Skip to main content
Office of Community Engagement IU Indianapolis

IUPUI Latino Studies Program celebrates the Inauguration of the Luis Alberto Ambroggio Center for Latino Studies

Posted on by tfrancis

Students, faculty, staff, and community gather to celebrate the opening of the Luis Alberto Ambroggio Center for Latino Studies at IUPUI campus.

On Thursday, November 1, 2018, the Luis Alberto Ambroggio Center for Latino Studies inaugural event welcomed community leaders, state, and local representatives to the IUPUI campus. Representatives from Indianapolis Mayor Joe Hogsetts’s Office, Congressman Carson’s Office, Lawrence Mayor Steve Collier, and the Mexican Consulate Office in Indianapolis along with the IUPUI Executive Vice Chancellor, Chief Academic Officer, and the Vice Chancellor for Community Engagement and other campus leadership participated in the event.

The Ambroggio Center for Latino Studies is located in Cavanaugh Hall room CA 323. For more information on the center, contact Professor Jose Vargas, Director of the Latino Studies program at IUPUI at jvargasv@iupui.edu.

Luis Alberto Ambroggio, an internationally known Hispanic-American poet born in Argentina is the author of eleven collections of poetry. His poetry and essays have appeared in newspapers, magazines (including Passport, Scholastic, International Poetry Review, and Hispanic Culture Review), poetry anthologies (DC Poets Against the War, Cool Salsa), textbooks (Paisajes, Bridges to Literature, Voices: Breaking Down Barriers) and award-winning electronic collections of Latino Literature.

Read more from IUPUI Communications.

IUPUI Fugate Scholars help prepare families for college admission

Posted on by tfrancis

IUPUI Fugate Scholars

A group of IUPUI students helped local families prepare for college.

On October 28, students and families across Indiana received free FAFSA filing help from financial aid experts during the 30th annual College Goal SundaySM presented by Indiana Student Financial Aid Association (ISFAA). George Washington Community High School (GWCHS) served as one of eight Indianapolis College Goal Sunday sites in partnership with IUPUI.

Eight IUPUI Fugate Scholars  were there to help families in a variety of ways, including welcoming families to the event, providing Spanish translation, and providing assistance with completing the FAFSA online.

Participants at GWCHS College Goal SundaySM

By the end of the event, 11 families completed their financial aid paperwork with assistance from the IUPUI Fugate Scholars.

“This increases the student’s chances of receiving financial support for college and, thus helps to motivate them to finish their last year of high school and continue to plan for their future,” said Cindy Gil, IUPUI representative.

“College Goal SundaySM provides an opportunity for high school students and families to receive one-on-one help with FAFSA completion, which is so important for a student’s future college plans,” Cindy said. “We know that most students will rely on federal and/or state grants in order to pay their college fees, so it is important that students complete and submit their FAFSA correctly and in a timely manner.”

This year’s event is one of many ways that IUPUI’s Fugate scholars work with local communities.

The IUPUI Fugate Scholarship began in October 2006 in honor of the late Daniel Fugate, a Near West community and public school advocate, as part of a larger Learning Communities Initiative at GWCHS. IUPUI Fugate scholars are undergraduate or graduate students who are passionate about serving the community, and have previous service experience with youth and youth-serving organizations.

Fugate Scholars commit to serve as a student leader on campus and in the Indianapolis community and implement various college preparatory curricula to students in grades 5–12 at GWCHS and neighboring elementary schools on the Near West and West side of Indianapolis.

“The Fugate program at IUPUI strives to promote student growth and increase opportunities for students in higher education, employment, and enlistment than what might be offered in the traditional classroom setting,” said Kevin Sanders, IUPUI student, education major and Fugate Scholar. “As a Fugate scholar, I am able to develop meaningful relationships with students, schools, and the community to sustain and enhance professional skills students already have when walking into the classroom.”

By giving their time and talents to the community, Fugate Scholars are active contributors in improving the quality of life of residents.

“These past efforts during College Goal Sunday helped several dozen students and families have access to federal funding for post-secondary education by completing the FAFSA, and I cannot be more grateful for such a wonderful program,” Kevin said.

