VISIONS: Spring 2019

T H E M A G A Z I N E F O R M E M B E R S O F T H E I O WA S TAT E U N I V E R S I T Y A L U M N I A S S O C I AT I O N |

Young alumni leading the way

Spring 2019

G E TTI NG START ED

by Carole Gieseke

cgieseke@iastate.edu

Birthday y p p !

Ha

Turning 60…at Disney World

C

elebrating a birthday that ends in a zero is just one big, fat excuse to throw a fabulous party…or see the world…or have breakfast with Winnie the Pooh and friends.

All of my high school and college friends are turning 60, so it’s not really that big of a deal. But it feels like it should be. My college friend, Bob, had a three-day disco bash last summer that involved friends and family from all over the country. I have another friend who went to Hawaii. I’m the one who wanted to have breakfast with Tigger.

I was born on the day after Christmas, and to their credit my family has always fallen all over themselves trying to make my birthday feel special and not just a Christmas-cookie hangover. My husband Dave and I used turning 50 in 2008 as an excuse to go to Paris. I wanted to do something really special for my 60th, and I thought about doing a long hike, or going to Europe, or spending a week in New York…but it’s winter and it’s a holiday that we always spend with our family…and everyone really loves Disney World. So, about a year ago I announced that I wanted 2

to go to Disney for my 60th birthday.

My adult daughters were thrilled with the idea, Dave was a good sport, and we spent all year planning what to do and what to wear and where to stay and even, as the time drew nearer, what to eat when we got there. (My family is nothing if not prepared.)

With all that build-up, you might expect me to say that the actual trip was a let-down, but it was not. In fact, it was everything I hoped it would be and more.

Disney magic really is a thing, and it’s even more magical at the holidays. Even record-breaking crowds can’t ruin the experience, especially if you do your homework and plan out your days. It was extra-special because I got to spend time there with the whole family. I still smile every time I think about it.

Just after New Year’s, the Alumni Association staff threw me a party at a wine bar, and everyone wore Mickey Mouse ears. This group definitely knows how to have a good time. And we’re really great at throwing parties. As a matter of fact, in 2018, we celebrated a 30th birthday, a 40th birthday, a 50th birthday, and another 60th birthday besides mine. It was a big year for milestones in our office, and, again, birthdays ending in zero are a great excuse to celebrate each other.

I’m already looking forward to our family’s next milestones: Dave’s 60th birthday, our 40th anniversary, and our younger daughter’s 30th birthday are all coming up soon. And, you know, half the fun is in the planning.

Of course, I don’t intend to wait until I’m 70 to plan another trip. I’ve been really fortunate to have had the opportunity to do a lot of travel already, but there are so many places I still want to visit: the Scottish Highlands, Prague, Atlantic Canada, Maine’s Baxter State Park, London, Australia, all of the remote national parks of Alaska. Will I get to all these places?

Doubtful. But they’re on my list.

I guess that growing older is a daily reminder to live in the moment, because you never know how many moments you have left. 

SPRING 2019 WWW.ISUALUM.ORG VISIONS

COVER STORY

FEATURES

DEPARTMENTS

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2 Getting Started 4 Letters to the Editor 6 Around Campus 36 Cyclones Everywhere Featuring the 2018 Valero Alamo Bowl, Cardinal & Gold Gala, Cyclone Stories, and more 52 Sports 54 Calendar

Young alumni leading the way Millennial Cyclones every- where are forging unique career paths, honing their leadership skills, and following their passions

Distinguished Awards Celebration

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Sustaining Life donors

Young alumnus Mitchell Harger (’16 aerospace engineering), an extravehicular activity flight controller at NASA’s Johnson Space Center, trains astronauts for spacewalks in a neutral buoyancy lab.

Photo courtesy Johnson Space Center

On the Cover: Young alumni follow their after-ISU adventures along a path filled with passion, career changes, advocacy, and invention.

Illustration by Jenny Witte

SPRING 2019 / VOLUME 32 / NO. 1 EDITOR: Carole Gieseke ASSOCIATE EDITOR: Kate Bruns PHOTOGRAPHY: Jim Heemstra, Rachel Mummey DESIGN: Scott Thornton LOCAL PHONE 294-6525 TOLL-FREE 1-877-ISU-ALUM (478-2586) WEBSITE isualum.org

VISIONS WWW.ISUALUM.ORG SPRING 2019

VISIONS (ISSN 1071-5886) is published quarterly for members of the Iowa State University Alumni Association by the ISU Alumni Association, 429 Alumni Lane, Ames, IA 5001 1-1403, (515) 294-6525, FAX (515) 294-9402. Periodicals postage paid at Ames, Iowa, and additional mailing offices. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to VISIONS, ISU Alumni Center, 429 Alumni Lane, Ames, IA 50011-1403.

For ad rates please call 515-294-9603.

Copyright 2019 by the ISU Alumni Association, Jeffery W. Johnson, Lora and Russ Talbot Endowed President and CEO and publisher.

The ISU Alumni Association mission: To facilitate the lifetime connection of alumni, students, and friends with the university and each other.

Iowa State University does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, age, ethnicity, religion, national origin, pregnancy, sexual orientation, gender identity, genetic information, sex, marital status, disability, or status as a U.S. veteran. Inquiries can be directed to the Office of Equal Opportunity and Compliance, 3280 Beardshear Hall, (515) 294-7612.

Printed with soy ink on recycled and recyclable paper.

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2018-2019 ISU ALUMNI ASSOCIATION BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Letters 

WE’D LIKE TO HEAR FROM YOU Let us know what you think about

OFFICERS Lawrence Cunningham**^# Chair ’02 Liberal Studies Ames, Iowa Thomas A. Connop**# Chair-elect ’76 History Dallas, Texas Nicole M. Schmidt**# Immediate Past Chair ’09 Const. Engr., MS ‘13 Ankeny, Iowa Timothy R. Quick**# Vice Chair of Finance ’01 Marketing, Intl. Business Clive, Iowa Kathy A. (Sullivan) Peterson**^ Vice Chair of Records ’95 Speech Comm.

Aurelia, Iowa Joan Piscitello** University Treasurer ’98 MBA Ex-officio/voting West Des Moines, Iowa #

Jeffery W. Johnson**# Lora and Russ Talbot Endowed President & CEO PhD ’14 Education Ex-officio/non-voting Ames, Iowa ELECTED DIRECTORS Daniel A. Buhr**# ’95 Elec. Engr.

Ames, Iowa Wendell L. Davis** ’75 DVM Overland Park, Kan. Heather L. (Reid) Duncan** ’06 Public Service & Admin. in Ag. Kansas City, Mo. Duane M. Fisher**# ’73 Ag Ed., MS ‘80 Mt. Auburn, Iowa Jeffrey Grayer** ’05 Liberal Studies Grand Blanc, Mich.

Kari A. (Ditsworth) Hensen** ’96 Sociology, MS ‘98 Higher Ed., PhD ‘05 Ankeny, Iowa Erin Herbold-Swalwell** ’03 Liberal Studies Altoona, Iowa Donald A. Hoy**# ’63 Ag. Business Weatherby Lake, Mo.

stories in this issue – or about other topics of interest to VISIONS readers. Email your letters to: CGIESEKE@IASTATE.EDU.

Marc Mores**# ’95 Exercise and Sport Science Parker, Colo.

Larry Pithan** ’73 Mech. Engr.

Andalusia, Ill. Gregory Smith** ’91 Occupational Safety, MPA ’10 Public Admin.

Marion, Iowa Deborah Renee (Verschoor) Stearns**# ’81 Journ. & Mass Comm.

Altoona, Iowa Amy Burrough Tetmeyer** ’91 Accounting Johnston, Iowa Kurt Alan Tjaden**#^ ’85 Accounting Bettendorf, Iowa Dana (Willig) Wilkinson** ’78 Interior Design Bettendorf, Iowa Eric Wittrock**# ’92 Mech. Engr.

Urbandale, Iowa Suzanne J. Wyckoff**# ’70 English Riverside, Mo.

IOWA LAKESIDE LABORATORY

I am finally catching up on reading VISIONS summer 2018 and just wanted to let you know that I really enjoyed the Lakeside Lab article.

I have heard about the lab for many years but never really understood what all went on there.

Thank you for providing some insight and creating a desire to go visit someday.

Thanks for all you do to tell Iowa State’s story.

Chad Ingels (L)

MA ’13 agriculture Randalia, Iowa

APPOINTED DIRECTORS Sophia Magill** ’05 Pol. Sci. Office of the President Representative Ames, Iowa Michele Appelgate* ’88 Journ. & Mass Comm.

College Representative Ames, Iowa Phyllis M. Fevold**^ Non-alumni Representative Ames, Iowa Blake Heitman*** Senior, Marketing Student Alumni Leadership Council Representative Roselle, Ill. Membership Key: *Annual member **Life member ***Student member

^Business member # 2018 Sustaining Life donor To apply for the Board of Directors, go to isualum.org/ board. The deadline is Nov. 1. Meet the Board: isualum.org/about/board

READY TO PLAY THROUGH

So disappointed and disturbed by this article (“Celia Barquin Arozamena was ready to play through,” winter 2019) that the killer was included in this poorly written story. It should have been about Celia Barquin Arozamena and the ISU family.

Carolyn Augustus (A)

T H E M A G A Z I N E F O R M E M B E R S O F T H E I O WA S TAT E U N I V E R S I T Y A L U M N I A S S O C I AT I O N |

’78 industrial administration Phoenix, Ariz.

Fall 2017

T H E M A G A Z I N E F O R M E M B E R S O F T H E I O WA S TAT E U N I V E R S I T Y A L U M N I A S S O C I AT I O N |

Winter 2018

T H E M A G A Z I N E F O R M E M B E R S O F T H E I O WA S TAT E U N I V E R S I T Y A L U M N I A S S O C I AT I O N |

Spring 2018

PETE’S

FEAT How did this unassuming 29-year-old financial analyst shatter a transAmerican ultrarunning record that had stood for more than three decades?

One step at a time.

IOWA STATE’S

LAND GRANT HERITAGE

Read VISIONS online

Madam President ISU’s 16th president is forever true to Iowa State

PETE KOSTELNICK, ’09

We hope you enjoy receiving VISIONS magazine as a benefit of your ISU Alumni Association membership. Thank you for reading, and thank you for your membership!

Do you prefer to read your magazine on a smartphone or tablet? Want to cut down on paper waste and have a copy of VISIONS magazine that’s easier to read on Throughout this magazine: (L) indicates life member of the ISU Alumni Association

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Iowa State University values communication with alumni and other audiences, and VISIONS welcomes letters from readers about topics in the magazine. Letters must be signed and include address and daytime phone number.

Letters chosen for publication may be edited for length and clarity. The editor may decide to publish a representative sample of letters on a subject or limit the number of issues devoted to a particular topic. While universities are places of open discussion, letters deemed potentially libelous or that malign a person or group will not be published.

Letters express the views of the readers and not Iowa State University nor the ISU Alumni Association. Send letters to VISIONS Editor, ISU Alumni Center, 429 Alumni Lane, Ames, IA 50011-1403 or email cgieseke@iastate.edu.

the go? Now you can say YES to receiving VISIONS online ONLY! Simply let us know if you prefer the digital option for future issues, and you’ll start receiving a special email alerting you each time a new issue is ready to read online or through the Iowa State Alumni app. Fill out the form at isualum.org/visionsonline.

(A) indicates annual member of the ISU Alumni Association

Member names are bold

SPRING 2019 WWW.ISUALUM.ORG VISIONS

YOUNG ALUMNI EVERYWHERE

WELCOME TO THE AFTER PARTY LIVING A LIFE SERIES

Expert advice for the life events you need to get right

TIP SHEETS Practical advice with an Iowa State twist • Tax time • Holiday party etiquette • CPR • Choosing healthcare • Rental walk-through • Emergency preparedness • Car repair

PODCASTS Cyclones everywhere share their stories • Adam Larsen (’04 psychology) talks about his experiences auditioning for Jeopardy!

• Moses Bomett (’13 intnatl studies, econ, & pol sci) tells how he made a difference in Africa • Andrea Fellows (’06 marketing) talks about her experiences working for the Peace Corps • Jason Harle (’05 mgmt & mkt) offers some simple tips on how to improve your fitness • Tyler Weig (’05 community health ed) donated an organ to a stranger – find out why he took on this altruistic endeavor

STAY CONNECTED WITH A COMMUNITY OF CYCLONES

www.isualum.org / livingalife

Whatever you’re looking for, it’s all at

isualum.org/ youngalumni

• Get involved where you live with local alumni groups • Read Young Alumni News e-newsletter • Travel with us: Trips specially designed for young alumni • Nominate your favorite ISU faculty or staff member who had a significant influence on your life for an Inspiration Award • Meet the Iowa STATEment Makers (maybe one of them will be YOU!) • Update your info • Get to know your Young Alumni Council • Join the ISU Alumni Association

When you’re a Cyclone, you’re never really far from home.

VISIONS WWW.ISUALUM.ORG SPRING 2019

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AMY VINCHATTLE

Around Campus

Oliver named director of Student Innovation Center 6

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he forthcoming Iowa State University Student Innovation Center has its leader. James Oliver, University Professor and Larry and Pam Pithan Professor of Mechanical Engineering, began full-time duties as the Center’s director Jan. 1, although the $84 million physical space that will house the enterprise has another year’s worth of construction left to complete on the west side of campus.

Oliver’s work as the Center’s leader has already begun, however, as he is tasked with visioning and planning the programming that will provide ISU students with hands-on creative multidisciplinary experiences.

“There will be nothing else like it in the U.S., I think,” Oliver said.

The five-floor facility will include spaces for making, designing, interacting, and learning — including classrooms, student-organization spaces, co-working suites, fabrication labs, design studios, and even a demonstration kitchen and lunar landing laboratory. Construction is

VISIONS WWW.ISUALUM.ORG SPRING 2019

being supported in part by a $6 million gift from The Boeing Company, which was announced in December.

“I look forward to the opportunity to lead this facility and the investment it represents in Iowa State’s future,” Oliver said. “The Student Innovation Center will foster innovation in teaching and learning, research, and economic development, as well as outreach and community engagement.”

Oliver, an ISU faculty member since 1991, brings experience in teaching, research, and technology transfer into his new role. He has directed the ISU Virtual Reality Applications Center since 2004 and the university’s interdisciplinary graduate program in human computer interaction since 2003. Oliver also teaches a course on technology and global culture and is the co-founder of the technology startup BodyViz. “He has built programs and relationships across campus,” senior vice president and provost Jonathan Wickert (A) said of the choice to name Oliver as Student Innovation Center director. “Jim is a proven innovator.”

