Diane Economakis

“Community-engaged work provides a crucial service to our students by giving them real-world opportunities to apply the skills they learn at IUSB in everyday life. It gives them vital opportunities to improve their written and oral communication skills, to learn organizational strategies, to prioritize, and more. I am honored to have the opportunity to serve our South Bend community in two capacities–as a faculty member in the English department and as Executive Director of the South Bend Youth Symphony Orchestras. SBYSO works to include as many members of our community as possible, regardless of financial status or disability.  We provide need-based tuition scholarships and even offer free private lessons for students whose families have financial need. The internship program we started several years ago, between SBYSO and the IUSB Honors Program, gives IUSB honors students a chance to work with a nonprofit organization right here in South Bend–and one that makes its home at IUSB! It’s a perfect fit!”