Student Life Counselors

Taylor is returning for her 5th year as part of the Indiana Academy staff. She is an IASMH alumnus and earned a B.S. in Biology; she is currently pursuing a MA of Educational Psychology at Ball State. During her education, she worked as a laboratory assistant in a plant genetics lab and spent time as a sustainability intern focusing on the preservation and maintenance of old growth forests and the removal of invasive species. Taylor also studied chemistry abroad in London, England. Taylor spent two years as a Student Life Counselor before becoming a Student Life Team Leader. She has sponsored many clubs and student unions including Spectrum, Asian Student Union, Latinx Student Union, Improv Club, BETA Club and Environmental Conservation Club, and looks forward to continuing to partner with students in their extracurricular activities. She will resume her work on various committees including Academic Integrity Board and Student Services, and she is looking forward to continuing to work with IASMH’s excellent staff and faculty to grow our school and pursue new initiatives.

Taylor has several non-academic interests, such as kayaking, soccer, baseball, ultimate frisbee, science fiction, dungeons and dragons, and musical theater. She especially loves dogs, plants, and all things Elder Scrolls.

Dakota is ecstatic to be starting at the Academy this year. He graduated from Ball State in 2016 with a degree in Telecommunications. His passion for travel has taken him all over the world, from a semester abroad in Japan to media work in Italy, Germany, and Canada. He’s traveled all over the United States for varying media jobs, but settled into education in the last year and a half at Purdue Polytechnic North in Indianapolis. His passion for helping adolescents achieve their scholarly goals lead him back to school here at Ball State and with us here at the Academy.

Dakota’s hobbies often revolve around his passions for travel and media. He often times travels far into National Parks to photograph landscapes, wildlife, and the night sky. In between travels his seven animals keep him very busy. He has two dogs, two cats, and three guinea pigs all named Bean. He is excited to be assisting the students as the new Student Life Team Leader and is looking forward to the amazing year ahead of us!

Rachel is excited for her fifth year at the Indiana Academy as a Student Life Counselor. She was born and raised in Bloomington, Indiana and has her undergraduate degree in psychology. She is currently pursuing a master’s in social psychology through Ball State, and will be graduating at the end of this year. She enjoys a wide variety of hobbies and activities including running, listening to audiobooks, writing, art projects, re-watching tv-series, binging new ones, singing (both in and out of the shower), going on trips with her bestie, and spending time on a friend’s farm. Rachel has two nephews that are nine and six years old with a third arriving in September as well as a three-year-old niece all of whom she loves spending time with. She also has a cat named Sprout. Words are important to her and she’s always keeping an eye out for her next favorite quote or poem. Rachel knows she has too many plants and books but is nonetheless excited to continue to collect more this school year. She is always up for spontaneous dance parties, deep conversation, and time spent getting to know the students of the Academy.

Tori is ecstatic to begin her second year as a Student Life Counselor. She was born and raised in Lafayette, Indiana as the middle of three girls. Tori graduated from Ball State University in 2021 with a B.A. in Communication with a focus of Interpersonal Communication. While at Ball State, Tori served for a year and a half as the Director of Leadership on the executive board of Ball State’s Residence Hall Association (RHA) and as a member of Ball State’s National Residence Hall Honorary (NRHH).

Tori spends her free time playing video games, embroidering, and playing board games with her friends (she can get very competitive!) She also enjoys traveling and spending time with family. Tori is looking forward to helping build the Indiana Academy community and watching the students flourish.

Matthew is excited to begin his Indiana Academy position this year. Matthew is an Indiana native from Tipton and graduated from Huntington University. He majored in Animation in the Digital Media Arts program, finishing his career there in 2022. Matthew has worked as a freelance animator for two years, most recently working with Vera Bradley in Fort Wayne, Indiana. While at Huntington University, Matthew spent three years in student leadership, two of those years being a Resident Assistant. He is looking forward to applying himself to Indiana Academy now that his college career is finished.