Community business serving food samples at Taste of the Westside event

This is just one of many activities that Fugate Scholars participate in. They also participate in fundraising events that help fund scholarships for GWCHS students, such as the annual Taste of the Westside event, hosted each spring by the GWCHS Dollars for Scholars program. The community gathers for an evening of tasting and socialization, with food samplings from restaurants and businesses from the community in hopes that visitors will want to visit those sponsors for a full portion later.

Family participating in Taste of the Westside event

GWCHS Dollars for Scholars is part of a national network of nearly 1,000 local, grassroots chapters providing scholarships in their communities. Since 2006, this program has supported the graduates of GWCHS through the engagement of the local Westside Indianapolis community and partners from throughout central Indiana.

Students selected as Fugate Scholars benefit from their service by developing their leadership skills and participating in monthly trainings that prepare them to become Civic Minded Graduates. They are required to attend monthly training sessions, and serve 6 hours per week at their assigned school during the school year. This service can be fulfilled in ways such as college prep activities during the school day to various classrooms, or by serving as tutors or college student role models at their sites.

For more information about the IUPUI Fugate Scholarship and how to apply, visit https://csl.iupui.edu/programs/scholarships/fugate.html.

The next College Goal SundaySM event will take place on February 24, 2019 at locations across Indiana from 2-4 p.m. Students and families will once again have an opportunity to receive free FAFSA filing help from financial aid experts. The FAFSA form must be turned in on or before April 15 to be considered “on-time” for Indiana state grant funding. For more information about College Goal SundaySM, visit the website. Para informacion en español.

IUPUI project wins state, national awards

Posted on by anposick

An application designed by a team of IUPUI researchers is winning state and nationwide honors and could help reduce the costs of healthcare, while helping patients lead healthier lives.

The app, called Uppstroms, was developed by a team led by Joshua Vest, director for the Center for Health Policy at the IU Richard M. Fairbanks School of Public Health at IUPUI and Founding Dean Paul Halverson.

Photo of Joshua Vest
Joshua Vest, IU Richard M. Fairbanks School of Public Health

Joshua and his colleagues, Nir Menachemi, Shaun Grannis and Suranga Kasthurirathne, developed a series of algorithms that take into account multiple factors, including environmental, social and behavioral factors, and combine them with clinical data to identify what services patients might need.

With that information, care providers can refer patients to the wraparound services that will help them most, such as for behavioral health, dietician or financial counseling services.

The app has been in use for about a year in Eskenazi Health clinics, and has already shown in preliminary results that it increases referrals for services.

At the same time, a new research paper from Eskenazi Health and the Fairbanks School of Public Health shows that wraparound services can save potentially millions in hospitalization costs. Wraparound services were associated with a reduction in the number of hospitalizations and emergency room visits, saving hospitals money, according to the paper.

Uppstroms won the first BioCrossroads Inject Tech Challenge, and also recently won the Pitch IT competition at the American Medical Informatics Association 2018 conference.

For Joshua, the awards are validation for what he and his colleagues are doing, because others view their work as important.

His hope is that the technology will continue to be used by more healthcare providers, helping improve the health of people and entire populations.

Social and environmental factors have a significant impact on people’s health, and issues such as transportation and access to healthy food complicate the delivery of care, Joshua said.

“Addressing those factors will be helpful for all involved,” he said.

Joshua and his colleagues disclosed the Uppstroms innovation to the Indiana University Innovation and Commercialization Office (IU ICO), which protects, markets and licenses intellectual property developed at Indiana University so it can be commercialized by industry. IU ICO seeks partners to license and commercialize the technology.

Twitter, Facebook part of curriculum for senior citizens, students

Posted on by anposick

IUPUI student works with senior citizen on technology skills

Leaning over laptops, tablets and Smartphones, terms like tweeting, hashtags and likes are defined and explained.

The lessons are geared toward a group of senior citizens who want to learn the new technology so prominent in society. But at the same time, a group of IUPUI students are learning about how to work in their future career field.

The IT class, taught by Professor Sally Catlin, offers a weekly program for senior citizens at Heritage Place on how to use different types of technology. The class is easily one of the most popular at the center, where officials have asked if more sessions can be offered.

