Project Members
AMY ANDERSON
Amy is a Biology major and plans on going to graduate school to become a veterinarian. She loves animals but cats hold a special place in her heart. She also enjoys musicals and long walks on the beach. Baking, singing and doing Zumba are her favorite pastimes and she believes no sweater is an ugly sweater. |
HANNAH BARRICK
Hannah has almost completed her time here at Ball State University. She will graduate with a major in telecommunications with an emphasis on video production and a minor in psychology. She became involved in this project because she likes listening to and telling stories and believes that there is a lot that can be told still about animal responsibility. She loves to explore, laugh, and be creative and thinks that the best form of transportation is a Jeep with its top down on a warm, sunny day. |
SAMANTHA BILBREY
Samantha Bilbrey is a junior Communication Studies Major with an emphasis in Public Communication. She loves volunteering and aspires to work for a not for profit organization upon graduation. She has a best friend Border Collie named Ollie who is two years old. Ollie instilled a passion for responsible pet ownership and led her to become a part of S.O.A.R. She will never turn down seeing a movie and is a big fan of reality television. |
ABIGAIL DUERLINGER
Abigail Duerlinger is an English Education major at Ball State University. Abigail is also a tour guide at Ball State and loves to share her excitement and meet interesting families. She loves to write and draw, daydream about F. Scott Fitzgerald, and spend time discovering new voices on You Tube. Abigail wants to eventually teach in non traditional classrooms or give tours of amazing places. She is passionate about educating and comforting people and making sure everyone around her is heard. |
NEIL HAUSEY
Neil is currently a Junior at Ball State University, focusing on Film Production. After graduating, Neil hopes to work on the production of feature length films. He is currently a member of the Theta Alpha Chapter of the Alpha Tau Omega fraternity, where he has held several positions. He is also currently a member of the student run show, Connections Live. Neil has always considered himself an animal lover, and hopes to use his skills with SOAR to help raise awareness on this important topic. |
ALYCIA JONES
Alycia Jones is a sophomore Japanese major at Ball State University. One day she hopes to work in the translation business. She joined the VBC seminar because she loves animals and hates the idea of anyone hurting them. Sadly, she has not owned any of her own pets, but will change that as soon as she gets the chance. Alycia enjoys books, movies, crocheting, drawing, volunteering, riding horses, stickers, and just about any other fun activity. What makes all these things fun to her is when she can do them with friends. She can't wait to meet lots of people and animals this semester and learn as much as she can to help them. |
JESSICA KNOX
Jessica is a junior Journalism/telecommunications major at Ball State. She is a member of Alpha Omicron Pi fraternity and currently holds the position of Parent and Alumni Chair. Jessica actively volunteers at the local YMCA by operating the scoreboard for children’s basketball games. After graduating, Jessica plans to pursue her career in sports journalism. At 18 years old, Jessica volunteered at ARF and her love of animals grew. She owns an 11 year-old mutt named Jazzmin. |
NEIL MILLER
Neil is a sophomore biology, zoology double major and an avid dog lover. He loves all animals and hopes to one day be a zookeeper working with either mammals or birds, his dream job being head zookeeper at the Fort Wayne Children's Zoo. He is very excited to work so closely with both animals and the community. His hobbies include online shopping, staring at twitter, and eating Chick-Fil-A. |
ELIZABETH PALMER
Elizabeth Palmer is a 22-year-old English Studies major and Digital Media minor at Ball State. She is the production manager for the international undergraduate philosophy journal, Stance. She is an animal lover and has two Siberian Huskies, Atticus and Kerrigan and a tri-colored Tabby kitten named Sawyer. She loves books, movies, cooking, and writing. She fills pages of Moleskine notebooks with sketches and writing, bakes cupcakes, and frequently "upcycles" thrift store finds and wooden pallets into furniture. Her career goal is to work in publishing and editing in the literary world. |
CARLY POWELL
Carly Powell is a Junior, Zoology major at Ball State University. She decided to join the VBC Seminar because she is extremely passionate about animals and wants to help them in any way she can. She hopes to pursue a career in zookeeping when she graduates from Ball State University.She is the Vice President of the Ball State Future Veterinarians Society and the Leader of the Service Team at the Christian Campus House. She enjoys spending time with her husband, cat, family, and friends. She also enjoys watching movies and doing zumba in her free time. She is really excited to help educate others about owning a pet! |
CAROLINE ROBELEN
Caroline Robelen is a Senior Theatre Studies major at Ball State University from Camp Hill, Pennsylvania who enjoys reading, playing the piano, listening to showtunes and music from the 1960s, singing, and dancing. For her last semester at Ball State, she decided to become involved with the Virginia Ball Center and became part of a seminar all about animals. She chose this project in particular because of her strong love and bond with animals and because she wishes to spread that compassion with others by helping them learn about responsible pet ownership. When Caroline is not at the Kitselman House, she can be found working on her Senior Honors Thesis which is focused around Lucille Ball, one of Caroline's more famous relatives. After graduation, she hopes to work at either Disneyland or Walt Disney World as a character performer and dancer. |
CARSON ROYER
Carson is a telecommunications major specializing in digital video production, with a minor in Spanish. His passion for animals and thirst for experience in his field led him to his place in the project. Carson enjoys time outside with his own dog or playing with his two cats. He’s a fan of science fiction and action films, and hopes to one day do special effects for big movie studios. |
STEPHANIE STEELE
Stephanie is a sophomore heading toward a psychology major and a minor in criminal justice. She hopes to have a career in forensic psychology, and wants to one day strengthen the current animal cruelty laws. Stephanie loves all animals, cats and dogs equally! She adores musicals and will sing along with anything she knows. |
NICOLE WILSON
Nicole is a Telecommunications major at Ball State University. She has a passion for films and fashion. She one day hopes to work as a television show producer or director. In her spare time she likes to read, travel, dress up as Harry Potter characters, and have Lord of the Rings marathons. Although cats are her choice animal, she does not discriminate against any others when it comes to love. She loves pets and wants everyone to know what it means to be a responsible pet owner. |
MERRIELLE TURNBULL
Merrielle Turnbull proposed this seminar, which combines her two passions -- responsible pet ownership and education. Because animal welfare agencies share these goals, they seemed to be a perfect place to promote increased awareness of animal abuse and responsibility. I have been involved with dog training and showing since the 1970's and have participated in a variety of competitive events and teaching classes in pet manners, obedience, rally and agility for the Muncie community for the past 22 years and judging 4-H canine events. Former dogs were certified therapy pets which visited schools, hospitals and nursing homes. |