Indianapolis, IN

We are here for a good time, not a long time – Indianapolis Recorder

Published

2 years ago

August 26, 2024

We are here for a good time, not a long time – Indianapolis Recorder

From the city of Detroit, Michigan, I grew up around a plethora of experiences including navigating the hood and the suburbs.

I watched as individuals close to me chose survival every day, having to hustle for their next meal and praying for their next blessing. This was a place where thriving was intertwined in materialistic gain because we had to prove we weren’t underdogs or “products of the environment.”

Early on, I learned that being quick on your feet, having critical thinking skills, well thought out responses, and quick decisiveness was a requirement to make it through the spaces I occupied. I watched members of my family experience destruction due to limitations; no access to food, financial insecurity, substance abuse, fear, confusion and using love as a radical tool to thrive.

Then I learned these experiences were not exclusive to my family or my neighborhoods. These experiences were happening to communities of culture across the landscape of America and around the world. I witnessed the deterioration of school systems, homes in low-income communities, a lack of access to health care, public safety services and grocery stores. It baffled me as a child to see unhoused individuals being ignored, denied basic needs and access to services. I watched as applications for government assistance were piling up, waiting to be reviewed or flat out denied. I saw churches become the ticket for survival and the only places we could hope to receive support.

These experiences continue to impact me today. It informs the way I engage with individuals from different backgrounds and identities. It helps me cut through tension and frustration to get to the root cause of inequities. It reminds me to remain involved in my communities and to hold systems accountable via my role in leadership and responsibility as a civil servant. It’s the cracking of my grandfather’s voice when he saw the climate around race look very similar to his experiences in Ware Shoals, South Carolina during the 40s and 50s in 2024.

I chose the work of diversity, equity and inclusion to move beyond lip service into action. I saw an opportunity to interrupt systems creating harmful experiences. I leaned into the opportunity to expose these systems and individuals while holding them accountable to review their programs, practices and policies to identify equity gaps and employ intentional solutions.

I knew the work of diversity, equity and inclusion was not new, but a continuation of the work done by our historic civil rights leaders, known and unknown by the masses, those who were in local communities, leadership positions, young adults and seasoned saints. They did the work because they wanted to ensure their families and communities would receive the support they needed. These individuals did not do the work to receive a book deal, an invitation to be a keynote speaker or panelist, they did it because they had a generation to protect. Knowing this, I take my positionality in diversity, equity, and inclusion work seriously, but I want it to be accessible.

In my role as a director of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, I facilitate training, critical discussions and opportunities for mindset growth to move beyond the negative narratives associated with this work. I have done this work as a consultant at multiple higher education institutions, public and private sectors, small and large businesses and worked directly with executive leadership to identify equity gaps that will intentionally improve the climate and experience for everyone within the organization, while calling out the historical gaps impacting some identities more than others.

In February of this year, I was selected as the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Advocate of the Year presented by Eli Lilly for the ELEVATE awards by the United Way of Central Indiana. This honor reminded me of the work I am aligned with and continued to showcase the value of DEI in all spaces.

Thinking back to my graduating year of high school, 2008, I never imagined being able to uplift, center and challenge systems via diversity, equity and inclusion. I grew up low-income and often was reminded I would not make it out of the neighborhoods I occupied. I graduated high school with a 1.8 GPA and a ton of fear to move into the next phase of life. But I did not let that diminish or shift my plans to make a difference in the world.

The shame of graduating with a 1.8 GPA followed me for years. I attended a community college for three years, where I then transferred to Eastern Michigan University. Spending two years at this institution, I was able to join multiple student organization where I held a leadership role, I graduated from the Honors College with dual honors, received 14 academic scholarships, was mentioned in the president’s speech during graduation and went on to pursue my masters at Indiana University, graduating and now being a doctoral student in the Urban Education Studies (UES) program with an interdisciplinary focus on body diversity (BODEI) and diversity, equity and inclusion. My time spent in these spaces was intentional and continues to allow me to serve as a scholar practitioner.

I always want to make information accessible where people can utilize it to improve their lives and communities. This desire led me to lean into the nickname — DEI Homegirl. My approach to this work is intentional. I want you to understand, ask questions, seek clarification, learn, laugh and know you will be held accountable, and I expect you to do the same for me. Accountability does not have to be harmful or a tool to silence. It has to be intentional and equitable. With everything I have learned and continue to experience, I remind myself that those before me are the motivation to keep going when the world is choosing to ignore the value of DEI and lean into feeling inclusions does not matter.

This endeavor with the Indianapolis Recorder to share information about DEI is needed now, more than ever as we watch the rise of misinformation, hate and ignorance. This rise is more than clickbait and social media discussions. These actions are informing the programs, practices, and policies of our communities. To address these topics, I ask that you join me as your DEI Homegirl to use this platform to educate, challenge and redefine the narratives associated with DEI and its underpinnings. I’m excited to share this information with readers and hope that you will continue to join me to learn more and make critical changes.

As a reminder, the work is not always easy, but it is always needed. Remember, we are not here for a long time, but a good time. We’ve got work to do!

Take care friends!

Your DEI Homegirl

Follow Ellise A. Smith on LinkedIn at linkedin.com/in/ellisesmith.

