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51����Ƶ honored Ashley Johnson, Entrepreneurship instructor
at DeKalb High School, as one of 19 statewide nominees selected to receive the second annual
Excellence in Dual Credit Instruction President’s Awards—the highest honor for Ivy Tech dual credit
faculty. Winners were announced at a special ceremony on June 14 in Indianapolis, and the event
concluded with the 2023 Statewide Award recipient, Dr. Christine Herr of Ivy Tech Richmond.

Tony Ramey, Program Chair of Entrepreneurship at Ivy Tech Fort Wayne, nominated Johnson for her
excellence in instruction, commitment to students, and her ongoing support of dual credit programs.

“[Ashley] has mentored around 30 different students through the business startup process, and she’s
had students go on to win local pitch competitions and earn capital for their ventures,” writes Ramey.
“She helps to spark creativity within her entrepreneurship classroom with hands-on activities and
encourages students to push themselves to try new things and be their best self.”

Johnson has been a dual credit instructor for 10 years teaching business and marketing, adding
entrepreneurship to her course offerings in recent years. This year, 21 of her students are running nine
different businesses with six of them already producing sales. Her newest class is Personal Finance,
which has been studying the psychology behind saving habits and even printed a book for local
elementary school students about why it’s important to save.

The Excellence in Dual Credit Instruction President’s Award is modeled after the College’s President’s
Award to recognize College faculty and adjunct faculty members from Ivy Tech locations throughout the
state. A selection committee made up of academic affairs leadership chose Johnson to be the campus
nominee.

“Ashley’s work is not only benefiting her students but the entire community,” says Dawn BonAmi,
Director of K-14 Initiatives at Ivy Tech Fort Wayne. “She’s an incredible example of someone who
passionately immerses her students in the real world while guiding them towards a successful future.
We’re thrilled that Ivy Tech shines a light on these individuals statewide who work so hard to lead our
high schoolers to a better tomorrow.”

A full list of the statewide honorees is included below.
Anderson: Leah Perry, Science Mount Vernon High School
Bloomington: Elbert “Buddy” Hart, Design, Lost River Career Cooperation
Columbus: Robin Perry, Business, Seymour High School
Evansville: Glenn Goffinet, Automotive & Advanced Manufacturing, Tell City Jr./Sr. High School
Fort Wayne/Warsaw: Ashley Johnson, Entrepreneurship, DeKalb High School
Hamilton County: Kim Kaiser, Business & Marketing, Hamilton Heights High School
Indianapolis: Rene Walker, Health Sciences, Pike Career and STEM Center
Kokomo: Amy Lancaster, English, Peru High School
Lafayette: Melissa Colonis, Math, Lafayette-Jefferson High School
Lake County: Dawn Combis, Entrepreneurship, Lake Central High School
Lawrenceburg/Batesville: Colleen Tincher, Foreign Language, Spanish, Franklin County High School
Madison: emeka Koren, Science, Madison Consolidated High School
Marion: Michelle Harrold, Math, Madison Grant High School
Muncie/Henry County: John Thompson, Chemistry, New Castle High School
Richmond: Dr. Christine Herr, Chemistry & Agriculture, Hagerstown High School
Sellersburg: Michael Day, Mathematics, Silver Creek High School
South Bend/Elkhart: Dee Dee Gerber, English, Mishawaka High School
Terre Haute: Samantha Woodard, English, Parke Heritage High School
Valparaiso: Laci Earle, Business, Washington Township High School