Inside Ivy Tech Fall 2014

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teractiveGrant provides additional funding for

interview coaching, employer panels

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novativeAlumna wins latest New Venture Competition with a business proposal for cooking classes

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trepidDespite computer science training, student changes flight path for a career in aviation

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Fall 2014

IVY TECH COMMUNITY COLLEGE NORTHEAST

spirationMoroccan exchange students embrace STEM, cultural immersion opportunities

2 | Ivy Tech communITy college norTheasT | Fall 2014

our region

Jerrilee K. Mosier, Ed.D. Chancellor, Ivy Tech Community College Northeast

My maternal grandmother made quilts by sewing together blocks of material that came from the scraps of her other needlework projects. Sometimes you could identify the same fabric from dresses she crafted for me and my two cousins. Other times the swatches came from costumes created for school functions. And a few squares could be traced to tablecloths from past family picnics.

Without a doubt, a memory—and sometimes a complete story—can be

attached to each block.

When viewing the quilts as a child, it appeared odd when some of the blocks converged in the most unlikely combinations. But as an adult revisiting the matter, I can see and appreciate the approach she used in connecting the patterns to form her beautiful keepsakes.

Her life’s work serves as a reminder that strategy—or a lack thereof—influences outcomes. Perhaps the decisions behind many of her design choices made sense only to her, but logic was being applied, nonetheless.

DEFINING A STRATEGY

A similar commitment to strategy applies at Ivy Tech Community College Northeast when evaluating the student experience. Numerous metrics are in place to interpret how well the College is helping its students enroll, persist, complete, and succeed at their academic and career goals. Two of these quality indicators include improvements in services and optimizations in environmental factors. These

indicators are being addressed, in part, by a couple of fairly new initiatives: the

Express Enrollment Center and WOW Wednesdays, respectively.

The Express Enrollment Center was launched earlier this year to enhance

student retention rates, course remediation goals, on-time

graduation performance, and customer service delivery. WOW Wednesdays, for their part, began last fall with activities to build stronger social bonds between the students, their families, and the entire Ivy Tech Northeast community.

EVALUATING OUTCOMES

The preliminary results from these initiatives are already promising. From January through September, the Express Enrollment Center has served more than 22,000 patrons. In post-service surveys, 94 percent of the respondents report accomplishing their service objective in one visit or immediately following a return with the necessary enrollment-related documentation.

WOW Wednesdays are blossoming into a variety of engagement opportunities for students. Surveys issued this fall by the Student Government Association are revealing a desire for more appealing and comfortable—maybe even recreational—lounge areas. These renovations are being considered. The College is also in the planning stages for an athletics program—at a club sport level—beginning with track and field and basketball.

Student Life Director Christina O’Brien captures this student-focused service model eloquently: “If a support system doesn’t support you to stay in school, then it will be more difficult to succeed with your goals.”

As Ivy Tech Northeast continues making strides, thoughts of my grandmother’s legacy come back into focus. Each student at the College—like those blocks in her quilts—has a story and a purpose. Bringing together people from many different backgrounds may resemble an incidental pattern, but I believe the resulting interwoven tapestry is impressive. All one has to do to appreciate the “quilt” that is Ivy Tech Northeast is attend our annual Commencement ceremony in May. This event is the gratifying outcome that manifests in changing lives and making Indiana great.

SUCCESSSTUDENTCOMMUNITY

FOCUSEDSUCCESS

STUDENTCOMMUNITY

FOCUSED

on the cover

contents

Inside Ivy Tech is published four times per year by Ivy Tech Community College Northeast’s Marketing and Communications office.Ivy Tech Community College Northeast

3800 North Anthony Boulevard, Fort Wayne, IN 46805-1430

260-482-9171 s 888-IVY-LINE

IvyTech.edu/northeast

MOROCCANS/continued on next page >

4 Visiting students gain science knowledge, friendships

6 Health care support instructor challenges students to investigate crime at mock scene

8 Grant funding enables more employer–student networking events

10 Student trades computers for airplanes to embrace personal passion

12 Human services graduate heads local parole district

14 Ivy Tech Northeast and its students share talents, successes with region

16 Fourth New Venture champion provides cooking classes for home health care employees

17 Early College model begins at Wayne High School

18 Squelch Welch campaign aids donations for American Heart Association’s Heart Walk

18 Technology Division welcomes new dean

19 Tidbits

20 College awarded technology grant from National Science Foundation

Award-winning publication

Inside Ivy Tech received a gold medallion at the District 3 National Council for Marketing & Public Relations conference in November 2013.

Moroccan exchange students thrive at summer STEM campVisitors travel more than 4,000 miles

Take 12 foreign exchange students, introduce more than a dozen hands-on lab activities, and then add a number of cultural immersion experiences. The result is a model recipe for a successful science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) camp orchestrated by Ivy Tech Community College Northeast.

Select high school juniors and seniors from El Maarij, a private high school in Beni Mellal, Morocco, traveled more than 4,000 miles this summer to visit the Summit City for a three-week STEM Plus Africa Camp beginning Aug. 4. The exchange partnership was a first-of-its-kind arrangement between Ivy Tech Northeast and the European Center for Leadership and Entrepreneurship Education, an organization that helps students find study-abroad opportunities that correspond to their fields of study, skills, and wishes.

The eight female and four male students from Morocco—a country in the northwest corner of Africa that’s slightly smaller than Indiana, Michigan, and Ohio combined—are among the most accomplished from their school. El Maarij, with its approximately 500 students, has a history of achievement, most recently coming in second in the nation for academic performance.

“So many students expressed an interest in this camp, the high school had to narrow down the number of students allowed to participate by administering written and oral English exams,” says Mustapha Zanzoun, the students’ English as a Second Language teacher and one of the trip chaperones. In 2009, Zanzoun himself participated in a semester-long, Fulbright-sponsored educators exchange in Baltimore.

