Flying High

Flying High

Emily Conrad’s resume is chockful of experiences that would catch any recruiter’s eye, thanks to studying at State.

Indiana State showed up on Emily Conrad’s radar early in life. She grew up down Interstate 70 in Brazil, but it was a visit to campus her senior year of high school that sealed the deal.

“As a prospective student, I couldn’t believe that people got to go to school in a place like Federal Hall, and I feel so now lucky that I will get to call myself an alumna of the Scott College of Business and Indiana State,” she said.

Conrad, who will graduate this spring, will begin a semester-long finance and accounting internship with Republic Airlines in Indianapolis on Jan. 7.

“I only got connected with Republic Airlines because of the Career Fair at Indiana State this fall. I noticed that Republic had a financial analyst role available and talked to their representatives, who basically conducted an interview on the spot,” she said. “Within a week of the Career Fair in October, I went to Republic Airlines for an interview and found out I got the internship within a week. I’ve met my manager and mentor, and I already feel like a part of the team. ISU helped me make the connection. If it wasn’t for the Career Fair, I wouldn’t have met that representative and probably would have ended up just another name in the stack of resumes they received.”

Conrad’s resume is chockful of experiences that would catch any recruiter’s eye, though. In addition to being a Meis Mentor and a finance tutor for Finance 108 and Business 311, she completed two internships with Finish Line in Indianapolis, including a finance and accounting internship last summer.

“It was a great experience to work for a publicly traded company, and it was a bonus that Indiana State let me do the internships for credit and be able to get real-world experience at the same time,” she said.

Conrad knew in high school she wanted pursue a business major in college, but her dream to be a marketer making Super Bowl commercials changed after one university-level marketing class. With the guidance of her professors, Conrad decided to channel her desire toward finance — to see how businesses make money and impact customers through a finance lens.

Once she found the right path, Conrad wasted no time getting involved. She served as treasurer of the Investment Club’s portfolio of stocks and bonds, got involved in the Financial Planning Association and joined Delta Sigma Pi, the professional business fraternity.

“Through the Investment Club, I got to go to the Student Management Investment Funds Consortium Conference in the fall, where we met with CFO of the Federal Reserve, got to take a tour of the Federal Reserve and met a ton of Indiana State alumni in the Chicago area who work in the finance industry,” she said.

When two foot surgeries derailed her original plans to run for State’s cross-country and track teams last year, Conrad became more active in Delta Sigma Pi, where she served as vice president of community service.

“My favorite activity the organization allowed me to be a part of was Rent-a-Puppy, which I was in charge of organizing and help raise $500 for a shelter in Brazil — my hometown. It was such a good experience for me to have a leadership position early in my undergraduate career because it helped me build confidence before going into interviews,” she said. “This took a lot more work than I ever guessed it would, but there was a lot to get approved. To take on this semester-long project and then be able to donate money that could really help an organization was a defining moment for me.”

And Conrad’s defining life moments are about to multiple. Following the conclusion of her internship in May, she will get married and set out on her first overseas trip to Europe. She expects, too, that she’ll find her way back to the classroom again someday.

“Right now, my goal is to get some field work under my belt, but eventually I want to get my Chartered Financial Analyst certification and an MBA down the road,” Conrad said. “I have a lot of dreams for the future and many started at Indiana State. It’s hard to believe that I originally wanted to go to small, private school. ISU has not been overwhelming. It has never felt like I couldn’t be involved or included in any of the opportunities campus has to offer.”