IU Kokomo Student Becomes Indy 500 Royalty
March 7, 2008
Kokomo, Indiana—Adrianne Downey, a junior in the B.S.N. program at Indiana University Kokomo, has been chosen to preside as one of 33 princesses over the Indianapolis 500 Festival. Selected from 260 applicants, each princess is either in college full time or is pursuing a master’s degree. This year’s 500 Festival princesses represent 12 Indiana colleges and universities and 17 cities and towns across the state.
Downey values this opportunity, “It provides a good chance to be a role model, lead by example, and get out into the community.” Though her main duties as princess will be during race week as she and the other princess join the queen and preside over the race, she has already had an opportunity to speak with elementary students in Carmel about dental health and hopes to work with Kokomo urban outreach and the rescue mission. Downey’s interest in the princess program began when her friend Kathleen Beck was chosen to be a 500 Festival Princess in 2006. And, her first week in the selection process was very enjoyable. The past princesses were there to talk with contestants and help them warm-up for the interviews. “If you knew yourself well, you could do well in the interview,” said Downey.
Downey knows herself well. She has always wanted to be a nurse, likes the medical field, and wants a job that provides one-to-one care situations. Downey’s credits her altruistic point of view to her mother, a minister at St. Luke’s United Methodist Church in Kokomo, who says, “When you give of yourself, you get it back in a different way.”
After completion of her B.S.N., she plans to get a master’s degree, becoming a nurse practitioner or a nurse anesthetist. Of IU Kokomo, she says, “You get a quality education at a reasonable price. And, the smaller classrooms allow for more individual interaction with instructors.” She was a little apprehensive when starting clinicals, but she appreciates the experience of learning by doing. She appreciates knowing that the training that she needs in order to accomplish her academic and vocational goals is right here at IU Kokomo.
For more information about the nursing program opportunities available at IU Kokomo, go to the nursing web site at http://www.iuk.edu/majors/nursing.shtml .
