Kellen Knowles
Gayle Brunner
Diana Vasquez
Zak Koehler
Anthony Gutierrez
Chris Hardin
IUPUI is Indiana's premier urban research university. The campus enrolls more than 30,000 students in 21 schools and academic units.
Michael Burk
Purdue School of Science
January 2007
There isn’t much point asking IUPUI sophomore Michael Burk what he likes to do in his off time - he doesn’t have much. And that’s just the way he likes it.
Since coming to IUPUI to begin his quest for a career in the field of medicine - and to experience life in a major city - Michael has become a master of turning opportunity into action. A physical education class in fencing has become a passion for the sport. To enhance their college experience, Michael and several friends founded IUPUI’s new Phi Kappa Psi fraternity.
He even turned a few friendly pickup football games with Indianapolis charter school students into a chance to coach their flag football team to a state championship, using the lessons he learned as an academic all-state football player at Lewis Cass High School in north central Indiana.
Though Michael hasn’t settled on which of the many pathways available in medicine that he’ll pursue, the Bepko Scholar is preparing for his future by building an honors-laden college career: he’s a dean’s list scholar, is a member of two academic honor societies (Alpha Lambda Delta and Phi Eta Sigma) and is a executive council member of IUPUI’s Society of Success and Leadership.
Michael’s a natural leader, able to draw others to his passions. He was a state finalist in high school speech competitions, and still loves public speaking. His persuasive abilities have helped Phi Kappa Psi grow as a student organization, and have made him an effective spokesman and ambassador for the Bepko Scholars and Fellows Program for prospective students when they visit IUPUI.