CHRISTOPHER GANNON

Re-reading the classics

Iowa State’s Jeanne Dyches, an assistant professor in the School of Education, recently published a paper in the Harvard Educational Review that examines traditional high school literature education and how the books that have come to be known as the classics can raise messy questions surrounding topics such as race, gender, and sexuality.

Based on her research experience working with a suburban Midwest high school classroom, Dyches suggests a toolkit for leading meaningful classroom discussions that leave room for students to question the roles of race and patriarchy ingrained in the texts.

“We’re all political beings. And whether you recognize it or not, you’re always teaching from your belief systems,” Dyches said.

“It’s essential to recognize and understand how our ideas or beliefs influence our teaching. I would argue you’re being just as political when you assign ‘Macbeth’ as when you assign ‘The Hate U Give.’”

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t was an Iowa State apparel, merchandising, and design student who took home top scholarship honors at the YMA gala in New York City Jan. 10. Jenny Junker, a senior from Waukee, Iowa, won $35,000 for her case study presentation on globalization. She was selected from among 740 students representing 60 collegiate fashion programs nationwide.

Just two weeks later, a duo of Iowa State students who co-founded the startup business HomePainter took home the top prize at the Western University Ivey Honors Business Administration Business Plan Competition in London, Ontario,

CONTRIBUTED PHOTOS

Around Campus

Student innovators win top competitions

Canada. Jacob McClarnon, a senior in entrepreneurship, and Anthony House, a senior in software engineering, received a $15,000 prize for the business they created during last summer’s Pappajohn Center CYstarters summer accelerator program that provides free, online painting estimates to consumers.

Eye on the state budget

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owa Gov. Kim Reynolds’ (A)(’16 liberal studies) state budget for the fiscal year that begins July 1 would fully fund the three Iowa regent universities’ request for $18 million in new operating revenue designated for resident undergraduate financial aid. Iowa State’s portion of that is $7 million.

Reynolds released her proposed FY20 budget Jan. 15 during her State of the State address before the Iowa Legislature.

Other new funding in Reynolds’ budget is $2 million — half the amount requested last fall — to coordinate initiatives in four bioscience platforms that would spur growth in the state’s economy: biobased chemicals, precision and digital agriculture, 8

vaccines and immunotherapeutics, and medical devices. Iowa State and the University of Iowa would share that funding, with three of the platforms landing at ISU. “We are very pleased with Gov. Reynolds’ FY20 budget proposal, which includes fully funding our $7 million request for student financial aid and providing $2 million for key biosciences initiatives,” said President Wendy Wintersteen (L) (PhD ’88 entomology). “This is a positive first step in the legislative process, and we will continue to work closely with the governor and the legislature to demonstrate ISU’s excellent value for our students and for Iowa.”

SPRING 2019 WWW.ISUALUM.ORG VISIONS

InBrief n Gerdin expansion starts this spring Construction is set to begin on the $28 million expansion of the Gerdin Business Building after frost melts on campus this spring. BNIM of Des Moines and Story Construction of Ames have been selected as the project’s design and construction contractors, respectively.

The 45,000-square-foot addition facing Wallace Road is expected to be completed

by January 2021. Meanwhile, enrollment in the college continues to climb – including a record 4,931 students this fall. n Solid goldfinch On Jan. 26, the Iowa State Center opened a new performing arts venue located on the ground floor of Stephens Auditorium. The 100-person Goldfinch Room, named for the state’s official bird, is designed to be a listening

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room for singer-songwriter performances.

Iowa State Center executive director Tammy Koolbeck says the venue was modeled after Nashville’s iconic Bluebird Cafe and fills a need in Central Iowa. n The bill, please Iowa State Student Government leaders are backing a medical amnesty bill that would prevent Iowans from being prosecuted for underage drinking violations in the event that an underage drinker needs to seek medical treatment while under the influence. The bill – Senate File 415 – passed the Iowa House Judiciary Committee unanimously last March but has yet to come up for a vote. Iowa is one of only 11 U.S. states that does not currently offer such protections, which have saved lives on college campuses. n Armed with design ISU’s College of Design recently secured $50,000 from student technology fee funds to purchase a robotic arm that will be used to print and carve a wide range of materials, from grid foam and clay to dissolvable plastics. It will also be used for innovative construction processes such as 3D printing, bending, weaving, and drawing. Courses in architectural

robotics topics could begin on campus as soon as fall 2019. n Too

cold for class As a Polar Vortex ravaged the Midwest at the end of January, Iowa State University closed down for an unprecedented twoand-a-half days. Ames saw wind chills as low as -50 – making the prospect of a trek across campus too dangerous in the minds of university officials. At least seven deaths were reported throughout the Midwest during the extreme cold snap – including one student at the University of Iowa.

n The

doctor is in A new 54-credit Doctorate of Education program in ISU’s School of Education was approved in November by the Board of Regents and is slated to start up in August 2019. Students who complete the program will be prepared to work as superintendents in preK-12 school districts and as leaders at community colleges or state departments of education, as well as in other educational development agencies.

cool things you should KNOW and SHARE about ISU

1: Iowa State is polling well. Iowa State ranked 212th among 1,250 colleges and universities around the world recognized in the fifth-annual U.S. News and World Report “Best Global Universities” list. That places ISU in the top 17 percent of the ranked universities in 75 countries.

2: Iowa State student entrepreneurs are learning from

the best. The instructor for Iowa State’s latest courses on engineering entrepreneurship is the inventor of a product many modern parents would probably love to kiss: the odor-eliminating diaper pail known as the Diaper Genie. Oh, and he just happens to be an Iowa State alum, too: James Fay (’74 chem engr).

3: Iowa State students receive college credit for Beatlemania. A one-credit, eight-week ISU Honors seminar on the Fab Four includes a Spring Break trip to Liverpool and London, England, to visit iconic Beatles landmarks. “It’s an opportunity,”

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instructor Jason Chrystal (A)(MA ’98 history, PhD ’04) says, “that 99 percent of the population doesn’t get to experience.”

4: Iowa State is paving the way for safer roads.

Researchers with Iowa State's Institute for Transportation are working with the Iowa Department of Transportation to use artificial intelligence and machine learning tools to manage, sort, and analyze traffic data. Mining the huge data sets, researchers says, will provide useful information that could lead to safer roads.

5: Iowa State student-athletes are earning their

degrees. According to fall 2018 data released by the NCAA, Iowa State has for the fourth-straight year registered its best-ever Graduation Success Rate (GSR) – 88 percent.

The statistic is based on the cohort of student-athletes who entered ISU as freshmen in 2011.

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Young alumni leading the way Watch out, world. A new generation of leaders and trend-setters is starting to emerge. Millennial Cyclones everywhere are forging unique career paths, zigging and zagging and following their passions. In this issue of VISIONS, you’ll meet several of them, with a variety of backgrounds, degrees, and careers. But they all have one thing in common: They are not only making their own way in the world – they’re leading the way.

Stories by Carole Gieseke, Kate Bruns, Lindsey Davis, Josh Skipworth, and Chelsea Davis

Standing strong

Vanessa McNeal gives voice to the voiceless Vanessa McNeal (’15 child, adult, and family svcs) is a storyteller. As a national speaker and documentary filmmaker, she is shining a light on sexual violence.

Her career as a filmmaker started with a documentary entitled “I Am – The Vanessa McNeal Story,” which details her own survival of abuse, and she then went on to create “We Are Survivors,” which tells the stories of eight others.

Her third film, “The Voiceless,” seeks to disrupt stereotypes about sexual violence by spotlighting male survivors.

McNeal was raised by her grandparents, who instilled values and structure in her life.

“I truly believe when people say it takes a village to raise a child,” she said.

“People do the eye-roll, but that was so true to me. I had so many teachers and mental health support to be able to heal – that was huge.”

She was the first in her family to graduate from high school, and she went on to pursue a bachelor’s degree. Iowa State supported McNeal’s journey with a four-year scholarship, classroom mentors, and group and individual therapy. “[Going to Iowa State] was just one of the best experiences,” she said. “I felt like

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my healing process started there, because when I was a freshman I had Dr. Amy Popillion in human sexuality; she shared that she was a survivor of abuse. She was the first person I shared my story with.

I felt like she planted a seed in me to do the work that I’m doing now.”

McNeal earned a master of social work from the University of Northern Iowa in 2017 and has dedicated her career to finding ways to use art and storytelling to help inspire social change. Her company, McNeal Media, is headquartered in Des Moines but has reached worldwide audiences with its important messages.

She has been featured in TEDx talks, Huffpost, NY Elite Magazine, DSM, and the Des Moines Business Record. She has presented lectures at colleges and universities from coast to coast as well as to military groups, social services agencies, women’s groups, and youth groups.

She recently completed “Gridshock,” a documentary about sex trafficking in Iowa, with a focus on the buyers of sex.

“I’ve worked with survivors that were sold for thousands of dollars,” she said. “[The cost] depends on who the buyer is and what they want from that person.

That’s why we focused on the demand in ‘Gridshock,’ because there wouldn’t be a multi-billion-dollar global industry for trafficking if there wasn’t an enormous number of people willing to purchase people.”

McNeal sees her life’s goal – to tell these stories – as just beginning. She’s currently working on a book that focuses on mercy and compassion as a way to heal, and she hopes to become a New York Times best-selling author. She wants to give a talk on the main TED stage and have her films accepted to the Sundance Film Festival and do a SuperSoul Conversation with Oprah.

“I tell people all the time my story isn’t rare,” she said. “You hear my story all the time. You can walk outside today and hear that same story. The difference for me is my outcome, because of the people who invested in me. Having the resiliency to take advantage of what was given to me – that’s the difference.”  KB / CG Learn more about McNeal’s work at www.vanessamcneal.com.

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WHEN YOU’RE A CYCLONE, YOU’RE NEVER REALLY FAR FROM HOME.

Iowa STATEment Makers Several of the alumni featured in this issue first caught our eye when they were named Iowa STATEment Makers. This year marks the 10th anniversary of STATEment Makers, the young alumni recognition program launched in 2009 by the ISU Alumni Association’s Young Alumni Council.

The Iowa STATEment Makers program recognizes the early personal and professional accomplishments and contributions to society of Iowa State’s young alumni (graduates 34 years of age and under). Nominations are sought annually for Cyclones everywhere who have made a difference in their own lives, the lives of others, their communities, and/or their professions through ambitious efforts that reflect the scholarly, entrepreneurial, or service-oriented spirit of an Iowa State University education.

Anyone can nominate a young Cyclone for this award. To nominate an alum, simply go to isualum.org/statementmakers

Vanessa McNeal was a 2018 Iowa STATEment Maker.

JIM HEEMSTRA

“My story isn’t rare. The difference for me is my outcome, because of the people who invested in me.”

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JIM HEEMSTRA

Young alumni leading the way

Cyclone from birth

Engineer in Philadelphia learns the importance of networking and asking the hard questions Meredith Gibson (A)(’12 chem engr) was raised in Austin, Texas, but she was a Cyclone from birth.

Her parents are Iowa State alumni. Her dad grew up in Ames. Her grandparents live in Ankeny. She has so many aunts and uncles and other family members who are ISU grads that she’s lost count.

“I grew up going to Ames for Christmas and to games once a year, and just kind of fell in love with it,” she says.

But Gibson was a focused, highachieving high school student who wanted to explore her options. On one “Midwest tour of colleges,” she says she and her family visited 11 universities in 12 days.

“The more I saw other schools, the more I knew that Iowa State was the place for me. It was familiar to me, but there was also so much new to explore. It ended up being a really wonderful fit,” she said.

As a chemical engineering major, Gibson participated in a six-month co-op at ExxonMobil in Philadelphia while she was a student. After she received her degree, the company offered her a fulltime job.

She worked as a research engineer for ExxonMobil and is now a strategy and business intelligence analyst at Braskem America, a Brazilian company that makes polypropylene plastics.

She said Iowa State prepared her well for her roles with both companies.

“For me, a lot of it was just learning how to critically think and problem-solve and not be afraid to get my hands dirty,” she said. “When I was at ExxonMobil, a lot of it was just having the confidence

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to ask hard questions or to look for hard answers. Even as a co-op, I was given a pretty difficult project, and having the confidence that I had the skills and knowledge from a school like Iowa State really prepared me for that.”

Gibson has now lived in Philadelphia for six years and is well adapted to East Coast culture. But it wasn’t always easy.

“Especially moving to a large city like Philly or Chicago or New York, you can get kind of lost,” she said. “It’s tough to make new friends as a young professional,

so it’s important to get plugged in to something that you’re passionate about and find other people who are passionate.”

Gibson got involved with the Iowa State Alumni of Philadelphia network and now heads club activities and gamewatch events for the group.

“It was really beneficial to me to know that there was a network of people in the city that I was moving to, so I would advise new grads to plug into their alumni group wherever they’re moving after school.”  CG SPRING 2019 WWW.ISUALUM.ORG VISIONS

WHEN YOU’RE A CYCLONE, YOU’RE NEVER REALLY FAR FROM HOME.

First gen

Dominique Williams built his leadership skills at ISU Coming to Iowa State was a game-changer for Dominique Williams.

The first in his family to attend college, Williams (A)(’15 hospitality mgmt) fell in love with the warm, friendly atmosphere on campus. Receiving a Multicultural Vision Program scholarship was just the icing on the cake.

His scholarship interview, he said, was less like an interview and “more like talking to a friend.”

But still, going away to college in Ames from his home in Davenport was a big change.

“It was definitely scary at first,” he said. “But I’m the adventurous type, so I was excited and hopeful. I wanted to set the precedent for the generations after me.”

Williams wanted to be involved with the larger university community, and he took the advice of one of his campus mentors to join a student organization. He got involved with Iowa Leaders in Education and Diversity (ILEAD).

“I started with one organization, and I couldn’t stop!” he said, laughing. “It was so fun, to be able to have an outlet to not just think about classwork, but to get involved in things not only related to my major but also be exposed to things broader than the human sciences realm.”

He became president of ILEAD as a second-semester freshman. Then he got involved with ISU’s Black Student Alliance and Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity, and with the National Society for Minorities in Hospitality, eventually holding a national leadership role in that organization.

After graduation in 2015, Williams worked for Marriott International in San Antonio and Detroit. But he found himself drifting away from Iowa State.

“I never wanted to lose that connection,” he said. Then one of his campus mentors encouraged him to apply for the Young Alumni Council (YAC), a program of the ISU Alumni Association. He was selected as a councilor in 2017.

“I was falling off the bandwagon, so it came at the perfect time for me to get reengaged in the larger ISU community,” he said.

Today, Williams is putting his hospitality degree and his customer service expertise to good use as a claims manager for Progressive Insurance in Austin, Texas.

