INDIANAPOLIS – The University of Southern Indiana has been chosen as the 2019 recipient of the Great Lakes Valley Conference Dr. Joseph J. McGowan Visionary Award, the Conference office announced Friday. The Screaming Eagles will be formally recognized at the Enterprise Rent-A-Car GLVC Spring Awards Reception in St. Louis on Tuesday, May 21.
Named after Dr. Joseph J. McGowan, President at Bellarmine University for 26 years who passed away on March 1, 2016, this award is presented annually to the GLVC institution that displays vision and exemplary programming to promote and advance the student-athlete experience.
Southern Indiana was selected for its “Networking Night at Victoria National,” which is an annual senior etiquette dinner that is the culmination of a yearly series of programming events hosted in collaboration with USI’s Career Services and Internship Office and a local car dealership in Expressway Dodge. The programming usually consists of two to three events each year, per academic class, for student-athletes to attend where Career Services helps facilitate and Expressway Dodge helps sponsor and underwrite the costs. In addition, USI’s charter bus company, New Image, transports the students from campus to the course for free.
The etiquette dinner itself is hosted in the clubhouse at Victoria National Golf Club in Newburgh, Indiana. Upon arrival, the students are treated to hors d’oeuvre and are simultaneously able to mingle with local professionals from the Evansville and Newburgh areas. These professionals also stay through dinner with the student-athletes, as the Victoria National staff conducts a short etiquette lesson between the salad course and main entrée, during which time their staff is able to make suggestions after observing initial behaviors through the hors d’oeuvre and salad portion of the night. The student-athletes and professionals are then able to ask related questions about the various etiquette settings and scenarios presented.
Tables are assigned for both the student-athletes and the professionals to help with mingling the two groups, while efforts are made specifically to pair students of certain majors with those already working in a similar field. Those in attendance have spanned industries such as business, healthcare, sports, and travel, with plans to broaden the pool of careers at future events.
Below are comments from recent participants:
Jacob Fleming, baseball senior student-athlete ‘18
“I had a lot of fun at the etiquette dinner at Victoria National this year. Not only did I get to learn the proper etiquette to eating, but I also got to network with some amazing people. Sitting at my table, I had a teammate who got to talk with someone in his career path, and he now has a better chance to get his internship with that company.”
Haley Limper, volleyball senior student-athlete ‘19
“The senior etiquette event at Victoria National was a great help relating to professionalism and networking. Understanding proper etiquette will help me later on in my career. I also learned a lot through conversations I had with attending professionals from the community.”
Amy Carter, Co-owner Solaris Salon & Spa and Founder of Empowering You Consulting
“I was beyond impressed by the young athletes and how well polished each of them were. What a fabulous thing USI does for them as they get ready to enter the workforce. The athletes were super respectful and fun. I learned a few things myself!”
Eric Marvin, President of the Evansville Sports Corporation
“As a working professional, the etiquette dinner hosted by the University of Southern Indiana was both fun and helpful. I personally learned from the experience and enjoyed the opportunity to interact with the student-athletes and other professionals at the same time. I can honestly say that I wish my university would have offered a similar opportunity when I was a student; it would have been very valuable to me as I entered the workforce with little to no guidance on this important topic.”