The Power of Mentors

The ORR Fellowship offers college graduates the opportunity to network with passionate and entrepreneurial individuals while working in a two-year, full-time paid position at an Indianapolis company. Companies provide hands-on work experience that exposes participants to multiple positions within the organization. And, the Orr Fellows form a community of peers who can rely upon each other for advice and support throughout their entrepreneurial experience.

Jarred Porter will be among the newest cohort of Orr Fellows in Summer 2022. This semester, Jarred was a Senior in the ENTR Capstone course led by instructors Susan Woods and Greg Finch. It was in this course that he heard Nate Spangle from Powderkeg speak. Prior to that, Jarred had received emails about the Orr Fellowship, but he had disregarded them, thinking the Orr Fellowship was not the right path for him. During his talk, Nate shared that he had participated in the Orr Fellowship, which inspired Jarred to apply. His capstone instructors, Susan Woods and Greg Finch, also strongly encouraged him to apply. This was the push Jarred needed to begin the 7-step application process that begins with a resume and ends with interviews. 

This year, 91 applicants were selected to be part of the cohort and Jarred was one of them. Choosing the company he would join was a very difficult decision given that all of the possibilities were great. Jarred ended up choosing OnBoard, a global software business that offers company boards and leadership teams a seamless platform for meeting preparation, collaboration and interfacing. Passageways, the parent company of OnBoard, was founded by Purdue University students in 2003. Jarred has met the team and is looking forward to working with these entrepreneurs who come from a variety of backgrounds.

Jarred will begin his journey with OnBoard in June of 2022 after he graduates from Purdue in May. Jarred’s major is User Experience Design. Jarred began his educational path at Ball State in Athletic Administration and soon discovered that it was not the fit he was hoping for. He decided to transfer to Purdue. He began to explore UX as a major and fell in love with it.

Jarred added the Certificate in Entrepreneurship and Innovation to his degree at the encouragement of his academic advisor. His decision to pursue a more entrepreneurial path was encouraged by another ENTR instructor, Angie Stocklin. Jarred’s educational journey has been full of twists and turns, leading him to where he is today. He is not sure where this current path will lead, but he is excited for the journey! His advice to students is this: “Never underestimate the power of a guest speaker or a mentor. Never ignore the little voice in the back of your head pushing you to go outside your comfort zone.”