New Rules, Same Goal

An article was written and posted on Tuesday, November 26 in the Journal Gazette in response to media coverage on the Legacy Committee meeting and Questa’s proposal for continued funding.

New rules, same goal; Questa, city officials united on program's value

by Marc Levy, Executive Director of the Questa Education Foundation

Marc Levy is executive director of the Questa Education Foundation.

In a recent Fort Wayne Legacy Committee meeting, the Questa Foundation's request for continuation of funding was considered. Media coverage indicated a lack of support, but in fact the conversation was extremely positive about the Questa Scholar program and the outstanding results of the current Fort Wayne-Questa Legacy initiative. The request, however, was not voted on as no motion was put forward during the discussion.

The request did not get an endorsement because the verbal consensus was that the request was ineligible because the guidelines established by City Council placed a priority on capital projects, not ongoing program support. It is important to note that though the Legacy Fund is an important funding source targeted to serve more Fort Wayne residents, the Questa Education Foundation is not in jeopardy and continues to be financially stable, serving all northeast Indiana.

The financial support from the Legacy Fund began several years ago thanks to Mayor Tom Henry's effort in collaboration with Councilman John Crawford and others. The four-year, $200,000 per year resolution was unanimously endorsed by City Council and included the stipulation of ongoing funding unless the council acted to end funding. There was a clear understanding that investing in Fort Wayne residents for further education was essential to address “brain drain” and especially a growing talent gap.

Growing the talent pool was and is important for the city to have a thriving economy and provide support for overall quality of life.

This decision to provide Legacy funding for the Questa Scholars Program was decided prior to formation of the Legacy Committee and the current City Council guidelines for funding. That prior decision was both to fund the initiative and to endorse Questa Education goals: increased postsecondary training and education, completion with less debt and retention of talent.

In contrast, the concern of the Legacy Committee was in regard to its own guidelines. One could argue the guidelines provide priorities and guidance, rather than strict definitions on what can be funded. In the discussion, the Legacy Committee suggested the Questa Foundation request for extension of the funding could be acted upon by City Council if the council continued to support investing in people as an important asset.

Though this funding and city endorsement is important and has served an increased number of students now living and working in our community, I would like to reiterate that the Questa Foundation is not in jeopardy and continues to serve hundreds of individuals in northeast Indiana.

The foundation has served nearly 1,000 individuals since 2007 and supports scholars focused on receiving their industry certification, associate's or bachelor's degree. Of those scholars, two-thirds upon graduation are living and working in our community, giving back their talents to the northeast Indiana economy.

The initial reason for Legacy funding was to help go broader and deeper in support of city residents for their education. The ongoing results have been reported annually to City Council, demonstrating the positive impact accomplished. In December, the next annual report will be presented to City Council; our hope is that at that time a request for extension of funding will be followed by a vote to continue this vital program.

I would encourage everyone to go to our website, questafoundation.org, to learn more. If you agree with the importance of this initiative, then please let others know of your support.

After all, investing in people goes together with investing in buildings, riverfront development and other capital investments. Fort Wayne needs people to teach in our schools, carpenters, electricians, plumbers and welders to build those buildings; health care professionals to support the health care system; and more. We also need to help some of the 60% already in the workforce to get additional postsecondary education and become part of that talent filling the talent gap.

By investing in people, we will see ongoing growth in our local economy, including growing businesses and individuals with livable wages who can afford to buy homes, feed their families, pay taxes and have a good quality of life.

Article Link: https://www.journalgazette.net/opinion/columns/20191126/new-rules-same-goal

Questa Announces Retirement of Executive Director and Search for New Leadership

Marc Levy, Executive Director of the Questa Education Foundation

On behalf of the Questa Education Foundation Board of Directors, Chair Gary Adkins announced that Marc Levy after 8 years as the Executive Director will be retiring at the end of the fiscal year June 30.

Gary Adkins, Questa Board Chair, President of Parkview Noble Hospital

“We have been honored and grateful for the visionary leadership, talent and passion that Marc brought to the organization. His work with the staff and board has strengthened and grown the organization and moved it into the 21st century.  Questa is acknowledged for funding individuals desiring to pursue further education who have funding gaps. The growth and success of the organization is demonstrated each year by both the ongoing Questa Scholars funded and by the outstanding results achieved growing the talent in the region,” says Adkins.

