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The IGNITE Program

fuel your flame with ignite

The Ignite program is about unlocking your unlimited potential, in college and beyond! You will join other students with similar experiences and a commitment to their dreams, supported by staff who can guide you and be your biggest fan. You will find resources and knowledge to help you realize everything college has to offer.

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Ignite is a support program and community at Ivy Tech Community College for current/former foster youth, homeless youth, and independent youth transitioning to college. Funded by the Nina Mason Pulliam Charitable Trust, Ignite connects eligible first-year students under 26 with resources, guidance, and a community of support. Students must have completed fewer than 24 credit hours to apply. Eligible students include those who have experienced one of the following:

  • Students who are currently in foster care or have been in foster care.

  • Students who experience housing insecurity or homelessness: students who face housing challenges can have very different experiences, but still qualify. This could be living with friends or relatives who are not their parents or guardians (or “couch-surfing”); living in an emergency shelter; living in transitional housing programs or group homes; living in a car, park, campground, abandoned building, bus station, or other public places. Any student who does not have fixed, adequate housing qualifies.

  • Students who have had a legal guardian appointed by a court. Students are considered independent when a court appoints a guardian who is not their parent.

  • Students who are emancipated or unaccompanied - students who are living on their own independently, having been legally emancipated or not, unaccompanied by an adult, parent, or guardian.

  • Students who are independently caring for dependents or are providing the primary support for their family- students who may or may not have a household with adults present, but they are acting as head of that household and/or providing the primary support for their family, including but not limited to: having children of their own or raising younger family members.

Program Information

  • Ignite is a mutually supportive community that unites independent youth with similar backgrounds at Ivy Tech Community College. As a team, we encourage and share in our learning and growth. We connect on-campus and virtually to support you and your goals in the ways that best benefit you. As a student in Ignite, you will receive assistance with, but are not limited to:

    • Spark Week
    • Success Coaching
    • Stipends
    • Scholarship Opportunities
    • Tutoring
    • Connections to Other Programs on Campus
    • Off-Campus Experiences

  • Application is easy! Just follow these steps: