The Infinite Expedition Capstone Project
Ken Barry, MDLF IV
Founder, Director of Impact and Innovation - Uthiverse Incorporated
The Infinite Expedition draws its inspiration from my personal journey as a participant in the Mitch Daniels Leadership Fellowship. Throughout this experience, I encountered subjects that deeply resonated with me, bridging my learning to my work with nonprofit organizations focused on youth and their families. This led me to reflect on a pivotal question: “How can we provide youth with transformative learning experiences that guide their transition from middle to high school and shape their decisions beyond?”
The goal of The Infinite Expedition is to empower middle school students through self-discovery, wise decision-making, and community leadership. My aim is to cultivate a new generation of entrepreneurs, leaders, and skilled professionals ready to make meaningful contributions. Over the course of the expedition, participants will acquire essential tools and build networks that enable them to create positive impacts both now and in the future. A central part of their journey involves documenting their experiences in a year-long documentary, capturing their growth and evolution. Initially focusing on youth from Northwest Indiana in the first two cohorts, this vision extends to encompassing youth statewide. While we prioritize recruiting disadvantaged youth, we are committed to inclusivity and welcoming participants from diverse backgrounds.
The program unfolds in two stages: in the first stage, participants engage in 40 weeks of instruction, project-based learning, and Socratic-style discussions with leaders spanning local, regional, state, and national levels. This phase lays the groundwork for the second stage, where students conceive, plan, and execute a project addressing a community issue close to their hearts. Culminating in a presentation that reflects on their journey and charts their path to future success, participants outline their vision for community leadership.
The Expedition fosters connections at various levels: locally, participants interact with community leaders, contributing insights and enhancing their civic engagement. Regionally, excursions across Northwest Indiana and Greater Chicagoland deepen their understanding of local relevance to their studies and regional development. At the state level, a four-week expedition across Indiana aligns participants’ discoveries with current events, preparing them for a culminating reflective ceremony. Nationally, virtual meetings with leaders and change agents expand their perspectives and networks.
Through the Infinite Expedition, my goal is not just to educate, but to inspire and equip young leaders with the skills and confidence to shape a brighter future for themselves, their families, their communities, and the state.