The board has recently approved a succession plan to recruit and hire an individual who has the ability to take Questa forward serving our region and who can continue to strengthen the collaboration and partnerships across the area.  Optimally the individual selected to lead Questa into the future will be someone who has relevant work experience in higher education, economic development, or the nonprofit sector.  The successful candidate would also preferably have a passion for Northeast Indiana and a strong understanding of education and its ties to economic development in Northeast Indiana.  The job description and posting are being made available and a search committee has been formed to begin the task of finding the next leader for this important organization. The goal is to have an individual chosen by April so that a smooth transition can occur during the later stages of the fiscal year which ends in June of 2020. 

The Questa Foundation has three primary goals: Increasing access to all postsecondary education alternatives, completion with less debt and retention of talent in northeast Indiana.  Questa has served over 1,300 individuals since 2007 with forgivable loans, grants, scholarships and stipends.

“When I started,” Levy said, “the conversation was about the brain drain and as we progressed it became clear it was really about filling the talent gap in our communities. So, we carried the message across the area stressing the importance of investing in people as our most important regional asset.  Having a workforce prepared for the 21st Century economy is how we maintain and grow a thriving economy and without it we will find communities struggling to economically survive. The staff and board have been dedicated to the goals of the organization and willing to support expansion of our initiatives to address the rapidly changing economy and this challenging talent gap.”

Information regarding the Questa Education Foundation can be found out the website www.questafoundation.org.  A full job description is available and can be requested.  For those who are interested or know of an individual who might be interested please submit a letter of interest and your resume.

Application reviews will begin in December. A letter of intent and resume should be sent to:  Searchcommittee@Questafoundation.org

Questa Announces New Board Members and Board Leadership

Gary Adkins, Chair of the Board

Emily Pichon, Vice Chair of the Board

Questa has announced that it has appointed Gary Adkins, President of Parkview Noble Hospital, as the Chair of its Board of Directors and Emily Pichon, director of the Cole Foundation, as Vice Chair. In addition, Questa is also welcoming 7 new board members. Each of these new board members bring expertise and skills from the surrounding counties of Northeast Indiana to provide growth to the foundation.

The new board members are: Ben Eisbart, retired Vice President of Human Resources at Steel Dynamics, Inc.; Joshua Blossom, Director of Wabash Community Learning Center; Brian Best, Impact Investing Team for Ambassador Enterprises; Mark Scudder, an Attorney at Barnes & Thornburg specializing in Education; Stephanie Veit, the Business Development Manager with Hagerman Group; Kendra Klink, the Executive Director of the James Foundation; and Pete Van Baalen, Director of Marketing at Sweetwater Family of Companies.

Board Chair, Gary Adkins says, “In today’s competitive global market, northeast Indiana competes with the rest of the country, and even the world, for access to talented students upon their graduation from college. Questa encourages growth in northeast Indiana by providing loan forgiveness that links to becoming a contributing citizen to the region.”

The foundation is continually growing and helping more students graduate with less debt and retaining their talent in the area. As it grows, Questa serves the surrounding counties of Adams, Allen, DeKalb, Noble, Steuben, Wabash, Wells, and Whitley counties as well as any additional counties that wish to partner with the Questa Foundation. These partnerships and funding have helped Questa serve over 1,000 scholars since 2017 who are pursuing post-secondary education. The Questa program provides an incentive-based loan, and as a result, two-thirds of Questa scholars are staying to live and work in the Northeast Indiana area, and impacting our region.

To find out how you can support the Questa Foundation, and more about Questa’s programming, visit www.questafoundation.org or call at 260-407-6494.

Read more about the new board roster on Questa’s Board of Directors page.

ABC-21: Fort Wayne fundraiser helps Dreamers get a degree

Photo from ABC 21

We are excited to share this news story of one of our scholars who is doing his best to receive a quality education, graduate, and pursue his career despite his difficulties in life. It’s stories like this that we love to share. Thank you to our funders that make it possible for us to help students like Juan get an education, and thank you to our HLCNI partners.

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FORT WAYNE, Ind. (WPTA21) — This Saturday marks the 13th annual Noche de Gala – the fundraiser for the Hispanic Leadership Coalition of Northeast Indiana (HLCNI).

The nonprofit offers scholarships to low-income first and second-generation Hispanic students in our region.

ABC21 is a proud sponsor of the yearly fundraiser for HLCNI. Four years ago, the organization partnered with Questa to give scholarships and forgivable student loans to local students attending local colleges and who commit to staying and working in Northeast Indiana for at least five years after graduation – regardless of their citizenship status.

