In the heart of Indianapolis, where ambition meets compassion, two women are rewriting the narrative of education and health care training. Kellee Harney and Brandi London are the visionary minds and registered nurses behind Hardon Education, a groundbreaking community college that stands as a testament to empowerment and inclusivity.
Hardon, which stands for Heartfelt Educators Reaching Out to Empower Students, offers nurse aide training programs, such as certified nursing assistant training, qualified medication aide training, medical assisting training and licensed practical nursing training, with the goal of providing services and education to the underserved.
“We realized how much nursing can impact your life and how it is not easy to go into the medical field. As our path met in another college setting, we noticed that many people who start this college endeavor are doing it to make money and to get rich,” said Harney. “They’re not putting the focus of their heart or the mission of people and communities at the forefront.”
Harney and London wanted to invest in people who are interested, but who might not have the necessary tools or funding. This is why over 90% of the courses offered at Hardon Education are free. They also offer barrier buster funding because they realize that many of their students are facing obstacles outside of obtaining their education.
“Brandi and I made it our mission to provide education to people from our heart. If that means that we’re going to search and find grants and contracts to pay for our students to be here, we’re going to do that. If that means that we have to teach material ourselves, then we’re going to do that. If that means we’re going to have to create a barrier buster fund that provides funding for our students to get back and forth or help them pay their rent, we’re going to do that,” said Harney.
Hardon provides students with the confidence and necessary resources to matriculate through the program. They have clinical partnerships with Eskenazi Health, Community Health, Franciscan Health, Hancock Regional, American Seniors, Cardon, Concentra and many more.
“We have put staff in those buildings; we put our students there, and they have done a great job. Not only do we teach about the school aspect, but we also teach them about life and how to sustain the role,” Harney said.
Hardon sets themselves apart from other institutions. “It’s the rigor. The rigor is there. Our courses are not fluffed, our courses are tough. Many times, our courses are going to be as hard or even harder as some of the other institutions. But the difference is that we’re also providing the resources, and we recognize with the tough courses, there are going to be so many barriers,” said Harney. “We’re not going to scale it back so it can be easy; we’re not going to lower the bar. We’re going to maintain the bar and provide them with the skills to obtain the goal.”
Hardon Education will host its first fundraiser Nov. 11 at Martin University, 2186 N. Sherman Drive. The Hardon Heroes Foundation Dala will be at the event from 2-6 p.m. The fundraiser will directly benefit current and future students enrolled in Hardon Education.
To learn more about Hardon Education and the Hardon Heroes Dala, visit www.hardoneducation.org.
Contact staff writer Braxton Babb at (317) 762-7854. Follow her on Twitter @BLIEVESHEWRITES.