Making a DifferenceNews and notes from the O'Neill School at IUPUI

On the Black Hand Side

Posted on by Leslie Wells

smiling and wearing a black tweed blazer, a dark green turtleneck, and a pearl necklace.
O’Neill’s RaeVen Ridgell is pursuing her MPA in Social and Innovation Change.
Written by: RaeVen Ridgell, O’Neill MPA candidate

“Gimme a five, on the Black hand side.”

As a child, we used to say this chant gleefully. It was natural to do the entire chant as we played hand games in my grandmother’s front yard. Under her eye, we joyed in the summertime. It was the only time of year I was able to spend with my Indiana family since I lived full time in Arizona. I used to love catching fireflies, running around, and singing loudly in family talent shows to Motown.

These memories are not exclusive to me, they are a common family theme; however, summer always delineated when we got to the Fourth of July. My family didn’t celebrate the Fourth. I knew that it was because at the time of America’s Independence, my people weren’t free, but I would never truly fathom what this all meant until I became an adult.

The indoctrination of “on the Black hand side” was my culture’s way of reminding me to bask in the glow of my melanin. The trips to Indiana were so I would be able to spend time around my family and our Black community, but my grandmother’s watchful eye was because she had witnessed cruel things happen to little Black kids if they went too far into the white neighborhoods.

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Caroline Bailey: Investigating slavery’s impacts on modern society

Posted on by Leslie Wells

A woman smiles as she stands in hallway wearing pink and purple shirt.
O’Neill Assistant Professor Caroline Bailey

“It always starts with slavery,” says Caroline Bailey, an assistant professor at O’Neill IUPUI.

Bailey studies the ways in which historical institutions and practices, such as slavery may be related to disparities within the modern criminal justice system and school settings—from race-based victimization to school suspensions and punishments. When she looks at her research and the problems she’s working to solve, she says each one can be traced back to slavery.

“The effects of slavery are everlasting because we, as a country, have never really reconciled it,” she adds. “To understand the disparities of today, we have to go back to the origins. I think that slavery provides a good insight into understanding modern society, especially as we attempt to understand the disparate treatment of Black people.”

Bailey says oftentimes, people tend to remove that impact because the institution of slavery was more than 150 years ago. But she’s quick to remind them that her own parents lived through the Civil Rights Era—just one generation removed—which was a direct result of the fallout from slavery.

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Washington Leadership Program provides academic, personal, and professional experience to O’Neill students

Posted on by Leslie Wells

Image of the White House Press briefing room with a man in a suit jacket standing in front of the podium, smiling.
O’Neill Public Safety Management major Grant Colestock stands in the White House Press Briefing room during a tour for his Washington Leadership Program experience.
To learn more about the Washington Leadership Program, visit the O’Neill IUPUI website at this link. Applications are open for the fall 2023 and spring 2024 cohorts, with the next application deadline of February 24, 2023.

Written by: Grant Colestock, O’Neill IUPUI Public Safety Management major and Washington Leadership Program alumnus

In fall 2022, I had the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to participate in the O’Neill School’s Washington Leadership Program, an experience I highly recommend to anyone and one you will not regret. The experience is best broken down into its three primary areas: the internship, your classes, and life in Washington, D.C.

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O’Neill IUPUI offers more than 30 scholarships for students

Posted on by Leslie Wells

Graduating student in their cap and gown hold a piggy bank in one hand, and their graduation cap in the other.

Covering the cost of college can feel overwhelming for many students. The O’Neill School has dozens of scholarships available for its undergraduate and graduate students to help ease that burden. Yet every year, thousands of dollars in O’Neill scholarships go unclaimed.

Assistant Dean of Student Services Suzann Lupton and Director of Student Services Debbie Koliba are working hard to change that.

“We often find that students sometimes assume they won’t qualify for scholarships, or they don’t understand the process,” Koliba says. “We want to clear up any confusion so students can apply.”

The scholarship application process

Applications for the next academic year open in September and often don’t close until March 1.

Students must be admitted to O’Neill IUPUI to apply for a scholarship and enrolled in O’Neill courses to receive funding. That means an incoming student can—and should—fill out their application as soon as possible.

To apply, students sign in to IUPUI’s Scholarship Portal at one.IU.edu. They fill out one application each year that matches them to scholarships from both O’Neill and IUPUI.

Lupton says 60%–70% of O’Neill’s scholarships automatically match to applicants. The remaining scholarships may require one extra step.

“For some of our larger scholarships, we might require someone to upload a resume, a letter, or additional materials, but it’s a very simple process,” Lupton insists.

High-profile graduate opportunities go unfilled

Koliba says their biggest challenge comes with some of O’Neill’s biggest opportunities for graduate students.

“It’s not that we don’t have the funding available to help these students,” she explains. “The problem is that we don’t have students applying for some of our more unique opportunities. So that money just sits unused.”

Lupton admits those fellowships require a more extensive commitment than most other scholarships, but they also come with a big payoff—not only financially, but also in terms of students’ futures.

“These opportunities really serve as pipelines into good jobs,” Lupton says. “These are the positions in which our students make the connections that launch their careers. Many are actually offered jobs after their internships end.”

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New destinations offered for O’Neill International summer study abroad

Posted on by Leslie Wells

A group of women stand in front of a building in Israel during their study abroad trip.
O’Neill alumna Kari Parmeter (R) studied arts management in Israel in 2018 with O’Neill International.

O’Neill IUPUI students have three additional destination and course options for summer study abroad adventures in 2023.

Applications close on January 27, 2023. O’Neill IUPUI students can choose from 12 programs for their summer study abroad courses, including destinations in the Caribbean, Latin America, Europe, Africa, the Middle East, and Asia.

The newest courses added to the list are based in Vietnam and Costa Rica. A third destination, Israel, is making a return to the list for the first time since 2018.

Kari Parmeter, an O’Neill alumna who earned her degree in Public Safety Management, spent her study abroad in Israel that summer learning about the impact the arts have on everything from culture to the economy to individual lives, and how the government helps managed the arts within Israel. She chronicled her journey on O’Neill IUPUI’s Instagram channel for O’Neill during her trip.

“Something important to remember when considering study abroad is that you’re doing just that: studying abroad,” she emphasized. “Along with so many exciting adventures, we still have learning and course work to be done.

But she highlights the many cultural and sightseeing learning adventures the trip included.

“Once we reached Israel, we really hit the ground running,” she recalled. “We were able to see sacred sites and explore the Jewish Holocaust Museum, Yad Vashem.”

Parmeter acknowledged the trips carry what can be a hefty price tag. She received a scholarship to help offset some of the costs of the trip.

“I love traveling but it’s expensive, especially as a student,” she said. “These scholarships allow students to travel to incredible places, gain new knowledge, and earn college credit at the same time.”

Students can learn about scholarships and apply for assistance at this link. To learn more about the available programs, visit https://oneill.iupui.edu/student-life/study-abroad/index.html. A full list of locations, descriptions, and dates is below.

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Paul H. O'Neill School of Public and Environmental Affairs at IUPUI
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Indianapolis, IN 46202
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