Trine’s Sloneker excels in Orr Fellowship

INDIANAPOLIS — Katie Sloneker was a high-achieving student at Trine University, helping take the women’s basketball team to the NCAA Division III Final Four, double-majoring and earning her MBA, working in the Admission Office and being part of Ehinger Fellows.

That same drive to succeed has propelled to her to excel in Orr Fellowship.

“Katie is just such a core tenet of our community,” said Catherine Mazanek, senior director of engagement at Orr Fellowship.

“Even if she wasn't necessarily being a leader in different roles, Katie is somebody that everyone knows, that everyone sees, who shows up to support other Fellows. You get out what you put in, and Katie certainly put in so much to this organization.”

Hands-on experience, professional development

Orr Fellowship, one of Indiana’s most celebrated nonprofit talent programs, is a two-year post-graduate program that places high-achieving college seniors from across the Midwest in full-time, paid positions at dynamic companies and organizations in Indianapolis and Evansville.

Fellows are selected for their strong leadership potential, academic achievements and commitment to community impact. They gain hands-on experience with companies in diverse fields, from marketing to engineering, while participating in professional development opportunities, nonprofit consulting projects and leadership training.

Katie, who graduated from Trine in 2022 with a degree in accounting and finance as well as her MBA, first heard about Orr Fellowship as part of the Ehinger Fellows.

“I wasn't super sure of what I wanted to do with my career,” she said. “Orr provides this opportunity where you can explore different opportunities and different avenues in a way that's super accessible. That's what attracted me to the Fellowship and to applying.”

Through the Fellowship, Katie worked as finance specialist for Kiwanis International in Indianapolis. Her duties included helping close the books each month, conducting bank reconciliations and making sure different entities within the organization remain in good standing.

“They kind of threw a bunch of stuff at me (and) figured out what I like to do within accounting and finance,” she said. “That's what I really like about Orr — you get the chance to get exposure to different parts of a business and they want to give you a robust experience. They want to give you challenging work because they know you're a part of this talent pool that's really, really good, and they trust you in ways that maybe another entry-level employee wouldn't be trusted.”

Taking the lead

Beyond her work experience, Katie stood out in taking on leadership roles within the Fellowship.

Fellows are required to assist in recruiting future students to the program. In her second year at Orr, Katie stepped up to lead a team of five Fellows that recruited at Trine.

Mazanek said that in addition to overseeing recruitment, Katie and Kyle Callahan, another Trine graduate who had served as the lead the prior year, created excitement around recruiting at Trine, including making sure team members from other universities were outfitted with Trine swag.

“They did this really incredible job of creating a culture on their recruitment team that was unlike I've seen in a lot of the other recruitment teams,” she said. “Everybody knows Trine and everyone loves Trine because of what Kyle and Katie have really done to create that culture and excitement around it.”

Katie said she’s excited to encourage Trine students to apply to Orr because of the benefits the Fellowship offers.

“Orr Fellowship provides you with an opportunity to grow your career and develop yourself personally and professionally in a way no other program really does,” she said. “We provide you with professional development opportunities and a support network that really accelerates your career, more so than someone that didn't go through the program.”

Katie also took a leadership position with Orr’s Nonprofit Consulting Program.

With support from a team of Fellows, she organized the program’s Kickoff Nights. The professional sports draft-style events pair teams of Fellows with Indianapolis-area nonprofit partners to complete projects.

The events were so successful that, after seeing a recap on social media, the Connor Prairie museum reached out to Orr Fellowship to become involved.

“(Katie) is just one of those Fellows that has so much humility, but executes at such a high level,” said Mazanek. “She's the person who's like, ‘I'm just here to make sure everybody has a great experience.’ And then she puts together something for 120 people.”

According to Mazanek, about 30% of Fellows take on multiple leadership opportunities during their time in the program.

For Katie, it was another opportunity to make the most of the Fellowship.

“To be in a position where I have the opportunity to lead other people … is not something that comes across often,” she said.

Continued involvement

Now that she has graduated from the Fellowship, Katie plans to stay with Kiwanis International and continue living in the Indianapolis area.

She plans to stay active with Orr Fellowship as an alumna.

“It's still a network. You're not just two years and you're done,” she said.

Mazanek said that in addition to her participation as an alumna, Katie’s impact from her time in the Fellowship will continue to be felt.

“The Fellows coming in this year will know about Katie because of the energy, the community, the joy that she brought to Orr Fellowship, and especially in the legacy of what Trine is at Orr,” she said. “She's also just a Fellow who sticks out because she cares about Orr and people know her, and they know that she cares about them too.”