WEBVTT 00:00:00.290 --> 00:00:08.248 - Good afternoon. Welcome to the Bloomington Rotary Club's weekly celebration of service. I'm Steve Wicks 00:00:08.248 --> 00:00:16.054 - and I'm honored to serve as your president this year. Please silence your electronic devices. On this 00:00:16.054 --> 00:00:24.165 - day in history, May 5th, 1893, one day after the previous day's failure of the National Courtage Company, 00:00:24.165 --> 00:00:29.598 - the panic of 1893 caused a large crash on the New York Stock Exchange. 00:00:30.306 --> 00:00:38.194 - It was part of the then largest economic crisis to hit America. It triggered a depression that lasted 00:00:38.194 --> 00:00:46.160 - until 1897. Loans were called in across the country, 600 banks failed, 15,000 companies collapsed, and 00:00:46.160 --> 00:00:53.971 - the unemployment soared to 25%. So has anyone else here ever heard of the National Courtage Company? 00:00:53.971 --> 00:01:00.158 - No, I hadn't either. I guess they were a really big thing in rope in their day. 00:01:00.514 --> 00:01:12.640 - But anyway, so I learned about the Panic of 1893. Don Hustler will deliver today's reflection. 00:01:12.640 --> 00:01:24.510 - What's that? I will say that if at any time you want to pledge money, we are very receptive. 00:01:29.218 --> 00:01:38.136 - Well, I will just say my longest friend in the world, Mike and Sarah with me today, our fathers ran 00:01:38.136 --> 00:01:47.143 - cross country and track at Eastern Michigan University. His dad's name is on this. They were clearly 00:01:47.143 --> 00:01:54.366 - in competition other ways too because Mike was born three days before I was. So, 00:01:55.010 --> 00:02:01.709 - I would guess just about everyone in this room at one time or another has found themselves in some kind 00:02:01.709 --> 00:02:08.537 - of leadership role. It might have been a church committee you were on. It might have been a sports group. 00:02:08.537 --> 00:02:15.171 - It might have been where you work. It might have been an organization you volunteered for. I've always 00:02:15.171 --> 00:02:21.741 - been interested in how organizations work. I can't explain why I am that way. I have just always been 00:02:21.741 --> 00:02:24.382 - fascinated about how organizations work. 00:02:24.962 --> 00:02:33.254 - whether in my own workplace or nonprofits or a church I've been involved with. I can't turn this part 00:02:33.254 --> 00:02:41.384 - of myself off. I've just always been curious about organizational dynamics and leadership. Now, I'm 00:02:41.384 --> 00:02:50.001 - going to talk, I'm not going to name names, but most of my experiences with leadership have been sometime 00:02:50.001 --> 00:02:53.822 - during my, from 1985 to 2015 when I was at IU. 00:02:54.626 --> 00:03:01.061 - Before coming to IU, I was a professor at Loyola University of Chicago. I had to teach a course in group 00:03:01.061 --> 00:03:07.556 - dynamics. It wasn't my strength, but I started reading up. And I kind of got fascinated with the research 00:03:07.556 --> 00:03:13.868 - on leadership. One of the best known people writing on leadership at the time was a fellow by the name 00:03:13.868 --> 00:03:20.487 - of Warren Dennis. He was a distinguished professor at USC. He went on to be the president of the University 00:03:20.487 --> 00:03:24.286 - of Cincinnati. Didn't last very long and was a total failure. 00:03:25.890 --> 00:03:34.375 - My words here. So I'm still interested in how organizations work, but I've come to realize that I have 00:03:34.375 --> 00:03:43.107 - no clear understanding about how leadership actually works to make organizations more or less successful, 00:03:43.107 --> 00:03:51.922 - make them better or worse. I chaired an unsuccessful search committee at IU and became the vice chancellor 00:03:51.922 --> 00:03:54.558 - for enrollment for eight years. 00:03:55.362 --> 00:04:02.071 - And I tried to ask how high thought should leadership be enacted, which I kind of, kind of a consultative 00:04:02.071 --> 00:04:08.589 - approach. Bring the heads of all units together whenever we have problems. Behind closed doors, we all 00:04:08.589 --> 00:04:15.361 - argue about what the best solution is. I might make the final decision against consensus or use consensus, 00:04:15.361 --> 00:04:21.880 - but I said, but I walk out, everybody should walk out of the door with a smile on their face. They had 00:04:21.880 --> 00:04:24.222 - their chance to influence decisions. 00:04:25.442 --> 00:04:32.122 - During my time here, I observed other forms of leadership. I know one senior administrator that, as 00:04:32.122 --> 00:04:39.136 - near as I could tell, his primary goal was to make everybody happy. And I couldn't tell that that worked 00:04:39.136 --> 00:04:46.217 - out very well for his organization. I saw someone else who played it like a grand chess master, observing 00:04:46.217 --> 00:04:49.758 - all the pieces. And he, not in an authoritarian way, 00:04:49.986 --> 00:04:58.415 - But my sense was he tried to move those chess pieces around in the way that would be most successful. 00:04:58.415 --> 00:05:07.092 - I also observed leaders who always knew what was best, just ask them. And if they have positional power, 00:05:07.092 --> 00:05:14.942 - they usually got their way. They could decide how things would turn out. Well, as I look back, 00:05:17.474 --> 00:05:24.710 - I'd like to say that my approach worked sometimes. I did surveys of all the staff every year, and there 00:05:24.710 --> 00:05:31.807 - was a fair amount of job satisfaction. But if I had to name the names of the two folks I thought were 00:05:31.807 --> 00:05:38.904 - most successful in terms of having the long-term impact at IU, it would be the grand chess master and 00:05:38.904 --> 00:05:42.174 - the guy who knew what was best. Just ask them. 00:05:46.722 --> 00:05:55.755 - have come to believe that because organizations are idiosyncratic, so is the leadership role. And one 00:05:55.755 --> 00:06:04.611 - of my first doctoral students did a study of how, I was a professor of higher education, so she was 00:06:04.611 --> 00:06:12.670 - studying how universities went about searching for new presidents and how that turned out. 00:06:15.522 --> 00:06:23.366 - 40% of the people I interviewed ended up saying they weren't really happy about the way it turned out. 00:06:23.366 --> 00:06:31.133 - And in the reflection, what seemed to emerge was they focused on the weaknesses of the current leader 00:06:31.133 --> 00:06:39.129 - and ignored the person's strengths. And it turned out, in fact, that some of those strengths were pretty 00:06:39.129 --> 00:06:43.774 - important, but they hadn't looked at them. So at this point, 00:06:44.066 --> 00:06:53.227 - I simply say I'm still interested in organizations and how they work. I'm fascinated with the idea of 00:06:53.227 --> 00:07:02.748 - leadership, but I don't believe any group that chooses a leader, whether they come from outside or within 00:07:02.748 --> 00:07:08.766 - the organization, can be certain how things are going to turn out. 00:07:13.954 --> 00:07:20.360 - Well, Don, I'm sure I speak for Steve in saying, if you'd like to take on a leadership role in this 00:07:20.360 --> 00:07:27.023 - organization, I'm sure they can find a spot. For those of you who don't know me, my name is Hank Walter 00:07:27.023 --> 00:07:33.749 - and I'm here to introduce our guest today. When your name is called, if you would please stand if you're 00:07:33.749 --> 00:07:40.348 - able and we can recognize you. If you have any questions or have any interest in further participation 00:07:40.348 --> 00:07:42.654 - in the club, I'm sure there will be 00:07:43.106 --> 00:07:54.825 - lots of people at your table to, uh, to fill you in. So first, uh, guest of the club and John Zoti, 00:07:54.825 --> 00:08:07.129 - uh, Julie Halbig. Go ahead. Thanks. Uh, guest of Glenda Murray, Betsy Coffee. And, uh, passing the baton 00:08:07.129 --> 00:08:11.934 - to Don Hostler, Michael and Sarah Marks. 