While the students were already familiar with STEM subjects among their studies, many of them weren’t expecting to expand their knowledge in such creative and entertaining ways as they did during the camp:

Moroccan exchange student Ghizlane Najdi participates in a chemistry experiment on acids on bases that involves chocolate and chewing gum. Photo credit: Isabella Hamed

Fall 2014 | Ivy Tech communITy college norTheasT | 3

MOROCCANS/continued from previous page

• Chocolate served as the key agent in a chemistry lesson on acids and bases, where students learned why chocolate won’t dissolve in water and why chewing gum is dissolved by chocolate.

• Two-by-fours provided a practical application for geometry and trigonometry, as the students designed and built an obstacle course for small, independently operated cars they pre-programmed with driving instructions.

• Marsbound!, a role-playing game that transforms players into NASA project managers for space exploration, gave the students a greater appreciation for astronomy before they visited the virtual planets and stars at Ball State University’s Charles W. Brown Planetarium.

Most of the students agreed that their favorite activity was a biology lesson at nearby Mateo County Park, where they collected, sorted, identified, and analyzed macroinvertebrates (insects and animals with no backbone) to determine a pollution tolerance index rating for Cedar Creek.

“I really enjoyed being at the creek,” says exchange student Othmane Nagim, who, along with his peers, captured crayfish, mayflies, and a small Northern Water Snake using fishing nets. “I’m accustomed to studying biology, but lab opportunities are extremely rare, particularly those that are outdoors.”

Ivy Tech Northeast Math Chair Karen Jones, who served as program manager for the camp, considers the cultural immersion activities the lynch pin of the entire exchange. A number of area middle school and high school students were recruited to serve as American ambassadors for this purpose.

“The activities afforded the students the opportunity to interact, understand one

another culturally, and develop relationships,” Jones says. “We felt building personal relationships within the experience would have a greater effect on both engagement in the camp itself and the likelihood of continued engagement between the students.”

Exchange student Khadija El Amraoui and her peers found some of their preconceived ideas about American peers challenged once they began interacting one-on-one.

“We had an idea about America before coming, but now we are here, we get to know the ‘real’ America,” El Amraoui says. “Meeting American teens isn’t as radical as what you learn through the movies.”

The friendships formed between the Moroccan and American students were reciprocal in the view of Sydney Taylor, an American ambassador and eighth grader at Norwell Middle School in Ossian, Ind.

“I hope to pursue a career as a scientist or archeologist, which is all about learning different cultures, so I’m loving this opportunity to learn about Moroccan culture from these students,” Taylor says.

Final impressions from both El Maarij and Ivy Tech Northeast administrators regard the camp as having been a complete success.

“Our camp was a positive cultural and educational experience for its participants and providers—one that will affect those involved for many years to come,” Jones says.

Moroccan teacher and chaperone Zanzoun echoed her sentiments.

“I’m hoping the exchange program will operate on a larger scale in the future, with both American students and teachers going to Morocco, too. When the students get back home, they will not experience any culture shock should they choose to return to the U.S.”


More photos at IvyTech.edu/northeast

Kingdom of Morocco• Capital: Rabat • Population: 30.8 million• Currency: Moroccan

Dirham• Life Expectancy:

70 years old• Literacy Rate: 52 percent• Religion: Muslim• Primary Languages:

Arabic (official), Berber dialects, French

• Government: Constitutional Monarchy Size: 172,413 sq. mi. (slightly smaller than Indiana, Michigan, and Ohio combined)

• Chief Exports: Clothing, fish, inorganic chemicals, transistors, crude minerals, fertilizers

Source: National Geographic Atlas of the World, Eighth Ed.

Visiting students gain science knowledge, friendships

Khadija El Amraoui, Hamza Moustadraf, and Imane El Khantouti

STEM Plus Africa Camp • STEM-Related Field Trips and Cultural Immersion Activites • Ball State University Planetarium • DeBrand Fine Chocolates• Fort Wayne Metals• Ivy Tech Aviation Center• Lingenfelter Performance Engineering• Metea County Park• Parkview Hospital

• Science Central• Sweetwater Sound• Fort Wayne TinCaps Baseball Game• Bishop Dwenger High School Student

Shadowing Opportunity• Bishop Luers High School Show

Choir Performance• Bonfire and Stargazing

• Cedar Point Amusement Park• Eid Carnival/Universal Education

Foundation Islamic School • Homestead High School Tailgating Party

and Football Opener • Meeting with Fort Wayne Mayor

Tom Henry • Movie Night at a Private Home

• Nintendo Wii Tournament with Area Teenagers

• Robotics Demonstration and Pizza Party• Shopping at Glenbrook Square Mall and

Jefferson Pointe Shopping Center• Snider High School Softball

Scrimmage Game


American ambassador Kassidy Koch, junior participant Laila Malik-Bey, and Othmane Nagim

Soukaina Icame, Aya Allali, Khadija El Amraoui, American ambassador Connor Green, and Ayoub Morchid

Chaimae El Hirche, Syrine Salouhou, Fort Wayne Mayor Tom Henry, Nassira Najimi, and Ghizlane Najdi. Photo credit: Karen Jones

Jane Doe made a poor decision this July when she decided to take routine shortcuts through a wooded area on Ivy Tech Community College Northeast’s Coliseum Campus.

The mistake came at a high price for Doe—and that price was her life.

While the motivation behind her murder is still a mystery, seven Ivy Tech Northeast students have gathered many of the details leading to her demise.

Together, these novice crime scene investigators conducted field research assigned by health care support instructor Nicole Procise, who opted to give her summer Phlebotomy 212 class a glimpse into forensic science by presenting a fictitious murder case and creating a mock crime scene.

