Keegan, ’81, became a member of F.C. Tucker Company’s President’s Club and Executive Club for outstanding sales volume in 2012. Keegan was also a recipient of the Bud Tucker Volunteer of the Year Award and immediate past president of the Association of International Women in Indianapolis.

Bruce Baldwin, ’82, a longtime government advisor, retired as executive director of the Muncie Redevelopment Commission.

Amy Bollinger, ’82, was name executive director of the Northwest Colorado Board of Cooperative Educational Services in July of 2012.

Traci Mariano, ’85, directed the performance of “All That Remains” that was featured at the Kuma Kahua Theatre in Honolulu.

David Durkee, ’86, was appointed to serve as president of the Bakery, Confectionery, Tobacco Workers and Grain Millers International Union.

Rob K. Loesch, ’87, was promoted to credit analyst at the Greenville National Bank in Ohio.

Kym Pfrank, ’87, has been appointed to the position of senior vice president and chief operating officer at Union Hospital.

1990s

Chris Black, ’90G, has been named the Chief Financial Officer of Viamedia, based in Lexington, Ky.

Tijjani Mohammed, ’90, was named chair of the department of technology systems at East Carolina University in Greenville, N.C., where has been on the faculty for the past 16 years.

Randy Gentry, ’90, retained the position of Vigo County chairperson of the Republican Party.

Tony Truelove, ’91, has been named marketing manager for Eaton’s North America truck operations.

Kristin Adams, ’93, is the director of the Office of Health Performance Management at the Indiana Department of Health.

Leah Chandler, ’93, has been selected as the chief marketing officer for the Branson/Lakes Area Chamber of Commerce and Convention and Visitors Bureau.

Biff Williams speaks during the awards ceremony for the College of Nursing, Health, and Human Services.

Dr. Richard “Biff” Williams, ’95G, founding dean of the College of Nursing, Health, and Human Services at Indiana State University, has been selected as the university’s next provost and vice president of academic affairs.

Scotty Stepp, ’96, recently returned to his alma mater to perform in the Faculty Artist Series at Indiana State.

Tim Leman, ’97, has been named Outstanding Young Business Leader by the Chamber of Commerce of St. Joseph County.

Dr. Michael Wilcox, ’97, ’10G, ’12Ph.D., has been named the new superintendent of Richland Bean Blossom Community School Corporation.

Joe Rutledge, ’98, senior trooper of the Indiana State Police was promoted to sergeant and will supervise road troopers assigned to Parke and Vermilion counties.

Keith Fonseca, ’99G, has been selected as the new recreation director for Middle Township.

Eric Nicholas, ’99, was named as eastern region senior commercial lending executive of First Financial Bank.

Pete Powers, ’99, will serve the Greene County General Hospital as its hospitalist and is also seeing patients at the Greene County Health-Lone Tree Medical Clinic.

2000s

Todd Carter, ’02G, athletics director at Butler County Community College in El Dorado, Kan. was appointed to a four-year term on the Kansas Athletic Commission.

Layton Wall, ’03G, has retired from his position as Superintendent of White River Valley School.

Alan P. Morrison, ’05G, was named special projects gift officer in the Office of Institutional Advancements at Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology.

Neal Mottesheard, ’07, was appointed as the marketing associate for the Bison Financial Group in Lafayette.

Elaina Ateke, ’08, has joined the Peace Corps to work as an HIV/AIDS educator in Namibia.

Corey Crum, ’09, an award-winning artist and instructor in drawing and painting at St. Joseph’s College in Jasper County, was featured by Prairie Arts Council for his “Once Living Things: Paintings, Drawings and Sculptures” collection.
Deda Rush, ’09, was honored as Emerging Professional by the business education association for her work as Union Junior/Senior High School’s business teacher.

2010s

Shanel Poole, ’10, was recognized as a recipient of the 2013 Torchbearer Awards by the Indiana Commission for Women (ICW) at the annual Ceremony held in the Indiana Government Center Auditorium.

Doug Allison, ’11G, has been named principal at Warren Central Elementary School.

Bernie McGee, ’11, graduated from the 72nd Indiana State Police Recruit Academy in December 2012. He has been assigned to the Lafayette post.

Jason Gorcoff, ‘12G, had his art collection entitled “New Work” featured in the Misciagna Family Center for Performing Arts at Penn State Altoona.

OF SPECIAL NOTE

President Dan Bradley, Rachel Leslie and T.J. Mattick

Rachel Leslie, ’05, and T.J. Mattick, ’01, ’05G, were recognized by the Alumni Association as 2013 Graduate of the Last Decade award recipients at the annual Founder’s Day celebration.

Pictured (from left): Front row: Abby Shanks, Violet Pangan, Rosalie Shanks and Natalie Shanks. Second row: President Daniel J. Bradley, David Hagerman, ’71, Betty Heine, Barbara Hagerman, ’69, ’70G, ’74Ph.D., Joanne Hollenbeck, ’70, Sam Shanks, ’85, and Director of the ISU Alumni Association, Rex Kendall. Third Row: Catherine Hagerman Pangan, ’95, Susan Borgnini, ’72, and Ted Shanks.

The Heine family was presented with the 2013 Legacy Award at the annual Founder’s Day event for their continued commitment to and support of Indiana State University.

Dan Doan, ’82G, Todd Osburn, ’85, Jim Sunday, ’72, ’77G, and Jeff Taylor, ’75, have joined the Indiana State University Foundation’s board of directors.

Maryanne Burke Battistini, ’51, published her third book Tales That Wag. Other books that have been published by Maryanne include Hometown Potpourri and Lacey’s Story. She retired from Merrillville Community Schools Corp. in 1997.

 Mary Schaefer, ’84, is among the twenty-one co-authors of the newly published book,

The Character-Based Leader: Instigating a Leadership Revolution… One Person at a Time. She currently serves an independent consultant, trainer, and coach specializing in manager-employee interactions. Mary joined the Lead Change Group in 2010, a virtual community committed to instigating a leadership revolution, one person at a time.

Lynda J. Cox, ’04, ‘07G, published her first novel, The Devil’s Own Desperado. 

“Happiness is an indicator of enjoyment and satisfaction with life, and having a general sense of happiness is important to both your psychological and your physical wellbeing.” — Virgil Sheets

It’s our God-given, inalienable right, defiantly proclaimed by our nation’s founding fathers in the Declaration of Independence. And history validates Adams, Jefferson, et al., in their belief that Americans’ longing for happiness ranks right alongside their desire for life and liberty.

It’s something that we’ve proven time and again we are willing to fight and even to die for.

Nearly 240 years later, the people of the United States are still chasing their happy dream as diligently as ever — but some believe we’re slipping when it comes to achieving our goal.  According to the Legatum Institute’s Prosperity Index, last year for the first time ever the U.S. did not place among the top 10 happiest nations.

What happened?

Legatum based its analysis on a study of 142 countries comprising 96 percent of the world’s population, using 89 indicators in eight categories such as personal freedom and economics. The U.S. dropped two spots between 2011 and 2012 — from No. 10 to No. 12 — pulled down by the “Entrepreneurship and Opportunity” sub-index.

Many respondents said they no longer believed in the idea that hard work gets you ahead.

But do studies such as Legatum’s truly reflect how most of us feel? This also begs the question: Why do Americans, in particular, seem so obsessed with finding happiness — and for that matter –  and with having fun?

We went to Indiana State University professor Virgil Sheets for the answers. A social and environmental psychologist who earned his doctorate from Arizona State University 20 years ago, Sheets has long been fascinated by how interpersonal relationships develop and are maintained. He also wants to know how external factors drive our behavior and internal processes.

