Sister Spotlight: Gwen Baer

Gwen is a Junior at Ball State University. She is a double major in entrepreneurial management and theater with a focus on casting. She belongs to PC’17, where she admitted she feels old. Gwen holds two jobs on campus and is VP of Communications for Kappa Kappa.

Gwen originally perused performance at Ball State. She wanted to perform, however, she discovered that wasn’t her niche in the theater world. She didn’t want to abandon theater completely, so she added entrepreneurial management in her second semester of freshman year. Gwen described just how demanding her major can be. For part of her major, her getting her degree is on a pass or fail basis. She is currently working diligently on her business plan that she will present to an advisory board next year, who ultimately decides whether to pass or fail candidates. She currently does casting for the theater department at Ball State. Gwen just cast the production of Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night. She also was involved in casting the senior showcase, which was the Los Angeles Experience. Gwen describes how helpful having real-life experience with casting can be before diving into the professional world after graduation. Gwen’s major was influenced by her involvement in theater. She was a theater queen! Gwen was involved in all eight productions her high school put on. Gwen was modest in describing that in every production she auditioned for she landed a speaking role. Her senior year, in the production of Kiss Me Kate, she was cast as Kate. She had such a blast that led her to discover she couldn’t just let theater go.

Gwen is the VP of Communications for Kappa Kappa. She does a log of delegating to our social media chair, Kylie Myers. She described Kylie as being, “Such a light!” She loves the opportunity to work alongside her every day. In collaboration, they work together to represent Kappa Kappa to the Ball State campus. About 50% of her role is branding and marketing toward PNMs, while the other 50% is showcasing what AOII does at Ball State through social media. Gwen described, “It’s a really rewarding job. I get to brag about sisters all the time. It’s awesome.” Gwen also held the past position of historian, which also falls under the chapter’s communication team. In her role, she took pictures at every event! Being historian ultimately led her to discover a passion she held for branding and marketing.

Gwen really loves music as well as singing. Gwen described, “I always keep that a part of my life, even though it’s behind closed doors. I do karaoke every day. I hope to help students who audition for college by vocal coaching.” Gwen doesn’t just hold a passion for music, she immerses herself in it. She works for Ball State’s department of theater and dance. Gwen proclaimed her role in running the Instagram account, stating, “It’s been a huge part of my life.” Although Gwen acknowledged one downside is always having her, “nose stuck in a phone all day,” she wouldn’t trade these experiences for anything.

Gwen is a dedicated hamster mom to her baby, Alice. Her, “friend soulmate,” is Cassidy Gearhart, her Greek twin. She loves to spend time with Adie Yost, explaining, “We play Mario Party almost every day. It’s one of my favorite things to do to relax.” She is currently binging Sabrina the Teenage Witch on Netflix. When asked about her favorite movies, Gwen didn’t hesitate to respond, “Legally Blonde”. Gwen explained, “I aspire to be Elle Woods in every way possible. It’s one of my dream roles if I ever get back into performing.” She loves to watch Twilight and is a Team Edward fan at heart.

As for the future, in her role as VP of Communications, Gwen wants to, “…have more awareness of AOII on our campus.” She has created a wear your letters day. Once a week, chapter members sport their letters proudly around campus. Gwen so lovingly added, “We are one. We are strong women together. We should show off our ambitiousness together and wear our letters proudly.”

Gwen hopes one day to move to Los Angeles, where she aspires to get a casting job for Disney - ABC Studios or even Hulu. She would love to work for companies such as Hulu, describing, “It’s such a modern way of producing television. It’s so much more accessible than live television is.”

We wish Gwen the best of luck with her future endeavors and we cannot wait to see what the future holds for her. Show Gwen some love by checking out her website!