March 2019 News
Indiana Academy Students Win Midwest Speech Contest, Advance to Nationals in Los Angeles
Monday, March 25, 2019
Two Academy students, Kevin Gao and Sage Hamm, were recognized on Saturday, March 23 in Chicago at the Japanese Consulate’s 49th annual speech contest. Their Japanese speeches were among the ten best high school essays selected from the Midwest, and they were invited to give their speech at the contest. Sage Hamm won first place, and Kevin Gao won third. It is an incredible achievement as they beat out other students who had the same or more years of experience in Japanese. The first, second, and third place winners of this speech contest will be sent by the Chicago Japanese Consulate to represent the Midwest at the National Japanese Speech Contest held in Los Angeles in May.
Academy Seniors Participate in Poverty Simulation
Friday, March 22, 2019
As part of the Senior Colloquium “Topics and Perspective in Economics,” approximately 120 Academy seniors participated in a poverty simulation presented by Second Harvest Food Bank on Tuesday, March 19. During the two-hour simulation, the students were divided into around 40 families who each had to deal with limited resources, increased stress, and other situations faced by the economically disadvantaged. The simulation, conducted by Ms. Dorica Watson from Second Harvest, was divided into four fifteen-minute “weeks” during which the students had to work (or try to find work), pay their rent or mortgage, shop for food, ensure that their children attended school or were otherwise cared for, and try not to run afoul of the law.
Over the course of the program, students quickly learned how difficult “real life” can be to manage when faced with resource insecurity, and how poverty and stress can force people to make choices that they wouldn’t otherwise make. From time to time, Ms. Watson would hand out “Bad News” cards piling on additional hardships for the students to face, based on her real experiences helping the economically disadvantaged.
Mr. John Marsh, co-instructor of the Colloquium course, helped to organize the event. A number of Academy juniors ran the local businesses in “Realville” which included a bank, employers, a superstore, a homeless shelter, a realtor, the utility company, a school, a pawn shop, a payday loan provider, police, social services, and a community action agency. At the end of the simulation, all of the participants gathered to share their experiences, which Ms. Watson helped to relate to the real experiences of those dealing with resource insecurity.
Students Serve as Pages at the Indiana Statehouse
Thursday, March 14, 2019
During the 2019 session of the Indiana General Assembly, 45 Academy students served as Senate Pages and House Pages. In addition to touring the historic Statehouse which includes the House and Senate Chambers, the Supreme Court, and the Governor’s Office, students had the opportunity to observe the legislative session directly from the Statehouse floor in addition to meeting and assisting their specific legislator with tasks.
Academy students serving as Senate Pages at the Indiana Statehouse on Wednesday, February 13:
| Student (Senator) | Student (Senator) |
|---|---|
| Rahul Agarwal (Mike Gaskill) | Alexandra Klingsmith (Chris Garten) |
| Isabelle Berhman (Timothy Lanane) | Lillia Mangel-Martin (Ed Charbonneu) |
| Suzanne Brown (Rick Niemeyer) | Alan Pieper (Eric Bassler) |
| Amy Ciceu (Mark Messmer) | Khristian Reed (Susan Glick) |
| Logan Criner (Phillip Boots) | Isabel Reynolds (Ed Charbonneu) |
| Alexandra Dines (Karen Tallinn) | Lillian Rogers (Ed Charbonneu) |
| Naomi Edet (Frank Mrvan) | Evalina Schneider (Rodric Bray) |
| Meredith Fairman (Liz Brown) | Jessica Schwarz (Chip Perfect) |
| Dryden Frecker (John Crane) | Kaitlin Scott (Jean Leising) |
| Eric Harman (Randall Head) | Nora Slaven (Jeff Raatz) |
| Izabelle Hilderbrand (Eric Bassler) | Amber Thurston (Aaron Freeman) |
| Lucy Khatib (Sue Errington) | Jason Wroblewski (Ryan Mishler) |
Academy students serving as House Pages at the Statehouse on Tuesday, March 12:
| Student (Representative) |
|---|
| Isabelle Behrman (Sue Errington) |
| Logan Criner (Timothy Brown) |
| Naomi Edet (Mara Candeleria Reardon) |
| Benjamin Erwin (Randall Frye) |
| Eric Harman (David Wolkins) |
| Izabelle Hilderbrand (Jeff Ellington) |
| Madison Hull (Chris Judy) |
| Evan Jannerjahn (Kevin Mahan) |
| Komal Kumar (Dale DeVon) |
| Hanbit Lee (Sue Errington) |
| Sydney Mrazik (Alan Morrison) |
| Jacob Nichols (Jim Pressel) |
| Khristian Reed (Dennis Zent) |
| Lillian Rogers (Ed Soliday) |
| Evalina Schneider (David Frizzell) |
| Nora Slaven (Thomas Saunders) |
| Abagail Smith (Dale DeVon) |
| Rachel Snow (Sue Errington) |
| Jalyn Upshaw (Earl Harris) |
| Samantha Walkley (Chuck Goodrich) |
| Jacob Zeh (Chuck Goodrich) |
