Kelly Hartman, a Ball State University graduate, will never forget the first group home she worked in. A couple in their late 70s living in the home had been together for more than 15 years. However, funding and placement regulation had kept them apart for some time.
Hartman, however, got to play a crucial role in their reunification. She was a member of a team that assisted with allowing them to live together and planning a wedding for the couple. Her continued education and experiences at this group home sparked the development of her own consulting company.
"I may well be the luckiest person in the world," Hartman said. "Loving my career, making a real difference in the lives of others and finding a true happiness in my life is a gift."
Hartman is president and CEO of her own consulting company called Insights Consulting. The company has 200 employees and supports 600 Indiana residents with developmental disabilities. In 2009, the company was chosen by the Indianapolis Star as the sixth best place to work in Indianapolis for companies its size.
She will speak at 7 p.m. in Room 301 in the L.A. Pittenger Student Center as part of an Excellence in Leadership workshop titled, "Finding Your Passion."
Mitch Isaacs, associate director of student life, said her success is why Excellence in Leadership is bringing her in to speak.
"I think it's something the people struggle with sometimes," Isaacs said. "How do I make a career out of that passion?"
Along with running her own company, Hartman is the founding president and a professional liaison of the Indiana Association of Behavioral Consultants; president of the board of directors for Outside the Box, a not-for-profit organization that is focused on getting those with developmental disabilities out in the workforce; and a volunteer with Junior Achievement of Central Indiana.
"I am incredibly blessed," Hartman said. "I wake up every day excited about my career and the challenges it presents."
During her six years at Ball State, a plethora of professors served as inspiration for her future.
"My six years at Ball State were phenomenal and truly life-defining," Hartman said.
A professor she remembers clearly affecting her education and future was Sharon Bowman, Chairperson of the Department of Counseling Psychology and Guidance Services. Not only was she a professor but also a mentor, Hartman said.
"While she challenged me as a student, she also challenged me as a person," Hartman said. "I learned more about myself through her inspiration."
After graduating from Ball State with her Bachelors of Science in English in 1989 and her master's in counseling psychology in 1991, Hartman's goal was to work with inpatient psychiatric adolescents in Atlanta. However, plans changed and Hartman stayed in Indiana to care for her mother, who was diagnosed with progressive cancer and whose prognosis did not look good. That's when Hartman began working in the group home with men and women with developmental disabilities, which she eventually made her full-time occupation.
"I did not know at that time that seeds had been planted for my future," Hartman said.
After seven years with the home, the company assisted her in beginning Insights Consulting, which has been expanding for the past 14 years.
"I am incredibly proud of our team and what we accomplish as we focus on people's capabilities, not their disabilities," Hartman said.
Since she has started her professional career, Hartman has never found herself to be unhappy with her work or dissatisfied due to work weeks exceeding 40 hours, she said.
"I see the importance in life balance and try not to lose perspective in the excitement at work," she said.
She said she wants to talk to students about having a passion in their careers and wants to share some of her own inspirations on her road to success so that students can be happy in their own careers in the future.
This is not the first time Hartman has spoken for the EIL program. She was here last semester and spoke for a panel, and the appeal from the students was undeniable to Isaacs.
"Students really responded to her presentation style," Isaacs said. "She's very relatable, very down to earth."
Hartman said it's a powerful message that can keep students from working in routine when they are older, resulting in dissatisfying work lives.
"If I can inspire one person to see their future differently, I have accomplished my mission," Hartman said.
Hartman said she ultimately hopes students will walk away from her speech with a new perspective or at least something to think about.
"I hope they will ponder," Hartman said. "I hope they will take the time to dig a little deeper, get really honest about what is important to them and work toward finding their own path. I hope they will take the time to consider their own passion from a different perspective than they ever have."
If you go
What: "Finding Your Passion," part of the Excellence in Leadership workshop series
Who: Kelly Hartman, Ball State graduate and president and CEO of Insights Consulting, an Indianapolis-based company that supports 600 residents with developmental disabilities
When: 7 p.m.
Where: L.A. Pittenger Student Center Rm. 301
Workshops are free of charge; light refreshments will be provided
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