Meet Elizabeth Kim – Ivy Tech State Board of Trustees Student Representative

Elizabeth Kim’s ultimate career goal is not a particular title, employer, or paycheck. It is to feel fulfilled. For Kim, the first step toward that fulfillment was giving herself permission to reconsider what she wanted from her education.

“I originally went to college thinking, ‘I’m going to do these things, and I’m going to fast-track my way into a solid career,’” Kim said. “But if your relationship to work is, ‘I guess I’ll do this because my first choice isn’t available,’ that’s not a life anybody should be living. You should pursue what naturally draws you in.”

Before coming to Ivy Tech Community College, Kim attended Williams College in Massachusetts, where she studied economics and women’s, gender, and sexuality studies. Although she had long been interested in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM), pursuing STEM initially felt intimidating and out of reach.

“I had always been interested in STEM from the get-go,” Kim said. “But it felt like everybody had already had a research opportunity or been in a lab. It felt like I couldn’t pursue it unless I had already done those things.”

After stepping back to think more deeply about her future, Kim moved home to be with her parents in Indianapolis and chose a new direction. She enrolled at Ivy Tech Indianapolis in fall 2025 to study biology.

“I’ll be honest: I felt like I was ‘downgrading’ to a community college,” Kim said of confronting her own assumptions about community college. “I had low expectations going in. I thought I was just going to grind it out for however long it took to get my associate degree.”

Instead, Kim found an accessible education, meaningful opportunities, and a community where she could both grow and give back. 

“[Ivy Tech] has been more than I expected in a lot of ways,” Kim said. “It has been such a wonderful experience. Ivy Tech has given me things that a four-year institution hadn’t.” 

Now, the 24-year-old biology student and Indianapolis campus Student Government Association (SGA) president has been selected to serve as one of two student representatives to the Ivy Tech Community College State Board of Trustees for the 2026–27 academic year.

Although Kim comes to the role from the Indianapolis campus, her responsibility extends far beyond it: She will help represent the experiences and perspectives of Ivy Tech students across the state.

“I am deeply, deeply honored,” Kim said. “To be a State Board of Trustees student representative expands the student body you’re representing beyond just the school or campus you attend. That is a statewide group you’re representing.”

Finding community — then building it

Kim’s path to statewide leadership began with a simple question: Was there a medical-related club she could join?

That question connected her with HOSA–Future Health Professionals and the Office of Student Life. 

When HOSA needed help organizing its participation in a flagship conference, Kim stepped forward to help put the logistics in place. She later became president of the Indy campus’ student organization.

From there, one opportunity led to another. Through her work with HOSA, Kim connected with Indianapolis Director of Student Life Anthony Halmon, who introduced her to new ways to get involved and give back. 

Kim described Halmon as one of the most influential people in her leadership journey – someone whose kindness and commitment have helped shape how she supports others. 

“He works so hard and is so kind, giving and considerate,” Kim described. “He wants to have everybody involved and give opportunities to everybody.”

Halmon also became a steady source of support as Kim navigated the challenges of student leadership. 

“When I was stressed as HOSA president, he was such a solid anchor,” Kim said. “He wants to make sure we are balancing our responsibilities and remembering that we are students on top of holding these leadership positions.”

With encouragement from Halmon and other members of the student life team, Kim explored the Campus Activities Board before ultimately finding her way to SGA, which needed student leaders with a vision for its future.

Kim initially hesitated to take on another administrative role. But she also recognized how much Ivy Tech had already given her — and saw an opportunity to build the kind of community she had experienced.

“There is such a bizarre gap between knowing how to raise a community and being a leader,” Kim said. “A lot of people can be a leader. Not a lot of people can raise a community. I wanted the opportunity to foster a space where people feel really, really welcomed in the way that I did.”

Her understanding of leadership was shaped, in part, by navigating challenges within HOSA. Challenges she was able to face thanks not only to her mentor Halmon, but also to her mother. A working mom of three whose ability to balance responsibilities while caring for others reflects many of the students Kim hopes to represent. 

“My mom is the type of person I think of when I ask, ‘What kind of person do I want to consider at Ivy Tech?’” Kim said. “Someone who has a lot of responsibility, wants to balance it all and wants to give more than she is probably receiving.”