“I wanted the experience to open career windows that are lab related and for the students to understand the importance of forensic evidence,” said Procise, a

certified phlebotomist who teaches the skill and processing of blood and non-blood specimens. “Students must learn to maintain the integrity of a specimen whether in the lab or when handling evidence that has come from a crime scene.”

Mere hours before the students were led to the blocked-off crime scene—a thicket of bushes and trees to the west of the parking lot—Procise and her student-worker, Kelly Cheney, strategically placed approximately 30 pieces of evidence within its perimeter. In the mix were red fingernails, fast-food bags, a shoe string, a shark’s tooth, and a sheep’s eyeball—the latter two meant to substitute for human equivalents.

Procise and Cheney then proceeded by splattering an environmentally safe “blood” around the site, which consisted of corn syrup and red food coloring. Fabric from the victim’s skirt and strands of her long brown hair were dipped in the fake plasma as well. And

“bloody” handprints were smudged on surrounding trees and large rocks.

Lastly, Doe’s decapitated head received its own special treatment: a sprinkle of freeze-dried maggots and a broken stick jammed into the left eye socket.

Once class officially began, the students “gowned-up” on site to minimize any evidence contamination. Then, each participant accepted a specific role in the investigation, from sketch artist to evidence collector.

Procise advised them to listen to instructions, maintain an eye for detail, and complete the chain-of-custody form as evidence was being gathered.

“Everything you think is trash may not be,” she added.

Student Kristine Yoder carefully rummaged around the crime scene, crouching to dust for fingerprints and manipulating tweezers to collect artifacts for her makeshift evidence bag.

“I think I’d be good at this because I do meticulous work,” she said. “I found I am more patient than I thought. I couldn’t pass up any detail.”

Altogether, the students gathered 63 pieces of evidence to analyze.

During a processing discussion, the class deduced that Doe was ambushed by two male assailants who dined on Arby’s fare, chugged Ice Mountain bottled water, and chain smoked Camels as they awaited her arrival. They determined the victim was startled by the men before being clobbered in the head with a large tree branch and dragged. Broken fingernails found in the dirt suggest she regained consciousness and put up a struggle before ultimately being strangled with a shoe lace. Doe’s body was not recovered, however.

Despite the grim subject matter, the assignment is one the class selected unanimously when it was first proposed by Procise. The assignment addressed

Not Getting away with murder

Health care support instructor challenges students to investigate crime at mock scene


forensic toxicology—a topic covered toward the end of the phlebotomy textbook. An alternative to the mock crime scene would have likely been watching a medical documentary, Procise said.

For student Brianna Stratton in particular, the field experience was an ideal way to make important connections.

“Hands-on activities lead to more understanding,” she said. “Everything clicks and makes more sense.”

The success with Procise’s teaching comes as no surprise to many students

and colleagues. Before Procise joined the faculty full time in 2013, she was the 2012 recipient of Ivy Tech Northeast’s Adjunct Faculty Award for Excellence in Instruction.

“I thought Nicole’s idea for the crime scene was fantastic,” said Cindy Chenoweth, Health Care Support chair. “As a career and technical-education program, we need to continually look for

ways to incorporate real-life experiences in our student-learning opportunities.”

And if there’s a telling observation from Procise’s teaching methodology, it’s that she doesn’t take shortcuts.

Opposite page: From left, health care support instructor Nicole Procise with her summer Phlebotomy 212 class: Kristine Yoder, Brianna Stratton, Josh Hattery, Sherry Carter, Tondra Wright, Krystle Pranger, and Heather Howey. Left: Kristine Yoder marks the ground where crime evidence was found. Top: Tondra Wright carefully packages the crime victim’s left eyeball (actually a sheep’s eyeball) to minimize evidence contamination. Bottom: Sherry Carter examines the crime victim’s face in order to produce an accurate sketch of her likeness.

Not Getting away with murder

Health care support instructor challenges students to investigate crime at mock scene

“I think I’d be good at this because I do meticulous work. I found I am more patient than I thought. I couldn’t pass up any detail.”

– Kristine Yoder, health care support major

CRIMINAL RECORDS

Nicole Procise’s professional experience includes part-time work as a research investigator for Hutton & Associates, a criminal profiling and crime scene consultation group based in Angola, Ind.

“My research and my love for post-mortem investigations, which sounds really morbid, doesn’t come from a morbid place,” Procise said.

She credits the late Dr. Phillip O’Shaughnessey, a former Allen County coroner, with helping her gain clarity on the nature of this work: “‘Somebody has to look out for the people who can no longer look out for themselves,’ he told me.”

Procise recently completed her first peer-reviewed journal article for Criminology, in conjunction with Hutton & Associates, on the victimization patterns surrounding the murders of pregnant women. She presented her research at Anderson (Ind.) University in October and will present it again at the American Society of Criminology’s national conference in San Francisco this November.


On the right (career) trackGrant funding enables more employer–student networking events

Kelley Automotive Group General Manager Steve Vachon greets automotive technology major Herm Rost during the Automotive Employer Networking Night sponsored by Career Services on Sept. 23. Rost credits his attendance at a similar panel in March with helping him obtain an automotive technician position with Kelley-affiliated Courtesy Motors Inc. in Decatur, Ind.


CAREER SERvICES BuSINESS CARD

Career-readiness assistance: résumés, cover letters, job fairs, job-search

workshops and resources, interview preparation

College Calendar for Job Fairs IvyTech.edu/northeast/calendar

Employment Portal at JobZone IvyTech.edu/jobzone

LinkedIn Ivy Tech LinkedIn.com (Search for “Ivy Tech Career Services”

Networking Group)

Online Mock Interview Practice IvyTech.interviewstream.com

Consultation Hours By Appointment: 260-481-2282

Seeing students like Herm Rost succeed makes Victoria York’s career counseling work at Ivy Tech Community College Northeast more fulfilling. Financial support from the Lincoln Financial Foundation helps make that work possible.