00:08:17.922 --> 00:08:26.444 - guest of Heidi Scholl's, Adam Gross. And do we have any guests online today? We do not. Not today. 00:08:26.444 --> 00:08:35.138 - Thank you. Thank you, Hank. If you'd like to learn anything about rotary, just turn to a rotarian at 00:08:35.138 --> 00:08:44.090 - your table and ask away. We have four birthdays to celebrate this today. First of all, Judy Schroeder's 00:08:44.090 --> 00:08:45.726 - birthday is today. 00:08:51.458 --> 00:09:00.789 - Joy Harder just slipped in is sitting at the back. She has a birthday tomorrow. Emily Herman sitting 00:09:00.789 --> 00:09:10.028 - right here has a milestone birthday on the 8th. And Katie Sensabaugh has a birthday on the 9th. And 00:09:10.028 --> 00:09:19.636 - we have no rotary anniversaries to celebrate this week. And so Tyler, if you want to go ahead and start 00:09:19.636 --> 00:09:21.022 - my PowerPoint. 00:09:42.946 --> 00:09:50.759 - OK, start with a celebration of service. Those of you who listen to what I have to say know that I've 00:09:50.759 --> 00:09:58.725 - been almost begging for someone to prepare our district conference rotary basket. And Judy Whit reached 00:09:58.725 --> 00:10:06.462 - out last week, and she has prepared a beautiful basket. So we're going to blow away the competition. 00:10:09.410 --> 00:10:16.856 - So thank you, former district governor, former club president, Judy Witt. Help wanted, I mentioned this 00:10:16.856 --> 00:10:24.231 - a couple of weeks, but we still need additional club members for the membership committee. Senior Lori 00:10:24.231 --> 00:10:31.820 - Garrity, if you're interested. District conference is this weekend. It's not too late to register. Friday 00:10:31.820 --> 00:10:37.118 - evening and all day Saturday at the Galt House in Louisville. In the just 00:10:37.634 --> 00:10:44.792 - off chance that someone here has $2,900 and they're interested in a seven-day home rental in Aruba, 00:10:44.792 --> 00:10:52.165 - see me and I will bid on your behalf at the district conference. One other thing, district conference, 00:10:52.165 --> 00:10:59.539 - we have the shoe drive and we've gotten a number of shoes and I'll be picking up some more between now 00:10:59.539 --> 00:11:07.198 - and Friday. So thank you very much. So Rotary sponsored wonder lab summer blast off schedule for May 21st. 00:11:07.586 --> 00:11:15.089 - We'll need club volunteers that afternoon and evening. Dave Meyer and the Community Services Committee 00:11:15.089 --> 00:11:22.447 - will be working with Leslie Kutsenko, a club member at Wonder Lab. But it's going to be a really fun 00:11:22.447 --> 00:11:29.877 - event. And so you can see the website address there. So consider volunteering on the 21st. A few days 00:11:29.877 --> 00:11:33.374 - after that, 5th Annual Refugee Summer Pitch In, 00:11:33.474 --> 00:11:40.327 - Sunday, May 24th, 5 p.m. Upper Cascades Lions Den. Refugees, volunteers, friends are welcome. 00:11:40.327 --> 00:11:47.691 - Bring a dish, share if you can. Cindy Neidhart, sitting over here. See her for more information. And 00:11:47.691 --> 00:11:54.398 - if you know someone in the refugee community who might be interested, please let them know. 00:11:56.706 --> 00:12:03.045 - A couple of save the dates a little bit further out. We have some meals and wheels work for a couple 00:12:03.045 --> 00:12:09.384 - of us on the 29th. See Diana Hoffman, the Beacon Solidarity Sleep Out. That's the night of June 5th, 00:12:09.384 --> 00:12:15.848 - awakening on June 6th. That's coming up and then I don't have the date yet, but in July we'll have the 00:12:15.848 --> 00:12:21.246 - teachers warehouse supply drive and that is our biggest volunteer effort of the year. 00:12:22.946 --> 00:12:29.246 - Okay, it's the 11th. Good, thank you. Member of election, if you're registered to vote and you haven't 00:12:29.246 --> 00:12:35.424 - done so already, please get to the polls this afternoon. Those of you who weren't here last week and 00:12:35.424 --> 00:12:41.908 - didn't read the roundabout, our president-elect, Sam Udak, resigned. He's planning to move to the Chicago 00:12:41.908 --> 00:12:48.636 - area near the end of May, and we wish him well. And the exciting news is that our last year's club president, 00:12:48.636 --> 00:12:52.734 - Tracy Yovanovich, has stepped up and will serve as club president. 00:12:59.394 --> 00:13:06.049 - Happy dollars. So today is a little bit different. Today is what we call our hyper happy dollar effort. 00:13:06.049 --> 00:13:12.448 - And this is what we use for the club to help fund a portion of club scholarships. And so every year 00:13:12.448 --> 00:13:18.847 - the club pledges fifteen hundred dollars. We finished last year. We didn't quite meet that. So this 00:13:18.847 --> 00:13:25.950 - year some of our regular happy dollar efforts have gone to the Bloomington Rotary Foundation for scholarships. 00:13:26.434 --> 00:13:32.944 - So we're at the point today where we have $900 to raise. We do have a club member who said he will match 00:13:32.944 --> 00:13:39.144 - whatever is raised. So we actually could raise more than that. So when I start hyper happy dollars, 00:13:39.144 --> 00:13:45.592 - at the beginning, the bids will all be or pledges will all be $100 or more. And then we'll finish that. 00:13:45.592 --> 00:13:51.978 - And then we'll just go into regular happy dollars. And anyone who's happy, who wants to pledge or give 00:13:51.978 --> 00:13:56.318 - a dollar or more, have at it. So that's coming up in a minute or two. 00:13:57.762 --> 00:14:06.018 - Rotary International, seven areas of focus. And we have just started May is Youth Service Month. Big 00:14:06.018 --> 00:14:14.683 - deal for Arch Club. We have a very active Youth Service Committee. You know, we help sponsor the Rotaract 00:14:14.683 --> 00:14:16.318 - Club at IU. We help 00:14:16.450 --> 00:14:23.667 - the Interact Club at Bloomington High School North. We send several students to RYLA each year. And 00:14:23.667 --> 00:14:31.028 - here just a year ago, we had an inbound exchange student. So youth services, a big deal for our club. 00:14:31.028 --> 00:14:38.317 - One other announcement. Daniel caught me coming in. Monroe County History Center. My wife and I went 00:14:38.317 --> 00:14:45.822 - to a program there a week or two ago, part of the preparation for the Sesquicentennial, 250th birthday. 