ISU Magazine: Let’s begin with the basics. In psychology, what is considered happiness and what is fun?

Sheets: There is no simple answer. Fun and happiness are closely connected, but they aren’t one and the same. When we study happiness we typically look at it as a general long-term gauge of satisfaction, whereas fun is much more immediate focused and may have a little more arousal or excitement connection to it.

ISU Magazine: Does that mean you can be having fun but not really be happy overall?

Sheets: I think so. Fun can happen in a circumstance or situation, but it’s more transient. Happiness, on the other hand, involves how your life is going overall.

ISU Magazine: Are these mental states only, or is there a physical cause for them, too?

Sheets: That’s kind of tricky because there’s a physical basis for every mental state in terms of something is going on in the mind — there is a biological process. I think you’re asking whether the causes of happiness and fun are external versus internal, and the answer is there’s a little of both. Clearly they reflect your reaction to what’s going on in the outside world, but it’s also possible to interpret things mentally and modify the experience to make them seem better than they are. So the external is important, but the internal — your interpretation of what’s happening to you — plays into your emotional state, too.

ISU Magazine: Is there any difference in how age groups rate happiness? For instance, does the college crowd seem more concerned with finding happiness than someone in, say, their 50s?

Virgil Sheets, a social and environmental psychologist and chair of Indiana State’s psychology department

Sheets: I’m not sure we have a lot of data on the age affect, but this distinction between fun and happiness — the immediate versus long-term distinction — partly gets into an issue of gratification. To be happy long-term, sometimes you have to set aside immediate fun in order to do things like go to college. Not that you don’t have some fun in college, but on a given night you may have to forego having fun to study.

The ability to delay gratification can be developed and practiced, and younger people seem to have a harder time with that than adults.

ISU Magazine: Why are people so concerned with happiness?

Sheets: I’ll answer in terms of my field. When psychologists study happiness, they often look at how it affects the evolutionary process. Happiness is an indicator of enjoyment and satisfaction with life, and having a general sense of happiness is important to both your psychological and your physical wellbeing.

It’s also important to human survival to experience immediate pleasure in response to immediate goals. An example of this is eating a good meal when you are hungry, which also can help you get and remain healthy.

But we also must have the ability to make changes if things are going bad. That’s where negative — unhappy — emotions come in. They tell us there’s a problem and we need to make changes, while positive emotions reinforce when things are going well. So both the happy and unhappy emotions work together to feed you information about whether you need to make immediate or long-term changes in your life.

Fun hasn’t been studied as much, but we have examined particular types of positive or fun experiences. There is a concept called the “flow experience,” where you’re in the moment and really enjoying what you’re doing. It seems to contribute to a sense of wellbeing.

ISU Magazine: Is it possible to do something that’s fun and at the time seems like a good idea, then you wake up the next day and it’s like, “Uh-oh, I don’t think I’m so happy doing that anymore?” Take binge drinking by college students, for example.

Sheets: Binge drinking is a good example. In fact, almost any addiction is a good example, where the fun overrides the happiness. It makes us do things that actually hurt our long-term happiness.

What’s happening is there’s a sort of disconnect between the systems. The brain’s system that focuses on immediate gratification is saying, “Yeah, this is great. Give me more,” and that’s overriding the longer-term system for delay of gratification.

This relates to the question about whether there is a danger of a happy society becoming a complacent society. I think a fun society is more likely to become a complacent society, because if people begin focusing on what they can get right now at the expense of, or by ignoring a life goal that they must work toward to contribute to long-term happiness, then yes, I think you might see complacency. But if people are invested in long-term sources of happiness, then I don’t think you’re likely to see that. You’re going to see people who are really dedicated and working toward their goals.

“Fun and happiness are closely connected, but they aren’t one and the same.” — Virgil Sheets

ISU Magazine: So do you think happiness heightens productivity and creativity? Or do you think people need to feel they’re lacking something — they have a hunger — and this in turn motivates them to search for answers and leads to innovation?

Sheets: An immediate hunger might lead to some productivity if the immediate payoff were to relieve that hunger. So, yes, if I’m going to get paid in an immediate, pleasurable response, then being hungry could motivate my behavior more. But if we’re thinking about my long-term productivity, I’m not sure keeping me hungry is going to do that because I’m not moving toward long-term goals. I’m moving just toward the immediate goals.

So it’s only if you can structure it so that these two always align, then being a little needy could be helpful. But the thing is, we can’t — and there are times when the two are in conflict with one another.

ISU Magazine: Does today’s society seem more obsessed with having fun than perhaps adults in the 1940s and ‘50s?

Sheets: That’s a little tricky. Older people often say they feel as if the younger generation is not following the same values and traditions, and perhaps is pursuing something different. One of the trends we’ve seen is that, compared with college students in an earlier generation, today’s students are more concerned with wealth, materialism and money sorts of things, whereas previous generations were concerned in college with thinking, learning and more generally with developing a meaning and philosophy in life rather than with wealth.

That might be because there’s been a broadening of who goes to college today. But some experts argue that it reflects a change in society — that we are moving toward a society that is more focused on immediacy and material wealth as opposed to the truer sources of happiness.

What’s been really interesting is that studies have shown that as we get wealthier, we don’t get any happier. Our happiness both as a society and as individuals seems to stay fairly stable.

There’s something in psychology known as the “adaptation level phenomena,” which refers to the fact that we seem to adapt psychologically to whatever is currently normal and whatever is currently happening will become normal.

For instance, when someone gets a raise they’re happy for a short time – maybe the first paycheck or two – but then the raise becomes normal and after a few months they are no happier than they were before. Similarly there’s a lot of media coverage of how winning the lottery doesn’t make the winners happier over the long-term. There’s an immediate bump in pleasure, but the happiness level seems to come back down as they get used to whatever their new conditions are.

So while people have become more materialistic as a focus of their happiness, in reality it doesn’t seem to lead to greater overall happiness in society or for the individuals.

ISU Magazine: Are some people their own worst enemy when it comes to being happy? I’m thinking of a friend who hates his job, but when he got an offer for early retirement he didn’t want to take it.

“Family and support systems are very important, both as a source of fun and as a source of long-term happiness because oftentimes that’s where we get our meaning and purpose in life.” — Virgil Sheets

Sheets: One of the things that contributes to our satisfaction is being able to predict how things are going to work. Even if it’s unpleasant, for some people that predictability is better than the uncertainty that comes without it.

ISU Magazine: Maybe some people are just happy being unhappy. Is that possible?

Sheets: There is a sort of long-term stability to it — not that people can’t try to change how happy or unhappy they are, but I think we oftentimes see inertia there. On the other hand, I’ve certainly seen people who were quite happy in situations that I’m not sure I could deal with, but they just roll with it. People can be amazingly flexible.

And as I mentioned earlier, interpretation can come into play. Sometimes just reinterpreting what’s happening to you can change the feel of it, especially if other people are the source of your dissatisfaction. If you think a bit about their behavior and can reinterpret it, oftentimes it doesn’t seem nearly as subversive.

ISU Magazine: How do family, friends and your support system factor into the happiness equation?

Sheets: Social relationships are very important. People who don’t have good social relationships and connections, good friendships and good family relationships, struggle a lot more with issues than do people who do.

As I said earlier, happiness gives us a sense of whether the direction we’re taking in life is a good one. Family and support systems are very important, both as a source of fun and as a source of long-term happiness because oftentimes that’s where we get our meaning and purpose in life.

Also, when you become a parent a lot of the focus comes off you and instead is placed on your kids. Being able to have that long-term meaning and purpose are clearly connected to happiness — and kids are certainly one place where you have to begin to think about a long-term source of happiness, because there definitely will be times when they make you unhappy.

