Rep. Luke Messer, R-6th, will file a bill to exempt school districts, colleges and universities from insurance mandates and penalties of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.Karen Pence, the state’s first lady, took home a souvenir from her visit Friday to Fort Wayne: a poster designed by Anthis Career Center student Stephen Bordner.
Bordner designed the mock-up for Techfest, an area gaming event for high school students.
His design, featuring a football player from the “Madden NFL” video game, was chosen to be used for the event’s promotional material. Bordner showed it to Pence during her visit to Anthis.
Pence said she would likely give the poster to her husband, Gov. Mike Pence, who is “a Madden freak,” she said.
Karen Pence, a longtime educator, visited several schools while in Fort Wayne, including Canterbury Lower, Middle and High schools, Weisser Park Elementary and Euell Wilson Center. While at Anthis, she toured the school and dropped in on graphic design, construction, medical assisting and EMT training classes.
She said she enjoyed meeting Anthis students, like Bordner, who have the opportunity to learn and get hands-on experiences in fields they’re interested in.
“These kids are excited and ready to get jobs,” she said.
Anthis offers high school students the opportunity to earn industry certifications and college credits, according to its website.
Area juniors and seniors participate in a variety of programs like cosmetology, child care and culinary arts.
Bordner spent some time talking with Pence during her visit to his graphic design class, telling her about a recent competition he participated in with his classmates. He said the year he has spent at Anthis will prepare him to study graphic design in college.
Pence was also impressed to learn that most of the students in the emergency medical technician class would graduate with their licenses, making them employable right out of high school.
She said one thing she learned that she will share with her husband was about the collaboration between Anthis teachers and the local business community.
Through talking to teachers, she learned they work to design their programs to ensure students graduate with the skills businesses are looking for.
“It’s exciting to see,” Pence said.