00:14:45.986 --> 00:14:54.598 - have another program this Friday, 7 p.m. to 8.30. It's free of charge and you can go to the Monroe County 00:14:54.598 --> 00:15:02.804 - History Center for information. So let's go ahead and start hyper happy dollars. And I need one bid. 00:15:02.804 --> 00:15:11.173 - Hank, you're gonna go ahead and start it. Okay, this is my favorite meeting in the year is always when 00:15:11.173 --> 00:15:14.910 - the scholarship winners are introduced and it 00:15:15.458 --> 00:15:26.362 - always fills me both with pride about what's happening in Bloomington and a little bit of feeling about 00:15:26.362 --> 00:15:37.162 - what's my kid's been up to. They're just not any anyway. Don't quote me on that, please. So I'm in for 00:15:37.162 --> 00:15:44.606 - $250. Okay, put up your hand if you're willing to pledge $100 or more. 00:15:46.306 --> 00:15:59.499 - and I also really support the scholarships. I'll do 100. Okay. Anymore for 100 or more? It's one of 00:15:59.499 --> 00:16:12.955 - my favorite things. I'll pledge 100. We have someone online. Yeah, I'll match Hank and I'll do 250 as 00:16:12.955 --> 00:16:15.198 - well. I'm happy. 00:16:15.394 --> 00:16:31.392 - I didn't hear who that was. This is Jeff Richardson, and I'll match Hank with $250 more. Thank you, 00:16:31.392 --> 00:16:45.310 - Jeff. We can contribute $100. Dave, $100. I also will pledge $100. Thank you, Winston. 00:16:46.274 --> 00:17:15.838 - Okay, any others over 100 or more? Sally. $100. We have one couple more in the back. $100. $100. 00:17:16.962 --> 00:17:28.254 - Thank you, Tina and Patrick. Okay, let's open up. Anyone else? Wait a minute. I am happy to do $100. 00:17:50.210 --> 00:18:02.719 - 100 oh Okay, is there anyone else who's happy for a dollar or more I Was on a wreck for car wreck like 00:18:02.719 --> 00:18:14.864 - three weeks ago two and a half weeks ago And I'm really happy because instead of junking my car and 00:18:14.864 --> 00:18:19.358 - salvaging it they're gonna repair it 00:18:19.778 --> 00:18:33.513 - So I am happy. Well, we made it through the first month of the baseball season. The Cubs are in first 00:18:33.513 --> 00:18:47.518 - place in the National League Central, and they are the third best record in Major League Baseball. Yep. 00:18:48.802 --> 00:18:57.316 - Hi, many of you are probably not aware that we are, the club is sponsoring another refugee family after 00:18:57.316 --> 00:19:05.585 - the Mohammadi family. That is the Alani family, they're from Iraq. And yesterday I learned through a 00:19:05.585 --> 00:19:14.017 - series of misadventures and miscommunications from the family not understanding what they had received 00:19:14.017 --> 00:19:17.374 - in the mail, that they have been granted 00:19:17.474 --> 00:19:25.184 - permanent residencies, and their green cards are in the mail. And if you guys have been following the 00:19:25.184 --> 00:19:32.895 - permanent residency story for refugees, that is like the golden ring. If you went back a couple years 00:19:32.895 --> 00:19:40.530 - ago, we would have celebrated like it was citizenship. But today, celebrating permanent residency is 00:19:40.530 --> 00:19:44.158 - really amazing, because it's so hard right now. 00:19:45.250 --> 00:19:54.777 - So we have time for one more. I don't want someone online. We have online. Yeah, it's wonderful student 00:19:54.777 --> 00:20:04.579 - for this scholarship. Go ahead, Raj. $50 for the scholarship. Thank you, Raj. Thank you, Raj. Hi everyone. 00:20:04.579 --> 00:20:14.014 - I'm just happy to be here. Yeah. Thanks. Thank you all. Chris Ramji will introduce our speakers today. 00:20:21.346 --> 00:20:27.470 - Good afternoon, everybody. Chris Frimjee from the Greater Bloomington Chamber of Commerce, and I hope 00:20:27.470 --> 00:20:33.533 - I don't knock anything over here. It's my pleasure to introduce our speakers today from the Regional 00:20:33.533 --> 00:20:39.597 - Opportunity Initiatives. I know them as ROI, an organization that has been doing some very important 00:20:39.597 --> 00:20:45.601 - work and, frankly, some strategic workforce development across our region. So I'll share a personal 00:20:45.601 --> 00:20:48.062 - note. I think it was 10 years ago today, 00:20:48.482 --> 00:20:54.961 - I graduated from O'Neill School, I think it was still called SPIA then, and I had a job interview with 00:20:54.961 --> 00:21:01.502 - Tina Peterson. And it was partially for ROI, which was just appearing at that time. And in true spirit, 00:21:01.502 --> 00:21:08.233 - I wasn't applying for that job, but the job I wanted. I don't know if you recall that you were at Fountain 00:21:08.233 --> 00:21:14.334 - Square Mall. And then maybe a year or two later, I went to your first conference at French Lick. 00:21:14.658 --> 00:21:20.612 - And what I've been seeing from them is just growth in the uplands region. The mindset has only grown 00:21:20.612 --> 00:21:26.507 - stronger in the impact over time. It kind of sits in that intersection of education, workforce, and 00:21:26.507 --> 00:21:32.402 - economic development, right? Where sort of the chamber is on a micro level, but on a regional level 00:21:32.402 --> 00:21:37.118 - for them. So joining us today to sort of represent that sphere are two leaders, 00:21:37.250 --> 00:21:43.065 - in the middle of the work. First, Michi McLean, the Vice President of Talent Development at ROI, who 00:21:43.065 --> 00:21:49.169 - leads the organization's education and workforce strategies and works across the region to connect talent 00:21:49.169 --> 00:21:54.927 - to opportunity. Second is Jen Staub, Director of Career Connected Learning, who brings more than 25 00:21:54.927 --> 00:22:00.973 - years of experience in education and now leads initiatives like youth apprenticeship and career coaching 00:22:00.973 --> 00:22:05.694 - to better connect students to the real world opportunities. And I work with them. 00:22:05.986 --> 00:22:16.353 - success school at the chamber and they do a wonderful job. So together, they are helping shape a region 00:22:16.353 --> 00:22:26.321 - to think about talent, not just as a pipeline, but a long-term strategy for prosperity. Please join 00:22:26.321 --> 00:22:31.006 - me in welcoming Michi and Jen. Good afternoon. 00:22:31.810 --> 00:22:46.235 - It is a pleasure to be here to share with you our work. Many of you may less step back. Okay, 00:22:46.235 --> 00:22:56.670 - how we doing? You don't want me to yell at you for 20 more minutes. 00:22:57.058 --> 00:23:05.159 - Well, like I said, thank you very much for having us this afternoon. Many of you may remember that our 00:23:05.159 --> 00:23:13.339 - president and CEO, Tina Peterson here has presented for you about the Community Foundation. We are part 00:23:13.339 --> 00:23:22.462 - of that. We are kind of a sister organization of the Community Foundation under one happy umbrella serving for ROI. 00:23:22.914 --> 00:23:31.702 - an 11 county region that we have come to love to call Indiana Uplands region as it has been branded. 00:23:31.702 --> 00:23:40.837 - So again, Michi McLean, VP of Talent Development, happy to be here with Jen this afternoon talking about 00:23:40.837 --> 00:23:47.102 - education and workforce in the Indiana Uplands region. So that there is 00:23:47.362 --> 00:23:55.417 - the beautiful rolling hills of Southern Indiana. So hopefully that looks familiar to you. We are proud 00:23:55.417 --> 00:24:03.393 - to be able to support and serve 11 counties in this part of the state through place and education and 00:24:03.393 --> 00:24:11.526 - workforce. That's just us. You don't need to see any more of that. So I pulled this from a presentation 00:24:11.526 --> 00:24:14.654 - that Tina did for you all at one point. 