New incentive to study at Trine

Engineering majors have dedicated Questa funds

 

May 12, 2010--A joint Questa Foundation/Northeast Indiana Fund press conference Monday in Fort Wayne, Ind. brought good news for students planning to focus on advanced manufacturing or engineering at Trine University.

 

Trine University Vice President for Enrollment Management Scott Goplin, left, stands with Talent Initiative Director Leonard Helfrich and Questa Foundation for Education Executive Director Christina Smith May 10 in Fort Wayne. Smith announced Questa funding for students seeking engineering education in northeast Indiana in support of the Talent Initiative, which will work to accelerate northeast Indiana's workforce and talent resources.

 

Questa Foundation executive director Christina Smith announced the foundation will invest over a half-million dollars from its Questa Scholars ½ Back Loan program over the next five years to aid area college students who pursue careers in advanced manufacturing and engineering.

Included in those funds are 10 percent of annual Questa Scholar loan awards for qualified applicants who choose to study engineering at Trine and other local higher education partners. Students who choose to pursue engineering or advanced manufacturing degrees at Trine will receive early review of their applications to the competitive Questa Scholars ½ Back Program.

The Questa 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.

The cash will 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. Established by a $20 million Lilly Endowment grant, the Talent Initiative aims to increase the base of highly skilled workers to meet the needs of the defense/aerospace and advanced manufacturing industries while reversing the decline in regional per capita income.

At the conference, Trine University Vice President for Enrollment Management Scott Goplin commented on the impact of the Questa Scholars ½ Back Loan Partner Program upon Trine students.

“In my 32 years in higher education, I have never seen a loan program demonstrate so firmly to middle class families the value of borrowing to build for one’s future,” Goplin said. “Education is the best insulation against a poor economy. … We salute the Questa Foundation and Northeast Indiana Foundation’s decision to earmark a portion of their scholar loans for students who choose to major in engineering at Trine University. The Questa Scholars program has significantly closed the gap between affording and not affording arguably one of higher education’s most challenging fields of study. The Talent Initiative is a win-win for all.”

Allen County students who seek degrees at Trine University can experience up to 75 percent of $20,000 in college loans paid back as part of the Questa Scholars ½ Back Loan Program.

In an agreement initiated between the university and Questa Foundation last year, qualified Allen County high school students can borrow $20,000 for college over four years. Questa offers forgiveness of up to 50 percent of a Questa Scholar’s loan if the student graduates from college with a 2.75 grade point average and chooses to reside and work in northeast Indiana for at least five years after graduation. Under the terms of the agreement, Trine will pay back to Questa an additional 25 percent of a student’s loan balance for Quest Scholars who graduate from Trine.