ISU Magazine: What is the media’s role in this? We constantly watch television shows where people have all this time to go out and solve crimes on their own or get caught up in soap opera romance and drama. They never have to worry about the day-to-day grind. What expectation does this set up for us?

Sheets: There are numerous studies in psychology that suggest the media often sets an unrealistic standard of expectation. If everybody you see on television is wealthy and successful and you can’t get access to that, it seems reasonable that’s going to play into your sense of happiness and success.

But, again, I think if you have good relationships in life, the media probably plays less of a role because you have that connection to reality and what real people are like.

ISU Magazine: That wraps into the question about whether Americans might be more obsessed than other countries or cultures with the pursuit of happiness and fun?

Sheets: I spoke earlier about how some researchers have looked at the relationship between materialism and happiness and satisfaction, and there’s certainly been data to suggest that we are more interested in self-gratification and the immediacy of the experience than other cultures. This also suggests that we may not be as happy, even if we are a little more obsessed with trying to get there.

But I think everybody in the world wants to be happy. It’s simply a matter of finding a route to achieve that.

ISU Magazine: Speaking of the world, how do current events — for example, the Middle East conflicts — affect our happiness?

Sheets: Certainly, we know this impacts people and certainly something like a war affects us. Many people have family and loved ones on active duty, which is going to provide a source of stress and challenge their happiness.

But overall, are people less happy during those times? I’m not sure. It certainly changes the context and may therefore change what it takes to enjoy happiness simply as a result of the contrast— that is, if there’s all this miserable stuff going on, you might find some pleasure in a little less than what would be required for your pleasure if things were going well. But, I honestly don’t have a good answer for that one.

ISU Magazine: Do you think a person who doesn’t directly suffer a negative impact from current events — let’s say, somebody who doesn’t know anyone serving overseas – might still suffer from guilt, since you know your peers are over there in danger while you’re maybe enjoying a day at the beach?

Sheets: Our minds are amazingly flexible. We’re pretty good at trying to find the rainbow in the storm clouds so that if something bad is happening to somebody else, we often won’t admit it, but because it’s not happening to us it gives us a little sense of relief and that may be interpreted as pleasantness.

It’s not that we want negative things to happen to other people, but when it comes down to it better them than us. You might feel sort of guilty doing that, but if that’s all we have, that’s all we have, and we’ll use that to make ourselves feel a little better.

Laurel Harper is a freelance writer in Louisville, Ky. Her daughter’s engagement to a fantastic man and a bottle of Malbec make Laurel happy.

As the last cars slide to a stop at ”The Voyage” and weary sun-kissed visitors head for the amusement park’s exit, exhausted children rest their heads, with blue ice cream smears across their sleepy faces, on their parents’ shoulders.

It’s one of Matt Eckert’s favorite scenes at work.

“It’s neat that they spent the entire day,” said Eckert, ’96, president and CEO of Holiday World. “It’s important to say thank you. They could have spent their day any other way and they chose to come spend the day with us.”

Five Indiana State University alumni work year round at the amusement park to create fun summer days for the more than one million people that visit the 67-year-old Holiday World and Splashin’ Safari in Santa Claus, Ind., each year.

***

Lori Koch and Matt Eckert sit on the wooden tracks of The Voyage, billed as the number one wooden roller coaster.

On an overcast early spring day, construction workers busily pieced together the newest attraction of summer fun, Hyena Falls. The blue, yellow and green tubes promise water sliding shrieks of approval from happy youngsters. Elsewhere construction crews finish the expansion at the dive show and the new first aid center. Power washers throb as crew members wash winter’s grime off of walk ways, seats and buildings.

Water has begun flowing into Splashin’ Safari’s pools, which will take a month to fill. Jennifer Rich, ’05, oversees that as water park attractions manager. She coordinates with the city of Santa Claus to fill the pools with the necessary hundreds of thousands gallons of water slowly so not to run the town dry.

In a staff office, high school students line up after a morning of training to receive their uniforms for summer work. Brandon Berg, ’95, human resources development director, stands behind the counter handing out the brightly colored polo shirts to a few of the 2,000 seasonal workers.

Ashley Satterfield, ’06, is at home on family leave with her newborn second child. As special events manager, she will oversee the Rock the World Christian Music Fest, Happy Halloween Weekends and other events.

Each of the alumni took a different road to a place where it makes them happy to work as members of the 80 full-time staff.

***

Lori Koch, ’84, drove south with friends from Indiana State to try out at what was known as Santa Claus Land in 1983. She was the only one hired that summer as a singer and dancer. “I was just excited to be on the stage,” said the now executive vice president with a smile remembering when 250,000 people visited the park annually. “I thought I’d hit the big time.”

She did find her life changed that summer. She met and fell in love with Will Koch, grandson of the park’s founder, Louis Koch.

Work swirls around Brandon Berg as the park prepares its 2,000 seasonal workers for summer. ISU Photo/Rachel Keyes

Lori Koch, who grew up in Walton, Ind., planned to attend a small private college until her financial aid fell through. Her voice teacher suggested Indiana State because she would be more than a face in a crowd. She applied and visited the campus where she found warm people and an academic scholarship  as well as community in the Sycamore Singers while studying music education.

She also found professors who didn’t treat her as a number, such as her voice teacher Raymond Mech. “He invited me to church,” she said. “His wife made dinner for us.”

She also walked through a door into an unexpected future at an amusement park in southern Indiana.

“It was a fluke, but it was a blessing. If I hadn’t ended up there, I wouldn’t have auditioned here and I wouldn’t have met Will,” she said. Will Koch, who became president of Holiday World, died unexpectedly in 2010.

Eckert, who took over as president of Holiday World in early 2013, planned to attend another university but on a visit to that campus he didn’t feel as if he belonged.

“When I went to ISU, I was there 10 minutes and I said, ‘This is it,’” he recalled.

As an accounting and insurance major, Eckert participated in Sycamore Ambassadors, working to welcome future Sycamores to campus.

“I really feel like ISU goes out of its way to embrace incoming students, to show them what it’s going to be like. Professors take time out of their busy day to meet students,” he said.

He also remembers the friendships he made along the way, calling that his number one memory.

After working for accounting firm giant Arthur Andersen, he and his family decided to return closer to his family in the Patoka Lake area. He found a position as controller at the place where he and his family spent summer days. “I have great memories from those days,” Eckert said of visiting Holiday World as a youngster. “It excites me that families coming now have the same memories.”  It also happened to be the place where one of his best friends and godfather to one of his children, whom he met at Indiana State, also worked.

Jennifer Rich, ’05, stands in the still dry Zinga at Splashin’ Safari. ISU Photo/Rachel Keyes

Eckert and Berg lived two rooms apart from each other on the second floor of Burford Hall. Thus began a life-long friendship for the two who would become coworkers at Holiday World.

When Berg graduated from Forest Park High School in Dubois County in 1991, he knew many other Dubois County residents also chose to study at Indiana State.

“It felt like home away from home,” he said. “It was very comforting.”

While he started out studying business, his love of working at Holiday World, where he started working at age 16, soon had him switching his major to recreation management. For two summers, he earned college credit while working at the park for his field experiences. The first summer he spent at Splashin’ Safari. The second summer he rotated through every department, learning about each one.

He’s never really considered working at any other park, even when offered an opportunity to intern at King’s Island.

“It’s just family,” he said of working at Holiday World. “I think it was the right decision to make.”

When Berg graduated from Indiana State in 1995, he went to work full-time for Holiday World.