“I honestly would not ever want this program to go away. It is essential. It is a staple to our program here,” Heritage Place Program Manager Gretchen Meitzler said.

Topics covered recently include Twitter, Facebook, new features on Apple watches geared toward senior citizens and Facebook Messenger.

Residents who attend range in age from 55 to 95, and often are very educated people who just want to learn more about technology they never grew up with, Catlin said.

“Seniors want to have some of these skills, and be able to be involved in conversations about modern technology,” Catlin said.

The class started three years ago, and is consistently full. Catlin is looking at offering other classes and programs that could benefit residents, too, she said.

Teaching the class also allows Catlin’s students to learn more about their field and working with the public.

“The IUPUI students get a lot out of it too, it’s intergenerational. These seniors went to school when schools were segregated,” Catlin said.

Students work one-on-one with senior citizens, reminding them how to log in or troubleshooting any problems they are facing. They also teach segments to the whole group, focusing on specific programs or apps, such as Uber, Twitter or grocery delivery sites.

They also learn more about the residents’ lives, like when they are asked to help them share photos of their family on social media sites.

The students have to remember to be patient, since most people don’t have the technological knowledge and skills they do, and they have to pay attention to the terms they are using, avoiding the IT language they get used to using with their classmates, students said.

The experience is something they can’t get in their classes, IUPUI senior Dalton Puckett said.

“It’s good to talk to people who are different from you. They don’t have as much experience, and it helps me understand more,” Puckett said.

 

 IUPUI student works with senior citizen on technology skills

 

 

Program offering more options to help buy, fix homes

Posted on by anposick

After decades of renting, Anita Hedrick never thought she would have the chance to own a home.

She simply didn’t think she could afford it. But that changed when she found out about a program between the Indianapolis Neighborhood Housing Partnership®(INHP) and IUPUI, where Hedrick works.

Under the IUPUI Anchor Housing program, qualified employees can get financial assistance to buy a home on the Near West side, within a target geography the campus selected. Employees who already own a home within the targeted area can get financial help to fix it up.

Funding for the program is first-come, first-served. Potential program participants qualify based on income and other eligibility restrictions; and potential homebuyers must participate in pre-purchase homeownership advising and a homebuyer education class, offered by INHP.

Photo of keys been passed from one person's hand to another. So far, the IUPUI Anchor Housing program has helped five staff members buy a home or repair their home. The goal is to provide even more employees with an opportunity to become or remain a homeowner close to where they work while funding is still available, said Trevor Meeks, vice president of single family lending for INHP.

As the program moves into its second year, INHP and IUPUI have found a way to provide employees with additional opportunities to find affordable home purchase options, such as expanding the target geography, and offering incentives to help employees own their home faster with a fixed-rate, 20-year mortgage loan option through INHP, Meeks said.

For Hedrick, the down payment assistance she received from IUPUI and INHP helped her to buy her very first home in Haughville, just minutes away from campus where she has worked for 11 years.

“It is my own. I just love it,” Hedrick said.

Hedrick just celebrated her one-year anniversary in her home, and said being there still feels like a dream come true.

“It’s so nice to be able to say ‘my home.’ I did not think I would be able to do that,” Hedrick said.

The Anchor Housing program, part of the Indy Chamber’s Anchor Revitalization Initiative, seeks to help employees live closer to where they work, support Marion County neighborhoods, and allow the 14 local employers currently participating in the program to use it as a recruitment and retention tool, Meeks said.

Hedrick said she learned about the program when her supervisor, Terisa Branson, told her about it. Branson, who signed up for the program the first day, recommended a house for Hedrick.

For Branson, the biggest challenge she faced was finding a home located within IUPUI’s selected geography. After months of looking, she found a home just down the street from where she had been renting. And while the house was a bit too small for her, its previous owner agreed to add a bathroom and additional room on the back of the house.

“Those other houses just weren’t meant for me,” she said.

The program was a blessing, Branson said. Not only did she get help for a down payment, but she also learned a lot about the finances of buying a house during the program’s required homebuying class, and how home closings work.

“I could not afford to do it without doing it this way,” she said.

And now, she has a home of her own, something that is all hers, she said.

