Student Life Counselors

Taylor is happy to return for her third year at the Indiana Academy. She graduated from the IASMH in 2011 and continued her education across several states. She began her undergraduate study at the University of Rochester, continued at Indiana University Bloomington, and finished her degree at Northern Kentucky University. Taylor earned a B.S. in Biology along the Cellular, Molecular, and Organismal track in the spring of 2016. 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. Currently, Taylor is continuing her education in educational psychology.

Taylor has several non-academic interests, such as kayaking, soccer, baseball, ultimate frisbee, science fiction, music, and theater. Dogs, soft pretzels, and board games always make her smile and she can’t wait to get to know our Academy students both new and returning in this new year.

Daniel is elated to be returning to his second year at IASMH as a Student Life Team Leader. He graduated from Ball State University in May 2018 with a Bachelor of Science in psychology, as well as minors in autism spectrum disorders (ASD) and women’s and gender studies. During his time at Ball State, he served on the executive board for BSU Spectrum, which ignited his passion for working with marginalized communities. He obtained his Registered Behavior Technician (RBT) certification in the fall of 2018, which allowed him the opportunity to spend a year working as a therapist for children with autism.

During his free time, Daniel enjoys watching sports, making music, and traveling. His favorite thing to do, however, is spend quality time with his one-year-old niece. In the future, he plans to obtain a master’s degree in student affairs and eventually travel the country in a renovated school bus. Daniel is looking forward to helping all of the new and returning Academy students grow both personally and professionally throughout the 2020-2021 school year.

Andrew is a legend from days gone by, returning to the Academy to take his rightful place as king. A self-made “thousandaire,” he graduated from Indiana University with a Bachelor’s in Spanish. While there, he became both a published author and a decorated chicken wing eater. He plans to travel the entire world, except Barbados. His first love is astronomy, but his greatest love is games—board, card, and video alike. He has several other interests, including (but not limited to) reading, writing, playing guitar, comic strips, cracking wise, glowstringing, juggling, puzzles, biking, hiking, and vikings.

This is Andrew’s second year as an SLC. He is excited to meet the students and to provide them with only the best in residential life. He will be running capture-the-flag as an intramural and will be one of the SLCS in charge of Lil’ Sibs Weekend and the end-of-year Slideshow.

Rachel is pumped for her third year at the Indiana Academy. She was born and raised in Bloomington, Indiana and has her Bachelor’s degree in Psychology. She enjoys a wide variety of hobbies and activities including reading, writing, painting, and obsessing over the Enneagram, neuroscience, and psychology. She’s also teaching herself to play the ukulele and to skateboard (not at the same time). Rachel has two nephews that are seven and four years old, along with a one year old niece who 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 has too many plants and books and is 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!

Sarah is excited to begin her second school year at the Indiana Academy. Sarah grew up in Monroe, Indiana and graduated from Huntington University in May of 2019 with a Bachelor’s Degree in public relations. While at Huntington, Sarah worked toward building a community and a better campus in many different organizations including the Student Activities Board and the Student Government Association.

Sarah has many different passions and hobbies. She enjoys watching and playing basketball, softball, football, and most sports. After a summer spent as an intern at the Bluffton Fire Department, Sarah is looking forward to continue to learn more about fire services. She also likes to beatbox, draw, play video games, and spend time in nature. Sarah works to spend as much time with her family as possible, especially her nieces and nephews. Sarah is excited to continue in her role as a Student Life Counselor and cannot wait for this school year to start!

Taryn is excited to be starting a third school year as an SLC. Taryn graduated from the Indiana Academy in 2013 and went on to Hanover College, graduating with a double major in Spanish and Theatre in 2017. Taryn spent the next year with the AmeriCorps Great Oaks TutorCorps program in Newark, New Jersey before returning to Indiana to start as an SLC in 2018. While at the Academy, Taryn has enjoyed organizing the Talent Show each semester, offering fun programs on interesting topics and more than anything getting the chance to know a wide range of Academy students. When not working, Taryn enjoys creative projects like painting and cross-stitching as well as roller skating with the local Muncie Cornfed Derby Dames.

Mitchell is excited to begin his second year at the Indiana Academy. Mitchell is from the Crawfordsville, IN area. He graduated from the University of Indianapolis where he studied communications with an emphasis in electronic media. In his time at UINDY, Mitchell spent two years on the TV stations management team. He was also an active three-year member of the Society of Professional Journalists and a two-year member of the UINDY Black Student Association.

Mitchell enjoys spending time watching cult classic movies and playing video games. He visits family as much as possible during his time off. Mitchell is a faithful fan of the Red Sox and Ravens and currently spends a lot of free time working on the podcast he is creating.