“I’ve been here so long that people coming who saw me as a ride operator now are bringing their grandkids,” he said, adding his favorite part of working at the park is all of the visitors’ smiles and enjoyment of the rides and attractions. “You know someone may be ill, it’s their last summer, and you’re making it a happy one.”

Brandon Berg, Lori Koch, Matt Eckert, Ashley Satterfield and Jennifer Rich stand in front of the iconic Santa Claus statue at Holiday World. Courtesy photo

Rich chose to attend Indiana State because of its education program, despite being the only one from her class at South Spencer High School to head to Terre Haute.

“You’re not just a number,” she said of Indiana State. “The professors got to know you by name.”

Rich began working at Holiday World as a sophomore in high school and continued working at the park through college. When she offered a position after graduating from Indiana State in 2005, she accepted. “When I started full-time, I never looked back on teaching,” she said.

Now overseeing the water park, Rich said she enjoys seeing the smiles on everyone’s faces and the joy that  Splashin’ Safari brings to visitors. “I’m not a big fan of other water parks after having the best here,” she said.

Santa Claus-native Satterfield began working at Holiday World when she turned 14. She found herself arranging her class schedule at Indiana State so she could continue working at the park through college. As an interior design major, Satterfield chose ISU because the program was nearing completion of the accreditation process.

“That was the deciding factor,” she said about the program accreditation. “And I didn’t want to be too far from home. I wanted to keep working for Holiday World.”

Satterfield said she loved the people she met at Indiana State, which she found to be an accepting place of all people. “You could feel that vibe all through campus,” she said. “I think I really gained a lot of self-esteem and left a better person. I don’t think I’d be where I am without it.”

After graduating in 2006, she went to work for an interior design firm in Indianapolis. After four years there, she and her husband returned to Santa Claus with the hope that she’d find a job once more at the park, where she says, “Most people think it would be a really neat place to work.” She finds that it is. “Everyone is really passionate about what they do.”

Jennifer Sicking, GR ’11, is the editor of Indiana State University magazine. Traveling and spending time with family and friends makes Jennifer happy.

Happiness may come at a cost. A monetary one.

Even though London’s well-respected Centre for Well-Being argues that happiness is not about economics, a recent study from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development reveals a major component of happiness relates to high disposable income. The more an individual has, the happier that person is. (Often confused terms, disposable income is take-home pay while discretionary income is the remainder after expenses: fun money for entertainment and saving.)

Surveying more than 35 countries, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development discovered eight of the top 10 happiest people showed high disposable incomes, with U.S. citizens garnering the most take-home pay. Once Americans have used their net salary to pay for rent, utilities, insurance and other essentials, where do they spend their discretionary income, and do these purchases provide happiness?

Discretionary Dollars: Where Do Americans Spend Their Extra Cash?

From Chik-fil-A to the local dive or to one’s favorite vegetarian bistro, where Americans pay the tab proves the top expenditure for discretionary income.

The desire for eating out comprised 5.3 percent of a household’s average income, more than double the second place contender, gift-giving (at 2.2 percent), according to 24/7 Wall Street, a financial team who analyzed data from the Bureau of Labor and Statistics.

Following gift-giving was TV and sound equipment purchases. Slot No. 4 was reserved chiefly for pets — dubbed “The Fido Effect” by fundraising gurus at the Charis Group. Americans pay for other personal indulgences such as alcohol and tobacco while vacations, entertainment events, sports equipment and apparel rounded out the list.

Though these expenditures are likely no surprise, Robert Guell, professor of economics at Indiana State University, reflects on a current spending trend. In a word, gadgets.

“Gadgets play an important role in our lives,” Guell says. “People walking from one place to another often have their heads down as they type into their phones. Many individuals like being up to the second on subjects such as national news, sports news and updates on social media. To be an early knower holds a great deal of value. To my way of thinking, this is unnatural. Although I do have to admit, I have certain alerts on my phone, too.”

From dining out to media addiction, discretionary dollars get spent. But are these purchases making Americans happier?

According to the aforementioned data, Americans spend most discretionary income on dining out and other items, which could be classified as luxuries. But what if Americans are made happier by experiences? This is the contention in Journal of Consumer Psychology, where researchers suggest the things that make people happy are not for sale. Instead, the scholars assert Americans are after experiences.

By analyzing the “affective forecasting literature” on happiness and subsequent unhappy subjects, the researchers believe they have tapped into the source of people’s pleasure. Referring to an earlier study, they note that subjects responded very positively (57 to 83 percent) to the idea of purchasing experiences over buying material goods.

Are Americans Happier from Buying Luxuries or Experiences?Though the authors suggest several spending principles like helping others, choosing smaller pleasures over large ones and acquiring less insurance, ultimately the researchers believe people can best achieve happiness from a balance of living a happy life and using discretionary income not necessarily on things, but on buying experiences.

Discretionary Income Up Close and Personal

What spending choices are Americans making in their daily lives, and are they purchasing luxuries or experiences or a combination of the two? Surveying several Indiana State University alumni revealed answers.

Elizabeth Gaither, ‘84, a social worker for Lifeline Youth and Family Services in Terre Haute, calls herself old-fashioned and likes to spend part of her discretionary income on print books and on music CDs. As well, she’s not a fan of viewing films from the couch. “I love the adventure of going to the movies. There’s something magical about the big screen I can’t live without,” Gaither said. Travel to warmer climes like Florida also made her list. Gaither views giving back as a priority and helped establish the Cheryl Slaughter Memorial Scholarship for an outstanding speech-pathology student at Indiana State University.

There is a cost to happiness, according to Britt Steenberg, GR ’94, who serves as a communication consultant in Chicago. Her priorities are making enough money to be comfortable, saving and providing for a child. She and her boyfriend devote a certain amount of their spare dollars on retirement and on his child’s education. They use other discretionary income on dining out; entertainment like movies, concerts, museum visits and Cubs’ season tickets; gifts at the holidays; charitable donations; and travel.

Amanda McCracken, GR ‘02, teaches ESL courses at the University of Colorado, provides massage therapy and works as a freelance writer and triathlon coach. With her extra income, McCracken saves a significant sum each month. Key components to her happiness are visiting friends, travel and exercise. An expert money manager, she combines work with pleasure, and her recent sightseeing trips to France and Japan yielded published articles about her experiences. “I also use my fun money on dinner/café dates with friends, gifts, competitive race entries and the occasional, new scarf,” McCracken said.

The top discretionary income choices for these Indiana State University alumni matched the primary selections of most Americans. Dining, travel, and entertainment represented common luxury choices for these graduates. However, gift-giving, saving, connection to friends, and a taste for adventure proved to be priorities.

The excitement of seeing a film on the big screen, establishing an endowed scholarship, attending concerts and Cub games and traveling abroad suggest extra income was not used exclusively for buying goods, but also for purchasing experiences.

What If One Has a Dollar a Day to Spend?

Analyzing the Bureau of Labor Statistics data used by Planet Money, business writer and The Atlantic senior editor Derek Thompson notes that what Americans do with their discretionary dollars depends on how much one makes, and he recounts the sobering details: After the essentials, the poor ($16,000 annual income) have a remaining discretionary income of 15 percent, while those making $150,000 or more, retain 40 percent of their earnings.

Thompson continues that if dining out, education and healthcare are considered “essential” expenses,” then the poor spend 98 percent on these costs, leaving $367 in extra income for the year, roughly a dollar per day for fun.

To take part in free activities can be valuable no matter one’s economic station, and most communities provide many free activities.

The Cost of Happiness

Though many cities and communities offer free events that offer great opportunities for personal enlightenment, entertainment and development, other pleasures cannot be attained for free.

Happiness does come at a cost, and Americans are paying up to acquire both luxuries and experiences.