00:24:14.850 --> 00:24:21.845 - for the Community Foundation. And this slide shows the programs and organizations that the Community 00:24:21.845 --> 00:24:28.910 - Foundation is part of. So you'll see there ROI there under organizations, along with some others too, 00:24:28.910 --> 00:24:35.836 - but really just the incredible support from the Community Foundation, the work that really is, this 00:24:35.836 --> 00:24:43.870 - is the heart of so much that is happening, not only in Bloomington and Monroe County, but much of Southern Indiana. 00:24:46.818 --> 00:24:56.075 - So these are the 11 counties that make up the Indiana Uplands region, Monroe County, Bloomington being 00:24:56.075 --> 00:25:04.702 - one of them. And when, my gosh, Tina, 2014 is when the listening session and studies began-ish. 00:25:05.410 --> 00:25:14.765 - 2013, 14, 15, a long time, really, that the Lilly Endowment said, you know, we are interested in this 00:25:14.765 --> 00:25:24.579 - idea of regionalism and thinking about how we can support economic development and education in a regional 00:25:24.579 --> 00:25:32.926 - manner. And so a group of stakeholders and leaders really set about to study the potential 00:25:33.058 --> 00:25:42.613 - of this part of the state. And come to find out, this part of the state had much potential that was 00:25:42.613 --> 00:25:52.836 - not yet being realized, but could with strategic planning, strategic investment. And from that significant 00:25:52.836 --> 00:26:00.862 - listening session around this part of the state, investment by the Lilly Endowment, 00:26:01.058 --> 00:26:09.629 - We were able to stand up regional opportunity initiatives and I wasn't even there then. Soon after it 00:26:09.629 --> 00:26:14.334 - was stood up. So nine years for me. So really early on. 00:26:14.530 --> 00:26:22.693 - Being able to say, okay, with this opportunity, what could we do with this? From what we know, we have 00:26:22.693 --> 00:26:30.617 - some really informed decisions that we can make with the data that we have, with the listening that 00:26:30.617 --> 00:26:38.859 - we've done in this very much rural part of the state and what it's capable of. So that set out to start 00:26:38.859 --> 00:26:41.950 - with an occupational needs assessment. 00:26:42.178 --> 00:26:51.638 - The Occupational Needs Assessment really could say, was able to say, wow, you know, this type of potential, 00:26:51.638 --> 00:27:00.661 - if you were to really hone in on three particular sectors and build strategy around that, we could see 00:27:00.661 --> 00:27:03.902 - this part of the state really excel. 00:27:04.130 --> 00:27:11.177 - So that's our mission is to advance economic and community prosperity in the Indiana Uplands region. 00:27:11.177 --> 00:27:18.364 - And we do that through advancing this idea of regionalism. So with 11 counties who are used to working 00:27:18.364 --> 00:27:20.318 - in isolation, small, rural, 00:27:20.450 --> 00:27:27.902 - prideful communities working in isolation. How about if we come together and we convene and we bring 00:27:27.902 --> 00:27:35.575 - resources together to this part of the state and we ideate together. We think of what could be and what 00:27:35.575 --> 00:27:43.617 - could be brought to this part of the state with strategic planning. And it is strengthening those particular 00:27:43.617 --> 00:27:50.110 - industry sectors that I'll talk more about in just a minute about how to connect talent 00:27:50.242 --> 00:27:59.180 - to strengthen these industry sectors and developing the talent in STEM. So what we found was that across 00:27:59.180 --> 00:28:08.033 - the board, across these three key sectors, very much for when we think of workforce development, talent 00:28:08.033 --> 00:28:16.546 - development, talent retention, talent attraction, talent development, it is around the STEM fields. 00:28:16.546 --> 00:28:18.078 - So also enhancing 00:28:18.306 --> 00:28:25.610 - placemaking assets. So Julie has been introduced already and she is with us as well. Julie is the VP 00:28:25.610 --> 00:28:33.203 - of Economic and Community Development at ROI and so things that, strategies that include housing, really 00:28:33.203 --> 00:28:41.086 - working closely with those county leaders, regional leaders in terms of what does it take to attract talent. 00:28:41.154 --> 00:28:48.554 - who, no matter the age, right, in the workforce, why will they want to come live, work, play, stay in 00:28:48.554 --> 00:28:54.430 - the Indiana uplands? And what do we need to do to really enhance sense of place? 00:28:56.578 --> 00:29:03.837 - These are the three sectors that were found early on. We've brought in some since then. We've really 00:29:03.837 --> 00:29:11.384 - started to diversify. But really true to form, these three key sectors, advanced manufacturing, national 00:29:11.384 --> 00:29:18.859 - security and defense, and life sciences showed the most promise in terms of if you focus and bring that 00:29:18.859 --> 00:29:26.334 - STEM talent to the region or develop that STEM talent, really could see a lot of reward in that effort. 00:29:27.234 --> 00:29:34.214 - Of course, advanced manufacturing, no surprise, we're Indiana, right? Manufacturing state. And we look 00:29:34.214 --> 00:29:37.534 - at that in terms of automotive, food processing. 00:29:38.466 --> 00:29:46.196 - and furniture making. So down south, you know, Jasper, Indiana, very much known for craftsmanship, 00:29:46.196 --> 00:29:54.004 - entrepreneurship, and furniture making. And, of course, Crane Base and its contractors that support 00:29:54.004 --> 00:30:01.890 - Crane. And then Life Sciences, mostly in terms of medical device manufacturing. So, of course, Cook, 00:30:01.890 --> 00:30:03.998 - Boston Scientific, Cimtra. 00:30:04.098 --> 00:30:13.630 - those like significant concentration in in this part of the country actually. So all three of those 00:30:13.630 --> 00:30:18.014 - all three of those sectors really were saying 00:30:18.210 --> 00:30:24.354 - it is the STEM fields and building that career awareness and making those connections for us to build 00:30:24.354 --> 00:30:30.740 - our workforce, to have that workforce here could really make a difference. This is a slide I don't expect 00:30:30.740 --> 00:30:36.764 - you to be able to read. In fact, that list is now even needs updated because we have more going on. 00:30:36.764 --> 00:30:43.390 - But once you to kind of be able to see the big picture of the work, so there on your right, regional economic 00:30:43.554 --> 00:30:51.609 - community prosperity, that's the mission, right? How do we get there? We are looking at metrics like 00:30:51.609 --> 00:30:55.038 - educational attainment, population growth, 00:30:55.170 --> 00:31:02.821 - and per capita income. So if those pieces in this part of the state are growing, increasing, really 00:31:02.821 --> 00:31:10.625 - what we wanna see that should be leading to regional economic and community prosperity. And so how do 00:31:10.625 --> 00:31:18.352 - we get there, right? How do we do those things? How do we find and realize those metrics are through 00:31:18.352 --> 00:31:24.702 - a number of initiatives and programs and efforts there on the left. So I have the, 00:31:25.026 --> 00:31:31.974 - great pleasure of being able to oversee education and workforce programming. And then Julie, those are 00:31:31.974 --> 00:31:39.328 - some of the place programs that I had mentioned. And so when it comes to education and workforce programming 00:31:39.328 --> 00:31:46.546 - or initiatives and collaborations and bringing partners together, it has to do with thinking holistically. 