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Trey Buck |
Trey Buck of Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology is among 13 Indiana
college students selected for the 2009 Governor Robert D. Orr Entrepreneurial
Fellowship class, securing a two-year position to work for one of Indiana’s
fastest growing innovative companies and, more importantly, jumpstart his career
as an entrepreneur and business leader.
Buck, a 2008 November mechanical engineering graduate who is now
enrolled in the engineering management master's degree program on campus, will
work closely with executives and other top-tier officials at Ascendium
Consulting, a small Indianapolis-based company that provides tailored healthcare
consulting solutions to clients. Orr Fellows meet regularly with Indiana’s most
accomplished business and community leaders to discuss leadership development.
The Fellows also participate in community service projects, including mentoring
at New Tech High School through a partnership with Junior Achievement and the
TechPoint Foundation.
This marks the third straight year that a Rose-Hulman student has been
named a Orr Fellow.
After the two-year program, past fellows have gone on to pursue
graduate degrees at Harvard Business School, the Kellogg School of Management,
the Johnson School at Cornell University and Georgetown University, found their
own start-up companies, and hold key positions at companies across the state.
Buck, the lone engineering student named an Orr Fellow this year, was a
campus leader throughout his Rose-Hulman career, being an all-region selection
and co-captain of the varsity soccer team and helping the track team earn a
league championship. He is also member of the Triangle fraternity,
Entrepreneurship Club and 2008-09 Student Leadership Academy. The Austin,
Texas, native started his college career at The Ohio State University before
transferring to Rose-Hulman.
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Active Student: Trey Buck set school records and earned all-Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference honors as a goalkeeper on Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology's men's soccer team. He served as an assistant coach for the team this season as he completed his mechanical engineering degree requirements. |
"The Orr Fellowship will offer an opportunity for me to witness a lot
of different leadership in business and technology. I'm a jack-of-all-trades
type of person and Ascendium, a small cutting-edge company, will allow me to
gain experience in several areas of the company's operations," Buck stated.
"I'm looking for close personal interaction and the opportunity to utilize my
engineering skills to help a company succeed in a competitive business
environment.
"Aside from the outstanding technical background, Rose-Hulman has
provided me with the drive and understanding that I can accomplish anything --
if I work hard at it. Now, I have to go out and prove it in the competitive
business world," Buck said.
Ascendium Consulting, a former business unit of Roche Diagnostics
called Healthcare Solutions, is now an independent, privately-owned health care
consulting firm. It provides the breadth and depth of health care industry
expertise needed to deliver tangible results and positive change to a wide range
of organizations across the health care continuum.
The Orr Entrepreneurial Fellowship program works to retain and inspire
Indiana’s brightest minds. It serves as an applied training vehicle for the
state’s future entrepreneurs and organizational leaders, and aims to prepare
fellows for successful careers, ultimately aiding in the development of
Indiana’s economy. Presenting leadership seminars for the Fellows in 2008 were
Bill Godfrey, founder and chief executive officer of Aprimo; Bill Cook, founder
of Cook Inc.; Robert Compton, professional venture capitalist; and Chris
Schwartz, vice president of marketing for the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, and
Martin Jischke, president emeritus of Purdue University. Fellows also get to
develop a network of recent top graduates interested in becoming the future of
Indiana business.
"These positions don't come with a corner office, but they offer a
great view of how the corner office operates and what it takes to claim one,"
stated Scott Brenton, co-founder of the Orr Fellowship program and chief
operating officer at Angie's List, in a news release.
Former Orr Fellow, Ali Sales, now president of Compendium Blogware,
stated in the news release: "I lived the Fellowship, and I’m excited about
exposing another batch of our state’s most talented students to the wonderful
experience that I had . . . This isn't an internship. The executives at host
companies are serious about developing tomorrow's entrepreneurs, and the
fellowship really delivers on its promise to expose Fellows to what it’s like to
run an up and coming business."
Buck was one of 20 Orr Fellow finalists that emerged from an
exhaustive, statewide search for candidates with the right combination of high
grades and leadership qualities. The original list is winnowed to about 500 of
the best candidates and the fellowship board choose approximately 150 to
interview personally. The 20 finalists were selected after interviews and a
reception, and those finalists were interviewed in early December by 16 senior
executives from 10 of Indiana's highest growth companies. The interviews are
intense, lasting about an hour and were one-on-one with the business leader.
Students interviewed with four companies. Other finalists came from Ball State
University, Butler University, DePauw University, Indiana State University,
Indiana University, Indiana Wesleyan University, Purdue University, University
of Notre Dame, Valparaiso University and Wabash College.
Yaw Aning, a 2007 civil engineering graduate and another former
standout soccer player, is in his second year as a Orr Fellow with City
Securities Corporation. Kyle Clark, a 2008 optical engineering graduate, has
been a Fellow with RICS Software for one year.
More information about the Orr Fellowship program is available at
www.orrfellowship.org. |