Often, people buy indulgences like restaurant dining, vacations, flat-panel TVs, and gadgets. Yet, to peek into the spending of Americans, and in particular Indiana State alumni, shows a different story — one of giving, connection, and adventure.

Dave Malone, GR ’94, is a freelance writer in West Plains, Mo. Life-affirming things like love and family are central to Dave’s happiness; cycling, sipping small-batch bourbon with good friends, watching films and creating art also provide him with great joy.

Rich Killingsworth and his son Eric at Mt. Katahdin in Maine.

When Rich Killingsworth, ’87, completed three years of active duty with the Army, he enrolled at Indiana State University and was determined to catch up with his high school classmates who had gone directly to college.

He “doubled up” on classes, taking as many as 24 credit hours per semester, and completed a bachelor’s degree in community health education in two years.

He hasn’t slowed down since.

An avid cyclist and hiker, Killingsworth has participated in the Miami and New York City marathons. A competitive wrestler in many levels, he placed first at the 1994 Missouri State Games, second at the 1999 Georgia Tech Invitational and third at the 2001 Georgia State Games. He served as a wrestling official at the 1994 U.S. Olympic Festival and now volunteers helping wrestlers at the high school level.

He is just as passionate about health and fitness in his professional career, much of which has focused on encouraging community development practices that encourage a healthy lifestyle through walking, cycling and other forms of physical recreation.

While with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, he served as lead health scientist for the first national effort to focus on increasing physical activity through community design. As national director of “Active Living by Design,” he guided a $16.5 million initiative at the University of North Carolina supported by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation that served as a catalyst in changing national policy and practice in schools, parks, community design and transportation.

Designing communities that allow people to have fun is a fundamental variable of making sure people follow their physical fitness regimen, he said.

“The concept of the built environment that I promoted resonated very powerfully,” he said. “Kids are genetically hard-wired to just have fun, yet this generation of children is probably … the least active of any prior generation that we’ve studied. It’s the idea of how do we get them out having fun, doing what kids do best, being active in the outdoor environment and just having spontaneous recreation and, as a result, having better health outcomes.”

During a 10-year period with the CDC and Active Living by Design, Killingsworth served as an advisor on more than 300 community projects. He presented at more than 100 conferences, authored more than 30 publications and testified before Congress on livable community issues. He has also provided technical assistance to federal agencies, national organizations, municipalities and elected officials that have helped shape national policy.

Rich Killingsworth and Delaware Gov. Jack Markell

Killingsworth recently completed a two-year appointment as the first executive director of the National Foundation on Fitness, Sports and Nutrition, an entity created by Congress in 2010 to serve the President’s Council on Fitness, Sports and Nutrition, formerly the President’s Council on Physical Fitness and Sports.

Launched by Dwight Eisenhower in 1956, the council existed for 57 years without the capacity to raise funds to support its mission. The foundation now serves that role, thanks to Killingsworth’s work in getting it up and running and putting in place funding partnerships with private business.

“Right now, they are at the point of beginning to receive those funds and to identify the alignment with the mutual purpose of what those corporations have been supporting historically, how that aligns with the foundation and its mission of serving the council,” he said.

Killingsworth said the council’s brand, which incorporates the presidential seal, is the most recognized seal of any federal agency and the council has the highest favorability rating of any agency.

Now, as chief of health promotion and disease prevention for the Delaware Division of Public Health, he leads a staff of more than 70 full-time professionals, manages an annual budget of more than $30 million and is responsible for three dozen programs addressing such issues as physical activity, nutrition, tobacco, diabetes and heart disease.

“It’s the full gamut of the traditional public health focus. How do we make the First State the healthiest state?” he said.

One way, Killingsworth said, is to promote active living by way of an ambitious trails and bikeways initiative designed to connect each of Delaware’s 56 communities.

He was pleased to learn of Indiana State’s involvement with Terre Haute’s segment of the National Road Heritage Trail, a 47-mile, rails-to-trail project that covers parts of seven Indiana counties.

U.S. Olympic athlete Apollo Ohno and Rich Killingsworth

Killingsworth said biking and hiking trails, together with other efforts designed to creative more active community environments, not only promote active lifestyles but can also serve as a form of economic tourism.

“Many health interventions are difficult to translate into different settings or different populations – or even different time periods. They just don’t work well,” he said. “This one has true application across all of that – space and time. The better designed an environment is, people have an almost automatic response to that environment. Their body picks up those cues to action and it does very good things.”

The Philadelphia-based Cadence Cycling Foundation recently honored Killngsworth with its Jamie Maguire Award in recognition of his commitment to helping youth develop a healthy lifestyle and providing a platform for youth to develop self-confidence, self-awareness, integrity and character.

Killingsworth is concerned that “sport has changed the culture of our society, good and bad.”

In addition to promoting community designs that promote active lifestyles, he has become just as vocal in drawing attention to how sports have become overly competitive and have minimized other social attributes that could enhance the culture of communities, especially for children.

“It’s becoming much more specialized and refined and has contributed to kids just checking out of sports entirely,” he said. “It has become a personal passion of mine to pursue research and advocacy in that area and change the culture of how we view sports in society and how we participate in it.”

Rich Killingsworth competing in a marathon.

A Hammond native, Killingsworth said he chose to attend Indiana State because it was not too far from his hometown, provided the academic interest he was pursuing and had small classes.

“Students had a good experience with faculty mentoring them about the possibilities of what their future would look like. The faculty had true, genuine concern for their students,” he said.

Killingsworth cited Portia Plummer, professor emerita of health and safety, for getting him to focus on his career and prepare for graduate school at Indiana University, where he earned a master’s degree in public health education.

“I’m proud as a peacock,” Plummer said of Killingsworth and his career. “I knew that he was going to do well. Any time a student goes on to get another degree and then you see them going up the ladder as Rich has that is my reward. I’d like to feel that I had a great part in assisting students. With Rich, it didn’t take much encouragement on my part. He would have succeeded and done exactly what he’s doing but it makes me feel sort of like proud parent.”

Though disappointed that Indiana State dropped his beloved wrestling program as a competitive sport during his first year as a student, Killingsworth took the action in stride and continues to hold the university in high esteem.

“Kids that really need direction in their lives need institutions such as Indiana State, where they have the faculty to help guide them over those critical years of their formation,” he said. “It paid huge dividends for me, particular getting into the graduate program at IU with a full scholarship. Since leaving Indiana State, my professional and academic career has been a blessing. Every job I’ve had has been a very high level, supervisory management job and I attribute much of that success to my experiences at ISU.

“My time at Indiana State has been a wonderful memory and something I still want to stay connected to and make contributions toward. I really believe in the institution, what it’s doing, where it’s going, and I will always be proud of my alma mater.”

Dave Taylor is the director of media relations at Indiana State. A job well done makes Dave happy.

MIke Meehan finishes the Go! St. Louis Marathon.

Mike Meehan stood at the water stop of the 2007 Go! St. Louis Marathon eating donuts, drinking sodas and watching runner after runner stop for quick hydration. He and a friend joked that they should start running.

A year later, Meehan changed the joke to reality and he hasn’t stopped running since while racking up miles and more than 60 races from 5Ks to a 50K ultramarathon. This year he received the Phidippides Award from USA Track and Field, which is given to members older than 40 who compete in road races throughout the year.

While Meehan ran cross country for West Vigo High School, he admits he only did so to prepare for basketball season.

“I was one of the worst,” he said with a smile. “I didn’t really like running when I was in high school. It was really hard for me.”

When Meehan enrolled at Indiana State, running didn’t figure into his studying of marketing and working part-time.

“I felt like I fit well,” he said about choosing to enroll at Indiana State. “A lot of students there were similar to my background as a first generation student.”