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Indianapolis, IN

Unsettled Friday and Saturday, then summer heat returns early next week | July 10, 2026

Published

7 hours ago

July 10, 2026

Press Room

TODAY

Partly sunny and warm with scattered showers and thunderstorms likely through much of the bookends of the day. Highs reach the mid 80s, with a west southwest breeze around 5 mph. It does not look like nonstop rain from start to finish, but this is the least reliable daytime period in the forecast, and any stronger storm could drop a quick heavy downpour with a gusty burst of wind.

TONIGHT

Scattered showers and thunderstorms remain possible through the evening, then another lower-end storm chance lingers late overnight. Lows settle near the upper 60s, with light wind. The severe risk looks lower than it is Thursday night, but a few pockets of heavier rain are still possible if a boundary stalls close enough to central Indiana.

TOMORROW

Mostly cloudy and not quite as hot, with another chance for showers and thunderstorms developing mainly after mid afternoon. Highs reach the low to mid 80s, with a light northeast breeze around 5 mph. Much of the first half of the day should be usable, but later afternoon and evening plans will still need a weather eye.

TOMORROW NIGHT

A few showers and thunderstorms may linger early, then the trend turns quieter with mostly cloudy skies overnight. Lows fall to the upper 60s, with an east northeast breeze around 5 mph. It is a calmer setup than Friday night overall, even if an early interruption is still possible.

SUNDAY

Mostly sunny and warmer with highs in the mid 80s. An east breeze around 5 to 10 mph keeps the day from feeling too stagnant, and this looks like one of the cleaner forecast days of the stretch. Most of central Indiana should stay dry from start to finish.

SUNDAY NIGHT

Mostly clear and seasonably mild, with lows around the mid 60s and a light east northeast breeze. Quiet weather continues overnight with no meaningful travel concerns.

MONDAY

Sunny and hotter, with highs climbing into the upper 80s. A light east wind around 5 mph holds through the day. After the unsettled end of the workweek, this looks like a very usable summer day with heat becoming the main story instead of storms.

MONDAY NIGHT

Mostly clear and warm, with lows near 70 and only a light breeze. There will be little trouble overnight, and the warmer pattern settles in more firmly.

TUESDAY

Sunny and hot again, with highs near 90. Wind stays light, becoming east southeast around 5 mph in the afternoon. This is another day where the weather looks broadly quiet, with heat the main thing to plan around.

7 DAY FORECAST

The main concern in the near term is the unsettled Friday into Saturday period, when repeated rounds of showers and thunderstorms could bring quick heavy rain, especially Friday afternoon and evening. After that, the pattern trends warmer and drier from Sunday into at least Tuesday, with highs returning to the upper 80s and lower 90s while heat index values stay more manageable than the late-June heat. By Wednesday and Thursday, isolated afternoon and evening storms begin to creep back into the forecast, with a more noticeable thunderstorm threat showing up later next week into next weekend.

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Indianapolis, IN

Indiana Workforce Pell Grant options limited so far

Published

17 hours ago

July 9, 2026

Press Room

Indiana Workforce Pell Grant options limited so far

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — Education leaders on Thursday said waiting for rulemaking limited the number of programs approved for a new grant program, but they expect more approvals soon.

Created as part of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act that President Donald Trump signed last year, the Workforce Pell Grant program allows students to use Pell Grants for short-term, direct-to-workforce training programs. The program began on July 1. Ivy Tech Community College of Indiana and Vincennes University, which are Indiana’s two two-year vocational and technical institutions, are the only institutions in the state authorized for the program so far, though state officials have said they’ll consider expanding it to other institutions depending on the results of the first year.

So far, state education officials have approved three programs for Workforce Pell Grants: certified clinical medical assistant programs at Ivy Tech and Vincennes, plus an electrical maintenance technician bootcamp Vincennes offers. Final approval must come from the federal government, which has not yet green-lit any of those programs.

Molly Dodge, Ivy Tech’s senior vice president for workforce and careers, said Ivy Tech leaders needed to make sure they thoroughly understood the requirements they would face. To be eligible, a program must have at least a 70% completion rate and a 70% job placement rate. It also must lead directly to a job in a high-growth, high-demand job sector. Dodge said the rules were finalized this spring. After that, she said Ivy Tech leaders began going through each of their courses to see which ones would be eligible.

“Workforce Pell has a significant requirement related to job placement and wages, and so we need to backward design from an employer, in many cases, to make sure that we’re successful in launching these Workforce Pell programs,” she said.

Tony Hahn, Vincennes University’s vice president for government and legal affairs, said July 1 was the earliest under federal statute the program could begin. In practice, he said the rollout will take some time because programs must be offered for one year in exactly the same format before they become eligible for the Workforce Pell Grant.

“These are often programs that we have offered through Next Level Jobs programs and other Department of Workforce Development funding, but didn’t have the exact same requirements on number of classroom hours or number of total weeks offered,” he said. “And so, we made some modifications and we’ll be able to expand this list.”

Both Dodge and Hahn said leaders at their respective institutions are reviewing their course catalogs for other potentially eligible programs. They said they expect to add approved programs in the coming months.

Dodge said Workforce Pell-eligible programs are often designed with the expectation that you will go to work with a partner employer upon completion of the program, but that doesn’t mean education ends there. She said Workforce Pell Grant programs are stackable and can be pursued as part of a longer-term higher education strategy. Students can qualify for both traditional Pell Grants and Workforce Pell Grants, though not at the same time.

Hahn said prospective students won’t be able to apply for Workforce Pell Grants until this fall or next spring. If you’re interested, he said you should fill out a federal student financial aid form. He said Vincennes University leaders expect to add information about eligible programs to their application website once approved.

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