As the College’s assistant director of Career Services, York approached 2014 as a year to make a greater impact.

“I really wanted to do more for employers and that meant doing even more for students,” York says.

Her goal became easily attainable once the Career Services office received a $34,000 grant from Lincoln to implement a career-focused project that either connected students with employers or helped students get jobs. York and her colleagues are accomplishing both objectives through the Employer–Student Connection Initiative, a series of program-specific employer panels, career fairs, and career-readiness coaching sessions that began in January and will extend until December.

One such panel, Automotive Employer Networking Night, was arranged for a second time this year on Sept. 23. Rost, an automotive technology major, attended the North Campus event alongside more than 50 of his classmates. Collectively,

On the right (career) track


they learned about the hard and soft skills required in the automotive field and then had the opportunity to speak with hiring personnel representing 14 area businesses, ranging from Meineke and Prime Inc. to Sears and Grote Automotive.

“I think these panels are great,” Rost says. “The more people you can get in front of, the better your chances of getting hired.”

Rost is a testament to his own advice. He attended his program’s first panel in March, which led to an offer and his acceptance of an automotive technician position with Courtesy Motors Inc. in Decatur, Ind., a dealership affiliated with the Kelley Automotive Group.

Kelley’s Director of Communications Jill Adams attended the Sept. 23 panel. She maintains oversight of the company’s website, including its employment listings.

“I have the opportunity to view click-throughs from visitors looking at job postings on our site, and nothing beats a face-to-face interaction with employment prospects like the ones at this event,” Adams says.

The Employer–Student Connection Initiative is an expansion of York’s existing panels with the College’s HVAC

program—a program that boasts a 100 percent placement rate, matching students with jobs or paid apprenticeships.

“The HVAC panels were nothing formal,” York says. “And we didn’t have the money or the time to organize events for each major, so we would have big job fairs. With the support from Lincoln, we’ve been able to manage several networking nights to connect students in technical programs with employers who are hiring in our community.”

The Lincoln grant is allowing Career Services to arrange similar panels with the College’s Automotive Technology, Building Construction Management, Construction Technology, and Industrial Technology programs.

Lincoln’s funding toward the initiative has been applied in a number of ways:

• Assorted marketing collateral and reams of quality-bond resume paper for students

• Decorations and light refreshments at panels and career fairs

• Two student-workers

• Two life-sized male and female mannequins to model professional business attire

• 75 dress shirts and ties for men and 75 professional tops for women with scheduled job interviews and a demonstrated need

• 100+ haircuts offered one week prior to career fairs

• 300+ coffee mugs with Career Services contact information as a thank you for participating employers

• 550 padfolios for students participating in career-readiness coaching and career fairs

• 1,000 stadium cups imprinted with the College’s JobZone website address

• 1,200 flash drives preloaded with cover letter and resume examples, interview tips, and dress-for-success information

According to metrics provided by York at the initiative’s nine-month mark, more than 70 hiring managers from more than 50 businesses have participated in panels and career fairs; more than 400 students have connected with employers at these venues; and more than 1,000 students have completed career-readiness coaching, which includes resume and interview preparation.

“Because of Lincoln, we have exceeded our goal of serving twice as many students as we had originally anticipated,” York says. “I look forward to a continuation of this financial support well into the future.”

From left, general studies major Ashley Fanson and Assistant Director of Career Services Victoria York explore options for professional dress attire using one of two mannequins purchased for the Employer–Student Connection Initiative.

Despite schooling, internships, and teaching opportunities to enter the computer science field, Satya Sunkavalli ultimately determined the path she had been following wasn’t the right one to achieve the career heights she truly desired.

Those heights are routinely 20,000 feet or more off the ground.

“Watching birds fly inspired me to think about the nature of flying and the traits of airplanes,” Sunkavalli says. “Being a pilot is very well respected in India, so over time I became interested in becoming one and also in building a small kit airplane.”

Ivy Tech Community College Northeast is helping one of those passions take flight through its Aviation Maintenance Technology program, where Sunkavalli is earning an associate degree.

Sunkavalli came to the U.S. on a student visa in late 2010 with the intent to earn a pilot certification. She enrolled in a flight program at another institution in Indiana before personal obstacles prevented her from completing her studies in a

20-month timeframe, so she transferred to a comparable flight program in Florida with the hope of finishing in a shorter time period. Despite a solid performance on the oral portion of her practical test, she failed the flight portion.

“I was so discouraged and disappointed with myself,” Sunkavalli says. “But there are always challenges in life. You just can’t give up. Doing something a little different after this was a great way to regain my confidence.”

With that renewed spirit, she placed her pilot-training goal on hold and enrolled at Ivy Tech Northeast in early 2013 to study aviation from a mechanical perspective. She has experienced clear skies since the decision.

“I get to learn something new every day,” Sunkavalli says. “Every one of us in the program shares the same aspiration to work on airplanes, learn more about airplanes, and be a part of aviation.”

Aviation Maintenance Technology instructor Brad Stark has taught Sunkavalli in three of his classes to date,

with course content ranging from aircraft fuel systems to sheet metal fabrication.

“She has a good grasp on what she’s learning in the moment, she tries hard to apply the principles, and she helps fellow students if they have questions,” Stark says.

Sunkavalli has made her participation and leadership presence known on campus in other ways. She is the newly elected vice president of the Student Government Association and is a member of the Campus Activities Board and the Multicultural Student Organization.

Assistant Director of Diversity Affairs Diana Jackson is among her strongest supporters.

“Can I just say she’s an amazing person?” Jackson says. “Satya has been very aggressive in her studies and is currently carrying a 3.7 GPA. On a personal level, she is very kind, soft spoken, and cares a lot about people.”