“I absolutely love this job,” he said. “I never saw myself in the insurance industry. But you don’t understand it until you do it. I deal with people who have accidents. I help them from beginning to end on a claim. When you have an accident, you feel like your life is falling apart and you don’t know what to do. Being able to leverage my degree in hospitality and being the friendly face over the phone is what I do every day – I’m the person who lets you know everything’s going to be OK.”  CG

CHARLES SMITH

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Young alumni leading the way

No challenge too great Cyclone football experience leads to a place in the U.S. space program

Mitchell Harger, a 2018 Iowa STATEment Maker, trains astronauts for spacewalks in a neutral buoyancy lab.

As an extravehicular activity flight controller at NASA’s Johnson Space Center, Mitchell Harger interacts with NASA astronauts on a regular basis.

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University of Kansas in November 2016, sparking a thrilling come-from-behind win.

Harger’s motivation and grit have carried over to his career. He’s an extravehicular activity flight controller at NASA’s Johnson Space Center. It’s a dream job in which he interacts with NASA astronauts on a regular basis.

“Astronauts are probably some of the most extraordinary people that you will ever meet. They’re incredible!” he said. “To be able to work with them on a personal, name-to-name basis is awesome.”

Harger trains astronauts for spacewalks in order to make repairs and upgrades to the outside of the International Space Station – which is tricky, because they’re floating in zero gravity while wearing big, white, puffy space suits designed to protect them. The work is hard to teach on Earth, thanks to gravity, because the suits weigh upwards of 400 pounds. So NASA provides a neutral buoyancy lab, which is basically a sunken replica of the Space Station in a giant swimming pool. Harger dons a space suit and puts the astronauts through their paces under water.

In addition to these training sessions, Harger is also a flight controller, planning the astronauts’ EVAs (extravehicular activities). Eventually he hopes to get his “front room” flight controller certification and possibly even apply for NASA’s astronaut program.

He still loves a challenge.  CG

PHOTOS COURTESY JOHNSON SPACE CENTER

When Mitchell Harger was in high school, he was a smart kid with an awesome senior season on the football field – he was named Class 1A Player of the Year – and he suddenly realized that playing collegiate football was a real possibility.

Combined with his distinction as the 2012 valedictorian of Alburnett High School (near Cedar Rapids, Iowa), Harger was approached by several Division III schools to play football. But he loved a challenge – and wanted to go to a school with a top engineering program – and so, even without a football scholarship, he enrolled at Iowa State as an aerospace engineering major.

Football was secondary to academics, he said. But…he contacted the football staff and was motivated by their suggestion that he “not even bother to walk on.” When walk-on tryouts came around, he gave it a shot – and landed a spot on the team.

Each fall semester at Iowa State was a blur: late nights, early mornings, weightlifting, group projects, football practice, classes, gamedays, exams.

“I got sick a lot,” he remembers.

“I didn’t sleep much. It was difficult. But football gave me so many opportunities.”

He graduated in spring 2016 but stayed at Iowa State through the fall semester. He had “unfinished business” with the football team. He had spent four seasons on the scout team but earned a position on special teams in his redshirt junior season and won the Outstanding Walk-on Player Award. The best game of his Cyclone career came against the

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Young alumni leading the way

CONTRIBUTED PHOTOS

On the wild side

Dr. Justin Rosenberg administers a routine wellness examination to a tiger (below) as part of the preventative health program at Walt Disney World’s Animal Kingdom. During the procedure, Rosenberg found a fractured tooth that needed to be extracted.

Other components of the wellness exams include complete blood work, x-rays, ultrasound, and vaccinations as needed.

Life’s a zoo for this veterinary medicine grad When the call came to Justin Rosenberg to ask if he’d be willing to help provide care for thousands of illegally confiscated tortoises in Madagascar, he knew he had to go.

The radiated tortoises – about 10,000 of them – had been found in horrific conditions inside a home in Madagascar.

The endangered animals had been poached from a protected area by humans looking to make a profit by selling them for food and medicine or in the illegal pet trade.

Rosenberg (DVM ’13) was up to the challenge of providing veterinary care, doing daily examinations, and administering treatments to the exotic species. This was exactly the kind of thing he was trained to do.

When Rosenberg came to Iowa State to study veterinary medicine, he knew he wanted to treat exotic animals in zoos and aquariums. It’s specialized work, with a limited number of veterinary jobs available in the U.S. But he embraced the specialization with unequaled passion. As a veterinary student, he worked in Australia and South America with giraffes, wildebeests, lions, and rhinos; did an internship with primates at M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Texas; secured a veterinary fellowship in Vancouver Aquarium in Canada working with fish, frogs, seals, and whales; and completed externships with the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium in Ohio and at Disney’s Animal Kingdom Resort in Florida.

“I’m very appreciative of the experiences I’ve had,” he said. “When I

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Rosenberg provides care to a radiated tortoise in Madagascar (above) and to a gorilla at Disney’s Animal Kingdom (below).

was at Vancouver, we did a world-first surgery on very sick dolphin, and in my first week on the job, we rescued a false killer whale calf that had stranded himself, and so my whole year in Vancouver was rehabilitating this little guy. That was really heartwarming. I still think about him a lot. But honestly, every experience – getting to do surgery on a rhinoceros or on a giraffe, being able to give vaccines to an elephant and build that emotional bond with them, or work with a gorilla on ultrasound so we can get good images of the baby – really does give me a sense of awe.”

Rosenberg is currently serving a one-year appointment as a veterinarian at Disney’s Animal Kingdom as part of his residency in zoological medicine through the University of Florida. There he’s part of a large team of veterinarians, pathologists, administrators, technicians, and keepers who work together to care for the animals in the theme park as well

as at Animal Kingdom Lodge, the Living Seas with Nemo and Friends at Epcot, and other locations.

“I’m very fortunate to have the opportunity to travel around the world and work with veterinarians and veterinary students from many, many facilities,” he said. “I truly believe that Iowa State really prepared me well. It gave me a great foundation of basic medicine and the ability to extrapolate that and use it in any sort of situation. I’m very fortunate that I chose to go to Iowa State.

I truly feel capable of going into any facility in the world and taking care of their exotic animals.”  CG SPRING 2019 WWW.ISUALUM.ORG VISIONS

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City of inspiration

A Cyclone from New Jersey returns to the city that ignited her passion for science

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“Being at Iowa State was like the happiest days of my life,” she said.

“I mean, I still have the rest of my life ahead of me, but Ames is such a happy environment that I think of it fondly.

I miss my friends there; it’s a beautiful campus.”

Kaur has a 2015 master of library and information science from Rutgers and has lived in Philadelphia for more than three years, which brings up another interesting story.

“Philadelphia is the city that inspired me to love science,” she explains. “When

I was 9 years old I went on a class field trip to the Franklin Institute, and it was in the giant heart exhibit when I decided I needed to learn more about the human body – and I went on to study it. It’s interesting to come full circle, to do something with science education in the city that inspired me.”  KB / CG

Aman Kaur was a 2018 Iowa STATEment Maker.

JIM HEEMSTRA

Aman Kaur (A)(’13 family and consumer sci ed) says she used to get strange looks at ISU when she told peers she was studying both human sciences and engineering. Indeed, her degree in family and consumer sciences education and studies with a minor in engineering studies was the first of that combination to be earned at Iowa State. But what Kaur has done with her education has transformed yet another field of study: library and information science.

As the Eugene Garfield Resident in Science Librarianship from 2015-2017 and now in her position as the University of Pennsylvania’s inaugural community health and engineering librarian, Kaur is making the most of her unique interdisciplinary degree and advancing education in the process. In October 2017, she gained local, national, and international media attention for her work planning the Penn Libraries Puerto Rico Mapathon to assist in aid strategy in the wake of Hurricane Maria.

The story of why a teenager from New Jersey came to Iowa State to study is interesting in and of itself. Kaur wanted to major in family and consumer sciences education, and that’s not a major offered at any institution in the state of New Jersey. So Kaur consulted Collegeboard. org, and this is what happened: “I kept filling in different criteria and [Iowa State] kept popping up,” she said. “At the time, the president of the American Association of Family and Consumer Sciences was Dr. Tahira Hira, so I thought, ‘Why not? Why not go to Iowa State where you have the president of the association, and College Board thinks it’s a good fit for me?’”

As it turns out, Iowa State was an excellent fit. In addition to her academic pursuits, Kaur was an Outstanding George Washington Carver Scholar recipient, a part of the 100th Homecoming Court, a volunteer for the International Food Fair, and a participant in Habitat for Humanity.

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Young alumni leading the way

“It’s a beautifully scripted, charmingly improvised production involving stage direction and audience participation that puts every American wedding I’ve seen to shame.”

(Below) The writer, Josh Skipworth, gets his hands tattooed at the bride’s Mehndi. (Bottom) The bride and groom throw flowers during the wedding celebration.

The wedding

A Cyclone travels to India for the marriage ceremony of an Iowa State friend

By Josh Skipworth

We’re skirting Afghan airspace when my seat mate turns on Argo for the third time. My screen doesn’t work, forcing me to crook my neck and watch Ben Affleck escape Iran. Sans sound. Again.

This trip began six years prior – over cheap gin and the intimacy of strangers – in Ames’ London Underground. Tucked into an alcove with his back against the window, the groom, Frank Driscoll (’12 political science) – my Obama campaign compatriot and fellow Iowa State alumnus – tells me of his relationship with a former ISU student whose visa woes forced her return to India; of mishmashed timezones and cross-cultural romance and Skype dates; of immigration folly and the intractable incompetence of rural embassies; of his desire to see it through, to the end, wherever and whenever.

My first glimpse at the crack in his Irish Catholic stoicism.

India.

Six years.

Wheels down in Bengaluru and the Argo man is sleeping. I jostle him awake, gesturing towards the aisle with the brunt of my Midwestern folksiness, and we begin unpacking the flight. Time is enigmatic, the result of a 6:00 a.m.

Minneapolis departure and consecutive nine-hour layovers in Toronto and Frankfurt.

My body requests sleeping and stretching and sunlight and stability.

The groom greets me outside the 18

airport with his soon-to-be wife. It’s the first we’ve met in person, though we’ve bonded via text over our love of elephants and playing pranks on her fiancé; the three of us once Skyped and she had his band’s old album tacked to her wall; it’s 2:00 a.m.

By 4:00, we’re at our hotel, eyes craggly and listless and desperate for closure – the bride’s family scoured the city for hotel beds of appropriate size, because Americans are taller than Indians – my heels align with the edge.

Sleep is intermittent, interrupted by the shrieking of horns and a morning storm, and soon we’re assembling outside in preparation for a day of shopping and exhaustion.

While waiting for our car, a little girl with tousled hair and a pink shirt smiles and waves. I reciprocate. She smiles and waves. I reciprocate, locked in a battle of pleasantries that ends only after our car arrives and we inch into indomitable traffic, bound for a place to buy wedding attire for the groom, groom’s uncle, father, brother, and myself – the tag-along (best) friend.

We’re searching for kurtas, a traditional Indian garment ranging in style and complexity – some as simple as long overshirts, others festooned in audacity and pomp. I try on a slatecolored one and struggle to remove it, jerking around the dressing room like

a giraffe trapped in a bag.

“Nope, way too small. I’m a fat American and my head is huge.”

The next one fits. I buy it. Emblazoned with gold and regality, it makes me feel like the rightful heir to the Iron Throne, and I’m desperate to avoid getting stuck in another ill-fitting one. Families discuss the groom’s choice, and he leaves emptyhanded, the only one of us to do so.

Six years and a day.

The Mehndi Friends and family have arrived, met, shopped, gotten sick, and recovered.

Street dogs have been petted, adopted, and lost.

I’ve seen an elephant in the greatest moment of my life and fed a monkey in the weirdest. Anthony Bourdain is dead and I’ve taken up chain smoking cheap Indian cigarettes in honor of my fellow SPRING 2019 WWW.ISUALUM.ORG VISIONS

CONTRIBUTED PHOTOS

WHEN YOU’RE A CYCLONE, YOU’RE NEVER REALLY FAR FROM HOME.

Although Indian weddings don’t technically have wedding parties, this could unofficially be called the groom’s party and bride.

The author is second from the right, wearing gold.

depressive adventurer. America is putting kids in camps and I’ve taken up chain smoking cheap Indian cigarettes because how could you see that and not?

The Mehndi occurs a few days before the wedding. It’s basically an integrated PG-13 bachelor/ette party with food, booze, dancing, and henna tattoos for whoever wants them.

We’re at the bride’s parents’ place and the sky snarls at the festivities, ending dancing and the bride (rightfully) scolding me for sitting on the edge of her roof. Most rush inside and some of us use watching the storm as an opportunity to smoke, making accords not to tell significant others about our newfound travel vice.

I get my hands tattooed – the only guy to do so – and it takes 10 minutes.

I’m picking at it immediately. The bride’s tattoo is interwoven and layered and she sits still for a few hours, her friends nestled around her, reminiscing and pouring drinks in her mouth when she requests.

People come and go from downstairs and distant conversations, and the bride manages to laugh at multiple jokes at once without moving.

Underage cousins attempt to steal beer.

They fail. The power goes out, not five minutes later, blanketing the home in the soft still of silhouettes in the night, and returns just as quickly.

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One of the groomsmen – Indian weddings don’t have groomsmen, but we’ve agreed to call ourselves that – embroils himself in a spitball fight with the cousins and gets in trouble for the first of many times.

Six years, one-and-a-half weeks.

Wedding day Dawn breaks and the wedding party treks towards the venue down the road.

It’s not yet 6:00 a.m. The ceremony begins at 7:00. Our experiences with India time leave us dubious; our experiences with India time give us memories of feeding monkeys from our heads and slurping mangoes passed between us, cut with a knife borrowed from a street vendor.

Transformed overnight by staff diligence and hard work, the venue blossoms in hanging flowers of gold and pink, string lights, and matching cushions arrayed in amphitheater seating around a central stage.

7:00 passes and everyone reports that the bride is antsy. She shows no signs of it. Resolute; showstopping. Joan of Arc at her most enchanting. The essence of femininity and regalia and creation, clad in red and gold and joy.

The groom is shirtless and awkward in a charming Iowa way. Most of the men involved in the ceremony are shirtless, as per an unknown tradition, but he is the most shirtless.

The ceremony itself is broken into many parts, each playing on the last and endowing the couple with blessings; luck; unity; promise. Happiness. It’s surprisingly informal, thanks in part to its complexity and the continuous evolution of history that few seem to know yet everyone comments on. Distant relatives appear on stage, seemingly of their own accord, carrying on side conversations as the ceremony continues. Others are pulled on to guide aspects they’re familiar with. The wedding party joins, and soon we’re playing tug-of-war and a game of human Hungry Hungry Hippos with coconuts. The groom’s slow reflexes doom us to failure. I’m cognizant of how in-theway I am.

