Seven Indiana Wesleyan University seniors were picked to be part of the 2026 Orr Fellowship cohort.
Upon graduation these seven seniors will begin a two-year Fellowship in Indiana and be matched with a company.
Kara Simison will be joining the Annex Group post-graduation and is very excited and proud of herself for achieving this goal.
“When I became a business major, I saw the names on the plaque in Maxwell and I knew this would be something I would want to do, it was something I was very proud of achieving,” Simison said.
The process to be accepted into the Fellowship is very long — taking almost all fall semester.
After applying, there are plenty of networking events and presentations to attend. Following that, another application is to be turned in and that is what determines if you make it to finalist day.
Finalist day includes interviews and picking your top five companies. By the night of finalist day, you should get a phone call of which company the Orr team matched you with.
Simison also said, “It’s a very long process but very rewarding in the end.”
Orr Fellowship not only guarantees a job and networking community for two years to these seniors but also a significant opportunity to grow in professionalism.
Angie Thompson in the business division works closely with students through the process and believes there is significance in being an Orr fellow.
“In the business world today, we are seeing gaps in employment where college graduates need help developing stronger communication, professionalism and critical thinking skills which Orr fellows get a lot of help growing in those areas,” Thompson said.
Orr Fellowship is mission driven built off of their four C’s: career, community, continued learning and commitment.
Thompson encourages students to lean into these four C’s and step out to grow in confidence in themselves and apply for Orr.
Indiana Wesleyan has a long history of Orr Fellows and alumni Avery Bays, a current fellow, has come back to Indiana Wesleyan to encourage and market for Orr.
Bays said, “Professionally and also personally Orr Fellowship skyrocketed my trajectory and I’m excited to see how it continues to grow for decades to come for the next fellows.”
Orr Fellowship continues to grow and help graduates embrace the job market feeling confident and prepared.
Applications will open up and begin starting in the fall. Indiana Wesleyan students are strongly encouraged to apply.
