A major announcement was made today by the Questa Foundation, Northeast Indiana Fund and the Talent Initiative at the Steel Dynamics Inc. Keith Busse Technology Center on the campus of Ivy Tech Community College Northeast.
Questa Foundation for Education will be investing over a half million dollars from its Questa Scholars 1/2 Back Loan program over the next five years to aid area college students who pursue careers in advanced manufacturing and engineering. The investment includes a new collaboration with the Talent Initiative, a program of the Northeast Indiana Fund and Community Partnerships, Inc., designed to accelerate the training and retention of future advanced manufacturing and defense/aerospace employees in northeast Indiana.
Questa’s aim is to bolster the Talent Initiative’s efforts to develop a talent pipeline of workers well prepared to assume new high tech jobs in industries critical to northeast Indiana’s economic development.
The Questa Scholars 1/2 Back Loan Program – the nation’s only college debt forgiveness program of its kind – offers qualified Allen County students forgiveness of up to 50 percent of their Questa Scholars loan if they graduate from college with a 2.75 GPA and choose to reside and work in northeast Indiana for at least five years after graduation. Questa Scholars may borrow $20,000 over four years for college.
The primary goal of the Talent Initiative, established by a $20 million grant from Lilly Endowment Inc., is to increase the base of highly skilled workers to meet the needs of the defense/aerospace and advanced manufacturing industries, while reversing the current decline in regional per capita income.
Questa will earmark six Questa Scholar loan awards in 2010 for qualified applicants who pursue an advanced manufacturing degree at Ivy Tech Community College Northeast thanks to generous funding provided by Steel Dynamics Foundation. Over the next five years, Questa will invest considerable additional resources to help students pursue advanced manufacturing degrees at Ivy Tech Northeast. Qualified applicants who wish to study advanced manufacturing at Ivy Tech Northeast are welcome from any of the eleven counties of northeast Indiana. Over the next five years Questa will also earmark 10% of its annual Questa Scholar loan awards for qualified applicants who choose to study engineering at IPFW, Indiana Tech and Trine University.
The Ivy Tech Questa Scholars Pay Back Partnership agreement commits Ivy Tech to pay back an additional 25% of the loan balance for any Questa Scholar who completes his or her degree in advanced manufacturing at Ivy Tech Community College Northeast, which allows Questa Scholars to qualify for up to 75% of loan forgiveness or repayment. Similarly, IPFW announced its commitment to pay back an additional 25% of the loan balance for any Questa Scholar who completes his or her engineering degree at the university through a new IPFW Questa Scholars Pay Back Partnership agreement.
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