It’s a beautifully scripted, charmingly improvised production involving stage direction and audience participation that puts every American wedding I’ve seen – including the ones on television – to shame.

We conclude and break for lunch and a nap.

The wedding party drills for hours on a dance routine we’re performing at the reception. I’m a giraffe trapped in a bag.

The reception begins and drinks flow.

I dance, sober and then not, in the pool and out, and awake the next morning.

Someone brings me coffee. The bride and groom join before being called away by departing relatives and hugs. They’re standing together addressing throngs of people they won’t see again.

Wheels up from Bengaluru.

Six years, two weeks, and a lifetime to go.  JS Josh Skipworth (L)(’14 history) lives in Des Moines and works in politics and advocacy.

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JIM HEEMSTRA

Young alumni leading the way

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Kelsey Seay is right at home near brewing tanks and bags of malt, surrounded by Peace Tree’s winter brews. But don’t make her pick a favorite. “Choosing a favorite beer is like choosing a favorite child,” she says. “But I tend to gravitate to German and Belgian styles or stouts.

Oktoberfest is my time to shine.”

Raise a glass

Kelsey Seay promotes the art of Iowa’s craft beer industry Surrounded by the fragrance of hops, malt, and cinnamon, Kelsey Seay settles onto a bar stool in the Peace Tree Brewery Co. taproom in Des Moines’ East Village.

It’s 9 a.m. The neighborhood taproom – Peace Tree’s flagship brewery is located in Knoxville, Iowa – is closed, but staff has arrived for an early-morning meeting.

Beer kegs are decorated with holiday lights, and the room is a cozy respite from the winter chill.

Seay is right at home in the brewery, chatting with staff and asking about today’s seasonal brew (it’s Sugar Cookie Ale). She has a friendly, cool-kid vibe, with pink hair, hipster glasses, and a few visible tattoos. And here’s the coolest thing about her: Her job is hanging around with people who make beer.

Seay (’11 integrated studio arts) is the associate director of the Iowa Brewers Guild, and she spends her time promoting Iowa craft beer. These days, there’s plenty to promote. Breweries in Iowa, and all across the U.S., are definitely on an upswing, taking an ever-larger bite out of the overall beer marketplace.

The Brewers Guild is the trade association for Iowa brewers, promoting and showcasing Iowa beer. The organization also provides educational opportunities for brewers and advocates for progressive changes in Iowa laws to benefit the craft brewing industry.

Seay got into the beverages profession

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as the assistant manager of Des Moines’ Gateway Market’s beverage department.

She became a first-level sommelier and eventually took over as head of the department. She’s been in her current position since July 2017 and focuses on Brewers Guild memberships and sponsorships. She travels the state and “has a pulse” on the growing craft beer scene.

Her studio art major is a good fit, she says, because brewing great beer is an art.

“The atmosphere [at the taproom or brewpub] is important,” she said. “The relationship with local musicians and local artists and food trucks is huge.

Beer is a commercial product, but it’s an art, too.”

She says she loved being part of the studio arts program at Iowa State, and she still creates and sells jewelry on the side, but her passion is wine and beer.

She encourages other new grads to follow their own passion to see where it takes them.

“I think [career] exploration needs to be ‘decriminalized.’ I mean, go ahead and try that thing that you want to try!”  CG

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Young alumni leading the way

Fueled by fear

Sergio Torres uses his experience with homelessness to help others “If there’s something that scares me, then I want to do it.”

And that he did. As a family finance intern, Torres was charged with the challenging task of working with a state specialist on A Place of Your Own, a home-buying education course, where he proofread, translated, taught, and facilitated a focus group, all in Spanish.

“I had never used the Spanish language in a professional setting before, and I was terrified,” he recalled. “But what I did made a huge impact, because what we learned is being used to update the program to be more culturally appropriate for the Latinx community in Iowa.”

Torres’ internship experience – during which he received aid from the Human Sciences Dean’s Chair Fund, which is partially used to support students in the College of Human Sciences as they pursue unpaid internships – confirmed his goal of eventually attending graduate school to become a family and marital therapist. He hopes to work as both a therapist and financial counselor because

he has an interest in couples counseling.

“Finances are a leading cause of divorce,” he explained.

“I figure that if I can combine my financial expertise with family and marital therapy, then I can help so many people, whether they want to continue with their relationship or gain the financial stability to leave.”

Before graduating from Iowa State, Torres worked as a peer educator in the Student Loan Education Office, a branch of the university’s Office of Financial Aid, which gave him a glimpse at what it’s like to provide financial counseling to others.

It was a position he deemed “an honor to have.” Guided by this experience, he knows his future career will be one of purpose and fulfillment as he helps others to overcome the hardships – and fears – that can beset any of us on our own paths through life.  LD Lindsey Davis (’17 English/journalism & mass comm) is a donor relations specialist for the ISU Foundation

PAUL GATES

Sergio Torres knows a thing or two about fear. His path in life has been fueled, in part, by overcoming the feeling.

Torres, a first-generation college student and December 2018 Iowa State graduate in financial counseling, grew up in a low-income household with immigrant parents, and his family’s financial situation led to a period in which they were homeless. Since then, Torres has worked hard to get himself and his family out of poverty. His background is the reason he plans to become a certified financial counselor, helping to empower people through educating them about their finances so they can avoid the hardships his family endured.

“When I don’t have money in my bank account, that scares me,” he said. “Not necessarily because I don’t have any, but because then I can’t help my parents.”

Fear not only motivates Torres to persevere, but to also try new things. At the beginning of his internship with Iowa State University Extension and Outreach this past summer, he told his supervisor,

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CONTRIBUTED PHOTO

“Iowa State… gave me the connections that led me to everything I do today.”

Buzzfeed listed Brandon T. Adams among the Top 7 Millennial influencers to follow in 2018.

The entrepreneur

For Brandon Adams, inventing Arctic Stick was just the beginning Brandon T. Adams knows that being in the right place at the right time can change your life.

Here’s a great example: Adams was struggling at Iowa State – his firstsemester GPA was a disappointing 1.68 – when he attended a business lecture for extra credit and was introduced to the marketing wizardry of “Cactus” Jack Barringer. Barringer, an Ames entrepreneur, became a mentor and introduced Adams to the book Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill.

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“When I read the book Think and Grow Rich, it changed everything,” Adams said. “I heard Jack and built a relationship with him. In my last semester of college, in an entrepreneurship class, the professor, Kevin Kimle, gave us the opportunity to come up with our own concept and pursue it. I had this idea called Arctic Stick. It was an invention to cool and flavor drinks. So, that whole last semester of my college career, I became obsessed with the idea of Arctic Stick.

At the end of the semester we got to pitch

our ideas, and I was one of three people that won 500 bucks. Everything I’d read in the book applied to this idea and made it happen.”

That was just the beginning. After Adams graduated from Iowa State in 2012, he brought Arctic Stick to market, in part through a crowdfunding effort via Kickstarter. That experience allowed him to develop his expertise in crowdfunding, which led him to start a company called Keys to the Crowd, write a book on crowdfunding, and travel across the country promoting himself as a crowdfunding expert on LIVE TV. In 2016, Adams co-founded the Young Entrepreneur Convention in Des Moines, Iowa, and out of that project grew a television show, “Ambitious Adventures,” for which Adams is executive producer and co-host. The show, available on Amazon Prime, received a regional Emmy nomination.

That success led to the production of another TV show titled “Success in Your City,” a project filled with heart-felt, life-changing stories that redefine the meaning of success.

With the original idea to live in and feature 12 cities in 12 months, the project was eventually scaled back to five cities: Scottsdale, Ariz.; Austin, Texas; Boston, Mass.; Denver, Colo.; and Nashville, Tenn.

In each episode, Adams and his now-wife, Samantha Rossin, told stories of success, ranging from a real estate company renovating the home of an elderly couple to female empowerment and more.

“We learned that you don’t need a lot to be happy in life,” Adams said. “You get the most out of life by mastering your craft and using your talents to help other people. The more you give, the happier you will be.”

“Success in Your City” is currently in post-production; Adams plans to release it nationwide later this year. The show has already won two Emmy awards.

Today Adams lives in Minneapolis, Minn., and one of his early experiences with entrepreneurship has now come full-circle: He is associate producer of the movie “Think and Grow Rich,” based off the book. Adams is the youngest featured entrepreneur in the film.  CG 23

Young alumni leading the way

Linked to the land

Val and Ian Plagge always knew they wanted to go back home to the farm

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two-story farmhouse, a play area is filled with toys and books, the mudroom draped with coats and stacked with boots.

A big golden retriever naps on the floor, oblivious to the shrieks and laughter of the kids: Klayton, 8; Audrey, 5; Lauren, 4; and Reagan, 2.

Ian and Val farm their own 40 acres as well as the land of more than a dozen other farms nearby. The two oldest kids ride the bus to school and raise lambs, goats, and pigs for Clover Kids, a 4-H program.

“Raising the kids on the farm, they get to have a hands-on approach,” Val said.

“Having both of us here means they know that in the fall when they get home from school they’re going out to the field, and they know that their supper might be in a tractor. They have their own livestock projects that they have to take care of.

[They have to] wake up earlier to bottle-

feed their lambs and goats before the bus gets here. Mom and Dad are not doing it; it’s their project and they start having that responsibility at a young age.”

Latimer has a population of around 475, and both Val and Ian are involved in the community. Ian served on the Franklin County Extension Council, and Val is a project leader for Clover Kids.

She also blogs at “Corn, Beans, Pigs & Kids,” writing about “farm life, mom life, and showing what it’s like to be a young farm family.” Last year, the Plagges received a national young-farmer award from Outstanding Farmers of America.

“We’re both grateful that we can be here at home on the farm and that we’re able to raise our kids here, too,” Val said.

“That was always our goal. It feels good to be working on that goal.”  CG

PHOTOS: JIM HEEMSTRA

They were college sweethearts, brought together by their love of farming and 4-H. They studied at Iowa State, learning the business side of agriculture and creating networks of lifelong friends.

Ian (’07 ag business) and Val (’06 ag & life sciences ed) Plagge both grew up on Iowa farms – Ian in rural Latimer and Val near Stanhope. Ian built two 1,250-head capacity hog finishing barns on his family farm while he was still in college and spent spring breaks on class trips to Mexico and Argentina. Val did a summer-long internship in an Iowa senator’s office in Washington, D.C. Together, they planned their future, marrying not long after they graduated, in January 2008.

At their home near Latimer, the Plagges now raise corn, beans, pigs – and four children. Inside their white,

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Philadelphia Young alumniStories leading the way

Breaking barriers Radio Diaries’ ‘Saudi Girl’ is named a Rhodes Scholar When she came from Saudi Arabia to Iowa State in August 2016 as a graduate student, Majd Abdulghani had only been to the United States for vacation – to California and New York.

Her story captivated fans of Radio Diaries and NPR. “Majd’s Diary: Two Years in the Life of a Saudi Girl” won the 2017 Best Documentary: Silver Award at the Third Coast International Audio Festival in Chicago – sometimes referred to as the “Sundance of radio.”

Producers sought a story for the Teenage Diaries project.

“The idea was to find someone unexpected, someone we never would have come across on our own,” Joe Richman, founder of Radio Diaries, said in the introduction of Majd’s Diary.

“That’s exactly what happened.”

She was chosen out of 1,000 submissions because her story gave the world insight into a young woman’s life in Saudi Arabia, which has strict limitations on women’s rights. Plus, she’s a natural storyteller.

Starting on her 19th birthday, Abdulghani recorded everything for two years – from family discussions of her hesitancy toward marriage to mundane car rides to adventures under the microscope. In an interview, Radio Diaries producer Sarah Kate Kramer said

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Abdulghani recorded nearly 100 hours.

They whittled that down to 25 minutes.

“Toward the end of my first year of recording I said, ‘I told you from the beginning that this is my life. I don’t have anything interesting going on.’ There’s nothing crazy that’s going to happen,” Abdulghani said she told producers.

“And then I got married.”

That’s how the radio diary ends in 2015: snippets from her wedding day and an interview with her new husband, Anmar Arif.

Then something else “crazy” happened. They moved to Iowa because Arif was accepted as a PhD student in electrical engineering at Iowa State.

Abdulghani also applied and was accepted as a graduate student in genetics, development and cell biology.

While any culture shock is long gone from her high school years in England, there are some Midwestern qualities that caught her off guard.

“Everyone is so nice,” Abdulghani said, laughing. “When I went to New York, no one would randomly smile at you in the street.”

Abdulghani received her master’s degree from ISU in 2018 and became a research assistant at the University of Michigan.

And then another “crazy” thing happened, the craziest thing yet: In

November, Abdulghali was selected as the first Rhodes Scholar from Saudi Arabia.

The prestigious international scholarships from the University of Oxford are awarded to outstanding students who demonstrate high potential in learning and leading. Abdulghani will receive at least two years of free tuition and fees, an annual stipend, and travel to and from Oxford twice in an academic year. She will join the 2019 cohort of 100 scholars from 25 countries worldwide.

Despite all of Abdulghani’s achievements (she finished her graduate degree with a 4.0 GPA), she remains humble about the scholarship.

“I wasn’t expecting it at all, though I fantasized about what it would be like to win. I’m extremely honored and humbled,” she said.

Abdulghani will pursue a PhD in physiology, anatomy and genetics at the University of Oxford. She plans to return to Saudi Arabia as a professor and hopes to help build the country’s research community and encourage women in the Arab region to pursue careers in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics.  CD / CG Chelsea Davis is a communications specialist for ISU’s University Relations

SPRING 2019 WWW.ISUALUM.ORG VISIONS

WHEN YOU’RE A CYCLONE, YOU’RE NEVER REALLY FAR FROM HOME.

“What I want to do in life is I want to be a scientist. I want to get a master’s, and then I want to get a PhD, and then I want to do a post-doc.

This is my life plan.”

– Majd Abdulghani, at age 19, on the podcast “Majd’s Diary: Two Years in the Life of a Saudi Girl”

VISIONS WWW.ISUALUM.ORG SPRING 2019

CHRISTOPHER GANNON

Majd Abdulghali (MS ’18 genetics & genomics) is the first Rhodes Scholar from Saudi Arabia.

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Service wit Be Our Guest

From the minute you arrive, your experience at Gateway Hotel and Conference Center begins with a smile. Every member of our staff is committed to providing you the best experience in customer service available in the Midwest. We do this by catering to your every need with a smile.

The Gateway staff prides itself by offering our guests a state-of-the-art hotel rich with Iowa State University tradition. Located at the intersection of U.S. Highway 30 and University Boulevard in Ames, Iowa, the hotel is situated on 14-acres of natural Iowa landscape and serves as the “gateway� entrance to the University, Reiman Gardens, the Iowa State Center and the Ames community.