Sunkavalli is also engaged in inspiring current and future aviators. She’s an advisor for the Aviation Explorer Post

Reaching new heightsStudent trades computers for airplanes to embrace personal passion


Aviation basicsThrough its Aviation Maintenance Technology program, Ivy Tech Northeast began offering a Technical Certificate in Airframe and a Technical Certificate in Powerplant this fall. In addition to the College’s standard two-year degree offering, students can now complete one of these technical certificates in 18 months and pursue their Federal Aviation Administration licensing exams before entering the workforce.

Visit IvyTech.edu/aviation-technology to learn more.

Ivy Tech Northeast is also one-of-five institutional partners nationwide in the National Aviation Consortium. The consortium’s goal is to train more than 2,500 students for aviation maintenance careers and provide employment assistance. The College has launched a Computer Numerical Control Machining Operator option in line with the consortium’s goal. Students choosing this path can earn a nationally portable CNC credential and be guaranteed interviews with more than 20 area employers.

Visit NACcareers.com to learn more.

2035 and the Experimental Aircraft Association’s Young Eagles Youth Program, both based at Smith Field in Fort Wayne. Sunkavalli also takes pride in her association with the local chapter of The Ninety-Nines, an international organization of women pilots founded by 99 licensed women pilots in 1929.

Aviation icon Amelia Earhart served as the group’s first president.

Following her anticipated graduation next spring, Sunkavalli says she wants to persist with becoming a certified pilot and also be among the first to apply for work at GE Aviation’s new $100 million, next-generation jet engine assembly facility currently being built in Lafayette, Ind. GE Aviation spokespeople have said most new hires for the top jobs are expected to earn $36 per hour or nearly $75,000 a year.

“Working at a global company like GE would be a great networking opportunity and help me stay on course with aviation and everything I’m looking for in my career,” Sunkavalli says.

And her resilience in the face of an initial setback provides a new spin on what it means to aim high.

Student trades computers for airplanes to embrace personal passion

Aviation maintenance technology major Satya Sunkavalli adjusts the angle of a blade on a Beechcraft Baron aircraft propeller at the Ivy Tech Aviation Center at Smith Field Airport.



When Mia Kelsaw speaks, don’t be surprised if she calls you “honey.” She might use it to let you in on a little secret—“I tried karaoke three years ago, I finally did it, honey, and now I can’t stop”—or to let you know you’re dear to her, even if you’ve only met.

The verbal tick is one she uses often, especially in the latter way, in her current position as the parole district supervisor at Fort Wayne Parole District No. 2. Kelsaw is a 1998 Ivy Tech Community College Northeast alumna, a graduate of the Human Services program.

While she had found herself with a gift for working in corporate America, it didn’t drive her. So in August 1996, she enrolled in three classes at Ivy Tech Northeast. It didn’t take her long to realize she should attend full time if she wanted to get the most out of her education.

Kathryn Davis, the program chair for Human Services, says that often, people who are drawn to the human services field have some experience with a related incident. For Kelsaw, that related incident occurred simultaneously with her school work: She was in a serious relationship at the time, she says, with someone who had a substance abuse problem.

“I wrote most of my papers on this person,” she says. “This person was my case study. I got straight A’s. I believe being at Ivy Tech, I think I was at the right place at the right time.”

After graduating with an associate degree, Kelsaw received a bachelor’s degree from Concordia University Wisconsin, which then had a campus

at Concordia Theological Seminary in Fort Wayne. The university accepted all of her Ivy Tech Northeast credits, so three weeks after Ivy Tech, she was back in school, enrolled in an accelerated program. She also has earned a master’s degree from Indiana Wesleyan University.

Today, Kelsaw supervises staff across 10 counties in northeast Indiana. While she technically works a 40-hour-a-week job, she is on call 24/7. Because when working in criminal justice, one can never know what might happen.

Consider this occurrence from less than a week after Kelsaw returned from a six-week medical leave last year: A parole agent called Kelsaw to say a parolee had threatened his girlfriend’s life. Kelsaw

filed for a protective warrant, which is not usually granted for threats. Due to previous instances of violence in the area, Kelsaw received the warrant. She spoke to the woman who had been threatened days later, and the woman had been granted a protective order. Kelsaw made plans to meet the woman at school that morning to get her a copy of the order.

By 8 a.m., however, the woman was dead. She had been on a bus on her way to school when her boyfriend pulled her off the bus and shot her.

“It was one of the worst situations,”

Kelsaw says. “It was overwhelming, and I really questioned if I should remain in this business. In 48 hours, this young woman’s dead.

“I can’t stop being helpful to people, but everyone won’t get it. If you positively affect one person, then he or she can positively affect one person.”

In addition to the parolees she works with, she is also the head of her church’s middle school and high school division. She takes the sermon delivered by Bill McGill at Imani Baptist Temple and presents it at a youthful level, McGill says.

“We really expect her to be the go-to person for their spiritual and personal development,” says McGill, the temple’s senior pastor.

In addition to McGill, Kelsaw names her 92-year-old grandmother as one of her personal heroes.

The two share a love of the blues—Kelsaw’s favorite song to sing at karaoke is Buddy Ace’s “It Don’t Hurt No More”—and they love to dance together.

“I put on music, and that’s it,” she says. “When I’m having a bad day, I watch her shake a tail feather, and that’s it. She has an infectious spirit.”

But it’s Kelsaw’s faith that supplies her top hero.

“When I get discouraged or criticized, Jesus is who keeps me going,” she says.

Any degree of success she has achieved, “Honey, it’s only through the grace of God.”

‘Being at ivy tech, i was at the right place’Human services graduate heads local parole district

“We really expect her to be the go-to person for their spiritual and personal development.”

– Bill McGill, Imani Baptist Temple senior pastor


going beyond the classroom and campusThe front hallways of the Student Life Center on North Campus smelled like a bakery, confectioners sugar so strong it gave a sugar high before the first bite. But that didn’t make that first bite any less sweet.

