New WarriorsConnect app enhances student service
Mobile apps have made it easy to conduct all manner of business via smartphone, from managing finances to planning travel to staying productive at work and everything in between. Now, Indiana Tech students, faculty and staff have their own one-stop place to access everything they need here at the university: the new WarriorsConnect app. The new app launched Aug. 7 and is available for download from the App Store and Google Play, and accessible online at warriorsconnect.indianatech.edu.
For students, WarriorsConnect was created to enhance the college experience by providing them with simple, one-stop access to everything they need to succeed at the university, whether they learn on campus or online. On WarriorsConnect, they can easily connect with support, information, resources and fellow Indiana Tech community members. The app will help them:
- Track academic progress and access course information.
- Receive key university notifications and announcements.
- Connect with academic support and the faculty and staff members, resources and communities that will help them thrive.
- Stay organized on a day-to-day basis.
- Find and participate in clubs, events, networking opportunities and other activities.
The WarriorsConnect app will continue to add features and capabilities over time. The university is also currently assessing the opportunity for alumni, prospective students, parents and community members to access and use the app to stay connected to the things they’re engaged with at Indiana Tech.
Five new certificate programs added to State of Indiana Workforce Ready Grant program
Indiana Tech is once again an approved education provider for Indiana’s Workforce Ready Grant, which is part of the state’s Next Level Jobs program. The initiative provides state residents with free training in high-paying, in-demand industries like manufacturing, construction, health sciences, business, information technology and more.
Qualifying students can have the entire cost of an undergraduate certificate from Indiana Tech covered by the grant. This is the fourth year that Indiana Tech was awarded funding by the grant, and the program continues to grow. Indiana Tech was approved to add five new certificates to its Workforce Ready offering this year: Additive Manufacturing, Cybersecurity, Information Technology, Medical Coding and Programming. To date, more than 200 students have earned an undergraduate certificate from Indiana Tech with no out-of-pocket costs, thanks to the grant.
“Our industry-focused undergraduate certificates are designed to help students build the skills and knowledge they need to be ready for the jobs of the future,” said Steve Herendeen, vice president for enrollment management at Indiana Tech. “We’re pleased to receive funding for this program for a fourth year. It’s exciting to see so many students advance their skills and their careers, thanks to the Workforce Ready Grant and the Next Level Jobs program.”
Students can choose from the following Workforce Ready Grant-approved undergraduate certificate programs:
- Additive Manufacturing
- Basic Accounting
- Construction Management
- Cybersecurity
- Health Care Administration
- Human Resources Management
- Information Technology
- Management
- Marketing
- Medical Coding
- Organizational Leadership
- Production Management
- Programming
- Supply Chain Management
Learn more about all of Indiana Tech’s certificate programs, including those offered through the Workforce Ready program, at https://academics.indianatech.edu/pathways/certificates.
Collaboration with Miami Correctional Facility expands educational opportunities
Indiana Tech has been selected by the U.S. Department of Education to participate in the Second Chance Pell Experiment. Originally established in 2015, the Second Chance Pell program provides needs-based Pell Grants to incarcerated individuals, which allow them to participate in eligible post-secondary programs. For incarcerated students at Miami Correctional Facility (Bunker Hill, Indiana) who qualify for the Second Chance Pell program, that means they are eligible to earn an undergraduate certificate in management from Indiana Tech with no out-of-pocket costs.
“Indiana Tech is excited to be a part of the Second Chance Pell program. We have a long and successful history of delivering career-relevant degree and certificate programs at convenient on-site locations or online, and wanted to use our expertise to benefit those who need it the most,” said Steve Herendeen, vice president for enrollment management at Indiana Tech. “We are very happy to partner with Miami Correctional Facility to provide inmates pathways to in-demand careers upon release, and we are confident that this program will be life-changing for the students and their families. We look forward to expanding this program to produce an even greater impact.”
Incarcerated students at Miami Correctional Facility who are enrolled in the management certificate program are taking a series of six undergraduate business courses, ranging from principles of management to organizational behavior to leadership and diversity. The certificate is designed to increase hiring and earning potential, as well as enhance skills and expertise. All courses are credit-bearing and transfer directly into an associate or bachelor’s degree program, should students choose to continue their education upon release.
Warden Brian English of the Miami Correctional Facility is also excited about the partnership with Indiana Tech, and the opportunity the Second Chance Pell program can provide to incarcerated individuals.
“For the students at Miami Correctional Facility, having the opportunity to earn an undergraduate certificate at no charge has the potential to permanently change the trajectory of their lives,” English said. “Participating in this program will have a positive impact, both while they are incarcerated as well as when they are released. And that is the vision of the IDOC [Indiana Department of Corrections].”
Summer camps on campus spark curiosity, ingenuity, creativity
Indiana Tech’s summer camp offerings grew significantly this year, with new camps being introduced for students interested in investigative sciences; engineering; creative arts; cybersecurity and more. The camps are part of Indiana Tech’s new STEAM Academy, led by Dr. Tim Raines, Indiana Tech’s Director of Youth Programs and Director of the Multicultural Engineering program, and managed by Caleb Hunter, Tech’s Academic Camp Coordinator.
Camps for students in middle and high school took place on main campus throughout the summer, starting in early June and running through late July. In addition to providing fun and engaging educational activities and social events each day, the camps provide participants a first-hand look at the many opportunities available to them by attending college at Indiana Tech after high school. Beyond the new camps, Dr. Raines, Hunter and the Indiana Tech academic team are also working on new after-school programs in STEM fields, which will begin this fall.
Renowned swimmer and speaker Jeannie Zappe inspires Tech community during campus appearance
This past spring, Indiana Tech students, faculty, staff, alums and community members had the opportunity to meet renowned English Channel swimmer and inspirational speaker Jeannie Zappe during her talk on campus, entitled “What If I Can?”
Zappe calls herself “the eternal optimist,” and in fact named her business Eternal Optimist, LLC to help demonstrate the work she does inspiring others to greater heights of achievement and fulfillment in life. At 55, she trained for and successfully swam the English Channel solo, becoming the 707th woman since 1926 to do so. In September 2022, she completed a solo Catalina Channel crossing to complete the Triple Crown of Open Water Swimming—one of 280 people to swim around Manhattan, across the English Channel and from Santa Catalina Island to mainland California.
Zappe inspires people to listen to their hearts, figure out what they want to do in their lifetime—no matter how big or small—and have the courage and confidence to say yes to those things. She is an inspirational presenter, a personal/swim coach and a marathon open-water swimmer. Learn more about Zappe and her work at eternaloptimist.me.