We wanted to check in on one of the original six students to receive that financial aid.

Under an electrical tower, just behind the I-69 and Goshen Road overpass, you’ll find Juan Gonzalez Rangel helping his little brother with homework while their parents work a night shift.

“I don’t know if people understand what it’s like to live illegally in the United States but it’s scary,” says Rangel.

His parents cross the border illegally when he was 3-years-old.

“I’ve lived here all my life,” says Rangel. “So all I know is the United States.”

Rangel is one of the estimated 3.6 million undocumented immigrants who entered the U.S. before their 18th birthday, the so-called “Dreamers.”

“Just to know you can get deported at any moment,” says Rangel. “You’re whole life can just change at any moment. That’s scary.”

School work helped manage that fear.

“When I open a book and I take a test and I do good in school – that makes me feel welcome,” says Rangel.

And he proved good at school. He graduated sixth in his class at Northrop High School, but when he started searching through hundreds of scholarships to help pay for college, he kept hitting the same roadblock.

“There would always be that fine print,” says Rangel.

Dreamers don’t qualify for the nation’s most common financial aid program – FAFSA. And even though Rangel has called Fort Wayne home since before he can remember, Dreamers must pay out-of-state tuition to attend even some public schools.

“You’re welcome,” says Rangel. “But you’re not welcome. It was extremely hard. I felt like wow, nobody appreciates me.”

“We want to make sure that these students get educated,” says Paula Avila, president of HLCNI. “We know with education there’s a level of self-fulfillment that helps the whole community.”

Avila remembers working with a group of 15 Latino students at Saint Francis.

“What I noticed with the freshman is that half of them ended up dropping out,” recalls Avila.

But the students who received the Questa and HLCNI scholarships….

“They’re still pursuing their educational degree,” says Avila.

“That’s $20,000!” exclaims Rangel. “That’s huge! Financially I feel like I can breath, because I can go to school, and I can study.”

Juan is entering his junior year at the nursing program at Saint Francis. He took a year off of school to return to Mexico and get a green card. He plans to graduate in 2021.

The gala kicks off at 6:30 p.m. at the Parkview Mirro Center. Doors open at 6. There will be a live band, salsa lessons and a silent auction. Tickets are $80 and there are still a few left. You can buy one at the door on a first-come, first-serve basis, or you can call to buy tickets or make a donation at (260) 222-7099.

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Direct story and video link: https://wpta21.com/news/2019/07/26/fort-wayne-fundraiser-helps-dreamers-get-a-degree/?fbclid=IwAR2xTbC7owpPdDuEsVQU4i0MOk2dRu6TlJToI4FGekhWqQYSt-NMd44w65k

Congrats to the 2019 Questa Scholar Graduates!

Questa Education Foundation is proud to announce the 2019 spring graduating class. This graduating class includes 70 students from Allen, DeKalb, Huntington, Kosciusko, Noble, Steuben and Whitley counties. These Questa Scholars have received their associate’s or bachelor’s degrees in various fields, and several are already employed in the Northeast Indiana area in companies and organizations such as the University of Saint Francis, Warsaw Community Schools, Weigand Construction, and MedPro Group.

Our mission at Questa is to invest in talent within the area and help fund their education. In return, these students will be valuable assets to the Northeast Indiana workforce, while also beginning a successful career with less debt. Many of these scholars received low-interest forgivable loans: 50% in loan forgiveness for living and working in northeast Indiana for 5 years following graduation, and an additional 25% of the total loan is paid back when they attend and graduate from one of the eight partner regional institutions. Questa’s partner schools include Grace College, Indiana Tech, Manchester University, Huntington University, Purdue Fort Wayne, Indiana Wesleyan Fort Wayne, Trine University, Ivy Tech Community College, and the University of Saint Francis. In other words, a scholar can borrow $20,000 with the possibility of only having to pay back $5,000.

Questa Scholars are contributing to the economy of Northeast Indiana by being the talent we need. Questa Scholars are insurance agents, engineers, fire fighters, nurses, teachers, marketers, analysts, and entrepreneurs. In order to keep this talent local, then local support is essential. Funding for Questa Scholars comes from local and regional foundations, businesses and organizations. For more information on how you can fund scholars in your community, visit our website at www.questafoundation.org or call us at 260-407-6494.

On behalf of the Questa team we would like to say congratulations to all our recent graduates, and we wish you all the best as you enter your new careers. View the names of our graduates, the university they attended, as well as their program of study while in college HERE. Congrats graduates!