There are many things that Matthew enjoys doing with his time, mostly artistic endeavors, such as drawing and playing music. He also enjoys all kinds of activities; watching movies, playing games, all sorts of stuff. He’s most excited to get to know the students on his and the other floors in his new position as a Student Life Counselor. Matthew cannot wait to interact with the students and spend some good ol’ fashion quality time with them!

Conner “Richie” Richmond is a 1st year Student Life Counselor and is excited to join the Indiana Academy Residential and Student Affairs team. Conner is a graduate of Purdue University with a B.A. in Political Science. He is also an alum from the Indiana Academy, class of 2017. He spends his free time reading books, watching/making videos, playing video games, studying political thought/communication, listening to podcasts, and watching films. Conner is a fan of the Indianapolis Colts and Purdue Boilermaker basketball. He loves to play all sports and games (board or otherwise) and is excited to start his first year as an SLC.

Conner has experience working with students, engineers, scientists, mathematicians, as well as people from every state and all over the globe. He is constantly looking for diverse perspectives and interesting ways to look at the world. He is a great listener and enjoys listening to students talk about whatever they find fascinating. He is looking forward to meeting everyone and is hopeful for a fantastic 2022/23 school year!

Vincent is beginning his second school year at the Academy as a Student Life Counselor on the fourth floor. Vincent was born in Chicago and raised in Fort Wayne, IN. As a graduate of the Academy from its class of 2008, Vincent has had experience being here both as a student and as an SLC.

Vincent attended Purdue University Fort Wayne, earning BS and MS degrees in mathematics. During his time there as a graduate student, Vincent briefly taught algebra first as a graduate teaching assistant, and eventually as an adjunct faculty member later on. As a former math teacher, and as someone who has received much formal education in math, Vincent hopes to be available to help Academy students with any math-related woes as circumstances allow.

Vincent’s hobbies include playing Smash Ultimate, rhythm games, and role-playing video games, making origami, tinkering with small electronics and retro games, and watching anime. Vincent is grateful to the Academy and its students for making him feel welcome upon his hiring last year, and he hopes to work productively toward assisting as many Academites as he can as they strive for continued personal and academic success this year.

Hannah is so happy to be starting her second year as a Student Life Counselor at The Indiana Academy! Hannah was born in Vermont, but grew up near Columbus, Ohio. She attended Huntington University and earned her degree in Christian Ministries along with a minor in Bible and Religion. After graduating, she worked as a Houseparent/Family Teacher in a mental health residential program at Compass Rose Academy. Hannah is now furthering her education and earning her masters in Mental Health Counseling. Hannah’s favorite part about being an SLC is spending quality time with her students—helping them process difficult emotions and empowering them to cope in healthy ways.

Hannah enjoys a variety of creative activities! She loves being outdoors, dancing in the rain, and reading. She enjoys learning about the enneagram and having deep conversation with others. She also adores and loves all dogs, jigsaw puzzles, doing paint by numbers, and practicing her embroidery!

Archer is excited to begin his first full year at the Indiana Academy after coming in part-way through last year. He grew up in Ukraine and Mozambique but moved to Indiana for high school and college, where he graduated with a double major in English and Writing. As an Indiana Academy alum, he knows first-hand both the struggles and the joys of being a student, and the vital emotional growth he experienced during that time led him back as an SLC to help others have the best experience they can.

Archer’s favorite activities fall into one of two categories. First, he enjoys competitive tests of knowledge, like Chess, Starcraft 2, Hnefatafl, and League of Legends. Second, he’s an amateur artist and enjoys almost anything creative, from digital art and sketching to playing the guitar to writing poetry. Although he hasn’t traveled much since his family left Mozambique in 2010, Archer dreams of one day working in a position that involves international travel and interacting with diverse cultures. Archer is looking forward to working alongside the students as a first floor SLC.