By Luke Voss, Lexi Bunting, Whitney Stephen 

BLOOMINGTON Ind. (April 3, 2025) — At Indiana University, Jada Tamia Parks has built something special from the ground up. As the founder and creator of M3 Productions, a production house that focuses on movies, music, and media, she’s brought together a group of like-minded students who share her passion for the film industry. For Parks and her team, M3 isn’t just about creating—it’s about learning, growing, and gaining real-world experience together, all while still in college.  “The goal is really for all of our members to get really immersed in the film industry as much as we can at this age,” said Parks. 

Jada Tamia Parks finds creative sparks in the depths of the Well B. Library film collection. She is one of the founders and creators of M3 Productions and she is always looking for an idea to stick. Photo L. Bunting

Made up of a group of freshmen at Indiana University, M3 Productions is taking their passion for film to new heights, with plans to turn their shared vision into a recognized presence on campus. The group, composed of talented students eager to make their mark in the film industry, is still in the early stages of their journey—but their ambition is already clear, to build a diverse catalog of films on their YouTube channel and establish themselves as a serious force in amateur production.

Through collaboration and dedication, they aim to demonstrate their skills and creativity, earning credibility within both the student body and the larger film community. With hopes of becoming an official student club by next year, M3 Productions seeks to create a space where aspiring filmmakers can come together, learn, and grow through hands-on experience. The group’s efforts reflect not only their individual passions but also their commitment to building a lasting impact on IU’s creative landscape.

Reading over script after script Isaiah Hamilton practices lines with co-actor Elizabeth Hauser. Hamilton is often know for going off script and improving but will look over the script before takes. Photo L. Bunting

The statement we want to put out there is that you’re never too young to start,” said Jada Tamia Parks, founder of M3 Productions. “Though we’re all young, we don’t feel the need to wait for opportunities to come to us or for things to be handed to us. We’re taking initiative and starting now,” she added, emphasizing the group’s drive to create and take control of their future in the film industry.

Currently, M3 Productions is focused on Wavelength, their latest project, which delves into the experiences of students entering college for the first time. This project aims to capture the unique and relatable stories of new students navigating the challenges of higher education. In addition to Wavelength, the group has recently completed several short films, showcasing their growing range and talent. Many members of the team take on multiple roles, working behind the scenes in production as well as stepping in front of the camera as actors. Despite the demanding workload, every member remains passionate and enthusiastic, eager to contribute to the group’s vision. Their dedication to the work is a testament to their commitment to storytelling and their drive to connect with an audience that can relate to their work.

Group of actors and actresses of M3 Production sit and wait in between filming shots. Due to the amount of time member of M3 Productions spend together many great bonds have been established. Photo E. Hauser. 

As a group, M3 Productions is always on the lookout for new projects to take on. Every biweekly, they hold pitch meetings to discuss the scheduling, details, and progress of current projects, as well as brainstorm ideas for new projects. One of the group members, Max Brinkmeyer, is currently working on a script that tackles the powerful theme of overcoming addiction. “I think portraying tough subjects within young adult media is important. We want these scenes to speak to people,” said Brinkmeyer, emphasizing the group’s desire to create work that resonates with a wide audience. These pitch meetings can become chaotic at times, as multiple voices compete to share ideas and get their thoughts heard. Despite the lively discussions, the group thrives on collaboration and creativity, using each meeting as an opportunity to refine their vision and take their projects to the next level.

One of the biggest struggles M3 Productions faces is working with limited resources as college-aged filmmakers. Being young artists comes with its own set of challenges, and the group is no stranger to the reality of tight budgets. ‘We are all just broke college kids trying to get something out there, we want to put time and effort into it,’ said Isaiah Hamilton, the creator of M3 Productions. Despite the financial obstacles, the group remains dedicated to their craft, finding creative solutions to bring their projects to life and push forward with their passion for filmmaking.

Media Contacts
Carolyn Saban
Madi Graves
Melanie Lesniakowski

BLOOMINGTON, IND (Apr. 3, 2025)

The Indiana University Women’s Club Volleyball team is gearing up for the event of the season- the National Club Volleyball Federation tournament in Phoenix, Arizona. The team, marked by their hard work and dedication for the season, is preparing to represent Indiana nationally, and the excitement is palpable. In an exclusive interview, we sat down with several team members to get a closer look at their preparation process, the challenges they’ve faced, and what they’re most looking forward to at nationals. 

The IU Women’s Club Volleyball team has been building momentum all season, and their performance has earned them a spot at this year’s national competition. Having been ranked second in their division in a recent National Collegiate Volleyball Federation Poll, the expectations are high and the excitement is electrifying. The team, made up of students from various backgrounds, studies, and grade levels, balances academics and their social lives to pursue their shared passion for volleyball.

“We’re really excited to go to nationals for the tournament, especially since we didn’t get to go last year,” said senior Katie Kirkendol. “We’re excited to show out and we’ve had a really good season so far so it’s going to be exciting to continue that and just, of course, working hard and trying to come together at practice.”

