Ivy Tech Community College 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