00:31:46.546 --> 00:31:53.022 - And so ROI knew very early on that you that we can't wait until they're seniors in high school. 00:31:53.314 --> 00:32:00.436 - We can't wait until they're in college or we can't wait until they don't have a plan when they graduate 00:32:00.436 --> 00:32:07.422 - from high school. So we need to start a lot earlier. So we have been gifted with the ability to think 00:32:07.554 --> 00:32:15.838 - about that in terms of K through 12, and truly building the capacity for STEM. How do we even interest 00:32:15.838 --> 00:32:23.881 - them in careers and opportunities they don't know exist in their backyard? They don't know exist 30 00:32:23.881 --> 00:32:32.568 - miles. So this region, Indiana Uplands region, is really based on, right, let's look at where the workforce 00:32:32.568 --> 00:32:33.694 - is commuting. 00:32:33.954 --> 00:32:41.142 - What are the in and out patterns of the workforce? And so very much we will have workforce from living 00:32:41.142 --> 00:32:48.121 - in Bloomington commuting to Crane, commuting to various parts all over this part of the region. And 00:32:48.121 --> 00:32:55.239 - so we really want to think about that regionally in terms of where that talent is, where they want to 00:32:55.239 --> 00:32:56.286 - live and work. 00:32:58.434 --> 00:33:05.708 - So this is just a visual of some of the education and workforce programs that I'm going to talk a little 00:33:05.708 --> 00:33:12.773 - bit about and Jen is also going to talk about those. I'm going to start with Ready Schools and that's 00:33:12.773 --> 00:33:15.198 - been a flagship initiative for us. 00:33:15.266 --> 00:33:22.685 - to walk alongside school districts. We have 27 public school districts in the Indiana Uplands region. 00:33:22.685 --> 00:33:30.613 - This is a map of all of them. It kind of looks like a quilt, but those colors represent so far the districts 00:33:30.613 --> 00:33:37.304 - that we've worked with for this particular initiative, Ready Schools. So that idea is let's 00:33:37.304 --> 00:33:45.232 - think transformatively in terms of how do we align your students to the opportunities that await them in the 00:33:45.232 --> 00:33:53.985 - Indiana Uplands region to retain that talent. And so we spend a year with them in planning through a 00:33:53.985 --> 00:34:01.438 - design thinking process to think career awareness, work based learning opportunities, 00:34:01.634 --> 00:34:09.060 - re-imagine innovative learning spaces. All of those types of things come from our work in Ready Schools 00:34:09.060 --> 00:34:16.271 - to say, if you had the opportunity to have a three to five year strategic plan, what could that look 00:34:16.271 --> 00:34:23.983 - like? To really say, our students are prepared for their future. Our students are prepared for the advanced 00:34:23.983 --> 00:34:26.910 - technologies that exist now and are at a 00:34:27.074 --> 00:34:34.152 - fast pace in evolution. And so how do you create those environments in school systems that allow for 00:34:34.152 --> 00:34:39.198 - that creativity, the innovation, the new ideas, and really prototyping? 00:34:40.322 --> 00:34:49.160 - So that, we've been able to work with 18 of the 27 school districts so far. We are hoping to work with 00:34:49.160 --> 00:34:57.827 - another three districts in the coming school year. And each of those districts have funds to develop 00:34:57.827 --> 00:35:02.718 - plans and then implement strategic plans. And with that, 00:35:03.138 --> 00:35:11.712 - I am going to turn it over to Jen, who's going to talk about the really bridge programs for experience 00:35:11.712 --> 00:35:20.536 - opportunities and then career coaching. Great. Just checking the microphone level. Am I good? Yep. Great. 00:35:20.536 --> 00:35:28.943 - So I get to talk about two of the really exciting programs that ROI implements. And the first one is 00:35:28.943 --> 00:35:33.022 - the Upskill program. So next slide. Oh, it's me. 00:35:33.858 --> 00:35:40.975 - So Upskill is really an exciting program and that it really connects the employers with the students 00:35:40.975 --> 00:35:48.515 - in a very tangible way. It's different than what you think of it as an internship. We're all very familiar 00:35:48.515 --> 00:35:55.703 - with internships and you probably many of you have had interns over the years, whether they were high 00:35:55.703 --> 00:36:03.102 - school or college students. This is an intentional opportunity for students to get real-world experience 00:36:03.234 --> 00:36:10.275 - over two years during their high school career, and then potentially even a third year afterwards. And 00:36:10.275 --> 00:36:17.452 - they actually have to apply and interview for the positions, and they become employees with the employer 00:36:17.452 --> 00:36:24.766 - over the course of time. So a student in their junior year goes to school in the morning and at lunchtime, 00:36:24.962 --> 00:36:30.415 - gets in their car and drives to their employer and works not just the two or three periods they have 00:36:30.415 --> 00:36:36.137 - free, but often through the rest of the afternoon. The students see this as an investment in their future 00:36:36.137 --> 00:36:40.510 - and are willing to commit to the big picture because it gives them that exposure 00:36:40.770 --> 00:36:47.832 - The employers are willing to do it because it is a talent strategy. These students come out at the end 00:36:47.832 --> 00:36:54.688 - of their two to three years as a slow interview with the employers. And so they get to not only see 00:36:54.688 --> 00:37:01.681 - the students, but they get to train the students for the type of person they want at the end of that. 00:37:01.681 --> 00:37:09.086 - Over the course of time, we've had 208 students. This is our fifth year. We just recruited our fifth class. 00:37:09.186 --> 00:37:14.883 - this last week, and we do that by recruiting students all spring long, helping them prepare to compete. 