The Edible Book Festival has long been a favorite event at Ivy Tech Community College Northeast. Bakers and foodies alike choose a favorite book—often children’s stories, but sometimes novels or nonfiction—and turn it into something delicious. The participants are more than just baking students working on a grade; community members like Country Kitchen SweetArt employees and even an art gallery owner out of Kendallville, Ind., turned literature into food for the fest earlier this year. This is just one example of Ivy Tech

Northeast’s engagement with northeast Indiana.

A recent community engagement audit yielded more than 40 events or activities that marry Ivy Tech Northeast with its surrounding

community. The College has been around for 50-plus years, and its mark can be seen all over the city: on banners and signs at Parkview Field, marching alongside other businesses and institutions in the Three Rivers Festival Parade, in the pages of Fort Wayne Newspapers’ “Design an Ad” Contest.

But it’s so much more than the big-time events.

“The very nature of being called a community college is that we work to be integrated into the communities we serve,” says Ivy Tech Northeast Chancellor Jerrilee K. Mosier, Ed.D. “It is a partnership, one that I believe elevates the communities and the students of Ivy Tech Northeast. It is a win-win.”

Aja Michael, the College’s community engagement and special events coordinator, echoed Mosier’s sentiment.

“Our philosophy is, we’re a community college, and that means we should be a resource to our community,” Michael says. “They are us. They are our students, and we want to be accessible to them. We have always opened our doors to groups that need a space to call home. Smaller groups, non-profits, start-up groups—it is a space they use to congregate.”

Consider the Old Fort Mustangers. The group has hosted its annual Ford and Mustang Show at Ivy Tech Northeast for 31 years. Tom Koop, the Mustangers’ president, says the College is easy to work with, and he touted the Coliseum Campus’ location as being centrally located and easy to get to—even for out-of-state car show participants.

The event is something of a partnership: Ivy Tech Northeast

Bottom: The Old Fort Mustangers group has

hosted its annual Ford and Mustang Show at

Ivy Tech Northeast for 31 years. Mustangers’

president Tom Koop says he appreciates the

College’s location and facilities.

Top: Ivy Tech Northeast once again participated

in this year’s Three Rivers Festival Parade on June

22. The float entry blasted Pharrell Williams’

“Happy,” and marchers donned Pharrell-style

hats and bowties in a nod to the song’s video.

Ivy Tech Northeast and its students share talents, successes with region


going beyond the classroom and campushosts the show, and the Mustangers’ donate proceeds to a scholarship for an automotive technology student.

“We enjoy giving somebody the scholarship and knowing we helped someone be successful,” he says.

Possibly the largest, most community-driven event at the College is A Reason to Taste, an event that raises scholarship funds for the Ivy Tech Foundation. Once a smaller-scale event known as Puttin’ on the Ritz, the fundraiser took a hiatus for seven years before returning to Fort Wayne in 2012 as a high-end dinner and auction.

Amanda Baldridge so enjoyed her experience working for the event as a student that she volunteered as a graduate to help this year, too.

“I was intrigued by this being put on by a community college that was able to raise so much money in a short amount of time with just this one event,” she says. “People were really happy to have Ivy Tech Northeast put on something they could be a part of.”

But it’s more than just events hosted on campus. Every semester, students find their way to make a mark on the community. Construction technology students are currently building monkey bars for Fort Wayne Community Schools, and they’ve made tables for ACRES Land Trust. Hospitality administration students have catered for a variety of regional events, including the Ivy Tech Foundation’s annual friend-raising

event at Lake Wawasee and this summer’s North Anthony Corridor Block Party.

Fifty human services majors and their families walked in a walk-a-thon last month to raise funds for the Redemption House, which serves women transitioning back into the community after being incarcerated or going through court-ordered drug programs.

All of those events, big and small, get noticed.

“The city of Fort Wayne appreciates and values the tremendous work being done each day at Ivy Tech Community College Northeast,” says Fort Wayne Mayor Tom Henry. “The local campus is assisting us in our collective efforts to create and retain jobs, attract businesses to Fort Wayne, enhance our neighborhoods, and provide an excellent quality of life.”

Top: Amanda Baldridge, at left, and Jenny

Smiley at 2013’s A Reason to Taste fundraiser.

Both students worked with the Marketing and

Communications office to help stage the event

last October. Baldridge, who graduated in May,

says she enjoyed the experience so much, she

joined the event’s planning committee for 2014.

Bottom: Ivy Tech Northeast has hosted the American

Heart Association’s Heart Walk for the past two

years. The event brings hundreds of community

members to the College’s North Campus.




Winner!

Hospitality administration alumna Beth Scholer (second from right) was named the 2014 New Venture Competition champion. From left, competition coordinator Jim Tolbert, financial sponsors Dave and Mary Bear, and Ivy Tech Northeast Chancellor Jerrilee K. Mosier, Ed.D.


Starting a new business from scratch costs, on average,

more than $30,000, the U.S. Small Business Administration

estimated in 2009.

Each champion of the New Venture Competition at Ivy Tech

Community College Northeast gets two-thirds of that.

Now in its fourth year, the competition awards $20,000

in start-up capital to the student or alumnus who best

convinces a room full of judges—local business people

and entrepreneurs—that he or she will be successful.

In Beth Scholer’s case, though, the “start-up” funds will go

toward the general cost of business, as Caregivers Kitchen

is in its fifth year.

Scholer, an alumna and the 2014 New Venture champion,

started Caregivers Kitchen when a home health care

company approached her for help: Some of its employees

needed basic cooking skills. During her presentation to the

judges, she shared a story about one woman who tried

to brew coffee with whole beans. Another tried to cook a

whole egg in the microwave, not realizing it

would explode.

The company hired Scholer to give classes to its

employees, which the employees could then bring back to

their clients. In addition to cooking techniques and recipes,

she also teaches sanitation, provides demos, and engages

her students in hands-on cooking and discussion.