While Indiana State was Meehan’s hometown university, he felt connected in another way as well. He grew up across the street from legendary baseball coach Bob Warn, who would take Meehan and his brothers to Indiana State baseball games.

“It was during the golden age of Sycamore athletics,” he said. “I’ve always had a positive view of Indiana State.”

After graduating in 1994, Meehan worked in Kentucky before returning to Indiana State in 2000 to work in the Alumni Affairs office. He began pursuing a second degree in art by taking classes in design and photography. He also taught himself HTML so he could maintain the alumni relations website.

“That’s what’s great about Indiana State,” he said. “I always found as both a student and as an employee that you are encouraged to improve yourself, collaborate and find better ways of doing things.”

In 2004, he moved west to work for Saint Louis University as an assistant director in the Alumni Relations office.  Since 2009, he has worked for Saint Louis University as communications manager.

It was through volunteering with that university at the marathon that led to the jokes about running and ignited his interest.  After a friend competed in the 2008 half marathon, Meehan slipped on his sneakers and began pounding the hilly streets of his Soulard neighborhood past the brick row houses, bars, churches and farmer’s market.

“When I started it was, ‘Can I do one mile or two miles without walking?’” he said. “It’s about challenging yourself without overdoing it – little steps. After you can do a 5K, it does get easier.”

In the fall of 2008, Meehan signed up for his first half marathon in Las Vegas.

Mike Meehan often runs in his Soulard neighborhood of St. Louis. ISU Photo/Rachel Keyes

“When I got to the nine or 10-mile marker, I thought, ‘When is this thing over?’” he recalled of the 13.1-mile race. “When I got through, I felt a sense of accomplishment.”

After completing the half, Meehan decided that his next goal would be to complete a full marathon and he decided it would be the Go! St. Louis race. He also created an incentive. He raised money for the American Heart Association in memory of his father, Tom Meehan, who died in 1992 from heart disease. His brothers and mother traveled to St. Louis to cheer him on during the race.

“The race was pretty tough,” he said. “When you get to the finish line, there’s a sense of accomplishment.”

Since then he has tracked thousands of miles and numerous races in pursuit of his new passion.

“One of my friends said, ‘Yeah, it’s addicting, but it’s a good thing to be addicted to,’” he said.

That obsessive hobby has blossomed into new possibilities for his future.

“From being at Indiana State, being in marketing and gen ed classes, gave me skills to change,” he said.

In 2010, he started the website runningstl.com as a way to improve his writing skills after he had moved to the communications position at Saint Louis University.

“I knew I needed to adapt and improve my writing skills to be successful in my new job,” he said. “I read somewhere that if you want to learn to write, you write about something you know.”

He knew running and so he wrote about his experiences running in the city and about the people he met while competing in races. When a friend at Missouri Runner and Triathlete magazine learned he had written about running in the Soulard area of St. Louis, he soon had that piece accepted for publication. Now, he writes as a regular contributor for that regional publication. In the past year, he also has had work published in the national publications USA Triathlon and Trail Runner magazines.

“I started out interviewing friends doing amazing things,” Meehan said. “Then they started sending me ideas.”

He wrote about the sisters who qualified to run the Boston Marathon in the same year and who dedicated the race to the memory of their father, who died from heart disease. He wrote about a friend competing in a triathlon in Switzerland. He wrote about a St. Louis triathlete who is living with Stage 4 colorectal cancer and competed in the Ironman World Championship in Hawaii in the midst of treatments. His writing led him to meeting and writing about Chrissie Wellington, a four-time Ironman World Champion, when she visited St. Louis to encourage children to develop healthy lifestyles.

“I plan on continuing to promote running and endurance sports in St. Louis through my writing and hopefully help the city gain more national exposure for its great events and inspiring athletes,” he said.

He credits Indiana State for his ability to adapt and for his success in a burgeoning new career.

Mike Meehan in the Soulard area of St. Louis. ISU Photo/Rachel Keyes

“The variety of classes I took and the resources I had available to me at ISU have given me a well rounded skill set that is transferable to a lot of industries,” he said.

Even as his skills change and grow, he continues to challenge himself physically. He has set the goal this year of competing in his first half Ironman distance triathlon – biking, swimming and running 70.3 miles in the Howlin’ Half Triathlon in Jackson, Mo.

“I’ll be starting over and relearning how to swim and brushing up on biking to prepare,” he said.

He also plans to run the 26.2-mile Berryman Trail Marathon in Steeleville, Mo., this spring. Trail running moves the runners off the streets and into the woods.

“It’s a lot more fun rather than running on the streets and dodging traffic,” he said. “It’s a primal thing, getting back to nature.”

As Meehan continues to run 25 to 40 miles per week, he knows that the sport has changed him more than physically.

“Running has made me mentally and physically stronger. It has taught me patience, dedication and perseverance,” he said. “The sense of accomplishment you get when you reach your goal or cross the finish line at a big race, makes you feel like anything is possible as long as you prepare and dedicate yourself.”

Jennifer Sicking, GR ’11, is the editor of Indiana State University Magazine. Traveling and spending time with family and friends makes Jennifer happy.

Esther Musau and Angeles Mastaki play the piano while Hannah McKnight listens. ISU Photo/Tony Campbell

Bryant Clayton sat down at the baby grand piano, no sheet music. He played two soft notes without disturbing the quiet of the room. Humming gently, he searched for just the right pitch. His simple piano melody and the sound of his smooth voice blended into the tranquil atmosphere. A student taking a nap on the couch in the corner paid no attention to him, and another student, focused intently on her laptop, only glanced up once.

Clayton continued singing, occasionally adding dimension by beat-boxing. His music contributed to the peaceful palpability of the room, contrasting the chaos of the Hulman Memorial Student Union’s noon rush hour.

“It’s an escape for me,” said Clayton, a freshman psychology and pre-med major from Indianapolis.

Walking through the main hall of the Hulman Memorial Student Union, a variety of melodies will drift out from the Art Gallery Lounge, a large room with walls filled by student artwork and furnished with a number of couches and tables. Whether the classical notes of Claude Debussy, the soft sound of Bon Iver, the emotion-laden tune of a popular Adele song, or the new notes of an original piece, the music comes from a baby grand piano tucked away inside. Donated by former basketball standout Larry Bird, the piano has long been a fixture at Indiana State University. Prior to making the journey to the lounge in 1990, the piano made its home in the old Tirey Student Union.

HMSU Services Manager Tammy Morris described the instrument as “very popular,” that students can go to practice on a recital piece or play simply for relaxation. “When we have events and must put signage up that the piano can’t be used, students are very disappointed,” she said, adding that the Sycamore Lounge has an upright piano.

Several students noted that the baby grand is one of the best pianos on campus. Although there are other pianos, this one is conveniently located and regularly tuned four times per year, said Morris.

“This piano is really nice. A lot of the other nicer rooms with pianos are locked,” said Tommy Crist, referring to practice rooms in the School of Music.

Since he lives in a residence hall next to the HMSU, Crist said he comes into the piano room every chance he gets, sometimes three times per day.

Hannah McKnight plays the piano for Angeles Mastaki and Esther Musau. ISU Photo/Tony Campbell

“I like that I can express how I feel with piano. It can be therapeutic,” said Crist, a senior music liberal arts major from Lyons. He demonstrated a transition from sad and reflective to calm by starting with a few louder, darker chords and transitioning into a slower, peaceful melody.

