Lesson series

RE-ENTRY & CREDIT
REBUILDING

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Course Overview

This course introduces learners to the principles of credit, financial identity, and responsible financial management as foundations for long-term economic success. Through practical lessons, real-world scenarios, and applied activities, students learn how to build and protect credit, navigate financial systems, and overcome common barriers to financial stability. The course emphasizes informed decision-making, financial readiness, and the role of credit in employment, entrepreneurship, and wealth building.

What You’ll Learn

By completing this course, learners will be able to:
  • Understand the role of credit and financial identity in personal and professional success
  • Analyze credit reports, credit scores, and the factors that influence financial health
  • Apply strategies for building, monitoring, and protecting credit responsibly
  • Understand consumer rights, fraud prevention, and the credit dispute process
  • Develop budgeting, financial management, and credit-building plans for long-term stability
  • Apply financial readiness principles to employment, entrepreneurship, and economic opportunity

Learning Experience

This course includes a mix of:
  • Structured, lesson-based instruction
  • Real-world financial scenarios and credit rebuilding case studies
  • Applied activities focused on budgeting, credit analysis, and financial planning
  • Interactive discussions and practical decision-making exercises
  • Assessments designed to reinforce financial literacy and long-term credit management

Outcomes

Upon completion of this course, learners will have a strong foundational understanding of business concepts and the ability to apply them to real-world situations. Students will be prepared to move forward with confidence into advanced coursework, workforce training, or entrepreneurial endeavors.

Course Lessons

Course instructor

Ethan Pennington

Ethan Pennington is a business owner, licensed and certified Reentry Specialist, and Credit Rebuild Specialist whose journey reflects the transformative power of second chances and personal accountability. Having experienced incarceration firsthand, Ethan understands the challenges individuals face when rebuilding their lives after involvement with the justice system.

Determined to create a different future, Ethan embraced entrepreneurship as his reentry strategy, using business ownership as a pathway to economic stability, personal growth, and community impact. Through perseverance, education, and a commitment to helping others succeed, he has built a career dedicated to empowering individuals to overcome barriers and achieve self-sufficiency.

Today, Ethan combines his lived experience with professional expertise to guide justice-impacted individuals through the reentry process. As a licensed and certified Reentry Specialist and Credit Rebuild Specialist, he provides practical tools, resources, and mentorship focused on financial literacy, credit restoration, workforce readiness, and entrepreneurship.

As an instructor with IndyExcel, Ethan will help deliver entrepreneurship education designed to meet people where they are—whether in the community or behind prison walls. His mission is to inspire individuals to recognize their potential, develop an entrepreneurial mindset, and create opportunities that lead to long-term success and generational change.

Through his work, Ethan demonstrates that a person's past does not define their future and that entrepreneurship can be a powerful vehicle for transformation, empowerment, and lasting impact.