00:37:14.883 --> 00:37:20.855 - We help them develop resumes, we help them practice their interview skills, and then we hold a big interview 00:37:20.855 --> 00:37:26.826 - day that some of you here in the audience were actually at the interview day. And the students can interview 00:37:26.826 --> 00:37:32.304 - for as many employers as they want, and at the end of that day, the employers let us know who their 00:37:32.304 --> 00:37:37.947 - top picks are. We work with the counselors, negotiate schedules to make sure it's gonna work out okay, 00:37:37.947 --> 00:37:39.152 - and then the students 00:37:39.152 --> 00:37:42.014 - and begin working as early as this summer and often work. 00:37:42.082 --> 00:37:49.117 - 30 hours or more over the summertime with their employer on ramping into the school year for next year. 00:37:49.117 --> 00:37:56.084 - Students do it their junior and senior year. You can see on the slide here that we have worked in nine 00:37:56.084 --> 00:38:03.254 - of our 11 counties with 15 schools and have over 45 employer partners. The logos here are just a sampling 00:38:03.254 --> 00:38:10.289 - of some of them, but we focus on the three key sectors that Michi mentioned, so advanced manufacturing, 00:38:10.289 --> 00:38:12.048 - health, life science, and 00:38:12.048 --> 00:38:19.372 - and then national security and defense, and specifically around crane and the naval base with the contractors 00:38:19.372 --> 00:38:26.163 - in that area. We've expanded that out in supportive roles to business, IT, and education. So of those 00:38:26.163 --> 00:38:32.955 - students, they are actually physically leaving the school and going to work with those employers over 00:38:32.955 --> 00:38:34.686 - the course of their time. 00:38:34.914 --> 00:38:42.078 - To give you a better visual, I'm going to cue to a video that'll be a great picture, better than I can describe. 00:39:10.850 --> 00:39:17.264 - I haven't seen a program like this before. Even when I was growing up, there were high school students 00:39:17.264 --> 00:39:23.740 - who went out and worked at employers during the day or something like that. I don't think anything like 00:39:23.740 --> 00:39:29.469 - that was really focused on future career development. ROI has been a fantastic partner with 00:39:29.469 --> 00:39:35.821 - RTC Communications and the fact that they're helping Ryder get certifications such as CompTIA and his 00:39:35.821 --> 00:39:39.806 - networking certifications. So he's learning a base of education 00:39:39.970 --> 00:39:47.163 - to work with our network engineers, and the network engineers are showing him some real life applications. 00:39:47.163 --> 00:39:54.355 - I know a lot of the apprentices that come work for us, they're aspiring engineers, so having that ambition 00:39:54.355 --> 00:39:57.246 - coming in and that drive is a great value. 00:39:57.474 --> 00:40:04.749 - We're looking for employees with a fresh set of ideas, which a lot of the young students have. So it 00:40:04.749 --> 00:40:11.952 - adds to your innovation competitiveness. It makes total sense for employers to engage with Upskill. 00:40:11.952 --> 00:40:19.299 - It makes complete financial sense from a recruiting and talent standpoint, training standpoint, to go 00:40:19.299 --> 00:40:26.718 - this direction. We decided to partner with Upskill because we had a true need of finding local talent. 00:40:26.818 --> 00:40:33.296 - Partnering with Upskill allowed us the opportunity to, you know, really focus here locally on students 00:40:33.296 --> 00:40:39.586 - right here in our own backyard. The value that the Upskill program and the apprentices brought into 00:40:39.586 --> 00:40:45.938 - SAIC is the actual students themselves, and they have contributed greatly. They operate as employees 00:40:45.938 --> 00:40:52.228 - here. They're hired on as technicians, not interns, and they operate as technicians on the floor in 00:40:52.228 --> 00:40:54.366 - engineering groups with our team. 00:40:54.498 --> 00:41:02.234 - they are coming in with a wealth of knowledge, they have the ability to just immediately integrate with 00:41:02.234 --> 00:41:09.746 - a team and be professionals in the workforce. Just to see them over their two or three years grow in 00:41:09.746 --> 00:41:17.556 - maturity and start to make the connection between what they're learning in school and what they're doing 00:41:17.556 --> 00:41:23.358 - in the workplace, I think is one of the coolest things to see as an employer. 00:41:23.938 --> 00:41:31.142 - The apprentices will have lots of opportunities as they continue throughout their high school career, 00:41:31.142 --> 00:41:38.205 - college career, and us being just a small part of that is just a really good feeling. We have had a 00:41:38.205 --> 00:41:44.350 - big push in manufacturing to try to lose that stigma that this is a man only industry. 00:41:44.450 --> 00:41:51.566 - And the fact that we received Maddie and matched up with Maddie as an apprentice made me really happy 00:41:51.566 --> 00:41:58.682 - because it got her involved in manufacturing and she's very talented and has a good engineering mind. 00:41:58.682 --> 00:42:05.797 - I think she'll be very successful, whether it's with us or not. We'd like it to be with us. Having an 00:42:05.797 --> 00:42:11.518 - apprentice here, having Tyler here, it definitely provides a breath of fresh air. 00:42:12.098 --> 00:42:18.543 - You know, these apprentices have a great opportunity to find out about careers. In the past, maybe we've 00:42:18.543 --> 00:42:24.926 - just been out on the West Coast or the East Coast or somewhere like that, and they have the opportunity 00:42:24.926 --> 00:42:31.064 - to come in and find out about these careers, and they realize that I don't have to leave Indiana to 00:42:31.064 --> 00:42:37.324 - go be an electrical engineer somewhere. We need to grow our own. We need to develop future employees. 00:42:37.324 --> 00:42:39.902 - We need to be embedded in our communities 00:42:40.418 --> 00:42:47.434 - not just an organization that wants to sell to our community, but an organization that wants to care 00:42:47.434 --> 00:42:54.520 - about the community. So it is important to us to have the relationship with ROI and to bring in these 00:42:54.520 --> 00:43:01.745 - students to the upland regions to make sure that we're continuing to grow our area in prosperity. Isn't 00:43:01.745 --> 00:43:03.134 - that a great video? 00:43:05.506 --> 00:43:11.326 - So we're excited this week that we were able to give 58 job offers to our fifth. 00:43:11.618 --> 00:43:18.098 - cohort. They'll all go through an orientation on employment skills later this month and then be able 00:43:18.098 --> 00:43:24.578 - to start their jobs in June. And as Michi mentioned, our goals here are to really keep talent local. 00:43:24.578 --> 00:43:31.379 - This is a great strategy to engage students with local employers and getting that experience. And whether 00:43:31.379 --> 00:43:35.870 - they go off to college and come back to their employers in the summer 00:43:35.970 --> 00:43:43.148 - or they go to IU and they're able to work at IU and work their job and do a combination of both, or 00:43:43.148 --> 00:43:50.541 - they go straight into the workforce, it's a pathway for all students. So the next program I wanna talk 00:43:50.541 --> 00:43:58.078 - about, I'm the clicker, is our career coaching fellowship. So the career coaching fellowship is a really 00:43:58.078 --> 00:44:00.734 - exciting opportunity to help bolster 00:44:00.994 --> 00:44:07.915 - career advising in all of our schools. And we do it by offering a fellowship that lasts the entire year. 00:44:07.915 --> 00:44:15.099 - The applicants have to apply for positions and then they experience eight different opportunities throughout 00:44:15.099 --> 00:44:21.888 - the year to explore employment opportunities for their students. So the typical career coaching fellow 00:44:21.888 --> 00:44:28.874 - is an educator. They're either an administrator, a counselor, a teacher, work-based learning coordinator. 