Note: The film RoadTrip IUP can now be viewed on YouTube: RoadTrip IUP.
Four Indiana University of Pennsylvania students traveled to New York City, Philadelphia, and Washington, D.C., to film interviews with six IUP alumni about their experiences in college and in their professional and personal lives.
RoadTrip IUP, the resulting video, will be shown April 18 at 6 p.m. in Eberly Auditorium. The presentation will be followed by a question and answer period with the students who created the video and two of the alumni profiled: Northern Cambria native Matthew Edmiston and New York City resident Leland Hardy.
Edmiston, a 2007 Biology graduate of IUP, is a biology teacher at Roberto Clemente Middle School in Harlem, New York City. He lives in West Caldwell, N.J. Hardy, a 1984 Marketing Department graduate, is entrepreneur, Wall Street Analyst, professional boxer, and professional actor.
Other alumni profiled in the video include Kim Glovus, a 1981 graduate of IUP who works as a news reporter and on-air personality at KYW News Radio in Philadelphia; Bruce Graham, a 1979 graduate who is a playwright, movie and television screenwriter, and movie script writer; Stephanie Lambidakis, a 1981 IUP graduate who lives in Potomac, Md., an Emmy award-winning news reporter with Cable News Network, ABC News, and CBS News and radio; Elaine Sheetz, a 1971 graduate living in Great Falls, Va., who is a music teacher who owns five restaurants in the Washington, D.C., region. Graham and Lambidakis are both IUP Distinguished Alumni Award recipients.
The student who worked on the project include DeAnna Allen, of Abington, a senior Journalism major; Emily Dowdell, of Pittsburgh, a senior Robert E. Cook Honors College Spanish Education major and theater minor; Justin Rossi, of Oakmont, a sophomore Criminology Pre-Law major and member of Delta Epsilon Iota, an honorary fraternity for career-focused students; and Brandon Roudebush, of Kittanning, a junior Communications Media major and the team videographer.
The project was inspired by the Public Broadcasting System documentary and series RoadTrip Nation. The founders of RoadTrip Nation sought to help students explore their potential future paths by seeking the stories of individuals who have chosen to live life based on their career passions.
IUP's project was coordinated by the Career Development Center at IUP in conjunction with the Office of Alumni Relations. Visit the RoadTrip IUP website.