IN THE COMMUNITY
Students Working for Indiana
Southern Indiana faces complex issues requiring in-depth investigation to ensure a bright future for all of its residents. The Applied Research and Education Center (AREC) at IU Southeast serves a vital role in filling community needs by collecting and analyzing data tailored towards resolving community challenges.
For Dr. Melissa Fry, director of AREC and associate professor of sociology, AREC is about building “resilient communities.” A few of the key projects they’ve worked on—substance abuse, veterans affairs, homelessness, and early childhood care and education—reveal how AREC has stood as a galvanizing force to better Southern Indiana.
Because the research projects completed by students come directly from the real-time needs of Southern Indiana, students develop a deeper understanding of what’s going on in the community and how they can help fix problems through analysis. Joshua Cassin, a sociology major, used Geographic Information System Mapping Technology (GIS) to aid in finding information for the Harrison County Community Foundation, which had concerns about early childhood programs in the region. He and other students provided data on how early childhood programs stimulate economic development and can best provide for the educational success of children.
The meaningful skills-based educational experience results in employment successes for students upon graduation. Cassin plans to continue using his research skills at the U.S. Census Bureau’s National Processing Center, alongside three other alums of AREC.
Other students who worked at AREC found employment in market analysis, providing data structures, and are attending graduate school. Brittany Harris, a sociology and neuroscience major, is now employed as a clinical study specialist at Cognision, and she cites the eleven projects she worked on at AREC with making her and other students “exceptionally prepared to enter their fields and grow communities.”
AREC is part of the conversations that Hoosiers are having about our future by providing information that has positive lasting effects on the community, while supporting student development. Their successes have enriched local non-profit organizations with tools to address the needs of women, men, and children under challenging circumstances.
AREC provides a unique opportunity for students too because the center operates as a research lab, where students develop their craft as researchers and build professional skills making them ready for future employment. Dr. Fry suggests that through research, “Students build tools that are needed for personal and community success, as well as learn the importance of showing up and being part of a team."
— D’Andre Richardson