00:44:28.874 --> 00:44:30.654 - We don't define who it is. 00:44:30.786 --> 00:44:37.692 - We just are looking for individuals in schools who have the opportunity to make connections with students 00:44:37.692 --> 00:44:44.208 - and help advise them and guide them on career choices as they move through school. You may not know 00:44:44.208 --> 00:44:50.788 - this, but the Indiana diploma has just changed. This year's ninth grade class will no longer get the 00:44:50.788 --> 00:44:54.046 - traditional diploma. Ninth graders need to select 00:44:54.178 --> 00:45:02.005 - whether they're going to go into what they call an employment seal, an enrollment seal, or an enlistment 00:45:02.005 --> 00:45:09.758 - seal. These coaches will be vital in helping guide students which of the three seals that they go into. 00:45:09.858 --> 00:45:17.030 - an upscale falls into that employment seal. If a student goes through the upscale youth apprenticeship, 00:45:17.030 --> 00:45:23.995 - they not only get an employment seal, they get an employment honors plus seal. So the other piece to 00:45:23.995 --> 00:45:31.098 - this is the coaches, when we accept 24 coaches a year to participate, every month we go to a different 00:45:31.098 --> 00:45:37.374 - place in our region so that they really get to understand what the employment life is like 00:45:37.506 --> 00:45:43.563 - in that area. So we go to furniture makers in the South. We go to General Motors. We go to Boston Scientific. 00:45:43.563 --> 00:45:48.684 - And then we also go to the different universities, because we really want to lean into where 00:45:48.684 --> 00:45:49.950 - the opportunities are. 00:45:50.018 --> 00:45:56.359 - at IU, at Ivy Tech, at VU. Where are the opportunities for each of our students where they can find 00:45:56.359 --> 00:46:02.891 - their next step? No longer is it acceptable for schools to just get the students to the May graduation 00:46:02.891 --> 00:46:09.359 - date. Schools need to help students be prepared for the step after. There's a statistic that is often 00:46:09.359 --> 00:46:15.890 - quoted in Indiana where if you ask a senior at the end of their senior year, what are you going to do? 00:46:15.890 --> 00:46:18.046 - 70% say they're going to college. 00:46:18.178 --> 00:46:26.845 - In reality, only 35% of those go. So that alone tells us there's a huge group of students who don't 00:46:26.845 --> 00:46:30.398 - have a plan, who don't know what's next. 00:46:30.626 --> 00:46:36.881 - So what can we do to best support those students so that it's not just may they're done and nobody knows 00:46:36.881 --> 00:46:42.898 - what's happening next and provide those opportunities. So our coaches are intentionally working with 00:46:42.898 --> 00:46:49.094 - students and they then can say, last week when I was at SAIC and I saw them building these things, that 00:46:49.094 --> 00:46:55.111 - would be a great occupation for you. Or last month when I was at Boston Scientific and I saw all the 00:46:55.111 --> 00:47:00.592 - different jobs, not just production, but all the different jobs and they can better connect 00:47:00.592 --> 00:47:06.496 - students to those. So the additional piece to the career coaching that's been really exciting is we 00:47:06.496 --> 00:47:12.459 - were able to get some funding from first the commission from higher ed and then it's now switched to 00:47:12.459 --> 00:47:18.717 - the department of ed where we've been actually to hire career coaches that their sole job is to do career 00:47:18.717 --> 00:47:20.606 - coaching in schools. So we have 00:47:20.706 --> 00:47:28.808 - 10 career coaches placed into schools that that's their sole job is to help connect students along the 00:47:28.808 --> 00:47:36.909 - way. And again, this piece reinforces all of the pieces that Michi showed on the slide of our ed force 00:47:36.909 --> 00:47:44.775 - work development. And they can help kind of guide and steer all the different possibilities. So I'm 00:47:44.775 --> 00:47:49.022 - going to turn it back over to Michi. OK, thanks, Jen. 00:47:49.826 --> 00:47:55.360 - There is just so much more that we could talk to you about, but I won't go through every single bit 00:47:55.360 --> 00:47:58.846 - of it. I do want to say that one important key finding of ours 00:47:58.978 --> 00:48:07.740 - through occupational needs assessment that I mentioned is that one of the findings was, you know, schools 00:48:07.740 --> 00:48:16.254 - are doing a better job with pathways or exposure to different types of career pathways. And they might 00:48:16.254 --> 00:48:23.198 - take a class here or there, or it doesn't go much beyond exposure because for every 00:48:23.298 --> 00:48:30.512 - six students that maybe dabble in something or learn something about a career, only one actually go 00:48:30.512 --> 00:48:38.014 - into that broad field. So it was then that we knew that we needed to really build tangible connections. 00:48:38.242 --> 00:48:45.709 - get out of the four walls of schools, get into these employers, really see across the board what the 00:48:45.709 --> 00:48:53.471 - opportunities are with companies, small, medium size, or even large. So that was a big aha, if you will, 00:48:53.471 --> 00:48:54.654 - for us. We have 00:48:54.850 --> 00:49:01.820 - a few other programming. One is STEM fellows. I just want to say that we start really early there. That's 00:49:01.820 --> 00:49:08.855 - elementary teachers to build their capacity for feeling comfortable integrating STEM into their classrooms 00:49:08.855 --> 00:49:15.561 - so that along the way, whether it's elementary, middle, or high school, those students feel like they 00:49:15.561 --> 00:49:21.150 - are more informed when they actually do choose those courses in high school and then 00:49:21.314 --> 00:49:27.553 - possibly in college or straight into the workforce. We have a student-run business network all over 00:49:27.553 --> 00:49:33.793 - the region where we seed that funding for students to create their own businesses in their schools. 00:49:33.793 --> 00:49:40.157 - Because in rural Indiana, it's hard when you only have a handful of employers to go out for that work 00:49:40.157 --> 00:49:43.838 - baseline. So we're bringing that into the school campuses. 00:49:45.026 --> 00:49:53.077 - Also, digital fabrication labs, so the advanced technologies that they might see with their employer, 00:49:53.077 --> 00:49:54.814 - we want them to know. 00:49:55.042 --> 00:50:02.978 - to feel very comfortable using 3D printers and CAD design and CNC machines and all of those that require 00:50:02.978 --> 00:50:10.687 - a lot of software knowledge to just run those. So we want them in their learning spaces. If you're in 00:50:10.687 --> 00:50:18.699 - social studies or if you're in an English class, you can go to the Fab Lab and apply what you're learning 00:50:18.699 --> 00:50:20.286 - by making a product. 00:50:20.482 --> 00:50:28.958 - And we also have a microelectronics workforce development program, a significant agreement to bring 00:50:29.506 --> 00:50:35.600 - to this country and for us, this part of the state, the skilled workforce needed in all things 00:50:35.600 --> 00:50:42.015 - microelectronics. So really focusing on with Ivy Tech as an incredible partner, their semiconductor 00:50:42.015 --> 00:50:48.494 - fabrication certificate that students will complete before they even leave high school. And they get 00:50:48.494 --> 00:50:55.422 - hands-on experience all along the way so that they're ready to be a technician when they leave high school. 