Samantha Thurman

As an undergraduate dual degree student at the Kelley School of Business and Hamilton Lugar School of Global and International Studies, I have distinguished myself through my focus on global connections, meaningful engagement, and creating positive change.

Global Connections: At Indiana University, I have connected with a widely diverse community. I have engaged with a global community through my study of Chinese and abroad experiences through the Chinese Flagship Program. Additionally, I am pursuing a greater understanding of global businesses of great importance through my East Asian Languages and Cultures degree where I have developed systems thinking skills that enable creating greater connections.

Meaningful Engagement: Through my experience as a volunteer English tutor for elementary-age students in Korea, I learned how much I value making meaningful connections with the people whom with I interact. During this time period of nine months, I put over 500 hours into individualized teaching for each of my students. Through this experience of building meaningful relationships with my students and their parents, I learned to recognize the value of strong relationships and sharing valuable knowledge.

Making Change: I found my passion for creating positive solutions while serving as captain of my high school’s math, science, and interdisciplinary academic teams. Through this experience, I learned to find unique solutions to problems, which allows me to create new standards and opportunities for those later to come by developing systems of designation and specification for my teams, which led to my teams achieving their highest ranking historically.

In the near future, I hope to find positions in Management Consulting.

• Herbert Presidential Scholar (1 of 40 students selected from IU Freshman class)
• Shreve Scholar
• Hamilton Lugar Direct Admit Scholar
• National Merit Scholar
• IU Annual Chinese Speech Contest - 1st place