From Alumni Board

From the Desk of Alan Elliott

HELPING TO SHAPE THE FUTURE

Are you passionate about Indiana Tech? Our alumni association and board would love to have you join!

Reach out to Matt Brown, director of alumni relations, at mjbrown@indianatech.edu for more information about how you can get involved. Hello, my name is Alan Elliott. I graduated from Indiana Tech with a bachelor’s in Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering in 2003 and an MBA in 2010. I am the university’s alumni board president.

Presently, I am a global sourcing director for a garage door hardware company, but I have enjoyed a progressive and winding career path as a result of my education from Indiana Tech. After graduation, I began my career with a furniture company in Indianapolis, in supervision and management roles. In 2006, I was able to put my degree to use and get involved in engineering. I was happy to finally be able to take lessons from the classroom to the factory floor, and soon thereafter, I returned to Tech as a College of Professional Studies student.

In 2012, I began my current career path in a role I always wanted and had long considered my highest aspiration: plant manager. Since then, I have been allowed to learn and grow in multisite management, contract negotiation and direct sourcing, resulting in sums well over $100 million. The impact my Indiana Tech education and experiences had on my career cannot be overstated. Thanks to my MBA coursework and mentoring from some great connections I still value greatly, a job I had thought was my mountaintop became attainable about a year after I turned 30.

I went to Indiana Tech with an inquisitive nature and mechanical aptitude. From there, the university helped me hone my process engineering skills so I could apply a logical, effective problemsolving process to a myriad of areas. Indiana Tech’s learning environment was one I could connect with and grow from, and with a continuous improvement mindset, effort and curiosity, some really cool experiences were made possible for me. That curiosity ultimately brought me back to Indiana Tech—first, for an MBA; second, for an adjunct teaching opportunity; and, finally, to give back to the school by working for the alumni board. Speaking from my alumni board role, I would like to encourage all Tech alumni with similar experiences in their career development to get involved with the university in some fashion.

As alumni board president, I have the privilege of overseeing the board’s activities and watching how its committees impact both students and alumni. For instance, our student outreach committee—reinvigorated with a new chair and members—continually looks for ways to engage with students. Our alumni outreach committee hosts events and reaches out to alumni to bring them back to campus and see the great things going on at Tech. The thing is, you don’t need to be a full-time board member to be on one of our committees. If you are interested in joining, ask.

And, joining a committee isn’t the only way to get involved with and give back to the university. You can:

à Come back to campus for one of the many events Tech hosts and have a blast. Then, spread the word to others in your class so they can join in the fun.

à Connect with our students—as a mentor or employer—to help them navigate the challenges in front of them and find their way.

I hope you consider returning to Indiana Tech to reconnect with those who share your launch point and give something back to a university that gave us so much. Get on campus and see, firsthand, the passion of today’s students as they start their journey. I assure you it will light a fire inside you that will warm the sentimental spirit. I hope to see many old friends and lots of new faces at the next events. I look forward to connecting with you all soon. Go Warriors!

We love to feature updates from our Indiana Tech alumni. Did you get a new job? Were you promoted? Did you retire? Maybe you are celebrating a special anniversary or wedding, or are welcoming a child to the family. We want to celebrate with you! Email alumni notes you wish to share to mjbrown@indianatech.edu and you can see them featured in the magazine!

DAVID MIDDLETON, B.S. BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION ‘07

à Future Sales Inc. of Elkhart, Indiana, hired David to its sales team. David is a 20-year industry veteran who has held prominent positions in both purchasing and sales.

KAFUBA DONZON, B.S. BIOMEDICAL ENGINEERING ‘15

à Kafuba is the owner of iLove Home Care in Fort Wayne. Inspired by his grandmother and traditions from his native country of Ivory Coast, Africa, Kafuba started the in-home, non-medical service to promote better mental and physical health, lower-cost care and companionship for older individuals who may be chronically ill, recovering from surgery or are disabled.

MICHAEL HOLLANDSWORTH, B.S. BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION ‘10, MBA ‘12

à Michael has been recognized for five years of service to the Fort Wayne Police Department. Currently, he is assigned to the Fort Wayne Gang & Violent Crimes Task Force where he serves as a control tactics instructor and is a certified drug recognition expert. JAMES FELTON III, CURRENTLY PURSUING A PH.D. IN GLOBAL LEADERSHIP

à James was announced to the position of vice president for equality and inclusion for The College of New Jersey where he will be working closely with campus constituents to identify, establish, assess and update goals, objectives and initiatives for diversity and inclusion for all students. He was recognized as the Top Chief Diversity Officer of the Year for 2019 by the International Association of Top Professionals.

LESLEY ODOM, B.S. BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION ‘08, MBA ‘10

à Lesley has been named community affairs manager for the South Bend, Indiana, and Southwest Michigan areas for Indiana Michigan Power. She is a 23-year veteran of I&M.

ELIZABETH BIRK, MBA ‘18

à Elizabeth was promoted from banking center manager to officer of 1st Source Bank. She often leads financial wellness presentations at various companies across the Elkhart, Indiana, area and offers her time as an onsite mentor at Big Brothers/Big Sisters. KENDALL PROPHET, B.S. NETWORK ENGINEERING ‘10, M.S. ENGINEERING MANAGEMENT ‘13

à Kendall and his wife welcomed twin girls, Kenley Ella and Camille Olivia, into their family in December.

MICHAEL BIVEN, B.S. IN BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION ‘19

à Michael recently took a position with Indianapolis Public Transportation Corp. (Indygo) in its facilities department.

A B C

A. Kafuba Donzon; B. James Felton III; C.Lesley Odom

Keep us connected! Your stories are what make Indiana Tech proud—and we want to hear from you! Share your successes, update your information, learn about the Alumni Association and find ways to connect with your peers, friends and faculty members on our website at Alumni.IndianaTech.edu. You can also email your updates to Alumni@IndianaTech.edu.