“Before, I was living in someone else’s home, taking care of someone else’s home, and this is mine,” Branson said.

For more information, to review IUPUI’s selected geography and to register for the Anchor Housing program, visit https://www.inhp.org/anchorhousing/iupui.

 

 

IU Southeast reached 200+ middle and high school students through free workshops and discussions

Posted on by tfrancis

IU Indiana Kids program

Teachers, principals and parents know the looks they get when they talk to their teens about college or other serious topics.

But when IU Southeast has tried those same discussions with college students, they have found the teens are suddenly listening, program coordinator Emily Seay said.

The information is no different from what teachers or parents talk about with their kids, but students are more likely to listen when college students are involved, she said.

Now, she and her team are booked every Friday for the next two months with plans to visit classes and schools in their area.

They used social media posts, visits to local schools, donut-themed events, workshops and discussions to reach more than 200 middle and high school students in 2018 as part of the IU Indiana Kids program.

Emily, a former high school teacher, used her own personal connections and visited more than a dozen schools to build the Indiana Kids program in her area in southern Indiana.

Their programs have different focuses for different age groups, with high schoolers learning about how to apply for college, getting financial aid and choosing a career path in their Donuts for Degrees sessions, and Emily hopes to keep those going, getting more in-depth as students get closer to college.

IU Southeast student mentors, IU Indiana Kids program

For middle school students, the Donuts and Discussion program is a bit different, since those students are not as close to college age. One local school had asked Emily and her student mentors to talk to kids about bullying, and the response was overwhelmingly positive. At the end of the first session, students were asked to write two sentences, saying something nice about a classmate and those were very impactful to students.

More than 50 students participated in the bullying-focused Donuts and Discussion event in September, and nearly 50 more have participated in two college and career readiness workshops hosted in August and September.

Future events are filling up with individual classes, and in some cases, entire grades. Their goal is to continue and grow the workshops, while also looking to build the Indiana Kids tutoring program by referring students to the service when they participate in other activities.

The IU Indiana Kids program, launched from the IUPUI campus, is a collaboration between Serve Indiana and seven Indiana University campuses (IUPUI, IU Bloomington, IU East, IU Kokomo, IU Northwest, IU South Bend, and IU Southeast) providing free tutoring, mentoring, college and career resources to students in grades six through twelve.

IU Northwest builds relationships with schools in the Gary area

Posted on by tfrancis

IU Indiana Kids program

Over the last year, mentors and staff at IU Northwest have grown a relationship with a student transitioning from high school to college.

And that is exactly what the IU Indiana Kids program seeks to recreate.

Program coordinator James Wallace first met the student as a high school senior last year. The student has now enrolled in IU Northwest after going through a summer program his office offers to prepare students for the academic writing, English, communication and math skills needed for college.

The student has remained connected to his office, having bi-weekly meetings with an academic advisor, who connects her with any programs on campus that could help her be successful.

“We need to duplicate that. We’ve done it once, and now it needs to happen again and again,” James said.

James hopes to be able to build that relationship with more students, and continues to try to build the campus’ Indiana Kids program through emails, presentations and face-to-face meetings.

James and his six mentors are hitting the pavement to connect with multiple schools, especially charter schools, which can be a challenge since there is no one central office as there are for public school districts.

James connected with the IU School of Education at his campus to present at meetings they were hosting to attract people to their master’s degree program. During those meetings with local school officials, James was able to present information about the Indiana Kids program to multiple schools at one time, and then follow up to grow the connections made.

In August, IU Northwest’s Indiana Kids program hosted a workshop with 31 high school students from 21st Century Charter School enrolled in their dual credit program. They shared information about financial aid and other processes students would need to prepare for college, and promoted the Indiana Kids program.

From that event, 10 students – or about one-third of those who attended – signed up for the Indiana Kids program.

The IU Indiana Kids program, launched from the IUPUI campus, is a collaboration between Serve Indiana and seven Indiana University campuses (IUPUI, IU Bloomington, IU East, IU Kokomo, IU Northwest, IU South Bend, and IU Southeast) providing free tutoring, mentoring, college and career resources to students in grades six through twelve.

Skip to toolbar