“Music gives some type of emotional connection that can touch the hearts of anyone. So many people gravitate toward it,” said Clayton. He explained the meaning behind a “Cleopatra,” a song on his solo mix tape, as he played a mixture of chords with a hint of sadness. “This song is about this guy who falls in love with this woman who’s not willing to be with him. It’s kind of about despair.” The chords evoke a type of expression that music strangely can.

Music has a strange yet powerful ability to bring people together, crossing the boundaries of culture, background, interest and age.

Clayton’s taste in music alone is a testament to its diverse appeal. He enjoys anything from the indie folk sound of Bon Iver to the hip hop/R&B sound of Kanye West to the classic style of Michael Jackson.

Clayton grew up in a predominantly African-American church, where he described music—especially gospel – as part of the culture. “I was raised in it,” he said.

Although he grew up in an entirely different country, the same style of music—and same piano – connects Clayton with Angeles Mastaki.

“Music is one of the best things given to the world,” said Mastaki, who is currently studying English through the Interlink Program at ISU. Originally from the Congo with a sojourn of seven years in Morocco, he grew up around music because of his grandparents, who were actively involved in church. He grew up singing and in 2008, came to the United States to sing in a gospel choir.

He can’t read music but he knows the basics, playing piano since he was 14 years old. He describes playing the piano as his way of de-stressing from classwork, visiting the lounge at least four times a week.

“Playing things like piano is the best choice we can make to feel more peaceful. Music is something that helps people to forget,” he said.

Crist agreed.

“Music is one of the best things given to the world,” said Angeles Mastaki. ISU Photo/Tony Campbell

“I can go to the piano and vent how I’m feeling,” he said. What he really loves is improvising, combining something he knows with his own invented harmonies.

Crist has an eclectic taste in music, playing a variety of pop singer Vanessa Carlton’s “1,000 miles,” a few songs by Christian rock band Relient K and the tune from the video game Final Fantasy 10. In front of him sits the sheet music for classical composer Claude Debussy’s “Golliwog’s Cakewalk,” and he talks about being influenced by Japanese film composer Joe Hisaishi.

“It should be fun and expressive,” said Crist. A fun, staccato melody echoed his words. “Play what you like to play.”

That’s exactly what senior Landry Moore does.

“I like anything that’s catchy and has a good beat. I just play because I like to,” said the senior exercise major from Brazil, adding that he comes in quite often, whenever he gets down time on campus.

When Moore sits at the piano, his knit hat off to the side, an ISU student walking past might hear a song that sounds like a Bruno Mars song that’s playing on the radio. While he’s never taken lessons, Moore plays by ear and has “always been around music.” He’s the youngest of six kids in a house with a well-loved piano.

Moore played parts of songs by Adele and Justin Timberlake before modestly mentioning writing a bit of his own music.  Moore’s unassuming demeanor doesn’t give way to the fact that he’s a talented musician, recently joining a band where he adds vocals, bass and piano.

Junior Hannah McKnight, a criminal justice and Spanish major from McCordsville, is another talented musician—although she doesn’t go into the piano room very often. In fact, she walked in precisely because no one was present. Not that she has anything to be worried about—McKnight has played for 17 years, starting when she was just four years old. Influenced by her piano teacher, she knows a great deal of classical music, but really likes “anything and everything,” including from the musical “Les Miserables.”

“This might sound really corny,” she said. “But I love the song. I recently read the book and saw the movie, and love that music.”

A love for music is what seems to draw students to this piano, whether it is classical, pop or something original. Whether lessons lasted one year or 17 years, those that play are talented, expressive. As Mastaki said, “music is music.”

As each one of the players stood quietly and left the room, it was as if they were never there. Each left behind a tranquil feeling and a baby grand piano left to wait patiently for new notes to grace its keys.

Bethany Donat, ’13, is a media relations assistant in Communications and Marketing.  Her graduation from Indiana State this May, sunshine, Ben and Jerry’s Half-Baked flavor of ice cream and the ocean make Bethany happy.

Rick Heller

League Pitching Machines and its show Around the Bases recently featured an interview with Indiana State University baseball coach Rick Heller on its website (www.leaguepitchingmachines.com) and praised Heller, who celebrated his 600^th career win last year, for a strong focus on player development both on and off the field. Heller led the Sycamores to the Missouri Valley Conference Championship in 2012 and to its first trip to the NCAA tournament since 1995. In 2012, he was also named MVC Coach of the Year. An edited version of the interview with coach appears below.

LPM: Twenty five years as a coach – can you tell me, because of that history, we got to go back to the beginning a little bit if it’s okay with you – where did it all start?

Heller: I was at a high school after my last year in college down in Bakersfield, Missouri. I was head basketball, baseball, and a history teacher, and a PE teacher. I’d went to a small school, Upper Iowa University, where they were making some changes. My old coach was actually – back in those days some of the guys would have to coach basketball and baseball or multiple sports. And that was the situation with my old coach who was really a basketball coach that kind of had to do the baseball.

Our new athletic director at the time was going to make a change with the baseball and just leave Coach Prahaskim as the basketball coach. I was going to work a basketball camp for him, and I just randomly called the office to see when he wanted me to be there, and the A.D. answered and he said, ‘Hey Rick, how would you like to come back and interview for the baseball job?’ I said, ‘Well, I most certainly would.’ So, to make a long story short, I went back and I had to be the residence hall director, head baseball coach, and took a $7,000 pay-cut from the high school job to roll the dice that we could turn that program around.

When I was hired I was the youngest head coach in NCAA – in the country. It wasn’t because I was any good, or special. I think it was because no one else wanted that job.

::laughing::

LPM: Well, don’t take anything away from yourself either!

Heller:  Well, I just felt like, when I was there, that if there was someone there who could really focus on the baseball – I mean, we did a lot of things early in my years there – changing the field, fixing the field, starting to build some tradition. And three years into it we had our first winning season in years and years, and then in ’93 we won the first championship in the Iowa Conference and went to a regional. And then in ’96 we won the regional and went to the College World Series in Salem, Virginia for the first time. I was lucky enough to get a break and get my division one job at the University of Northern Iowa. Another situation that I had a northern school – tough place to win – but it was another situation where you’re beating your head on the steering wheel because you built the program up at Upper Iowa and we had it to a point where I felt we could win – and win big most years. And then to start all over at another program that was not funded very well, and not full scholarships, and to have to compete in the Missouri Valley Conference was going to be a big challenge. But as a Division III guy, you don’t get many opportunities, if any, to make the jump to Division I – so again we rolled the dice and took the chance. And I’m really glad that I did.

LPM: Well, if you look back at the timeline, Coach Heller, you’re a guy that builds. Right? From Upper Iowa coming into nothing. So, that’s what they were looking for.

Heller: Exactly. It was interesting how it worked at Upper Iowa, because I thought originally that I could do it with Iowa kids and local kids and quickly found out that nobody was really interested in hearing from me locally. So I had to come up with a plan to get some players and basically scoured the United States and we worked our tails off. I remember renting a car in 1989 in San Diego and stopping at every junior college all the way up to Santa Rosa, and Losson, and Euba City, and staying out there for a couple weeks and just beating the bushes. And we did that year, after year, after year. We did the same thing in Florida and Arizona. Well, we found our niche. Because at that time in California there weren’t a lot of Division III schools out there. And at the time nobody really was doing what I was doing – trying to get that Division II- type kid or that kid who couldn’t qualify for Division I to come play out in the Midwest. And it was great because I found a lot of really good players and really good kids who just wanted a chance to play, and that’s kind of how we did it. And we did it with player development – I’ve always been a strong player development guy. If you’re in schools like that, and you’re not, you’re going to get your brains beat out. So, we got a good reputation of having kids improve in our programs and did it with a total program: academics, off the field, etc. And we really stick with the same plan today here at Indiana State. It’s a lot better situation for me personally from a scholarship standpoint. Kind of skipping Northern Iowa here so maybe we can talk a little bit about that – because when I was there they ended up dropping the program after my tenth year – things were pretty grim.

