With a Master’s degree in Business Administration and two decades worth of marketing experience, Professor John “Jack” Schoenfelder could have been a very rich man with the kind of snazzy, sky-scraping office most of us only see on Mad Men. Instead, he chose a more modest life. Thanks to his sacrifice, students at Ivy Tech Community College of Indiana have a better shot at pursuing their own careers.
The school was still called Indiana Vocational Technical Institute when Jack signed on as Professor of Business.
“I walked into chalkboards and notes,” said Jack. Teachers sent messages to their bosses via courier and were lucky to get a response within the week. “Now it’s computers and the internet.”
That was in 1986. Jack had spent the last ten years teaching at Prairie State College and was ready to move on.
“Ivy Tech seemed like a place I could make an impact. There was something I could contribute and bring to the class every day. It was a challenge.”
His classes encompass more than the average one hour block of marketing or business. Jack strengthens in his students the necessary traits to survive in the world of employment. Knowing things like time management and how to work in a group mean the difference between success and failure. Jack requires community service to further close the gap between academics and the workforce.
“You sit in a class and wonder, why am I learning this? Then you go out, do it, and say ‘Oh. That’s why.”
A nonprofit called Duneland Resale took Jack’s course on Nonprofit Marketing, which requires 4 hours of volunteer work from each student. The group offered their store up as a project: for one day, all the students in Jack’s class would work at the thrift shop in Chesterton. The class created the ads, press releases, and all other marketing for their “Run the Store” day. Ever since then, it has become an annual project in Jack’s curriculum and he has begun serving on Duneland Resale’s board of directors.
It is things like that which set Jack’s teaching apart from his peers. That, and his flexibility. “I don’t walk in with a preconceived notion on how a student should learn. We’ve changed from a teaching environment to a learning environment.”
Jack collects learning styles and blends them into one experience, reaching as many kids as he can with his lesson. If it does not work, he helps confused students on a personal level. No two people learn the same. For Jack it is about everyone, including himself, learning to work together.
His teaching methods have earned him three Teaching Excellence awards: one from the Accreditation Council for Business Schools and Programs, another from the National Institute for Staff and Organizational Development, and his most recent from Ivy Tech’s President’s Award series.
The President’s Award, given to a Professor in each region of Ivy Tech, requires that the students nominate a teacher they think deserves recognition. It then goes under peer review, followed by an official analysis.
“I don’t want to say it’s better than the others, but, this is from my peers. That makes it special. Especially when it starts with your students.”
Jack is a teacher through and through. It reaches every aspect of his life. His hobbies include immersion in nature and collecting antique marketing toys. The later is relevant to his classes and his own college experience. The former takes him on long walks through the dunes and to reptile expos in Chicago. Jack is a past President and current member of the Herpetological Society, where he conducts meetings, attends fests, and, of course, teaches others about the reptiles in his life. He has a salamander at home and a history with turtles.
The first class Jack ever taught was at Our Saviour’s Lutheran Church, at just 15 years old. He went to Moraine Valley Community College for Marketing Management, and Governor’s State University for his MBA. Throughout that experience, he was always drawn back to teaching opportunities. He had always known that was something he wanted.
“There’s a sense of accomplishment when you start off with nothingness and then when you’re done, there is something in their eyes. They reacted to what you did.”
Jack works with a lot of students who think they should not be in college. Some are told by their parents that they are too stupid to learn. Others must prioritize children and jobs. Ivy Tech and its staff adopt its student’s schedules as much as it can, to make sure everyone can stay. As interim Campus President, Jack has an extra role in that. The impact he has as a teacher is more personal and one he prefers.
“There is nothing happier than hearing your student say they’re moving on to their next degree. Not only do they have a degree, but now they have the confidence to go on and be successful.”