Kirkendol, who has been playing club volleyball for four years, spoke about how special this particular tournament is for her as a graduating senior. “This one will be a lot more bittersweet and probably really sad compared to my other nationals trips,” Kirkendol shared. “I’ve been playing club volleyball now for four years, and also just volleyball in general. I’ll never be done with volleyball, but I’ll be done being a player so I think it’ll be really bittersweet and sad, but I’m excited to go out with this group of girls.”

To make it to nationals, the IU Women’s Club Volleyball team had to earn their spot through competing in regional tournaments and maintaining a high level of focus throughout the season. Their training regimen is intense and requires commitment, discipline, and perseverance from all team members. 

“While just this team from this semester is going to nationals, I feel like we’ve been preparing all year, using the previous tournaments and practices from the entire year.” said sophomore Amelia Weier. “I’d say that a time where our team’s resilience was tested was in our first tournament this semester at Purdue University, where we faced some teams that we had played in previous semesters. [We] really had to rise to the challenge to beat them and increase our rank for nationals.”

The pressures surrounding a national tournament can be overwhelming, and while winning the tournament would be the goal, we spoke to Weier about what success would mean for her. “I think that as a team we really like to be successful by winning and going far in the tournament, but success for myself would just include knowing that I played really well and feeling good about the performance that we put out.”

Much of the team’s success can be attributed to their close relationships and camaraderie with one another. “I’d say I work really hard to collaborate with the other members of the team.” Weier continued. “We work together often times to decide drills and kind of alter them as we go throughout practice. I’m able to still improve my own skills while also collaborating with the other members of the team and helping to improve all of us.”

As the IU Women’s Club Volleyball team prepares to head to nationals, the excitement is building, and so is their confidence. With hard work, dedication, and a deep sense of team camaraderie, the team is prepared to leave it all on the court. For these athletes, the national tournament is not just a chance to compete- it’s an opportunity to showcase their growth and resilience, and most importantly, their shared love for the game of volleyball. 

The Indiana University Women’s Club Volleyball team competes at the national tournament on the weekend of April 17th-19th in Phoenix, Arizona. We look forward to seeing them represent IU and show off their hard work. 

Indiana University’s Womens Club Volleyball members Amelia Weier and Katie Kirkendol discuss how their team is getting ready for Nationals.

###

By Riley Benak, Luca Ferraioli and Camilla Fiorenza

BLOOMINGTON, IND. (Apr. 3, 2025) – Indiana University Sophomore Ethan Kerschner has been working hard outside of his management major, being lead singer in the student-run band, “In Bloom”.

Every Wednesday night at 7 p.m., the hum of music and laughter spills out of a Bloomington home. It’s not just another college hangout—it’s band practice for In Bloom, a rising student group blending friendship, creative passion, and raw talent into original songs that are turning heads both on campus and beyond.

At the heart of In Bloom is Ethan Kerschner

, the band’s lead singer and a management major at Indiana University. Ethan leads weekly jam sessions with guitarist Frankie Petroff and drummer Sullivan Watson, weaving together new tracks in the warmth of Frankie’s kitchen.

“We’ll sit around the table, sometimes with no real plan, and just bounce ideas back and forth,” Ethan says. “It’s super collaborative. Someone will hum a melody or pull inspiration from a song we all love, and suddenly we’re onto something.”

This spontaneous yet intentional approach shows their creative process. The band’s chemistry, both musical and personal, is what makes their sound so unique. Frankie brings in slick electric guitar riffs that complement Ethan’s vocals, while Sullivan keeps everything grounded with tight, dynamic percussion.

The trio has been practicing consistently for months, refining both original songs and covers. Their hard work paid off when they were selected to be featured in Live From Bloomington, an annual campus fundraiser and music showcase where student bands submit their original work for a chance to be included on a compilation CD. The chosen tracks are professionally produced and released at a launch party each October, with proceeds going toward local causes.

“It’s a really cool way to get your music out there while supporting something bigger than yourself,” Ethan explains.

In preparation, In Bloom will head into the renowned Jacobs School of Music recording studios this April to lay down tracks. The experience marks a new chapter for the band, taking their homemade sound to a professional level.

With roughly 800 plays on their SoundCloud page (@InBloom), the group is slowly building a loyal following. Their music reflects a blend of indie rock, alternative, and a dash of retro influence, but it’s hard to box them into a single genre.

“We’re just figuring it out as we go,” says Frankie. “Every song is kind of its own thing.”

Outside of the band, each member juggles full course loads, jobs, and social lives. But their shared love of music is the glue that holds it all together.

Sullivan, who studies psychology, credits their success not just to practice, but to the bond they’ve built as friends. “There’s a level of trust and openness that you need to be creative together,” he says. “No one’s afraid to throw out a weird idea, and that’s what makes the best stuff happen.”