LPM: Oh, the baseball – they dropped it?

Heller: Yeah, they dropped the program and it was about as bad a situation as anybody could go through. Horrible to our players, and myself and our staff. Jobless – and to catch a break and land at Indiana State, a school that has some baseball tradition and nice recruiting base and full scholarships. I’ve always felt like if we had a fair chance, that we could really do some things, and I think that’s shown here in the last three years here at Indiana State.

LPM: So, you talked about performance. As a coach at the college level, that seems very important to you, with your players – they’re students – academic responsibility and their performance at baseball how do you balance that? And what emphasis do you put on both?

Heller: Well, number one, in our program – and in baseball I think there is a lot of guys out there who do a great job at this – the academics come first. They always take first priority. And I always think it’s important that you do a good job as a coach as far as stressing that on a daily basis and just don’t make it lip-service. If a kid has to go study, then he goes and studies. We’re fortunate here at Indiana State to have a great academic support system. We’ve got a situation where we can get kids tutors, we can get them help and our study halls are monitored and it’s very organized. I’m getting updates from our people every two weeks on how the kids are doing academically. Really, it’s just setting the tone early on and making it the culture where we get good grades. Here at our school – and I know they do at all of them – but here we compete within the department with all the programs on GPA and so forth, and make it a pretty big deal.

LPM: O, good…

Rick Heller leads the Sycamores against Creighton.

Heller: For example, this past year we were looking at a 3.24 for our team. In baseball circles, that’s pretty good. I think it was the highest since they started keeping track here fifteen years ago. The last three semesters we’ve got things rolling and we’ve been over a 3.03. It’s just the culture that we have. And then, again, we try to recruit kids who are strong academically. The last thing any coach wants to do is worry about his best pitcher, or catcher, or short stop coming up ineligible and being on that borderline every semester. We try to do a good job of picking the kids that will fit into our program. A lot of times that’s turning down the “name kid” or the kid that is perceived as the best player. We take that a step further with trying to do a great job of finding tough kids and hard-working kids, and overachieving kids. When I say overachieving I think that stems from being a humble person. I don’t think I, in my 25 years, have ever seen a kid overachieve that hasn’t been a humble kid.

LPM: Really?

Heller: Yeah, and that’s just something that I’ve found. The kids that are humble will overachieve, and the kids that are self-centered and cocky, to that degree, in the recruiting process or even with their families, tend to not overachieve.

LPM: Wow, that’s interesting.

Heller: Yeah, and so we look for that type of kid. And a lot of times that means that people look at you cross-eyed because you’re not recruiting this guy, and you are this guy. But, it’s really worked for us. In the programs that I’ve been in, if you can’t get kids to buy into your system – if you can’t get kids to work their tails off and overachieve then we have no chance. Like at Northern Iowa, most days in the Missouri Valley we were teaming up against teams that were more talented than us. And we lived by that old saying that “hard work beats talent when talent doesn’t show up.” You just got to go out every single day and play your best. We knew going into it we had to play perfect baseball on a lot of days to beat some of the teams that we had to beat. And if they do play great, and they do show up and play as hard as we do, we’re probably going to lose. But our guys had made a living at showing up and playing hard everyday and making sure that we gave ourselves a chance to win – and that’s our system.

LPM: Congratulations on the 600th win with the Sycamores, right?

Heller: Yeah, that was an interesting day – not because of the 600th win – but because one of our pitchers, Jason Van Skike, who is now in the White Sox organization, threw a no-hitter on that day. We were at Central Arkansas, and it was a pretty special day to have a nine inning, no-hitter thrown on the day that you got your 600th win. At the time, I didn’t even know it was the 600th win…The sports information guy had told me afterwards because obviously we were pretty excited about the no-hitter. I thought that was pretty fun. Definitely made it a day you wouldn’t forget.

LPM: Sure. Well, what’s your experience been at ISU? I mean, has it been different, a continuation of, or something special?

Heller: It’s been something special for me – it’s almost like a God-sent. Coming from Upper Iowa where we had limited resources and really had to make the most of everything we had and then at Northern Iowa a far worse situation where the budget was the worst in the league by maybe a hundred grand and I was raising a hundred thousand just to play the season, and all the work we had to do off the field. Taking care of the field – it wasn’t ours, it was a city field. So we would make it nice and then a summer team would come tear it up and then you’d have to go fix it again. We had no real sales. All the little things you had to do to just survive and then only having seven in-state scholarships – it was a battle. And then to have them drop the program after we felt that we had done everything we could and did this entire extra work and were the best team players in the department. Our kids were doing the right things off the field in the community and in the classroom. And then just to say “Ah, we’re just going to drop baseball.” Gone. And really give us no warning. It was a kick in the face. And then to get the job down here where we are fully funded and I work in an athletic department that is very supportive and don’t have to spend 90 percent of my time fundraising. We have a nice new field and an athletic director that’s a baseball guy. It’s just been, for me, what I’ve always wanted. What I would consider a fair chance. To a lot of people they felt like, “Indiana State? They’re the bottom rung from a budget standpoint in the Missouri Valley.” But compared to what I did have, I felt like I had won the lottery. So I think I was the perfect pick for their coach. A lot of guys who maybe were at some BCS schools would have thought that this was a pretty rough job. But to me it’s a great job. Indiana is a state that has a solid base to recruit. There are a lot of good players in Indiana. We border Illinois, so there’s a ton of players there. I can recruit locally. I mean, this past year I think I had five – maybe six guys right from Terre Haute on our team, which made it a lot of fun on a 40-win season and a conference championship. The people in town were really supportive because of the local kids. Anyway, it’s just been a great fit for me.

LPM: Great. So, two quick questions to finish up. And the first one will probably be short because no one likes to “toot their own horn” or pat themselves on the back. But I’m going to ask it. As a coach, how would you think that players – past or present – and coaches would describe you if asked?

Heller: Well, I’d think that they’d say that I’m a guy that really cares about his players. That is always there for them, not only when they’re playing for me, but years down the road. The thing that makes me feel the best is that when we won the championship this year, I was getting notes from guys that played for me in 1989 and 1990 and 1995.

LPM: Oh, really?

Heller: Yeah, and it’s almost like we’re just a big family. And even though they didn’t go to school here, they feel like they’re a part of the program, which is what I talk to the current players about. No matter what happens down the road their legacy will live on and they’ll be a part of all the championships and all the wins. That’s the kind of program that we have, and that makes me feel great. I think if you asked other coaches, they’d say our kids play hard and they hustle and they do the right things and they respect the game.

LPM: Great. And finally, for any upcoming coach, young or even a coach at your level, what would be one nugget of wisdom that you could share with them. 

Heller: Well, I guess the thing that I would tell them is that they need to go out every single day and teach. I look at this as a teaching job and the part that I enjoy most about this job is really the fall. Because there is no pressure to win games and it’s all about just practice and getting better and improving. To me, the biggest reward is when you see a kid improve and get better and turn himself, on the field and off, into a man and a guy that is going to be very productive in his life down the road because of the discipline and structure that you’ve instilled in them. I think a lot of kids that come into it just see the games, and the wins, and the excitement of the game. To me, it’s the grind that’s the most important – what you do every single day to get better. That would be what I would try to instill in the young coaches – and what I do with my young coaches. We have to do a great job of teaching every single day and make sure that it never turns into a program where we just roll the balls out and chew seeds and have a good time. In our program, if we did that, we would win 10 games. So that’s my motto.