Eric Harris
Co-Founder, Owner, General Manager, and Winemaker at Two-EE's Winery

BGS '09 - IPFW
Winemaking & Viticulture - University of California Davis

As young alumni, Eric Harris, gears up for the opening of Two-EE's Winery later this month (May 2013), we had the pleasure of sitting down with him to discuss how he became one of Indiana's youngest winemakers, how his education has helped him through the years, and what advice he has for current students. Spend a few minutes with IPFW Mastodon, Eric Harris!

Q: How has your degree been beneficial to your career?
A: I've had an interesting college career with twists and turns that have lead to this decision. I started off at Ball State University with an interest in Biology and Chemistry.  I spent a lot of time in upper level courses and also studied abroad in Australia. I had an opportunity to come home to Fort Wayne and take over an existing business with a friend from High School and decided to move forward with that and finish my degree at IPFW. With the exposure of operating a small business I felt like I could use the help of business courses to give some foundation to real world application. I quickly learned that business was something I took more of an interest in than science and changed my degree pursuits. Although it was a little late for me to pursue a business degree, I decided it was not what my degree said but rather what I learned and what I would be able to apply to the real world. So, I finished with a general studies degree. It is accurate to say the studies were general, but it gave me the flexibility to learn what I felt was important to me rather than a standardized curriculum. This long strange trip has given me a solid foundation to build on with real world experience in organizing and developing a new business.

Q: How did you become interested in the winemaking field?
A: When I was 12 years old we had a gallon of apple cider that fermented in the refrigerator and I wanted to taste it. My Mom wouldn't let me and dumped it down the drain. There has always been a lingering curiosity there ...I wish I had the chance to taste it, even if it was nasty. While at Ball State I took a class in microbiology where we made root beer with an inoculated fermentation to carbonate the soda.  It was fun to spend the week on fermentation kinetics. But, the most influential piece of the puzzle was my future father in-law's basement winery (Harts Content) that he and I built from a couple small batches of wine a year to several barrels with several different varieties.

Q: What is the best career advice you were given?
A: Networking is paramount, and brevity is the soul of wit.

Q: Was there anyone during your time at IPFW who acted as a mentor to you?
A: Bob Abel was one of the most difficult instructors I had the pleasure of studying under. His style is unorthodox yet effective, he clearly wanted his students to not only learn, but think. Lectures with Bob are thought provoking and casual, the work is difficult, and the lessons learned stick with you.

Q: What course(s) have you found to be most valuable in your professional life?
A: HR Issues with Bob Abel. I was involved in a group project, developing a winery business plan. That plan was picked apart without reservation and has helped shape what this business [Two-EE's Winery] has grown into.

Q: What would be your advice to someone who is considering IPFW?
A: Advice for anyone considering any school would be the same: know your goals, make sure they school can deliver, and use the staff and faculty to your advantage (counselors are crucial.)

Q: What advice would you give to current IPFW students?
A: Visit your adviser and counselors, they will help you choose the right classes and instructors to help you graduate on time or sooner--ultra important! Also, you get what you put into it.

Q: What do you consider to be your greatest accomplishments, both personally and professionally?
A: I'm young and have a lot of goals, relatively speaking, I feel I've yet to accomplish anything great.

Q: Where do you hope to be in ten years?
A: The only thing I hope for my future is health and happiness. Professional well being is secondary. I never would have guessed 10 years ago where I would be today, it would be foolish to have any expectations for the next 10 years.

Q: How would you like to be remembered?
A: I hope people remember me as kind and genuine.

Follow Eric and the progress of Two-EE's Winery by following them on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and at www.twoees.com.

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William Baulkey
Willyum Photography

BFA '08 - Photography

We asked William several questions about his career, how his education has helped him through the years, and what advice he has for current students. Spend a few minutes with IPFW Mastodon, William Baulkey.

Q: How has your degree been beneficial to your career?
A: It has given me the skills and confidence to pursue jobs within the field of photography. ...along with work focusing on graphic design.

Q: How did you become interested in photography?
A: I was always creating as a child and in high school, but I didn't know what area I fit into. Photography started out as a hobby which led to the thought, "this is really something I love doing, why not actually try to learn more about it and DO this"? It took a while, but I eventually got there.

Q: What is the best career advice you were given?
A: I've received tons of advice that has been great and inspiring. To keep challenging myself and continue learning come to mind. Also, a huge mantra that I try to live by is keep focused on what I'm doing and stop looking to what others are doing, or have done, because that can lead to you losing your focus and way.

Q: Was there anyone during your time at IPFW who acted as a mentor to you?
A: Yes. Four come to mind immediately and truly did have a bigger influence than they know. 1. Bill Nichols, my first photography teacher. He taught me about the darkroom and instilled the practice of photography, composition, and knowledge before the start of the digital revolution of photography. 2.  Jim Gabbard, he continued what Bill started and gave me confidence and encouraged me to continually push myself. 3. Benita Brewer, she's a great person to talk to and she inspired me to learn more about graphic design. 4. John Motz, he is beyond an amazing professor and mentor! I learned so much about design and "working in the real world" from just one of his classes. He helped me to understand the connection between graphic design and photography. I use what he taught me on a daily basis.