A few years back, she wrote a textbook for her students to

use, and it is sold on Amazon. Caregivers Kitchen: Culinary

Skills for Home Health Care includes sections on cooking for

clients with diabetes and food allergies. It features recipes,

nutritional information, and how to reduce sodium intake.

A reviewer on Amazon writes, “I am a family physician

who sees many older patients who are suffering from poor

nutrition. The information included in this text, if applied

consistently, could do a great deal to add health and years

to patients’ lives, as well as likely reduce the cost burden of

elderly care by keeping older people in their homes (and

out of assisted-living facilities) longer.”

Because Scholer’s venture isn’t quite “new,” her winnings

will go less toward getting Caregivers Kitchen started and

more toward expanding it. She plans to use the funds to

help market the program and get it licensed. By licensing

her business, Caregivers Kitchen will be able to be taught

anywhere, with reach far beyond Fort Wayne.

During the competition, Scholer and two other finalists

—business administration major Maggie Kitch and

hospitality administration alumna Heather Overmyer—

gave 15-minute presentations about their companies.

Judges were then given 15 minutes for a question-and-

answer session.

“I think everybody did really well with answering

questions,” said Josh Burkhardt, a business lawyer with

Beers Mallers Backs & Salin LLP.

This was his second year judging the competition. First, he

reviewed the finalists’ business plans, which are emailed

to the judges. He looks for proper grammar, spelling,

and punctuation on the plans, as well as how much

thought the business owner put into the plan. But the

presentations are also important, he said.

Upon winning, Scholer said she was thrilled.

“I felt like the work I put into it up until that point, it was

paying off.”

A kitchen of careFourth New Venture champion provides cooking classes for home health care employees

Students returning to Wayne High School this fall won’t be the only people there experiencing a big change, Principal John Houser and his teaching staff will, too, as the local school expands its academic opportunities.

In partnership with Ivy Tech Community College Northeast, Wayne is introducing an Early College model to create select post-high school pathways. Qualifying students will be offered the option to complete college credits through Indiana’s Transfer General Education Core or earn a technical certificate in business administration, while they satisfy their traditional graduation requirements.

“We feel passionate about the fact we have students who are ready for this challenge and ready to work at the college

level, even as early as grade 9. What we see our teachers doing already—those who have trained in the Early College model—is instill into our students organizational skills, critical thinking strategies, and

collaborative practices that will make our students successful,” Houser says.

The nationally known Early College High School Initiative began in 2002 with a goal to target disadvantaged students who are not succeeding in large, impersonal settings. Students enrolled in Early College models experience a college-going culture by integrating high school and college experiences, both intellectually and socially. Participants can earn 12 or

more college credits while still in high school.

“The Early College model offers guidance for a vision of learning that takes students beyond high school to a pathway that can lead them to attaining skills, certifications, knowledge, and experience, thus becoming highly successful adults,” says Dawn Bon Ami, director of academic affairs support/secondary education.

Early College models differ from traditional dual credit programs in a number of ways. Important distinctions

for Early College include curricula aligned with specific college and career pathways; a head-start on college, often at no cost to families; and wraparound supports to promote student success.

Bon Ami says she typically provides an audit of a high school’s dual credit courses to determine possible pathways of learning for its students.

“I am in the process of working with other high school partners in northeast Indiana to develop their Early College focus,” Bon Ami says.

Early College model begins at Wayne High School

In conjunction with Ivy Tech Northeast, Wayne High School Principal John Houser and his teaching staff have begun offering students an Early College model this fall. From left, he is joined by juniors Savanna Vredenburg and Kayley Pangle.

In its employment practices, selection of students and administration of all programs, the University of Saint Francis maintains a policy of non-discrimination regarding age, race, gender, disability and national origin.

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Ivy Tech Community College Northeast welcomes Darrel J. Kesler, Ph.D., as its new dean for the Technology Division. He began his role on Aug. 20, which entails the oversight of more than 15 academic programs. The previous dean, John Walter, is now a full-time faculty member in the Technology Division and has been with the College since 1985.

“It’s an honor to be selected to provide leadership to such an outstanding institution,” Kesler says. “I look forward to facilitating educational efforts; working with faculty, staff, and students; orchestrating a shared vision to sustain excellent programs and the creation of new

programs; aligning with corporations; and providing outreach to the community.”

Kesler’s experience includes more than 35 years in education, research, outreach, and administration at the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign. Among his higher education credentials, Kesler has authored 147 articles in peer-reviewed journals, book chapters, and patents.

Kesler has also worked as a consultant in business and industry, including Abbott Laboratories Inc., Merial Ltd., and Pfizer Inc.

“Darrel has had an outstanding career that will enhance our Technology Division and

be a valuable addition to our administrative staff here at Ivy Tech Northeast,” says Cathy Maxwell, vice chancellor for Academic Affairs.

Kesler earned a Ph.D. in Reproductive Sciences and Technology from the University of Missouri. His undergraduate and graduate studies were completed at Purdue University with a B.S. in Animal Sciences and an M.S. in Animal Sciences and Communications, respectively. He has also given presentations, conducted research, and taught internationally, specifically in Egypt, Belize, Mexico, South Africa, Honduras, and Brazil.

brief

Technology Division welcomes new dean

Pumping up as a sumo wrestler. Getting slimed with green gelatin. Channeling a South Korean pop star. Some activities sure aren’t for the timid.

But then again, “timid” doesn’t describe Andrew Welch.

Ivy Tech Community College Northeast’s executive director of Marketing and Communications embraced these dares (or milestone challenges), and more, to prove it’s possible to have fun while encouraging others to donate to a meaningful cause. That cause is the American Heart Association’s annual Northeast Indiana Heart Walk.