Come for a week or just the weekend, we would love to show you how we smile!

th a smile WORK

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Let us be your gateway for all occasions 2100 GREEN H ILLS DR., AMES, IOWA 500 14 • 800-FOR-AMES (800-36 7-2637) • GATEWAYAMES.COM

the distinguished awards celebration

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owa State University will honor four outstanding individuals, three couples, and one corporation at the 2019 Distinguished Awards Celebration on Friday, April 26. The Distinguished Alumni Award (the highest honor given to alumni) and the Honorary Alumni Award (the highest honor given to non-ISU graduates) are administered by the ISU Alumni Association. The Order of the Knoll awards are the highest honors administered through the ISU Foundation.

View full biographies of the ISUAA’s 2019 honorees at: www.isualum.org/dac

Nominate alumni and friends for the Distinguished Alumni and Honorary Alumni Awards at: www.isualum.org/dac

DISTINGUISHED ALUMNI AWARD

Gary Griswold** ’67 chemical engineering Hudson, Wis.

Jonathan Rich** ’77 chemistry, ’10 honorary doctor of science Vero Beach, Fla.

Gary Griswold, the retired president and chief intellectual property counsel for 3M Innovative Properties Company, has dedicated his career to advocating for innovation. He practiced intellectual property law for 34 years during his career with DuPont and 3M Company, culminating in his induction in 2014 into the IAM Intellectual Property Hall of Fame – an honor that has been bestowed upon only 78 individuals worldwide. As the chair of the Coalition for 21st Century Patent Reform, Griswold played an instrumental role in the passage of the America Invents Act, which was signed into law by President Barack Obama in 2011. He is past president of the Intellectual Property Owners, Inc., the American Intellectual Property Law Association, and the Association of Corporate Patent Counsel. He is a Fellow of the American Intellectual Property Law Association. Griswold has given back to ISU in many ways – including service to the Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering Advisory Council, College of Engineering Industrial Advisory Council, and ISU Research Foundation Board.

Throughout his distinguished career, Jon Rich has always had a keen interest in science and technology. That interest began at Iowa State and continued as he became a research scientist at General Electric, where he was the inventor of 26 U.S. patents, until he retired in 2018 as the chairman and CEO of Berry Global, a Fortune 500 global packaging leader. Rich spent 18 years at GE before joining Goodyear Tire and Rubber as president of the Global Chemical Division, and then as president of Goodyear’s North American Tire Division. In 2007 he began a relationship with New York-based Apollo Global Management, one of the world’s largest private equity firms. He served as CEO for two Apollo portfolio companies: Momentive Performance Materials and Berry Global.

In his retirement, Rich has served on the board of directors of PLZ Aeroscience and Hexion LLC, and he continues to act as an adviser to Apollo. Rich has been a constant advocate for Iowa State, serving as a member of the ISU Institute for Physical Research and Technology’s advisory board.

DeRionne Pollard** ’93 English, MS ’95 Clarksburg, Md. DeRionne Pollard is a visionary national leader in higher education who is committed to academic opportunity for all. President of the three-campus Montgomery College in Maryland since 2010, Pollard was one of seven college presidents nationally to be honored in 2017 with the Carnegie Corporation’s Academic Leadership Award for educators. Under Pollard’s leadership, Montgomery College has increased its graduation and transfer rates; created a 1,700-member coaching program to provide disadvantaged high school students with a pathway to a college degree; and tripled grant-funded research. A member of the board of directors for the American Association of Community Colleges (AACC) and president of the Association for Women in Community Colleges, Pollard has served on the prestigious AACC 21st Century Commission on the Future of Community Colleges, as well as the AACC Commission on Academic, Student, and Community Development. Among Pollard’s honors are the White House Champion of Change award and recognition as one of Washingtonian Magazine’s “100 most influential women in Washington, D.C.” 30

The nomination deadline for spring 2020 awards is Aug. 1, 2019.

HONORARY ALUMNI AWARD

Labh and Tahira Hira** Bonita Springs, Fla. There are few non-alumni couples who have had more of an impact on Iowa State University than Tahira and Labh Hira. Labh and Tahira left a legacy that includes a celebration of the university’s 150th anniversary; a commitment to improving the local economy and strengthening business partnerships in Iowa; and a healthier, more informed, and diverse Iowa State student body. Tahira, an internationally recognized expert on financial literacy and economic affairs, served in a variety of capacities at Iowa State, including professor, associate vice provost, the president’s representative to the ISUAA Board of Directors, executive assistant to the president, and senior policy adviser to the president. Labh served as an ISU professor of accounting and department chair in accounting and finance, associate dean and Raisbeck Endowed Dean of the Ivy College of Business, and as interim president of the ISU Foundation. Together, the Hiras chaired Campaign Destiny: Drive from Within for the ISU Foundation, and they remain active as cabinet members for the university’s current fundraising campaign Forever True, For Iowa State.

SPRING 2019 WWW.ISUALUM.ORG VISIONS

HONORARY ALUMNI AWARD

Debbie Ivy Los Altos, Calif.

The tremendous success of Auto-Chlor – a global leader in the manufacturing of low-energy dishwasher and commercial cleaning technologies – would not have been possible without the help and leadership of the company’s secretary/treasurer, Debbie Ivy. In turn, Iowa State’s College of Business wouldn’t be poised to reach new heights as a global leader in business education without the success and support of Auto-Chlor. Ivy, along with her husband, Auto-Chlor president Jerry Ivy (’53 industrial admin), gave $50 million to ISU’s Forever True, For Iowa State campaign in 2017 to name the college the Debbie and Jerry Ivy College of Business. The generous gift is part of a rewarding Iowa State adventure for Ivy, who never graduated from college. For the Ivys, the decision to invest in Iowa State University was easy; however, the decision to make a significant gift was a decision based on their faith in ISU and its vision for the future. For Iowa State, the decision has been transformative.

ORDER OF THE KNOLL CARDINAL AND GOLD AWARD

Warren and Beverly Madden** Warren: ’61 indust engr Beverly: ’60 home economics, MS ’70 family environment Ames, Iowa Not many people know Iowa State University like Warren and Beverly Madden do. Warren began his career at the university in 1966 – before there was Jack Trice Stadium, Reiman Gardens or CyRide – as the first contracts and grants officer. He became a vice president in 1984 and senior vice president of business and finance in 2012. During his career at Iowa State, Warren had responsibility for such areas as facilities planning and management, accounting and finance, human resource management, public safety, purchasing, and University Museums. Beverly, associate professor emeritus of food sciences and human nutrition, went on to direct the Iowa State Career Planning and Placement Services for 15 years. The Maddens have served on numerous boards and committees and have been active with many university initiatives. Warren directly served seven university presidents and interim presidents, and since the Iowa State University Foundation’s founding, barely a year has passed when one of the Maddens hasn’t served on a committee dedicated to the financial or administrative oversight of the organization.

ORDER OF THE KNOLL CAMPANILE AWARD

Dana and Martha Robes** Dana: ’67 dairy science Martha: ’15 honorary Round Pond, Maine Dana and Martha Robes have generously invested in Iowa State over the years with gifts of time and treasure.

They established the EARTH Service Learning Program in the U.S. Virgin Islands, which enables Iowa State undergraduate students to engage in community-focused service projects with an emphasis on sustainability. The Robeses also fund three scholarships that encourage experiential learning: the Fred Foreman Scholarship for Growth in Leadership Participation, the Dean’s Study Abroad Scholarship, and the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Dean’s Leadership Scholars. In addition, the couple established the Norman L. Jacobson Professorship in Dairy Science to honor the Iowa State faculty member Dana credits with inspiring his lifelong VISIONS WWW.ISUALUM.ORG SPRING 2019

respect for dairy science and the agricultural work ethic. Since the director of marketing and recruitment position in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences was created in 2006 with support from the Robeses, enrollment in the college has increased by more than 2,100 students. Dana began his career in animal nutrition and went on to create a successful furniture business that he and Martha owned for 22 years.

ORDER OF THE KNOLL FACULTY AND STAFF AWARD

David and Marianne Spalding** Ames, Iowa David and Marianne Spalding arrived at Iowa State in 2013 when David became the Raisbeck Endowed Dean of what is now the Debbie and Jerry Ivy College of Business. Since then, their accomplishments, both philanthropic and academic, have been extraordinary. Upon their arrival at the university, they established the David and Marianne Spalding Scholarship for women majoring in business fields – areas in which they are underrepresented.

The Spaldings’ support extends to many other areas of campus as well, including Stephens Auditorium, University Museums, and the marching band. David is currently Iowa State’s interim VP of economic development and business engagement. He serves on the Ames Economic Development Commission board of directors and is the United Way of Story County Tocqueville Campaign Chair.

He played a prominent role in formalizing the gift naming the Ivy College of Business and the Gerdin family’s lead gift to expand the Gerdin Business Building. Marianne is active in the Ames community and serves on the Session of Collegiate Presbyterian Church and as president of her P.E.O. chapter.

ORDER OF THE KNOLL CORPORATE AND FOUNDATION AWARD

Kent Corporation Muscatine, Iowa Over four decades, Kent Corporation and ISU have built a valuable partnership. Led by Gage Kent, chairman of the board and CEO, Kent Corporation is a diversified, family-owned corporation with operating subsidiaries involved in corn wet milling, the production of animal feeds, and the manufacturing of food products. The company has demonstrated a strong commitment to the educational and research mission of Iowa State, most recently with a substantial gift to support the university’s new feed mill and grain science complex, which will be a state-of-the-art facility for hands-on student learning, meaningful faculty research, and extension and outreach to industry workforce. Kent Corporation also established the Kent Corporation Chair in Business in the Ivy College of Business and designated a gift to the College of Engineering to name the auditorium in Hoover Hall. In July 2018, the company opened the Kent Innovation Center in the Iowa State Research Park, a facility that will provide a pipeline for employment for students in a variety of majors and allow faculty and staff to engage in innovative projects with an industry leader. **Life member of the ISU Alumni Association NOTE: Only ISU degrees are listed

YOU’RE INVITED

The 2019 Distinguished Awards Celebration Friday, April 26 2:00 pm, Benton Auditorium, Scheman Building

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Sustaining Cyclones Alumni and friends show they’re loyal and true through the ISUAA Sustaining Life donor program

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hanks to new and continuing Sustaining Life donors who made gifts in 2018. This is the 15th year of the program, and dollars donated by Life members have helped provide additional support for the Association’s programs and services, including the LegaCy Club, young alumni programs, VISIONS magazine, and student leadership programs.

15-YEAR DONORS Jacque (’74F) and James Andrew James (’70E) and Mary Ann Black Julie (’78D) and Mark (’77A) Blake Douglas Bosworth (’62E) Beverly Bowers (’73S) Winton Boyd (’66S) Martha (’76F) and Doug (’76A) Brown Lyndon Cakerice (’81E) Robert (’74E) and Elizabeth Carlson Karen Heldt-Chapman (’92M) and Jay Chapman (’90E) Joel Cerwick (’66E) Jack (’56E) and Dilla Cosgrove Janice (’54F) and Darrell (’54E) Coy Robert Crom (’50A) Craig Denny (’71E) Robert (’56E) and Marie Dierks Karleen Draper Glenda (’60F) and Donald (’59A) Eggerling MaryAlice (’57S) and Keith (’57S) Erickson Gary Flander (’80C) Jon Fleming (’75S) Charles (’53S) and Joanne Frederiksen Don (’58A) and Doris Goering

2018 gifts helped the ISUAA enhance the LegaCy Club to ensure future Cyclones grow up aspiring to be a part of the Iowa State adventure.

Beverly (’60F) and Warren (’61E) Madden Steven (’67S) and Michelle Mores James Myers (’58E) Doris Jean (’53F) and Owen J. (’51A) Newlin Patty (’72S) and Allen (’72S) Olson Scott (’69E) and Penny Olson Vicki (’78A) and Gary (’78A) Owens Lois (’57A) and Calvan (’59V) Pals Frank (’65S) and Marcia Parrish Gerald (’58S) and Margaret Pint Dennis Puffer (’68A) Carol (’75S) and Marlin (’75E) Reimer Dana (’67A) and Martha Robes Sharon (’71S) and Richard (’73A) Rodine Mary (’83M) and Raymond Scheve Charles (’58A) and Darlene Schmidt Margaret (’98F) and Ryan (’95A) Schon Rudy Schuver (’53A) Harriet (’60F) and Gary (’60A) Short Lee Simmons (’72S) Michael Sinclair (’80S) Gary (’69A) and Susan Speicher Betty Stephenson (’52F) Lora (’17O) and Russ (’17O) Talbot Deb Tharnish (’77S) and Nick Roby (’81S) Sandra (’58F) and Roy (’57E) Uelner Connie (’84S) and Roger (’80A) Underwood Lori (’93S) and Dwayne (’93M) Vande Krol Melvin (’13O) and Kathryn Weatherwax Richard (’67S) and Sandra Wellman Maria (’77E) and Mike (’79V) Westfall Gerald Wheelock (’61A) Thomas Whitson (’63A) Eric Wittrock (’92E) Mary (’78C) and Tim (’76A) Wolf Gertrude (’52F) and Ralph (’57A) Yoder Don (’60E) and Carolyn Zuck

14-YEAR DONORS

Geoffrey (’69E) and Vicki Grimes John (’67A) and Barbara Hagie Pamela (’71F) and Ronald (’71S) Hallenbeck Kyle Harms (’89S) Peter (’77E) and Pamela Hemken Liz (’76F) and Randy (’76A) Hertz Palmer Holden (’70A) Clara (’64S) and Harold (’65E) Hoover Elizabeth (’82M) and Gregory (’82A) Hora Sandra (’62F) and Richard (’62E) Horton James Howe (’73A) John Hunt (’64S) Ann (’56F) and Albert (’56E) Jennings Jeffery (’14H) and Peggy Johnson Sharon Juon (’69S) Jane (’67F) and Dale (’67S) Kiser Karen (’08O) and Gerald (’62A) Kolschowsky John Kueck (’66E) and M. Susan Viking-Kueck William (’53A) and Laura LaGrange Nancy (’78F) and Thomas (’82M) Macklin

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JaNelle (’69S) and Lloyd (’57A) Anderson Mary (’86C) and Charles (’87M) Bendgen Roger Benning (’63E) Burton Cooper (’72A) Stephen Cooper (’70E) Shirley (’63F) and Paul (’63E) Dana Kevin (’83A) and Jeanne Drury Mary Evert (’57F) Barbara (’71D) and Craig (’71E) Foss Elaine (’85M) and Brian Gifford Robert Hall (’54E) Roger Hansen (’65A) Caroline Hetfield Joseph Huber (’89E) Gerald (’68A) and Gwen Johnson Christopher (’73S) and Vernette Knapp Lawrence Litscher (’73S) Jane Lohnes Robert Manders (’63E) Glen (’61A) and Mary Jo Mente Carol (’56F) and Donald (’55A) Olson Sonia Porter (’60F) Carl (’67E) and Valerie Rausch Roger Reimers (’82A) Eric Rogers (’93S) Gary Sams (’70A) Suzanne (’89S) and Bernard (’95E) Schwartze Sandra Searl (’87S) Carolyn (’69D) and Charles (’68E) Sidebottom

KEY TO ACADEMIC CURRICULUM AND OTHER SYMBOLS:

A: Agriculture; B: Agricultural Engineering; C: Design D: Education; E: Engineering; F: Family and Consumer Sciences; H: Human Sciences; M: Business; S: Liberal Arts and Sciences; U: Interdisciplinary; V: Veterinary Medicine; X: Attended; O: Honorary

Marc Snyder (’85M) Norma (’60F) and Robert (’60S) Snyder Franklin Townsend (’80A) Sarah (’71F) and Jay (’59A) Van Wert Sharon Waterstreet (’78A) Dale (’74A) and Mary Jane Weber Carol (’61F) and Gerald (’61A) Wheelock Gary Woods (’62A)

13-YEAR DONORS James (’65A) and Cathryn Ahrenholz Peggy Allen (’67F) Stephen Anderson (’80V) Jan Ladman-Bancroft (’59S) and William Bancroft (’59S)

The ISUAA’s Sustaining Life donor program is a voluntary way for current, fully paid Life members to provide additional tax-deductible annual support to the ISU Alumni Association.

