JD Shoniker ’29 and Landon Adams ’29 stepped onto campus as first-year students, members of the Men’s Hockey team’s first year at Beloit College and into unexpected professional ‘firsts’ when they worked on the 2025-26 report. Shoniker, a quantitative economics major and finance minor, had tested the waters of the college’s ‘small pond’ during his first conversation with Laura Grube, associate professor of business and economics, on a campus visit. “I was intent on majoring in economics so I requested to meet with a professor from the economics and business department. Meeting with Laura was a big part of my decision to apply to Beloit College.” During that visit, Shoniker asked about Belmark Associates.

Grube’s mentorship continued as she served as Shoniker’s advisor and taught his first economics course. The two met regularly, and when he was offered the opportunity to consult for the report as part of Belmark Associates, Shoniker accepted and pulled in his roommate and teammate, Landon Adams ’29, a quantitative economics major and law and justice minor. The two had played junior hockey together and were part of an Eastern Hockey League Championship winning team. Adams turned to Brian Morello, director of the center for entrepreneurship (CELEB) and the two students began to make waves.

The first stage of the project was a meeting with Drew Pennington, president of Greater Beloit Economic Development Corporation (GBEDC) to understand his vision for this iteration of the report, which included case studies on the HoChunk Casino and the tax incremental districts that have spurred industry in the area, and identifying key audiences and goals for the report. The two also met with Katie Arnold ’25 who led the report’s previous edition and followed an Impact Beloit internship to employment with Kerry Group, an international food, beverage, biotechnology, and pharmaceutical company whose North American headquarters and research center is in Beloit.

After learning from Arnold’s experiences, Adams and Shoniker used Esri GIS (Geographic Information System) to collect economic data from a geographic area that extends 10 miles from a pin they placed downtown. Professional mentorship circles widened to include Susan Rowe, CELEB program coordinator, while they navigated technological roadblocks and Excel strategies to generate graphs, and graphic designer Todd Anderbyrne who showed them how to use InDesign and proofread professional materials.

Sitting in a local café with Morello before their first report presentation, the teammates spoke with community members, feeling their energy about their city, its positive changes, and celebrating how fun it is to live here.

“It was interesting to look at Beloit and see how big a community it actually is. The best part was getting to talk to people around Beloit and hear how they’ve seen it develop,” said Shoniker. “We learned to see things through the eyes of those who are reading the report.”

Shoniker and Adams noticed the extent of the experience’s impact on their preparation and confidence during the presentation to the GBEDC, the first of its kind for either of them – applying economics in a professional setting, communicating with clients, navigating unexpected challenges, and connecting to their audience.

“This is exactly the kind of work that turns academic preparation into career readiness — students taking what they learn in the classroom and applying it to a real client, with real deadlines and real stakes,” said Morello. “The 10-Mile City project challenged them to communicate clearly, collaborate effectively, and deliver the professional-grade results that employers look for.”

After completing presentations scheduled for the Beloit City Council and the Beloit200 group, Shoniker and Adams will transition to a new Belmark project. “This school has a lot of opportunities,” said Adams. “Go out and find those opportunities.” Both look forward to sharing their experience in two years with the next students who discover the impact of the Beloit 10-Mile City Report.