“I have high blood pressure genetically, as do others in my family, so research to fight heart disease and stroke is an important cause to us,” Welch says.

Ivy Tech Northeast hosted the Heart Walk on its North Campus for a second

consecutive year on Sept. 13. Approximately 800 company-sponsored and community teams followed a one-mile route to increase awareness about heart disease, stroke, and other cardiovascular diseases, while generating donations in excess of $140,000.

Nine teams consisting of Ivy Tech Northeast employees and friends collected the second highest total in donations among all company-sponsored teams—a fact that made Welch both proud and a little nervous.

Many of Ivy Tech Northeast’s employees were unified behind the Squelch Welch campaign, where Welch had to complete a milestone challenge at each $1,000 increment of funding the College raised.

“I am so grateful we were able to raise more than $7,000, and at the same time, I am thankful I did not have to shave my head at the $8,000 mark,” Welch says. “It was getting

dangerously close, and I had start envisioning myself with no hair.”

Emily Hayes, AHA’s corporate events director for northeast Indiana, says funds raised by this year’s Heart Walk will support life-saving research, such as advances in heart bypass surgery and implantable pacemakers; state-level advocacy, including CPR training and the development of smoke-free communities; and local programs, such as Go Red for Women and BetterU.

Heart disease and stroke are respectively the nation’s No. 1 and No. 4 killers.

“Strokes are also the No. 1 disabler of Americans,” Hayes says. “We have a big job in front of us. The more money we can raise through community events like this one, the closer we’re going to come to our goal of reducing death and disability from heart disease and stroke by 20 percent by 2020.”

Squelch Welch campaign aids donationsfor American Heart Association’s Heart Walk

Top: Marketing and Communications Executive Director Andrew Welch dressed as a Sumo wrestler during the Squelch Welch campaign. Middle: Welch gets slimed by two of his team members, Aja Michael (left) and Sandra Fouty. Bottom: Welch dances to Psy’s international smash hit, “Gangnam Style.”

Darrel J. Kesler, Ph.D.


tidbits

Local airbrush artist Paul Harrington, owner of The Airbrush Shoppe, prepares two personalized baseball caps for human services major Patricia Gray during WOW Wednesday on Aug. 27. The Campus Activities Board sponsored the event as a part of Welcome Week Fall 2014.

Faculty, staff, and students enjoyed a Mexican buffet on the Ivy Tower Plaza during “Fiesta on the Plaza,” a celebration of music and food to honor Hispanic Heritage Month. The Campus Activities Board and the Multicultural Student Organization sponsored the Sept. 24 event.

Marty Sherry shows off his 2005 Chevy Super Sport Roadster hardtop convertible during the United States Muscle Car Cruz-In on Ivy Tech Northeast’s North Campus Sept. 13. Only 24,000 such vehicles were manufactured between 2003–06. Sherry upgraded his Chevy SSR with a patriotism-themed paint job and a Chevy Corvette engine.

Ivy Tech Northeast maintained two demonstration tables for the public at this year’s Fort Wayne Maker Faire at Headwaters Park on Sept. 13–14. The technology-based items on display were a robotic can crusher, a remote controlled claw robot, and small robots that move through water with the aid of propellers created by a 3-D printer. Photo credit: Andrew Bell.


Technology Division welcomes new dean

Hospitality administration major Bradley Imel and his culinary arts peers prepare to serve visitors at the North Anthony

Corridor Block Party on Sept. 7, which featured food, bands, vendors, games, and more sponsored by area businesses.




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If Andrew Bell succeeds with his ambitious training goals, select Ivy Tech Community College Northeast graduates could be the pioneers behind advancements in automotive controls, cell phones, flat screen TVs, and medical devices in the near future.

And they could be earning $45,000 to $55,000 annual salaries in the process, he predicts.

These next-generation breakthroughs and income estimates aren’t guarantees being promoted by Bell, the College’s Engineering department chair, but the possibilities do exist given a recent National Science Foundation grant awarded to Ivy Tech Northeast for $199,997 to develop a new Microsystems Technology Certificate.

Students enrolled in the Engineering Technology and Electrical Engineering Technology programs will be eligible to begin the multi-course certificate starting this fall, as they satisfy their associate degree requirements.

The NSF grant aims to broaden engineering

technician education by preparing specialists to work in the microsystems industry—an industry dedicated to microelectromechanical systems, or MEMS. The key to understanding MEMS is a matter of scale, specifically the process of scaling technology to make it smaller and more functional.

“An iPad of today has more functionality than a room full of computers in the 1940s,” Bell says. “Making technology smaller makes for better precision in manufacturing, requires fewer material and labor resources, and reduces product power consumption, to name a few. Miniaturization has helped us to evolve technologically.”

Bell is working with the University of New Mexico’s Southwest Center for Microsystems Education to develop the certificate. Nationally, UNM is the nucleus for microsystems technology, and it has been working with the College for the past two years on MEMS projects.

The certificate will integrate LabVIEW certification preparation into the course work as well. LabVIEW is a graphical programming

platform that helps engineers scale from design-to-test and from small-to- large systems.

“Many companies are looking for people who have LabVIEW experience,” Bell says. “It should help our students get a job. It should make our relationships with local industries stronger, too, because we’re specifically

training technicians to do what the industries want them to do. It’s really an exciting thing.”

Sensor-based MEMS technology is found in a wide range of products made by numerous major employers in Indiana, including Advanced Surface Microscopy, Bangs Laboratories, Delphi Corporation, Eli Lilly and Co., and Exelis.

College awarded technology grant from National Science Foundation

Andrew Bell, chair of the Engineering department, holds a wafer that contains more than 50 pressure sensors. Students pursuing Ivy Tech Northeast’s new MEMS certificate will experience the technology associated with building these wafers, which are used to create next-generation automotive controls, cell phones, medical devices, and so forth.

Documents

Inside Ivy Tech Fall 2014