Alexis Morales, 22, graduates this May with a bachelor’s degree in business financial information systems. Her sister, Victoria Morales, 24, graduates with her master’s degree in clinical counseling, with a specialization in drug and alcohol addictions counseling. Victoria also graduated from IU Northwest with a bachelor’s degree in psychology in 2017.

Alumnae of Lake Central High School, the sisters wanted to stay close to each other―and close to home―throughout their college years, so they looked no further than Indiana University Northwest. When starting out on their respective paths, they did not expect they might one day be celebrating their achievements at the same Commencement ceremony.

In reflecting on their educational journeys, the sisters uncovered some similarities in how they arrived at this defining moment together. They both came to discover a new direction, all thanks to opportunities they explored while at IU Northwest.

As an undergraduate, Victoria started on a pre-medical track, with aspirations of one day becoming a psychiatrist. She became heavily involved in various student activities, gaining leadership skills along the way. By junior year, she began to have questions about her academic choices, so she sought help from a faculty member who invited her to participate in her research. This led her to consider counseling instead of medicine.

What really flipped the switch, though, were the graduate-level courses she took as she was wrapping up her bachelor’s degree in psychology. This introduced her to a completely new option.

“I had no idea that I wanted to do addictions counseling at all,” she said. “That had never crossed my mind. But taking those classes, if I hadn’t done that, I might not have considered coming back to pursue my master’s degree.”

Similarly, Alexis started out as a criminal justice major with the idea of eventually pursuing law school, but she changed her major to business. Like Victoria, her choices were influenced by the people she met, the conversations she had, and the opportunities she explored.

While working as an intern for IU’s Bicentennial, she met the chief financial officer for Centier Bank, which led to another internship opportunity.

“I wouldn’t have thought about working for a bank,” she said. “Everything happens for a reason.”

The reason, she says, was to set her up nicely with some post-graduation plans. Continuing to work at Centier Bank, she will also attend law school part-time in Chicago beginning this fall.

As for Victoria, she plans to study for her licensure exams while working in the adult intensive psychiatric unit at Franciscan Health in Dyer, another opportunity made possible by earning her degree from IU Northwest.

The RedHawks Nest

While each pursued their individual dreams in college, the sisters have one powerful characteristic in common. Thanks to their philanthropic spirit, the pair will leave IU Northwest with a legacy. In March of 2016, they officially opened The RedHawks Nest, a food pantry serving the campus community.

In high school, the teens went door-to-door on Halloween with a wagon collecting food items to stock a local food pantry. At IU Northwest, the Morales sisters teamed up again, doing the same with hopes of opening a food pantry to serve the IU Northwest community.

They organized a Kan Jam tournament to collect food and personal care items, and with donated space to welcome patrons, the women continued to work towards eliminating the stigma of asking for assistance.

The sisters are pleased with how the pantry has grown over the past three years. The pair ran the RedHawks Nest on their own for the first year, and then, to ensure their endeavor carries on once they graduate, they made it into an official student club. They currently have a volunteer force of about 10 who help consistently, and interest is growing.

“Philanthropy means a lot to us, so we’re thrilled that as we move on to our next chapters, our passions will continue to serve the university that has given us so much,” the sisters concurred.

About the Class of 2019: Indiana University Northwest will confer 830 degrees at the 53nd Annual Commencement ceremonies on May 9, 2019. The Class of 2019 will collectively receive 51 associate’s degrees, 670 bachelor’s degrees and 109 master’s degrees. The oldest student graduating is 68 years old and the youngest is 20, and seven out of 10 graduates are female. The most popular bachelor’s degree granted is general studies, followed by psychology. More than 40 percent of the graduating class are first-generation college students and more than 50 percent are over the age of 25.