Glen Ellyn, Palatine natives named to competitive early career Indiana fellowship program
Soon-to-be college graduates Kevin Van Ek from Glen Ellyn and Jenna Vander Ark from Palatine have been named to the prestigious early career development program Orr Fellowship for 2025.
The Orr Fellowship matches high-achieving college seniors nationwide with a range of businesses in Indiana from marketing to engineering. Only 74 of around 1,200 seniors from over 60 universities who applied this last round have been matched with partner companies to embark on the two-year fellowship upon graduation.
Van Ek, who attends Butler University in Indianapolis, will be working at Hurdle, a financial consulting firm. Vander Ark, who attends Taylor University in Upland, Indiana, will be working at award-winning podcasting agency Share Your Genius.
Vander Ark is studying psychology and communications, and is excited to be matched with a company that helps businesses build their branding, which aligns with her interest in marketing, she said.
“I want to find my place in the workforce, whether that's in a large role as a company leader, or a small role that I feel like I can impact people in,” Vander Ark said. “I want to learn how to find creative solutions for the problems that I'm solving, and how to think outside of the box. So ‘Your Genius’ does a really great job of doing that.”
While applying to the fellowship, keeping an open mind was Vander Ark’s goal. She was able to interview with four different companies ranging from health care to construction operations.
Vander Ark’s experience so far has been interning in public relations departments under psychologists and counselors, much different from what awaits her these next few years.
“I'm excited to learn more about podcasting. It is really interesting to me and really fun,” Vander Ark said. “It's becoming more popular, just in itself, there's a lot of market for podcasting.”
Van Ek — majoring in finance and business, technology and analytics — said Hurdle was the perfect match for him, even if he was initially a bit skeptical about working at a smaller business.
Learning about the consulting industry is what Van Ek said he hopes to gain from his time there. One of his career goals is to gain his two years of job experience with the fellowship and go to graduate school to earn a Master of Business Administration.
“One of the biggest things I hope to gain is providing a lot of confidence that this is the industry that I want to work in,” Van Ek said. “I was attracted to the Orr Fellowship so much because it provides the opportunity to put yourself out there and learn a lot about the industry, and there's a lot of networking events.”
Van Ek said the matching process was “fulfilling” because he was able to network with various companies with focuses in software and data management. The selling point for Hurdle is that he will be able to work closer with higher level executives and be directly involved in client projects than if placed at a larger firm.
Both fellows graduate in May, and their fellowships will begin in June.
Fellows are selected for leadership potential, academic achievements and commitment to community impact, according to fellowship President Steven Emch. Over the two years, they gain hands-on experience with companies that provide professional development, nonprofit consulting experiences and leadership training, he said.
“We believe strongly that there's great careers and lives to be made here in Indiana, and we think Orr fellowship can be a connecting force for great people on both sides of that marketplace,” Emch said.