Barbara Brittingham (’67S) Kevin (’80A) and Christine Brooks Loyd (’69A) and Sue Brown Melissa Brush (’91S) Douglas Caffrey (’72A) John (’82E) and Kim Carlson Curt Clifton (’92E) John Faaborg (’71A) Craig Griffin (’83E) Thomas (’69E) and Cheryl Grinna Merlyn (’58E) and Irene Gutz Joann (’55F) and Robert (’55S) Hanson Carol (’86S) and David (’82E) Hawn Maynard (’66A) and Anne Hogberg Eugene Hohenshell (’62E) Donna (’08O) and Gary (’61E) Hoover Maryl Johnson (’73S) Kellie Jo Kilberg (’89S) Robert Kramer Jerry Ladman (’58A) Melvin Larsen (’46E) Sandra (’59C) and Everett May Sue (’77D) and Jay (’73A) Merryman William Millen (’70S) Deanna (’64S) and Walter (’69E) Nodean Merle Oleson (’59A) Edward (’82C) and Carolyn Ottesen Fred Peitzman (’61E) Norman Petermeier (’63E) Victor Pierrot (’63E) Richard Schmidgall (’83E) Michael Shepherd (’74S) Marcia (’85M) and Steve Stahly Chelon Stanzel (’61F) Jean (’60S) and Michael (’59E) Steffenson Omar Stoutner (’70A) Shelley (’87C) and Kevin (’87S) Stow Neal Suess (’84E) Dennis (’70A) and Mary Thomas Linda Glantz Ward (’70F) and Doug Ward (’67E) Joan Welch (’55S) Pamela (’77S) and Michael (’77E) Weston

Lorraine (’78F) and David (’79V) Whitney Tom Wilson (’84M) Dean Wolf (’61E) Kathy (’72D) and Steven (’73A) Zumbach

Patricia (’66F) and Ronald (’66A) Vansteenburg

10-YEAR DONORS

12-YEAR DONORS Tom Bjelland (’73A) Marcia (’78F) and Jim (’78A) Borel Janice and Jeffrey Breitman Denny (’65E) and Marcy Chaussee Harold (’50A) and Rachel Crawford Chris Cunningham (’79A) Jane Gustafson (’57F) James Harris (’74E) Carol (’72S) and J. Winston Hodges Ross Johnson (’68S) John (’70S) and Cheryl Kingland Daniel (’59S) and Sharon Krieger Patrice (’73D) and W. Mark (’73E) Lortz John (’63A) and Kay Mortimer Bebe Muehle Tucker (’43F) Wayne (’60S) and Eleanor Ostendorf Robert Palmer (’62E) Debra Dotzler Pfeifer (’86S) and Dennis Pfeifer (’86E) Nancy (’83A) and Douglas (’83A) Pringnitz William Reinhardt (’48E) Richard (’61A) and Elaine Rypkema John Saunders (’62E) Vincent Schwenk (’59E) Mary (’56F) and William (’56E) Snyder Vaughn Speer (’49A) Thomas Stephens (’78U) James (’76E) and Pamela Swales Steven (’84F) and Lori Uelner Donna Willett (’54F)

11-YEAR DONORS Keitha (’67F) and Ronald (’68E) Anderson Claire Andreasen Jean (’70F) and Jeffrey (’70A) Anliker Ruth Bassett (’60F) Marianne Berhow (’53F) Kenneth Bucklin (’62E) Richard Caputo (’72S) Todd Dahlof (’90D) Nancy (’72F) and Richard (’72A) Degner Evelyn Fisher (’60F) Marilynn Forsberg Nancy Gauthier (’79D) David Hahn (’80V) Bruce Hamilton (’73S) Cecilia (’89U) and Harry (’89U) Horner Melissa Houston (’95E) Barbara Janson (’65S) Lee Johnson (’73E) Teresa Beer Larson (’73S) and Jami Larson (’74S) Joel Leininger (’72V) Lyla (’71D) and Thomas Maynard Gerald (’55E) and Barbara Montgomery Thomas Penaluna (’63E) Nancy Turnquist-Peterson (’81V) and John Peterson (’78E) Nancy (’78S) and Patrick (’77E) Pinkston Thomas Ruzicka (’57A) Willis Ryan (’62E) Janis Scharingson (’71S) Robert Stober (’61E) Julie (’67F) and Laird Trusler Sara Turner

Carol Anderson (’76F) Joan (’64S) and John (’64S) Axel Gretchen Backlund (’48F) Mark Batchelder (’95S) Ellen (’56F) and Emerson (’56A) Bodell Richard Boettcher (’61E) Verna (’57F) and William Boland Susan Haugen-Bravard (’86D) and Matthew Bravard (’90S) Timothy Bray (’85E) Arnel Citurs (’88E) Craig Claussen (’69S) Marilyn (’75F) and Dwight (’74A) Conover James Crouse (’57E) Larry (’62A) and Barbara Ebbers Don Francois (’84B) Katherine (’70S) and William (’70S) Gilbert Linda (’68F) and William (’72A) Good Thomas (’69A) and Colleen Good Jill Haas (’82F) Janice (’62F) and Dale (’60E) Johnson Johann Karg (’69S) Fern Kelsay Kent Lage (’86E) Lois (’68F) and John (’67E) Mather James (’72A) and Connie Mohn Lu Ng (’69A) Ann (’54F) and Don (’54A) Platt Richard Pratt (’56A) Maryn (’73F) and Thomas (’58S) Rogge Kelly Rose (’86F) Brian Rumpf (’88E) Cathy (’88M) and Mark (’88A) Schmidt Keith (’56A) and Nancy Schmidt John (’59E) and Patricia Shors Erma (’70F) and Norm (’69A) Skadburg Shirley Snyder (’51F) Mitchell Stock (’69S) Bob Suominen Karen (’67S) and Jerry (’68F) Tow Ivan (’52A) and Genevieve Wikner

9-YEAR DONORS Donald Adams (’72E) Harold Barfknecht (’70S) Ruth Ann Bennett (’59F) Lorraine Bruns (’47C) Dennis Casey (’64A) Loren Christian (’57E) Frank Clark (’54A) Marcia (’68S) and John (’67A) Cook

In 2018, 1,456 Sustaining Life members contributed $285,000 to support Association programs and services.

Kevin Dittmar (’85B) Ronald Doofe (’68E) Paul (’58V) and Janice Ehrig Julia (’85S) and Jon (’85A) Ellis William Farr (’76E) James Fetrow (’61A) Connie Funk (’78F) John (’66E) and Nancy Hayes Carol (’58F) and Gerald (’53A) Hunter Julie (’88A) and Jay (’89A) Jacobi Carol Jensen (’88M) Kent (’78S) and Sara Johnson

SPRING 2019 WWW.ISUALUM.ORG VISIONS

Alice Keene-Mason (’05E) Virginia Kern (’71V) David (’77V) and Diane Larson Karen (’69F) and Dennis (’71E) Licht Joanne (’59S) and Richard (’57S) Liddy Angie Lookingbill (’93M) Jeanne (’62F) and David (’61E) O’Melia Diane (’79S) and Allan (’83E) Roderick Jack Sawyer (’52S) Deborah (’83E) and Jeffery (’81E) Schebler

129 Life members have participated in all 15 years of the program!

Karen (’71D) and Roy (’70S) Siple Ryan Slattery (’00M) Christine (’91D) and David (’91E) Slump Sandra Steffenson Tamkin (’90S) Shirley Stow (’76D) Clarita (’59F) and Doug (’59A) Vandermyde David VanHorn (’89E) Byron Veath (’51E) Nancy (’71S) and Alan (’71E) Wilcox Samuel (’67A) and Carol Wise Lynnette (’82S) and Jeffrey (’81E) Witt Jane (’77F) and David (’72E) Wombacher Diane (’69S) and Michael (’70A) Wonio

8-YEAR DONORS John Albright (’76S) Margaret (’85S) and Todd (’84A) Barker Edwin Bartine (’64A) Gloria (’67F) and Leo (’65A) Beebout Karey (’88M) and Todd (’88A) Bishop James Blum (’70E) Susan (’81S) and Douglas (’81S) Boden Barbara (’61F) and James (’60E) Bunning Judith (’62F) and Leroy Butler Carl Carlson (’71A) Donald Cook (’74V) Joe (’58E) and Patricia Cunning Donald (’66V) and Dianne Draper Jane (’88D) and William (’69A) Edwards James (’73A) and Dagni Falvey Richard Freeman (’50A) Murl Grandia (’56E) Brenda Greaves (’83D) Roger Grundmeier (’72A) Martha (’83S) and Edward (’83C) Gschneidner Russell Hansen (’67A) Robert (’58S) and Nancy Lindemeyer Bradley Maurer (’78D) David Meyer (’67E) Sondra Mount (’65F) James Naibert (’77S) Cathy Nelson (’79S) Harold (’73E) and Mary Paustian Jeffrey Rettig (’83A) Kathy Rhode (’82S) Susan (’78A) and Jack (’85S) Robbins Richard Roepke (’70A) Denise (’78S) and William (’74A) Ryan Gerald Sewick (’55S) Andrew Shell (’71E) Shirley Smith (’09S) Becky Stadlman (’74S) Donna (’81D) and William (’80S) Steckel Gerald (’61V) and Carolyn Te Paske Lynn Vorbrich (’60S) Loy (’57F) and Robert (’56A) Walker Norman (’59C) and Margaret Wirkler

7-YEAR DONORS Ann (’87M) and Howard (’88M) Anderson Richard (’55A) and Beverly Anderson Dorothy (’63F) and Curtis (’59A) Askelson Ronald Baker (’70V) Jan (’72S) and J.D. (’64S) Beatty Emily Burton (’76A)

Carol (’60F) and Keith (’59A) Clement Christine (’83A) and Charles (’83A) Cornelius Darrell Cox (’83A) Jack Cox (’50E) Nancy Dittmer (’84M) Etna (’56F) and James (’56E) Doyle Sharon Drendel Albert (’67A) and Suzanne Duroe Carol Elliott (’72S) David Eyre (’61E) Yvonne Ferris (’56S) James (’60A) and Clare Frevert Anthony Germann (’60A) James (’79V) and Susan Hagedorn Luan Hammell (’71F) Keith Helgevold (’85E) Rudy (’73E) and Deborah Herrmann Tracy Kolosik (’81M) Charlene Korslund (’51F) Kevin Krogmeier (’75U) Allan Mattke (’60A) Ana Hays McCracken (’84F) and Edward McCracken (’66E) Julia McCutchan (’58F) Thomas McIntosh (’67A) Gail McKinzie (’76D) Lorna (’64F) and Donald (’67V) Myrtue Steffan Paul (’91S) Myrna (’82F) and Ronald (’57A) Powers Richard Renk (’50E) Keith Rolston (’64V) Duane Seehusen (’74V) John Seward (’58A) Gordon Smith (’61A) Timothy Smith (’77S) Thomas Stanton (’53S) Gregory Strand (’75V) Janet (’60F) and Edward (’59A) Wachs Martha Jean (’09O) and Robert (’09O) Watson Diana (’78F) and Mark Weber Christine Wehrman (’70F) Lori (’86S) and Doug (’84S) Wenzel Tara Whitmire (’01S) Suzanne Wyckoff (’70S) and Willie Williams (’70S)

6-YEAR DONORS Marlene (’68F) and Paul (’71V) Armbrecht Kerry Walter-Ashby (’92S) and Robert Ashby (’92C) Judith Baird (’80S) Patricia (’81S) and Scott (’80E) Benesh Arthur Bine (’57A) Benjamin Boden (’05H) Janet (’85E) and Don (’84A) Borcherding Jane (’65F) and Ronald (’64S) Brownlee Boon Chuan Chew (’91S) James Christensen (’78A) Frank (’76S) and Kathy Comito Shirley (’56F) and Kay (’56A) Connelly Russell (’55E) and Carolyn Copley Jeffrey Couch (’77S) Matthew (’00S) and Sarah Craft Jeffrey Crain (’89S) Michael Davis (’71V) John Dear (’67S) Laurie (’85M) and Kenneth (’82M) Eastman Judy Erickson (’70S) and Karl Eby (’73A) Robert Farr (’61S) Larissa (’93V) and Richard (’91E) Hautekeete Kathleen (’77D) and Dale (’93E) Heinrichs Fred Heinz (’78A) Douglas (’73A) and Nancy Hofbauer Lori (’02M) and Daniel (’00M) Kartman Julie (’84D) and John (’77D) Larson Lee Maddocks (’52E) Karen McGregor (’82S) Douglas Meyers (’88E) Todd Miszner (’83A) Bonnie (’65F) and Gerald Moeller Jon Mullarky (’61E) Diana Nevins (’85S) R. Ted Payseur (’72S) Katy (’83F) and Dave (’85E) Pepper

VISIONS WWW.ISUALUM.ORG SPRING 2019

Sandra (’61F) and Darold (’60A) Plate Ellen and Jamie Pollard Sybil (’67S) and Noel (’66S) Rasmussen Sharon (’64F) and Richard (’64S) Richman Richard Rickert (’68A) Charles Ricketts Ruth Ann Robson (’52F) David Rush (’85E) Sherry (’75F) and Mark (’76S) Schmidt Kristin (’76A) and F. Dean Sears Joyce Siefering (’65F) Robert (’78S) and Shawn Simonsen Norma Speer (’57F) Scott (’95S) and Priscilla Stanzel Catherine Stevermer (’93D) Taylor Swanson (’03E) Nancy (’66F) and Charles (’67A) Sweetman Amy (’91M) and Brian (’91M) Tetmeyer Ronald Thompson (’76E) Terrence (’79S) and Maureen Tobin Dee (’75S) and David (’73S) Vandeventer David Villa (’68E) Barbara Weeks (’78S) Sally (’70D) and Wayne Wilson Dorothy Siehl Wolverton (’61F) and Doyle Wolverton (’60A)

5-YEAR DONORS Stuart Anderson (’91E) Elizabeth (’86E) and Scott (’84E) Benjamin Sharon Bennett Gregory Buffington (’67E) Eric (’97V) and Brenda Burrough John Dewey (’76S) Robert Dighton (’56E) William Dohrmann (’63A) Diane (’69S) and Jerry (’73E) Eilers William Ellingrod (’54E) Kristie (’88M) and Joel (’92V) Elmquist Rebecca Eustice (’73S) Thomas (’60A) and Ruth Feldmann Teri (’90S) and Curtis (’90M) Ford Daniel Gannon (’68A) Jerry (’62A) and Jeanette Gault Jean (’69F) and William (’68S) Giddings Julie (’05M) and JD (’07E) Greiner John Grundmeier (’81A)

Did you miss a year or two? You may choose to “make up” previous years when you make your next Sustaining Life donation.

