Eight high school students signed on to join the fourth cohort of the Northeast Indiana Federation for Advanced Manufacturing Education (NEINFAME)—a partnership that includes Ivy Tech Community College Fort Wayne and Warsaw—on April 25. The students, along with company representatives and mentors, signed contracts in Ivy Tech Fort Wayne’s Flex Lab within The Steel Dynamics, Inc. Keith E. Busse Technology Center.
“Northeast Indiana FAME is excited to be signing eight students into this year’s program,” says Staci Beiswanger, Employee Development Manager at Steel Dynamics, Inc. “Over the course of the next two years, these students will earn a degree in Industrial Technology while participating in a paid work experience for one of the sponsoring companies. They have an opportunity to apply their newly learned skills in the workplace while meeting the employers’ needs for highly skilled talent.”
Sponsor companies provide students with paid work experience giving them the opportunity to earn enough income to pay for the costs of the program and begin an exciting career in just two years.
The following students make up the 2024–25 cohort:
- Elizabeth Christlieb, West Noble High School, Zimmer Biomet
- Jackson Eastom, Snider High School, Fort Wayne Metals
- Jarrett English, Columbia City High School, Steel Dynamics, Inc.
- Brent Hill, Snider High School, Fort Wayne Metals
- Robert “RJ” Schlicht, Huntington North High School, Micropulse
- Carter Shull, Angola High School, Steel Dynamics, Inc.
- Oliver Van, Manchester Jr/Sr High School, Micropulse
- Jett Woods, Warsaw High School, Zimmer Biomet
“The FAME program is the perfect partnership for employers, students, and prospective professionals,” says Bob Boxell, NEINFAME instructor. “We are all able to merge together here so that the students and employers can sign and commit to this great two-year path towards a very rewarding career.”
Students get to train in Ivy Tech Fort Wayne’s Flex Lab space—a multi-million-dollar facility, funded in-part by NEINFAME sponsor companies, full of tools needed to learn advanced manufacturing technologies including robotics, automation, electrical, hydraulic, mechanical, safety, and more. It also houses state-of-the-art equipment including mechatronic fully automated systems, FANUC robots, Allen Bradley programmable logic controllers, variable frequency drives, IO- Link, and Cognex machine vision.
NEINFAME sponsor companies include Fort Wayne Metals, Micropulse, Steel Dynamics Inc., Advanced Machine and Tool (AMT), and Zimmer Biomet. NEINFAME is part of the national FAME-USA network (fame-usa.com) and the statewide Indiana FAME initiative, which has built similar partnerships in four regions around Indiana (indianafame.com).
Applications for the fall 2025 cohort will open July 2024. Learn more about NEINFAME at neinfame.com. Contact Staci Beiswanger at 260-969-3560.
They have an opportunity to apply their newly learned skills in the workplace while meeting the employers’ needs for highly skilled talent.
– Staci Beiswanger | Employee Development Manager at Steel Dynamics, Inc.
About Ivy Tech Community College
Ivy Tech Community College is Indiana's largest public postsecondary institution and the nation's largest singly accredited statewide community college system, accredited by the Higher Learning Commission. Ivy Tech has campuses throughout Indiana and also serves thousands of students annually online. It serves as the state's engine of workforce development, offering associate degrees, long- and short-term certificate programs, industry certifications, and training that aligns with the needs of the community. The College provides a seamless transfer to other colleges and universities in Indiana, as well as out of state, for a more affordable route to a bachelor's degree.
