BizVoice Web Exclusive

2024 IMPACT Award Winners

Blazing a Trail

By Symone C. Skrzycki

Indiana Commissioner for Higher Education Chris Lowery (right) chats with Impact Award winners about their experiences.

Fearless. Creative. Original. These are among the qualities that helped define excellence at the 2024 Indiana Work-Based Learning Conference, featuring the 18th Annual Impact Awards.

The celebration, hosted by Work and Learn Indiana (WLI), honored Hoosier work-based learners, employers, innovative programs, work-based learning supervisors and career development professionals on February 22.

WLI cultivates the creation and expansion of high-quality experiential opportunities within Indiana. It connects employers, learners, high schools, colleges and universities via its free, dynamic, searchable database and matching and reporting system. WLI is a program of the Institute for Workforce Excellence, which is a subsidiary of the Indiana Chamber of Commerce.

The event is a convening of best practices and sharing of ideas toward growth and partnership within workforce and education. There were 100 nominations spanning 10 categories.

Honorees:

• Work-Based Learner of the Year (College): Jenna Carter: Purdue University (West Lafayette), Endress+Hauser (Greenwood)
• Work-Based Learner of the Year (High School): Cristina Llamas-Gonzalez: Ben Davis High School (Indianapolis), Plastic Recycling, Inc. (Indianapolis)
• Work-Based Learner of the Year (Adult): Chelsea Ort: Engage Mentoring (Indianapolis)
• Career Development Professional of the Year (College): Andrew Peñalva: Indiana Latino Institute (Indianapolis)
• Career Development Professional of the Year (High School): Sara Shaver: Franklin County High School (Brookville)
• Career Development Professional of the Year (Adult Learner): Kara Webb: Greater Lafayette Commerce (Lafayette)
• Work-Based Learning Supervisor of the Year: Robbie Page: E-gineering (Indianapolis)
• Outstanding Employer of the Year: Thompson Thrift (Indianapolis)
• Innovative Program of the Year: Commodore Manufacturing (Leopold)
• David R. McKinnis Community Partner Award: Paul Perkins: Amatrol, Inc. (Jeffersonville)

Our exclusive BizVoice® Digital story explores the experiences and impact of four honorees. Learn about all of the winners at www.workandlearnindiana.com/impact-awards.

 Sara Shaver (Franklin County High School)
Career Development Professional of the Year (High School)

Brookville may be a small Indiana town, but that hasn’t stopped Sara Shaver from making a big impact connecting local employers with talented youth.

Shaver is the college and career readiness coordinator at Franklin County High School (FCHS). Among her key contributions:

• Helping to implement and expand FCHS’ internship program
• Coordinating an annual College Fair with the Franklin County College Success Coalition (FC CSC) and Franklin County Community Foundation
• Serving on the Franklin County Early College Team (FCHS was formally endorsed as an Early College High School in 2023).
• Organizing the inaugural FCHS Employability Skills Day (April 2023): Activities included mock interviews, guidance on resume writing and more for juniors and seniors

“Sara’s quick smile and determination make it easy for her to create connections for our students,” asserts Whitney S. Gillman, assistant principal at FCHS. “She doesn’t just help our students; she goes above and beyond to also help the employers. Companies reach out to Sara when they are looking for quality students. She has learned to bridge the gap between high school and adult life.”

Jenna Carter (Purdue University, Endress+Hauser)
College Work-Based Learner of the Year

You might call Endress+Hauser a “home away from home” for Jenna Carter, who spent the past two summers interning there. Next, her dedication and talents will take her to its Spain location  this summer after studying a semester abroad.

“In summer 2023, Jenna worked with our solutions engineering team’s project manager to help completely reorganize the way projects are done in that team,” comments Devina Fernandez, workforce development partner at Endress+Hauser. “With her help and amazing ability to develop new processes, that team now works more efficiently and effectively. This helps save them time, which directly translates to dollars saved on the development and management of solutions projects.”

Embodying Endress+Hauser’s values as well as exhibiting excellent skills in areas such as communication led to Jenna speaking at an “Interning 101” seminar for other employers interested in hosting internship programs.

Problem solving is another invaluable strength.

Fernandez explains, “Projects were focused on developing processes to fix problems within several groups. … She worked on several projects at once and was able to manage her time effectively while also leading the intern group in their intern-developed project.”

Commodore Manufacturing
Innovative Program of the Year

Commodore Manufacturing, a student-run enterprise, empowers and engages youth. Through a partnership with Perry Central Junior-Senior High School, they make products for Waupaca Foundry, Boston International (BI) and run their own product line.

The immersive, paid experience revolves around hands-on training in a variety of areas (e.g., welding, CNC machining, laser engraving, quality assurance, safety compliance and communication).

At Waupaca Foundry, students manufacture rakes, plungers and other products while they design and manufacture acrylic knock-down shelving at BI along with other endeavors.

“Not only are students creating authentic products that are utilized in the local manufacturing facilities, but they are working side-by-side with experts in the field providing them with expert mentors to learn and grow from,” remarks Jody French, Perry Central principal. “Students working in this program follow the Next Level industrial maintenance mechanical pathway, (which) aligns curriculum to Ivy Tech College-level courses, MSSC certifications and related instruction for a United States Department of Labor-approved apprenticeship.”

During their senior year, seniors can take part in an internship where they spend one full day a week with a local employer.

“Students get to see firsthand the work and how it is applied in the workplace,” French notes.

Thompson Thrift
Outstanding Employer of the Year

Thompson Thrift’s immersive 12-week summer internship program builds capabilities in construction, development, finance, human resources, accounting, leasing, marketing and more. It’s driven by Thompson Thrift’s mission “to positively impact our team members and communities we serve.”

The three pathways – internship, co-op and early career rotational program – “place strategic efforts to attract and retain those individuals for a continued pipeline of talent for future hires,” explains talent development manager Sydney Gardner. “Participants learn technical skills for their specified career path and develop personally through interaction with senior leadership and company executives.”

Key touch points of the program include the following:

• Connection with former interns whose paths resulted in a full-time role
• Site visits to multi-family residential property with exposure to both construction and property management careers
• Mock presentations to improve communication and presentation ability
• Peer panels with seasoned recent college graduates
• Cross-department meetings
• Participation in service opportunities