For Kim, that generosity extends beyond material support. 

“Giving is also an energy, a love, and an affection,” she said. “I want to honor that in the way I am with other people.”

When frustration and finger-pointing made it difficult for the HOSA executive board to move forward at one point, Kim helped the group return to its shared purpose.

“Somebody has to break the pattern and say, ‘Let’s sit down. We do have a common goal. We are not here to fight each other,’” she said. “The mission was to get to a conference and have fun. Once that was set aside, everything started clicking into place.”

That experience helped Kim develop the people-centered philosophy she now brings to every leadership role.

“People reflect the energy you give out,” she said. “You cannot approach leadership like, ‘I’m at the top of the hierarchy.’ If you are not giving out energy, kindness and consideration, people will not give you what any leader should be looking for: cohesion, unity and community.”

Bringing student experiences to the state level

Selection for the State Board of Trustees role involved a rigorous application process open only to SGA presidents. Kim submitted an application and résumé, completed an interview, and advanced to a dinner interview before receiving the appointment.

As a nonvoting student representative, Kim cannot institute policy changes in the same way as a trustee. She can, however, bring student perspectives into conversations that shape Ivy Tech’s direction, and help students better understand how College leaders are responding to a changing world.

After attending her first board meeting, Kim said she saw trustees considering artificial intelligence, changes in the economy and which career fields may grow or decline. She hopes students find reassurance in knowing those conversations are taking place.

“The board is responding,” Kim said. “They are doing things to make sure you don’t end up spending money on an education that will be obsolete in just a couple of years. They are changing curriculum so that you are better prepared for the changes to come.”

Kim believes her experience at Ivy Tech Indianapolis will also help her recognize concerns students may not have the time or opportunity to voice. At the College’s largest, most urban campus, many students balance classes with work, family, and other responsibilities.

“I have to be quicker to perceive their issues because they may not even have the time to approach me and say, ‘Here is what has been getting in the way of my success as a student,’” she said.

Still, Kim wants students to know that her title should never make her feel out of reach.

“As much as my title sounds flashy, you should absolutely approach me as a friend and a classmate,” she said. “The idea of a community college is accessible education for all — no matter how busy your schedule is, your socioeconomic class, or your identity. I want to reflect that in my approachability as a person as well.”

Kim wants to be known as someone who sees students, listens carefully and works alongside them to identify solutions.

“I really want people to see me as somebody who sees them, somebody who can be a friend and somebody who can be a really good listener,” she said.

Pursuing passion over prestige

Kim’s Ivy Tech experience has already extended beyond campus. During the summer, she completed a National Science Foundation-funded research internship at Indiana University Indianapolis, an opportunity only available to Ivy Tech students. 

Over three months, she gained extensive laboratory experience, learned how research projects operate, and read about 30 scientific papers. The experience gave her not only a view of day-to-day work in a laboratory but also a broader understanding of the research field.

“It was an excellent educational experience,” Kim said.

She could have completed her Ivy Tech degree by the end of the current semester, but Kim intentionally spaced out her remaining courses. The decision gives her more time to serve as SGA president, remain connected to the campus community and, in her words, do her “due diligence” in giving back.

After Ivy Tech, Kim plans to turn her associate degree into a bachelor’s degree in biology. She is considering universities both in Indiana and beyond, but this time, her decision will be guided by more than a school’s name.

“I’m not going to make the same mistake I did when I first entered Ivy Tech, which is looking purely at prestige,” she said. “I’m going to genuinely think about what these places have to offer me and what I can offer them.”

Wherever her path leads, Kim remains grounded in a goal that is both simple and expansive.

“My ultimate career goal is to be fulfilled,” she said. “I want a relationship to the work where I’m proud of it. Whether it is something in science or another leadership position, I want to connect with my co-workers and be fulfilled in every sense of the word.”

At Ivy Tech, Kim has found more than a step toward a biology degree. She has found a place to pursue the work that draws her in, serve others and help students across Indiana feel seen.

“To me, Ivy Tech is accessible education for all,” Kim said. “It’s a chance to pursue goals that would not exist without the institution.”

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