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A chance to have a little fun. An opportunity to show your pride in the many contributions of Indiana’s community college. And a way to support the Ivy Tech students preparing to make Indiana an even better place to live and work.
According to Kelly Karickhoff, executive director of Resource Development for Ivy Tech’s Kokomo Service Area, that’s what the second annual Ivy Tech Day will offer on Tuesday, April 23. At 12:01 a.m., the Ivy Tech Foundation will kick the day of giving, to help Ivy Tech Community College’s more than 190,000 students — including those studying at Ivy Tech Kokomo — prepare for graduation day and a better every day after.
For 24 hours, alumni, faculty, staff, donors, community leaders and all who care about breaking down barriers to higher education can contribute to Ivy Tech’s mission of preparing Hoosiers for today’s – and tomorrow’s – workforce.
Ivy Tech Day aims to generate resources and create opportunities for communities while reuniting and reconnecting alumni and friends of Ivy Tech with the important work happening at Indiana’s largest postsecondary institution and engine of workforce development.
Last year, Karickhoff said, no one had any idea how successful this new initiative would be. “When the clock struck midnight, we had received 171 gifts totaling $25,000, far exceeding our initial goals of 60 gifts and $10,000,” she said. “This year, we have a long list of challenges and matches that will trigger generous donations from enthusiastic supporters and we hope to go well beyond those numbers.”
Supporters can watch the Kokomo Ivy Tech Community College Facebook page for giving opportunities throughout the day and can visit ivytech.edu/giveday to make donations. “All proceeds support student success in the Kokomo Service Area,” Karickhoff added. “Your gifts stay local and help students who live and work in your community.”
Among the many supporters who have already pledged, Security Federal Savings Bank will provide snack and beverage stations for students and employees on the Logansport and Kokomo campuses. Larison Media and the Kokomo Post are serving as Ivy Tech Day social media promotion partners and Ivy Tech alumna Nikki Nordman, owner of Pizza Quiks in Peru and Rochester, will donate 10 percent of the net receipts on food purchased at the restaurants from 4 to 9 p.m. on April 23.
Along with a office-space decorating contest, a cadre of social media ambassadors and a Kokomo cookout, the fun is extending beyond the campuses. In support of Ivy Tech Day, Stellantis will illuminate their buildings in green lights and, courtesy of Kokomo Mayor Tyler Moore, the City Hall Fountain will bubble in a green glow.
“Ivy Tech has been woven into the fabric of Indiana for more than 60 years, and nearly a million Hoosiers have completed degrees, courses and credentials supporting successful careers and upward mobility while improving the prosperity of our state,” said Dr. Sue Ellspermann, president, Ivy Tech Community College.
“If you’ve been treated at an Indiana hospital, driven a car assembled in Indiana, or have a young person who graduated high school with dual credit, you’ve likely benefitted from Ivy Tech. Ivy Tech Day is an opportunity for all Hoosiers to help us deliver ‘Higher Education at the Speed of Life’ and meet our students’ most pressing needs.”
Ivy Tech contributes nearly $4 billion annually to Indiana’s economy, including a net impact of $3.6 billion from alumni working across the state. More than 40,000 degrees, certificates and. certifications are awarded annually, and 93 percent of graduates stay in Indiana to pursue their careers. More than 40 percent of Ivy Tech students are the first in their families to attend college, and 25 percent are students of color.
“We are incredibly grateful to everyone who participated in Ivy Tech Day last year and look forward to uniting again on April 23 to have an even greater impact on students’ lives,” said Dr. Ethan Heicher, chancellor of the Ivy Tech Kokomo Service Area that includes Cass, Fulton, Howard, Miami, Pulaski and Tipton counties.
“Our campuses are doing amazing work, and Ivy Tech has grown to be the biggest community college of its kind in the United States. Students are receiving unique, personal instruction that prepares them for their careers, and Ivy Tech Day will help us continue making an impact in our community.”
IU Kokomo focuses on environment during Sustainability Week
With just a few tweaks, anyone can reduce their impact on the environment.
Indiana University Kokomo students learned small changes they can make, and helped give the campus a beautiful refresh, as part of the annual Sustainability Week.
“There are realistic goals for our campus that can be achieved with our students,” said Vivianne Pentland, president of the Student Sustainability Council, which sponsored the event.
“We don’t realize the impact we can make on campus by biking from University Place or the Annex instead of driving, or maybe doing a stuff swap,” she said.
This week, she and about a dozen students made a difference by cleaning up and planting the flower beds in the Main Building Courtyard. They removed dead plants from last year and replaced them with noninvasive and native Indiana plants. In other campus locations, students planted dogwood and sycamore trees, adding to the tree canopy.
“Everybody loves planting the trees. It’s one of our biggest tasks,” Pentland said, adding that planting the flower beds is just as important.
“This is a space for students to go and be. That’s sustainable as well,” she said. “The space wasn’t a space that was welcoming for students before, and now it is.”
Andy Tuholski, director of the Office of Sustainability and assistant professor of political science, said the week’s events are part of the Council’s goal to become an Indiana Wildlife Federation certified Sustainable Campus.
“Sustainability is important because it affects us all,” he said, adding that students have let campus leaders know this is a topic they care about.
“In poll after poll, they tell us they are concerned about the earth they have inherited,” he said. “There’s not a single student who says, ‘I want to have water that’s dirtier and fewer trees.’ They all want to make it better, and this is a small way they can do it.”
Students started the Council two years ago, and have since brought a honeybee colony to campus, started an environmental literacy project to put sustainability-related books and materials in students’ hands, planted trees, and started environmental restoration areas.
The also reclaimed the empty flower beds in the courtyard, creating four themed areas that include IU with red and white flowers; sensory, with herbs and textured plants; Zen, with calming, aromatic plants; and a pollinator box to help insects and butterflies.
“It’s nice for people to be able to enjoy the space,” said Tera Gotschall, design intern with the Office of Sustainability. “When I’m coming out here to water, it’s fun to see what’s happening with the plants. It adds to the biodiversity on campus, and it gives a nice visual aspect.”
Gotschall will lead an environmental restoration in June. Areas with invasive plants will be mowed and tilled under, and students will install about 1,500 native Indiana plants.
Tuhoski said the plants came from the Hamilton County Soil and Water District and are specifically chosen for the areas where they will be placed. One restoration area is low-lying and floods frequently, so a rain garden is planned there.
“Right now, it’s just invasive plants and overgrown grass,” he said. “Our students will be able to maintain those spaces and learn from them. They want to make a mark on our campus and are leaving it better than they found it.”
Education is KEY at Indiana University Kokomo.