Wayne Hartwig (’66E) William Hicks (’60V) Alice Hill (’64F) Philip Hill (’59A) Randall Hillman (’73S) John Hoper (’62E) Karen Hunck (’84E) David Johnson (’70E) Sandra (’65F) and Gary (’64S) Johnson Carrie Jorgensen (’93A) Shirley (’62F) and Lester (’62S) Juon Jeffrey Kemink (’81A) Greg Kramer (’01A) James Kruse (’76S) Tony Kruse (’04S) Timothy Kuntz (’88S) Paul Lebuhn (’49S) Alice Lissner (’61F) Joseph (’63S) and Teresnia Longval Roger (’71V) and Marilyn Mahr Elizabeth McBroom-Vollbracht (’83V) and James McBroom Judy (’60F) and Edward (’60E) McCall Daryl (’76E) and Kitty Metzger Steven (’72S) and Nancy Myers Kathleen Niedert (’73F) Daniel Patrick (’01V)

Robert (’62E) and Jeanette Pedersen Lynnette (’73H) and Dennis (’71H) Pelisek Steven Petska John Pothoven (’68A) Brooke (’03S) and Richard (’02A) Prestegard Thomas (’69A) and Janet Putnam Megan Rose (’97A) and Brent (’96A) Reschly Mary (’85E) and Frank (’88E) Reynolds Alice Rhatigan (’57F) Gene (’72V) and Sandi Rinderknecht Lou Ann (’70S) and Kent (’70S) Sandburg Deborah (’84A) and James Schade Jennifer Scharff (’98S) James (’80V) and Kimberly Seaton Ruth Ann (’73F) and Brock (’73S) Seney Eugene Severson (’49A) Penelope (’69S) and James (’72A) Shenk Dean (’58A) and Shirley Skaugstad Evonne (’68F) and Thomas (’68S) Smith Katherine (’56F) and William (’56A) Smith Susan Smith Norma (’57F) and William (’59V) Speer Timothy (’77E) and Nancy Sullivan Charles Swanson (’67A) Cynthia Thorland (’84S) and Fritz Weitz Todd Tierney (’90C) Steven Tritsch (’79E) Elizabeth (’87M) and John (’86A) Van Diest Paul Van Roekel (’80V) Stephen (’67E) and Beverly Watson Michael Wells (’74V) Denise (’87F) and Gregory (’85M) Wilgenbusch Anna (’62F) and Roger Winans

4-YEAR DONORS Don (’79A) and Monica Behning Jolee (’78E) and Steven (’77E) Belzung Beth (’74F) and Roger (’74A) Bockes Michael Bowman (’65E) Mike Budworth (’94E) Jan (’97A) and Kurt (’97A) Dallmeyer Christy (’00S) and Justin (’01E) Doornink Mary Eggert (’64S) Cheryl Eldh (’51F) Pattie Erps (’84M) Robert Fitzgerald (’52E) Darrell Flannery (’76E) Kathleen Geoffroy (’13O) Jean Hammar (’63F) Risdon Hankinson (’67E) Johnie Hanson (’73E) Eugene (’52E) and Ruth Harris Sharon (’65S) and Jan (’65S) Haugen Alberta (’68F) and Dennis (’67A) Helmke Elizabeth Horne (’51F) Cathy Hsu (’86F) and Thomas Sun (’91F) Theodore Hutchcroft (’53A) Judith (’71F) and Richard (’72A) Isaacson Steven Jargo (’70E) Donald (’60E) and Linda Jayne Joan Jensen (’81F) Debra (’69F) and Tom (’71V) Johnson Lynne Johnson (’75F) Stanley Kammerer (’65S) Patty (’87M) and Mike (’84S) King Ruth (’58S) and Alvin (’58E) Klouda Steven (’77E) and Mary Korrect William (’56S) and Mary Lanphere Ruth Larson (’52S) Stanley (’62A) and Virginia Laures Lea Lautenschlager (’74S) Pak Leung (’86A) Robert (’67S) and Charlotte Lewis Barbara Lyall (’57F) Dennis (’73S) and Susan Martin Cynthia Mather (’89V) Kimberly (’02S) and Dustin (’02S) McDonough Richard Milder (’65S)

Jayden Montgomery (’97A) William Moran (’73E) Marc Mores (’95D) Gretchen (’96F) and Michael (’05D) Mosher David Munson (’64A) John O’Byrne (’64A) D. Joseph (’77S) and Catherine Parrish Diane (’68F) and James (’66A) Patton Rita (’77A) and Dale (’77A) Peters Michaela (’07M) and Eric (’07A) Peterson Louise Pickart (’65S) James Pint (’49E) Linda (’67S) and Mark (’67A) Podhajsky Robert Powell (’82S) George Puffett (’83E) Melanie (’00E) and Karl Reichenberger Douglas Reimer (’72A)

We challenge you to increase your 2019 gift by 10% or move up to the next listed giving level.

Kathleen Epstein-Ritts (’80S) and Charles Ritts (’70S) Miriam Satern (’73S) Karen Schipfmann (’94M) Nicole (’09E) and Bryan (’08E) Schmidt Deborah (’70D) and James (’70E) Schultz Julie Schwalbe (’87A) and Martin Kalton (’83A) Jasmine (’59F) and Richard (’59E) Seagrave Jerry Sharp (’61E) Clinton Spangler (’51S) Curtis Stamp (’89S) Deborah (’81S) and William (’81S) Stearns Jill (’80S) and Daniel Stevenson James Tannhauser (’81A) Judith Timan (’62F) Kristyn (’85S) and Kurt (’85M) Tjaden Peri Van Tassel (’84S) John Vondracek (’44E) Terry (’69S) and Sherry Voy Morgan Wang (’91S) Willard Watney (’70S) Laura Weiglein (’07H) Tony Wells (’80S) Mark White (’92E) Richard Wynne (’76A) Debra Yankey (’79F) Carrie (’02F) and Michael (’02E) Zorich

3-YEAR DONORS Sally (’69D) and Mark (’69E) Adrian Richard (’66A) and Margaret Anderson Jonlee Andrews (’80F) David (’69E) and Muriel Arnold Curtis Bakker (’89A) Wayne Banwart (’75A) Madonna (’74F) and Gregory (’75S) Bell Darlene Bortle (’51F) Heather and Gary Botine Signe (’99D) and Jonathan (’98M) Brackmann Susan Braden (’65S) Derek Bristol (’94E) Susan Brown (’97M) Regina Brown Fineran (’57F) Dan (’95E) and Angelia Buhr Bret Carter (’82A) and Hazel Williams- Carter Eric Clark (’93A) Rebecca (’77S) and Joel (’70D) Coats Terry (’71S) and Pamela Cobb Christina Coffman (’89S) Thomas (’76S) and Lisa Connop Meg (’84M) and Jeffrey (’84S) Courter Jon Crumpton (’78E) Ruth Dawson (’54F) George (’88M) and Ann Deery Continued

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Continued from previous page Joye (’63F) and Donald (’63A) Dillman Frederick (’67E) and Cassandra Dotzler Jean (’63S) and Frederick Dyer Elaine Erickson (’73S) John (’65A) and Joann Esser Donald Feld (’68E) Mark (’70S) and Laurel Fleming Linda (’72H) and Stephen (’72C) Foster Mary Glenn Fuchs (’56F) and John Fuchs (’58E) Peg Armstrong-Gustafson (’81A) and Gregory Gustafson (’80A) Shannon (’82D) and William (’79S) Haas

Make your 2019 gift online at www.isu alum.org/sustaining or watch for your 2019 mailer in mid-March.

Becci (’89C) and Robert (’88E) Hamilton Kerrianne Hanlin (’88V) John (’64S) and Carolyn Hanson Kim (’85F) and James (’86E) Heise Amy Henry (’03A) Myron Hinrichs (’66V) Mary (’64F) and Donald (’63A) Hoy Richard Ingham (’49S) Jerlando Jackson (’00D) Jerry Jacobson (’79S) William Jameson (’62S) Donald Johnson (’57E) Brent Johnston (’88E) Mary (’65F) and Everette Jones Carol (’71D) and Richard (’71S) Jurgens Kathleen (’65H) and Eldon (’62S) Kaul Bryan (’69E) and Susan Kinnamon Mary Korslund (’56F) Cynthia Leigh (’76S) Don Leo (’58S) Nancy (’56H) and Paul (’57V) Leonard Chad Lochner (’96E) Michele (’87M) and Joseph (’83A) Lucas Sydney (’75S) and Gary (’73B) McConeghey Rodney McElvain (’71S) Marlene (’73S) and Lonnie (’73A) Miller Shelli (’84M) and Erik (’81S) Munn M. (’76F) and Jeffrey (’75E) Myhre Amy (’93E) and Jon (’94C) Nolting Marsha Paine (’68F) Cuong Pham (’77E) Steven Phillips (’72E) Joan (’98M) and Pete Piscitello Jan Powell (’80A) Steven Quade (’87E) Rhonda Rathje (’80S) Tracey (’86S) and Jerome Rayhons Julie (’78F) and Scott (’79D) Rosin Robert Saunders (’79A) Mark Settle (’75A) Joan Simpson Maury Smith (’84S) Mary (’67F) and Wallace (’66S) Souder Sandra (’69S) and Robert (’69S) Stedman Wilma Struss (’93S) David Trauger (’64A) Janet Tryon Janice Twinam William Underwood Aaron Vansteenburg (’95E) Keith Vollstedt Douglas Wallen (’64E) James Weiss (’68V) Diane West (’68F) James Wistrom (’59V) Arnulfo Ybarra Marvin Yount (’77S)

2-YEAR DONORS Shelley (’85S) and Mark (’86V) Ackermann Lynda Adams (’64F)

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Eric Alter (’88E) Bryan Anderson (’92A) R. Bruce Anderson (’85E) Renee (’87M) and Jerry (’87M) Arndt David Barnes (’81S) Christina Barthel (’59A) Rene (’88E) and Michael (’88D) Beck Kelley (’65S) and Joan Bergstrom Kohnne (’70F) and David (’71S) Bippus Gary Borkowski (’87V) William Brindley (’60A) Everett Brown (’59A) LuAnn Cagin (’97C) Gale Chatterton (’67E) Joel Clark (’83E) Jerry Clausen (’71A) Kathy Cole (’76A) Ann (’63S) and John Conklin Susan (’53F) and Harold (’49E) Cowles Joan Craig (’51F) Wayne Craney (’62E) and Carmen Cordes Craney Katharine Cross (’75V) John (’70V) and Dawn Cunningham Roger (’67A) and Karen DeLay Linda (’70F) and Gail (’70S) Dieleman James Dresser (’63S) Sondra Dyer (’60F) Connie (’72S) and Kyle (’72S) Eichhorn Heather (’95E) and David (’94E) Eisenmenger Duane Fisher (’73A) Joe Ford (’66A) Marsha (’80C) and Michael (’80E) Ford Kelvin Gale (’79A) Vicky Garnsey (’75H) Lyle Gaston (’53S) Jan Gravenkamp (’58E) Evelyn (’55F) and Kenneth (’54A) Gregersen Doris Haack (’61S) David (’70V) and Suzanne Hahn Lois Welter-Hallberg (’78A) and John Hallberg (’82V) Elizabeth Harrold-Hoogesteger (’73S) Cynthia (’77D) and Brent (’74A) Hart Peter (’58A) and Janet Hermanson Susan Hornung (’79D) Larry (’63A) and Marlene Hummel Elizabeth Hunter (’97E) Douglas (’87E) and Jeanette Hyde Dan Johnson (’94A) Gwendolyn Jolly (’57F) Robyn (’93F) and DeRionne (’93S) Jones Grace Keir (’60F) Mavis (’77D) and David (’67F) Kelley Jack Kingery (’60C) Kenneth Klindt (’59A) Kathleen Koenig (’73D) Dane Korver Gary Laabs (’74A) James (’72S) and Kay Lehman Joseph (’56A) and Barbara Leonard Choy (’85C) and Connie Leow Charles Lettow (’62E) Ronna (’66F) and Charles (’67E) Lorensen Darwin Luedtke (’71A) Ann Madden Rice (’79S) Margaret Main (’67F) Frank McKinzie Larry Meyer (’82A) Mark Milliman (’86E) Dea (’69A) and Ronald (’68E) Oleson Alan Oppedal (’58A) Cynthia Oppedal Paschen (’82S) and John Paschen (’82A) Bryce (’71E) and Rita Pearsall Charles Pleak (’71S) Richard Pospisil (’57E) Ray (’78E) and Carol Powell Lloyd Prince (’67A) Sally Pritchard (’55S) Donald Pruitt (’79E) David (’80S) and Anne Radke John Rickerson (’55A) Colette (’70S) and Kenneth (’73E) Rieck Marilyn (’51F) and Jim Rock Alice (’78C) and Craig (’78S) Rohrssen William Rusk (’72S) and Dotti Johnson

Sally (’59F) and Dennis (’59E) Rust Patricia (’74S) and Thomas (’74S) Sack Grant Sawyer (’60A) Mark Schacht (’81S) Ronald Scharnweber (’68S) James Schipper (’72A) Amy (’01A) and Jon (’04V) Schmidt Harold Selim (’70A) Troy Senter (’84M) Sherri Sherod (’78F) Wava Shirbroun (’95S) William Sloan (’55A) Robert (’69E) and Lynne Sloop C.K. (’78V) and Grant (’77S) Smith Richard Snyder (’72S) Margaret Sohm (’72S) James Soppe (’02A) Steven Specker (’67E) Deanne (’85M) and James (’85A) Stuart Amanda Ramer-Tait (’06U) and Richard Tait (’99A) Dennis (’62S) and Colleen Tasler Howard Thalacker (’68S) Gregory Thiel (’70E) James Tobin (’78A) and Virginia Heagney Andrew Underwood (’17M) Dennis Underwood (’67A) Henry Walter Ruth Walton (’66S) Theresa Weaver (’89S) Allyn Weber (’70E) Cynthia Welter (’76F) Lynn (’78E) and Wendy Wenger Stephen (’68S) and Mary Wessman Jeffrey White (’92S) Gretchen Wilhelm (’60S) Esther Willham (’72D) Gilbert Withers (’57A) Craig Woods (’71E) Mark Zumbach (’74A)

FIRST-YEAR DONORS Marylou (’70F) and Donald (’64A) Ahrens Joan (’80S) and Ahmad (’83A) Al-Absy Judith Apple (’74S) Melvin Bancroft (’77A) Brian Banker (’08E) Ruth Bartell (’49F) Sherry (’74F) and Kim (’74A) Bates Keith Bauer (’60S) H. Prince Beall (’66E) Elizabeth Beeck (’92S) Gary Belzer (’67A) Lynne Bickelhaupt (’86M) Dean Bierschenk (’83E) Olivia (’00E) and Christopher (’01E) Bloomquist

Sustaining Life gifts made in 2018 enhanced the ability of the ISUAA to engage young alumni with Iowa State University.