00:50:57.410 --> 00:51:06.637 - I will end there and see if there are questions for Jen or myself. Thank you. In case I missed it, what 00:51:06.637 --> 00:51:15.952 - does STEM stand for? And is this only for people, young people who are in school or can it be for people 00:51:15.952 --> 00:51:19.678 - who have graduated and are still looking? 00:51:20.066 --> 00:51:28.604 - Yes, great question. I'm sorry. There are so many acronyms, science, technology, engineering, and math. 00:51:28.604 --> 00:51:37.141 - All of those areas are very much needed in the Indiana Uplands region. And a lot of what we do is K-12, 00:51:37.141 --> 00:51:39.358 - but we do also think about 00:51:39.458 --> 00:51:46.983 - the population that's looking to upskill and reskill in their career journey. So in particular, 00:51:46.983 --> 00:51:52.862 - for instance, that semiconductor fabrication certificate of Ivy Techs that 00:51:52.994 --> 00:51:59.599 - will this also available to adult learners, right? For instance, part of that could be getting their 00:51:59.599 --> 00:52:06.139 - soldering training just as a start and then building from there. We really think a lot about how do 00:52:06.139 --> 00:52:12.810 - you stack into your next thing, right? If I'm in high school, what's my next step? If I am coming out 00:52:12.810 --> 00:52:19.546 - of a particular career, but I want to reskill myself, what are those opportunities? Thank you so much. 00:52:19.546 --> 00:52:22.750 - I apologize if I missed this information of your 00:52:23.650 --> 00:52:29.904 - apprenticeship program, can you share the success rate of the kids that have participated, whether they 00:52:29.904 --> 00:52:35.977 - stay employed with these groups or whether they stay in Indiana would be a success? I'm just curious 00:52:35.977 --> 00:52:42.230 - about some of the metrics on that. That's a great question, and it's one that we're tracking often with 00:52:42.230 --> 00:52:48.424 - a lot of different variables. One of the things is it's a three-year program, so we're only five years 00:52:48.424 --> 00:52:49.566 - in, so this is our 00:52:49.698 --> 00:52:56.019 - first group finished last year and we're just now kind of gathering the data for the second group but 00:52:56.019 --> 00:53:02.712 - we're at about a 75% retention rate and whether they're with their actual employer or a partnering employer 00:53:02.712 --> 00:53:08.972 - in the same occupation area in the same region and our goal is for them to stay in the region and so 00:53:08.972 --> 00:53:13.310 - it's still early on in that because many of those first-year students 00:53:13.602 --> 00:53:21.353 - maybe off at a four-year college somewhere. So don't have great numbers yet, but hope to have that soon. 00:53:21.353 --> 00:53:28.808 - I will say to that point, the stories that have come from students involved in these experiences are 00:53:28.808 --> 00:53:36.190 - just ones we couldn't even imagine. Students who did not know that maybe college was even for them. 00:53:36.322 --> 00:53:43.040 - They just didn't see that in their future. They didn't know all the different types of engineering. 00:53:43.040 --> 00:53:50.026 - I'm giving an example, whether it's technician level right out of early training or a four year degree. 00:53:50.026 --> 00:53:56.945 - So many that didn't know what they wanted to do, didn't know what existed and are now, I mean, we have 00:53:56.945 --> 00:54:04.335 - students in the program who are in the engineering program at Purdue. So they just never saw it in themselves 00:54:04.335 --> 00:54:06.014 - that they could do that. 00:54:06.146 --> 00:54:12.817 - We just have time for one more question. Jeff Richardson online. Yes, I was very startled basically 00:54:12.817 --> 00:54:19.755 - by the number of students, 70% that thought they were going to college, but only 35% went. Besides poor 00:54:19.755 --> 00:54:26.426 - planning, which you referenced, do we have other metrics or data that suggests maybe it was lack of 00:54:26.426 --> 00:54:32.030 - resources, for example, or other factors that why this disparity exists? Thank you. 00:54:34.562 --> 00:54:42.755 - Well, cost has a lot to do with that, and so really helping students see where those entry, realistic 00:54:42.755 --> 00:54:51.109 - entry points can be. You may not go straight to a four-year college. You might start with a certificate 00:54:51.109 --> 00:54:57.374 - and work with an employer who then pays, right, for that continued education. 00:54:57.506 --> 00:55:05.628 - you might start at it with Ivy Tech's incredible programming and they have articulated agreements into 00:55:05.628 --> 00:55:13.828 - those four-year stackable but a lot of students just don't know these things so a family might see that 00:55:13.828 --> 00:55:21.950 - sticker price and decide no we can't do this there's also right the comfort level of leaving your very 00:55:22.242 --> 00:55:31.764 - comfortable small community that you love and going to a big university. So the completion of the first 00:55:31.764 --> 00:55:40.919 - year is another data point that we look at. Do students return after the first year of high school? 00:55:40.919 --> 00:55:46.046 - Do they feel comfortable in that transition? Thank you. 00:55:50.402 --> 00:55:56.060 - Jen and Misha, will you be able to stick around for a couple of minutes? Because we had some people 00:55:56.060 --> 00:56:02.170 - with their hands up. Thank you for most interesting presentation. One of my grandfathers was an apprentice, 00:56:02.170 --> 00:56:07.885 - so it hit very close to home. In honor of your talk, a donation will be made this quarter to Wheeler 00:56:07.885 --> 00:56:13.826 - Mission. Thank you. I'd like to thank today's volunteers, Randy Saunders, Hank Walter, Christopher M.G., 00:56:13.826 --> 00:56:19.710 - Laurie Garrity, Don Hussler, Bill Oates, Michael Shermas, Dave Meyer, Sally Gaskell, and Marcy Hibbard. 00:56:20.450 --> 00:56:26.936 - We cut off the happy dollars. If you have something that you'd like to pledge, please see me. I'll probably 00:56:26.936 --> 00:56:33.122 - reach out by email. But thank you all for the wonderful participation there. Next meeting will be here 00:56:33.122 --> 00:56:39.187 - in the Georgian Room next week, May 12. Our guests will be the group of high school seniors who have 00:56:39.187 --> 00:56:45.253 - been awarded Bloomington Rotary Club scholarships. As we've heard from a number of our members, it's 00:56:45.253 --> 00:56:46.814 - our big feel-good meeting 00:56:46.946 --> 00:56:54.156 - I mean, I love all our meetings, but boy, when we see these high school seniors, and I'm sure Hank's 00:56:54.156 --> 00:57:01.295 - kids fall in the same category, they're just very accomplished individuals who give us all hope for 00:57:01.295 --> 00:57:08.648 - the future. So anyway, please join us next week. Tyler, if you put on the slide for the four-way test, 00:57:08.648 --> 00:57:10.718 - please stand if you're able. 00:57:17.986 --> 00:57:25.205 - of the things we think, say or do. First, is it the truth? Second, is it fair to all concerned? Third, 00:57:25.205 --> 00:57:32.635 - will it build goodwill and better friendships? Fourth, will it be beneficial to all concerned? And fifth, 00:57:32.635 --> 00:57:33.406 - is it fun?