Q: What course(s) have you found to be most valuable in your professional life?
A: Photography Fundamentals and Layout & Design

Q: What would be your advice to someone who is considering IPFW?
A: Give it a chance and put everything you have into it. It sounds very cliche, but it truly is, "what you put into it."

Q: What advice would you give to current IPFW students?
A: I'm not really a person to give advice, but if you're a senior going through their Senior Project in Visual Communication and Design; take a break and relax! You will get it done and it will be over sooner than you think..  ...then, years down the road, you will think about all the things you would have done differently...

Q: Do you have a favorite and/or funny story about your time at IPFW?
A: My favorite stories are really memories of meeting some really great people who I still stay in contact with and continue to see doing great things with their life both personally and professionally.

Q: What do you consider to be your greatest accomplishments, both personally and professionally?
A: Personally, I am proud to have graduated from college, many in my family have not and many thought that I would not even go. Not only did I go, but I excelled and graduated! I am also very proud to be published more and more everyday, latest being two Indianpolis publications and having one of my fashion photographs published on the Italian Vogue's website.

Q: Where do you hope to be in ten years?
A: I hope to be happy and successful in the fashion photography industry ...and out of debt. :)

Q: How would you like to be remembered?
A: I would like to be remembered as a passionate man who loves his work.

  View more of William's work at www.willyumphotography.com

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Heather (Whitacre) Schoegler
Director of Community Engagement
Parkview Health

B.A. '02 - Media & Public Communications
M.S. - Organizational Leadership (Indiana Tech)

We asked Heather several questions about her career, how her education has helped her through the years, and what advice she has for current students. Spend 10 minutes, or less, with IPFW Mastodon, Heather Schoegler!

Q: How has your degree been beneficial to your career?
A: The fundamentals I learned through obtaining my IPFW degree are used daily. My career path started in traditional marketing roles, and I've grown by expanding my education and putting my skills into practice in new ways. However, without the strong foundation IPFW provided, I wouldn't have been able to succeed.

Q: How did you become interested in your field?
A: I began at IPFW and a Speech Education major. (A program no longer offered.) After taking my Intro to PR course with Larry Wardlaw, I quickly changed majors after being excited by the material and prospect of getting to do something that seemed less like "work" every day. I'm thankful Larry inspired this path!

Q: What is the best career advice you were given?
A: My first job out of college was for an organization that reported to a board of directors. The president of the board told me "network your way out of this job." It sounded strange at the time, but I've never forgotten it. Networking and growing my connections has not only benefited me, but also my entire network. Later, a future-boss shared Tim Sanders' book "Love is the Killer App" with me. By putting his theory of generosity in place professionally, I've been able to see equal success for those I've built relationships with through networking.

Q: What course(s) have you found to be most valuable in your professional life?
A: Besides the Intro to PR class that changed my career path, the two courses that have been the most valuable are Intro to Psychology as an elective and Steve Carr's Documentary and Experimental Film graduate course. Those might sound odd for what I do, but understanding a little bit of psychology and the "why" behind people's decisions help me be more successful as I work with teams and individuals. Steve Carr's film course, while not directly related to what I do every day professionally, taught me to think outside the traditional box. By seeing the imagination of the film makers and creating a sense of wonder when it came to producing the works, I'm able to take a step back when addressing a problem and try to examine it from a completely different angle. Often, that pause and challenge to rethink generates a better, more innovative solution that helps us fulfill our mission in a greater way.

Q: What would be your advice to someone who is considering IPFW?
A: IPFW was a great choice for me because it offered reasonable tuition compared to other schools I was considering. The professors were excellent and well respected in their field. As a returning adult, I think the evening class hours offer the flexibility needed. If I was a coming on campus, I'd certainly be excited about the apartment-style housing! I missed out on that a decade ago.

Q: What advice would you give to current IPFW students?
A: Dedicate yourself to the work. It's only a few short years but what you put into your course work now, will pay dividends for years.

Q: What do you consider to be your greatest accomplishments, both personally and professionally?
A: Personally, my greatest accomplishment is my family. Being a working mother can be a challenge, but our family does it through teamwork. That teamwork allowed me to return to school and obtain my Master's through an excelerated program that was quite challenging. Professionally, my greatest accomplishments happen every day as I work with others to fulfill Parkview's mission. Being recognized for the commitment and service with honors like a 40 Under 40 award and an Athena Award nomination are nice acknowledgements that I'm on the right track.

Q: Where do you hope to be in ten years?
A: Continuing to be a part of making this community the first choice for people to live, work and be well.

Q: How would you like to be remembered?
A: As someone generous with my time, talent and treasure and made the people around me successful.