Lauren is thrilled to begin her 2nd (and a half) year as an SLC at the Indiana Academy. She was born just outside of Boulder, CO and moved to Bloomington, IN at the age of four. In 2018, Lauren completed her B.S. in Education with a minor in Educational and Public Policy at Indiana University. While at IU, she volunteered with schools around Indiana, Wonderlab, and the Boys & Girls Club. Throughout the summer of 2017, Lauren interned as a Supplemental Instructor at Ivy Tech Bloomington for a freshman level composition class in the ASAP program and helped with data input for the school’s literary book. Currently, Lauren is pursuing a Master’s degree in Adult and Community Education through Ball State. Working alongside adolescents has continued to enrich Lauren’s life—she enjoys hearing their perspectives and supporting them.

Outside of school, Lauren has a variety of interests. She loves to travel and has been to Fiji and all around the Virgin Islands. She reads (and collects) books, listens to just about every genre of music (as evidenced by her growing vinyl collection), writes poetry, and appreciates a lively game of billiards, a great kayaking adventure, or being surrounded by trees and nature. Lauren also treasures time with her family and two dogs. She is looking forward to connecting with students and hopes to co-coordinate another marvelous Academy Prom with Katie Miller in the Spring semester.

This year marks Chris’s fifth year as a Student Life Counselor at the Indiana Academy! He grew up in Pendleton, Indiana and attended Pendleton Heights High School. He went on to attend college at Ball State University, where he earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Telecommunications with a focus in Video Production. While a student, Chris served as a resident assistant for five semesters in BSU’s residence halls. Since graduation, Chris has worked as a freelance video producer and as a substitute teacher. He is currently working toward his Master’s degree in Executive Development for Public Service and plans to pursue a career in residential student affairs.

In his spare time, Chris has been known to play video games, build Lego sets, watch anything to do with Star Wars, and even serve as tech support for his grandparents. He is excited to be working with students at the Academy and see their continued development this year!

If you would like to contact Chris with any questions or comments, please reference the information above. If you have a pressing concern and Chris is unavailable, please call the Academy’s front desk at 765-285-8125.

Katie is excited to start her fourth year working as a Student Life Counselor at the Indiana Academy! She grew up in Pendleton, Indiana, and went to Pendleton Heights High School. After graduating from high school, she went to Ball State University, where she received a Bachelor of Science degree in Journalism, with a focus in Graphics, and a minor in Leadership Studies in 2015. During her years at Ball State, Katie designed pages and worked on projects for the Ball State Daily News, Ball Bearings magazine, and Cardinal Communications. Katie was also part of the Excellence in Leadership program, where she learned about different leadership styles and how to incorporate them in daily life. After graduating college, Katie spent the next two years working as a freelance graphic designer and newspaper page designer for Community Newspapers Holdings Inc., in Anderson, Indiana. Currently, she is working on a master’s degree with the Department of Environment, Geology, and Natural Resources at Ball State, in hopes of becoming an interpretive/park naturalist in the future.

Katie spends her free time listening to music, reading books, drawing, working out, playing video games, and making crafts. She also likes traveling, especially to U.S. State and National Parks. Katie is looking forward to getting to know the students and planning fun, educational programs for them! This year, Katie will be co-coordinating the 2021 Indiana Academy Prom with Lauren Means.

Mitch, a Chicago, IL native, is excited to be returning for a fourth year as a Student Life Counselor. Mitch attended Thornton Township High School where he was a 3-sport athlete in cross country, wrestling, and track & field. Following his graduation in 2009, Mitch went on to earn two degrees from Eastern Illinois University: Bachelor’s in Communication Studies with an emphasis on Public Relations in 2014; Master’s in Technology with an emphasis on Training and Development in 2016. While as a student at Eastern, Mitch was highly involved in campus life and served with several student organizations: Black Student Union (President), Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. (Social Affairs/Event Program Coordinator), and NAACP (Community Service Chair) to name a few. In addition, Mitch won second place in both the Mr. EIU bodybuilding competition and Mr. Essence of a Man scholarship pageant. Mitch is currently working on his Doctoral Degree (Ed.D) in Adult Education at Ball State University.

Fun facts about Mitch:
Enjoys long walks around the block; Loves singing (but only in a mirror with headphones or a really loud speaker); Professional Hulu/Netflix binge watcher (once watched 12 seasons of supernatural in 7 weeks); Believes he has superpowers (Just Ask Him!); Oldest of 13 siblings; Hates Cheese.

One of his favorite quotes is:
“Not all those who wander are lost.” – J.R.R. Tolkien

Ashley is eager for her second year at the Indiana Academy (her first full year!!) to get going. She was born and raised in Seymour, Indiana and has her bachelor’s degree from Ball State in Hospitality and Food Management with a minor in Creative Writing. Before working at the Academy, she worked for Disney World as part of their college intern program—she loves to tell stories about this! She enjoys a wide variety of hobbies and activities including trying foods form other countries, watching anime, playing video games, finding new k-dramas, and listening to k-pop. Specifically, she adores Super Junior! She’s also teaching herself Korean, as she hopes to one day move to Korea to teach English. Ashley has a dog named Grace Lucille who goes by Gooby, and she is the love of her life. She loves it when people ask to see pictures of her Goobers! She is always up for a good conversation about anything from an anime you’re really into all the way to a deep conversation about life.