For an outside perspective, we spoke with Ella, also an Indian University student and Frankie’s girlfriend. She’s seen the band evolve over time and has become one of their biggest supporters.

“They’re always pushing each other to be better, and you can tell they care a lot about what they’re making,” she says. “It’s fun to watch them work together—and honestly, some of their songs are stuck in my head all the time.”

That kind of impact is exactly what In Bloom is hoping for. More than anything, the band wants to create music that connects.

“We’re not trying to be famous or anything,” Ethan says, laughing. “We just want to make stuff that means something to people. If someone hears our song and it makes their day a little better, that’s enough.”

As the October launch party approaches and studio time looms, In Bloom is stepping into a new phase. But no matter how far they go, their foundation remains simple: friends, music, and the kind of creative spark that lights up kitchens on quiet Wednesday nights.

You can catch their music on SoundCloud at @InBloom, and stay tuned for their debut on the Live From Bloomington CD this fall.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vjDLAvcLnHY

By Will Morris, Ellie Belshaw, Jola Wright and Sylvia Sasse

BLOOMINGTON, Ind (April 3, 2025)

As a young girl, Anjuli Paul can still recall the times she spent twirling around her living room. She smiles as she remembers, “I was always just dancing around the house.” Her passionate path as a ballerina began with those carefree moments of spontaneous movement that eventually evolved into a serious endeavor.

Paul, now a freshman at Indiana University, began her formal ballet training at the age of four, encourag

ed by her mother, who thought it would be a good fit. But it wasn’t until she was eleven years old that ballet started to mean more to Paul. “That’s when I really started to take it seriously,” she recalls. Ballet changed over time from being a mere pastime to become her life’s passion.

“I think my favorite part of dancing has always been performing,” adds Paul. “It’s just such a special experience.” Paul sees ballet as an opportunity to share something really personal, rather than just a form of dance. She notes that her main form of self-expression has always been dance. Paul, who describes herself as an introvert, struggles to express her feelings in words, but she is able to do it on stage with each leap and pirouette.

Her capacity for nonverbal communication is the foundation of Paul’s relationship with dance. “Dance has always been a way for me to express myself,” she adds thoughtfully. Deeming herself a

s an introvert, expressing herself through movement

has always felt natural to her. 

A significant part of being a ballerina at Indiana University is not just the performances, but the preparation that goes into each one. Paul takes us behind the scenes to see what it’s like to get ready for a show, starting by explaining their pre-performance ritual. “We stand in a circle with the group, close our eyes, and squeeze each other’s hands. It’s a way for us to center ourselves and prepare for what’s coming,” she shares. 

The process leading up to a performance starts long before the first rehearsal. A choreographer arrives with a preliminary casting list, called ‘learning groups,’ to begin developing the routine. The following rehearsals serve as an audition, a time when the dancers may learn a “key phrase” of choreography. This could determine their role in the final performance. “After the choreographers leave, they won’t come back until tech week, which is the week before the show,” Paul explains. “Once we have the choreography, we’re running it every day, every week.”

Each day up until the performance is filled with rigorous rehearsals. The stakes are high, especially during tech week, which Paul describes as the “craziest” part of the process. “We are here from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. every day,” Paul says, laughing. “I tell my friends I’m going into survival mode.”

During tech week, the dancers run the entire show in full makeup and costumes, and practice with the orchestra. Though a dem

anding schedule, it ensures the dancers are prepared for every moment of the show. Once tech

week is over, the group performs all week long, with the Monday following the performance being the only break. “The whole process is very intense,” Paul states.

The entire process—from auditioning dancers to selecting choreography and rehearsing for performances—takes about eight weeks. Paul’s most recent piece, ‘Sandpaper Ballet’, started at the very beginning of the semester. “From there we’ve just been working on it through now,” she says. “I would say it usually takes about two months.”

Paul’s path to Indiana University was shaped by years of dedication.She became even more dedicated to dance when she transferred to a Boston boarding school for her senior year of high school. She attributes this transition to the nature of being a dancer, having previously been living away from home since she was fourteen. “It definitely made the transition to college easier, especially with living away from home,” Paul added. 

Her time in Boston prepared her for the professional demands of ballet, especially the expectations at Indiana University. “Being able to work with the Boston Ballet Company really helped prepare me for that more professional environment,” she says. “It also helped with that transition from being a student to being more of a professional dancer.”

As she embarks on her freshman year, Paul continues to push herself both as a dancer and an individual. She believes ballet brings out the best version of herself. “It really allows me to express myself,” she explains. “There are certain things you can’t explain with words, and for me the way to express that is through movement.”

Her experience is proof of the ability of performance to not only display skill but also to discover one’s voice in a manner that words cannot always express. Ballet is more than just an art form to Anjuli Paul; it’s a place where she discovers who she is and shares that with the world.

From the living room to the stage, her journey is just beginning, but it’s clear that dance will continue to be a key part of her story, both at Indiana University and beyond.

https://youtu.be/rDuIrTfzyaA