LAMP gives students multi-faceted education

Senior Matt Snyder loves LAMP. \nSnyder, one of the 270 students enrolled in the Liberal Arts and Management Program, said he knew right away that he wanted to get involved with the program when a guidance counselor described the program to him.\n"A light was turned on for me ... it just clicked," Snyder said. "It's a program that for me, at least, fits perfectly,"\nLAMP provides students with the opportunity to obtain a business background paired with a major that targets students' interests in outside concentrations through the College of Arts and Sciences.\nThe program, which allows honors-level students to obtain a certificate for completing requirements outside their major in COAS, includes business seminars and economic classes.\nFocusing on an interdisciplinary environment, LAMP allows students to concentrate their studies in business and liberal arts areas, with time split between the Kelley School of Business and COAS. \nAmy Elson, academic advisor for LAMP, said the program is unique because it reaches many areas of business and liberal arts in a small, personal setting.\n"We need all students to come away with the ability to be an interdisciplinary problem solver," Elson said. "We're creating an environment where that type of experience can take place."\nJames Madison, director of LAMP, said the program has grown substantially in the last several years, increasing their class admittance from 25 to 100 students. \nMadison said the flexibility available to students has been one of the major attractions of the program. The program prepares students not only for their first job, but all careers they may acquire.\n"I think it gives majors in the College of Arts and Sciences all the benefits of a really good liberal arts education on top of career skills and life skills that builds a broader base and a bigger base," Madison said.\nCarolyn Wiethoff, a professor who teaches the LAMP seminar Managing Business Functions, said the growth of the program can be attributed to Madison and Jane Rogan, associate director of LAMP, who recently won the "Outstanding Faculty Award" for the entire IU campus.\nWiethoff said the pair has been able to manage the growth of the program without compromising the learning experience for its students. There is no other program in the country like LAMP, said Wiethoff, and even faculty are given the freedom to propose ideas for new seminars.\nThe motto for the program is "One Perspective is Never Enough," which focuses on the program's ability to use small classrooms to better express different opinions, education and background.\n"I prefer a small group setting because I'm soft spoken and shy," said Katie Kocarek, a sophomore LAMP student. "You get to avoid the cookie-cutter track." \nThough students in LAMP are given personal educational attention, time is also spent building fundamental leadership skills. Madison said the program focuses on career leadership, requiring sophomores to attend a retreat and take a career development class. The program also offers luncheons for students to hear testimonies from business leaders. \nEach event is used to "develop a sense of getting to know the community of the LAMP students," Madison said, and to make a "large, state university seem smaller."\nSophomore LAMP student Melissa Bailey said the smaller setting is one of the most enjoyable parts of the program.\n"It allows one to receive the sort of education at a smaller school, which can seem \nimpossible at a college as large as IU," said Bailey. "It really does open up a world of opportunity for its students."\nOne way the program stays closely connected to its students is through the LAMP Student Advisory Board. Sophomore Brittany Collins said the board is involved with a wide range of activities, in and out of the program.\n"As a board member we plan several LAMP events to get students involved, from recruiting, to volunteering, as well as the annual LAMP retreat," said Collins.\nThe LAMP Student Advisory Board is made of students in the program who act as a mediator between the students and administrators, said Dan Billick, a junior on the board.\n"LAMP's SAB continually grows a stronger connection between the LAMP faculty, its members and the IU campus," said Billick. "It's the SAB's belief we can make the whole greater than the sum of its parts through this"