Kokomo Experience and You

The Kokomo Experience and You

We learn from our experiences. Our professional, social, casual, and formal interactions all play a part in determining who we become as members of society. At Indiana University Kokomo, we’re providing a wealth of opportunities to students, faculty, staff, alumni, and community members to create lifelong learners.

The Kokomo Experience and You (KEY) program began to provide IU Kokomo students with unique, hands-on opportunities to explore the fields they want to enter after graduation. Since its inception, KEY has expanded to include the KEY Academy, where community members can join in the KEY experience by participating in immersive events and travel opportunities; as well as the KEY Center for Innovation, where local businesses, nonprofits and government agencies connect with the IU Kokomo campus.

You hold the KEY to your future – let us help you open the door!

Explore the KEY initiative

The KEY

Indiana University Kokomo students can participate in four years of experiential education experiences.

KEY Academy

Expand your knowledge, explore your interests, and become a life-long learner.

KEY Center for Innovation

Local businesses, nonprofits, and government agencies are invited to partner with the faculty and students of IU Kokomo.

Explore the world of KEY

A large group of students and faculty on a KEY trip at the Chicago Pier.
Two students on a picnic table working on a project.
A lady looking astonished at a bird placed on her hand.

To view photos and memories from more KEY trips and opportunities, as well as other IU Kokomo events, visit our Flickr account.

Show your support

The KEY program provides students, faculty, staff, alumni, and community members with the chance to experience exciting educational events in part through generous donations from our Cougar community. Help us to continue to provide IU Kokomo with lifelong learning experiences!

Donate now

Philosophy students and faculty standing around garden beds at the Carver Community Center.

KEY project puts ethics to work in community garden

To most people, the eight wooden structures behind the Carver Community Center are the foundation of a garden.

But to one Indiana University Kokomo class, they represent ethics in action.

Students in Christopher Buckman’s Introduction to Ethics class built the raised garden beds as part of a practical project to do good in Kokomo.

Something's growing here
Students and Dean Chauret on a KEY trip in front of Golden Gate Bridge, San Francisco, California.

KEY program changing lives, sparking dreams

Travel has been a hallmark of the KEY program since it was founded. The goal is to provide students with real-world experiences, connect them with people, and offer a travel experience within their major.

Destinations have included sites significant to World War II in Germany, France, and England; a business incubator in Nashville, Google headquarters in California, Indiana Dunes National Park, ESPN in North Carolina, behind-the-scenes in security at Gainbridge Fieldhouse, and much more.

Learn more
Students standing in front of a colorful mural.

Freshmen prepare for success with KEY Summer Institute

It’s completely normal for a college freshman to be a little nervous about the first day of class.

But because Jordan Henderson invested three days in attending Indiana University Kokomo’s KEY Summer Institute (KSI), he will start his semester ready to succeed.

“With being in this new environment and meeting new people, and knowing I have support from faculty, it makes me feel more confident with how I am going to do academically and socially,” said Henderson, from Frankfort.

Turn the KEY