Joseph Blum (’56E) Randy Borg (’81S) Karen (’85C) and Jeffrey (’84A) Bump Hallie Still-Caris (’83M) and David Caris (’83M) Azure (’01S) and Zachary (’02C) Christensen Michael Christenson (’66S)

Judy (’68F) and Jerry (’68S) Clements Nate (’85A) and Donna Cottington Robert (’90E) and Lori Cramer Lynn Curtis (’66S) Elizabeth Dail (’76F) Gary (’70S) and Hanna Dannenbring Sandra (’68S) and Lynn (’68E) Davis Jerry Doorenbos (’88E) Heather (’06A) and Jason (’08E) Duncan Lance (’72S) and Kathy Ehmcke Donna Elliott (’61F) Matthew Erickson (’72S) LeVern (’67E) and Barbara Faidley Michael Feldhacker (’95S) Jean (’81F) and Albert (’80A) Fichter Colin Finn (’06M) Helen Fleming Sheri Floyd (’86S) Daniel Foor (’94A) Kelly (’11M) and Gary Freel Allan Frevert (’62A) Gerald Fritz (’72E) Louise Fuller (’92V) Christi Gansen (’85S) Mindy DeVries Gelder (’02A) and Brian Gelder (’00A) Leah (’88D) and Bret (’84S) Gilliland William Gode (’57A) Ann Goldhammer (’91V) Margarite Goodenow (’59F) Rolland Grabbe (’64A) Bob Greene (’92E) Teri Hampson (’67F) Amy (’94S) and David (’93M) Hansen Gregory Hansen (’85E) Janet Hansen (’53S) Julie (’88E) and Andy (’82E) Hardwick Rick Harmon (’81V) Martha Hartman (’51F) Thamon Hazen (’56B) Kathryn Hesse (’84A) Lauri (’93F) and Wade (’92S) Hinners Norma Hirsch (’66S) Susan Hoffmann (’65F) Kimberly Hood (’87F) Rebecca Hsu E. Hutson (’58E) Clyde Johnson (’81A) Jennifer Johnson (’98S) Gwendolyn (’57F) and Frank (’58A) Jolly Nathan Julka (’06E) Kenneth King (’62S) Linda (’70F) and Richard (’70E) Klabunde Lew Klinge (’70A) Constance Krelle (’80S) Roger Krogstad (’80V) Dennis Ladwig (’65A) Patricia (’58F) and Donald (’59V) Lamb Rodney Larsen (’73A) Jon Laurich (’71S) Keith Leitich (’90S) Michael Lentz (’80B) Julie LeVake (’84A) David Lineweaver (’93S) Robert (’55A) and Carol Logan Rodney Logan (’74S) Andrew Logsdon (’85E) Mary Ann (’94M) and Paul Lundy Sarah (’80F) and Rick (’81A) Mabary Pamela Mahany (’76D) Sharon (’65F) and Kenneth (’63E) Marsh Kandace (’73S) and Curtis (’76E) Martin Maria (’85M) and Jeff (’85S) Martin Georgia Mauk (’60A) Karl McCarty (’81A) Carolyn McCutcheon (’81V) Thomas McGee (’61E) Thomas (’65E) and Bonnie Mefferd Steven (’83E) and Jolene Meis Lois Miller (’97S) Daniel Mohr (’83E) Kathryn (’99S) and Steve Moser Tsukasa Mukai (’55E) Teresa Nece (’74F) Donna Nelson (’70S) Amie Rockow-Nelson (’92S) and Jeffrey Nelson (’93S)

Mark Neppel (’77A) May (’62F) and James Nojiri Robert North (’63A) Ellen (’80A) and Alan (’80A) Nothwehr Paula (’83F) and Bradley (’82E) Novacek Nick Orlich (’49E) Cathy Osborn (’78F) Marilyn Overmyer (’53F) Jeffrey Oxley (’88A) Dennis Palmer (’68S) Mary Paque (’98M) Gary Parker (’80S) Martin (’63V) and Virginia Patch Thomas Paulsen (’01A) Ann Perkins Fields (’92A) Phyllis Peters (’80S) Keota Philpot (’58S) Joyce Potts (’67S) Jodi (’03E) and Eric (’04D) Prosise Steven Pulley (’84S) Margaret Quayle (’60F) William Quinn (’64V) Jon Radabaugh (’61S) Ty Reinert (’87S) Dan Roberts (’72E) Jeffrey Rodman (’77S) Morris Rosen (’74E) Matt Schon (’05M) Steven Senne (’87E) Michael Shaw (’79A) Jeanene (’83A) and David (’84S) Skarshaug Craig Smith (’85A) Kimberly (’91S) and Gregory (’91D) Smith Adam Stecklein (’05E)

Life members: Your decision to participate as a Sustaining Life donor will not affect the benefits and services you already receive as a valued lifetime member.

Leroy Stiff Roy Stevenson (’61E) Minnie Stiff (’67S) Stephen Taft (’65S) Ann Taylor (’83H) Randy Timmerman (’83M) Michael Tomlinson (’72E) James Vancura (’73S) Kathleen Vires (’74A) Brenda (’79S) and Gary (’78A) Vrba John Walker (’67A) Thomas Wenke (’65S) Lois Wergeland (’71S) Chuck White (’79A) Diane Whited (’93C) Maureen (’85S) and Berton (’86D) Whited Veronica (’87S) and Mark (’90S) Woodall Carol (’83M) and Michael (’86V) Yanda Christina (’86S) and Jeff (’83E) Yang Karen (’61S) and Ted (’59E) Yellman Alan (’57E) and Esther Yoder Danhui (’08U) and Linfeng (’08E) Zhang

SPRING 2019 WWW.ISUALUM.ORG VISIONS

TRUE INSPIRATION When you support Iowa State University, you help foster innovation, you inspire learning and you uplift lives.

Because the world needs more Cyclone spirit.

To learn how you can be forever true to Iowa State, visit ForeverTrueISU.com.

 FROM THE PRESIDENT

Young alumni are stepping up Dear members: They’re young. They’re talented. They love Iowa State. They’re doing impressive service. They’re already giving back. They’re loyal, committed, and true. They’re applying to serve on boards, committees, councils, and task forces. And you can bet your Association is trying its best to be responsive to their inquiries and early overtures.

The ISU Alumni Association currently defines “young alumni” as those graduates who have either graduated in the last 12 years or who are 34 years of age or younger. Of Iowa State’s 262,427 living addressable graduates, 59,071 or 23% of this number are young alumni.

Many were leaders in high school, their communities, and/or 4-H. Some continued

their leadership trajectory while at Iowa State or got introduced to their potential through the opportunities they found or created while at Iowa State. Others took leadership roles following graduation and landed in their profession of choice.

Make no mistake: They want to make a difference. Plus, they believe in their alma mater, and they tell us that their Iowa State education and experiences put them in a great position to have the life and success they are experiencing. My staff and I, along with your Association’s governing board and Young Alumni Council, are thrilled with this phenomenon. Why? For one, the majority of these individuals are stepping up without us having to even ask them to serve. Secondly, many are entrepreneurs and have control of their time and resources. This type of clout leads to them not having to get permission from an employer to serve. But also, many do

ISU ALUMNI ASSOCIATION CAMPAIGN PRIORITIES

ISUAA President and CEO Endowment Alumni Association Programs Endowment Student Leadership Programs Endowment VISIONS Magazine Endowment Awards Program Endowment Eggerling Staff Development Endowment Madden Technology Endowment LegaCy Club Endowment Young Alumni Programs Endowment Alumni Clubs Endowment Diversity & Inclusion Initiatives Endowment General Program Endowment

GOAL RAISED** $2.5 million $2.5 million $10 million $2.3 million* $1 million $429,675 $2 million $87,750 $1 million $53,208 $250,000 $263,187 $250,000 $255,930 $1.5 million $249,575 $1 million $69,502 $2 million $141,425 $1 million $167,337 $583,790

Total ISU Alumni Association Campaign Goal $12.5 million $4.8 million **As of 2/9/19

have employers and partners who support and encourage volunteer leadership.

In our recent pool of Board candidates, for example, six were under the age of 34 and had graduated between 2006 and 2018.

You’ll see one of these individuals, Taylor Davis, on the board ballot on page 50.

This issue of VISIONS has devoted much of its space to this younger population of our alumni body. And as we think about the future of Iowa State and the Association, we will work to make room and opportunities available for this crop of leaders, volunteers, members, supporters, and perspectives. Their involvement will make our organizations stronger.

In closing, please know that diversity and inclusion are key pillars in your Association’s strategic plan. That’s diversity of age, gender, race, perspective, sexual orientation, ethnicity, physical ability, majors, colleges, geography, military service, etc. In other words, we’re making time, opportunities, and outreaches to all Cyclones... everywhere! And I hope our young alumni know now that we desire their membership, voice, and support.

As you interface with Iowa State’s young alumni, or if you know any of them personally, encourage them to step up and announce their desire to serve Iowa State. They should, like any of us should do, also let us know what Iowa State or the Association can do to serve them.

Service, for your Association, is a two-way street.

Yours for Iowa State,

#

Jeff Johnson ** Lora and Russ Talbot Endowed President and CEO PhD ’14 education

TO MAKE A GIFT IN SUPPORT OF THE ISU ALUMNI ASSOCIATION, contact Jamie Stowe, Director of Development for the ISU Alumni Association, 877-ISU-ALUM, (locally) 515-294-7441 or jstowe@foundation.iastate.edu, or online at www.isualum.org/giving 36

SPRING 2019 WWW.ISUALUM.ORG VISIONS

 CA M PA I G N P R O F I L E S

‘Why I give’ ISU launched its $1.1 billion campaign, Forever True, For Iowa State, in fall 2016.

For the ISU Alumni Association, the campaign will help position the Association to better serve and showcase Iowa State and Cyclones everywhere. Meet these donors who are contributing to the Alumni Association’s campaign priorities. grow and develop in their careers. Lastly, while living in Kansas City and Denver we enjoyed being active in the ISUAA clubs, which engage and connect alumni back to ISU. Therefore, contributing to the Young Alumni Program Endowment resonates well, embodies who we are, and captures the rich love we have for Iowa State. We are proud Cyclones and are exCYted supporters of the Alumni Association and Iowa State. Forever True, For Iowa State.”

Nurturing future alumni & friends “Iowa State – it’s about opportunity; it’s about adventure; it’s about finding love; and it’s about nurturing future ISU alumni and friends. Iowa State and the ISUAA have been a regular part of our family for the last 15 years. We met in the construction engineering (ConE) cornerstone learning community, were involved in ConE organizations, and Nicole was involved in the Student Alumni Leadership Council. These ISU organizations helped build our leadership and relationship skills, and continue to guide who we are and how we lead today. Therefore, supporting the Student Leadership Endowment (as well as the Construction Engineering Excellence Fund) is one way we hope to impact future students and leaders of ISU and our world.

As Nicole finishes her ISUAA Board of Directors term as immediate past chair, we reflected back on the many life events that have happened throughout her board tenure. Through Nicole’s time on the board we have been blessed with two lovely daughters. Nicole nursed both of these little Cyclones through their first year of life.

Funding the Lactation Room in the ISU Alumni Center was an easy decision for us; it combined three things we love: Iowa State, the ISUAA, and nurturing future families – by providing mothers a comfortable and private place to go during an event or visit. We are thankful for the support both the ISUAA staff and board have given over these past seven years. Therefore, a portion of our giving is directed to the Staff Development Endowment, providing opportunities for staff to VISIONS WWW.ISUALUM.ORG SPRING 2019

Bryan & Nicole (Bell) Schmidt** Bryan: ’08 constr engr Nicole: ’09 constr engr, MS ’13 civil engr Ankeny, Iowa Made commitments and pledges to the Student Leadership Endowment, Young Alumni Program Endowment, Staff Development Endowment, and funded the ISU Alumni Center Lactation Room.

‘A reflection of our hearts’ “The size of our gift is not large. Like many young alumni, we have a family and student loans. We forego one family meal out per month to contribute our pledge to the ISUAA’s Technology Endowment and ISUAA’s Diversity and Inclusion Initiatives Endowment. Technology is a nod towards Jason’s passion for IT. It also acknowledges my passion for the land-grant ethic memorialized in ISU’s seal, “Science with Practice.” While ISU prepared us well for our careers, we recall Iowa State most frequently through relationships. Mentors and peers from diverse backgrounds stretched us and our understanding of the world. We have deep gratitude for their voices. We desire the voices that fully reflect #CyclonesEverywhere to shape ISU’s future. We invest ourselves in that future in part through our pledge to diversity and inclusion initiatives. Our ISUAA support is a reflection of our hearts.”

Jason & Heather (Reid) Duncan** Heather: ’06 public service & admin in ag

Jason: ’08 indust engr Kansas City, Mo. Donated $3,250 to the Madden Technology Endowment and the Diversity & Inclusion Initiatives Endowment Time, talent, and treasure “I have learned over the years that it is important to give back more than you take in these three areas.

Even more importantly, there should be an immense passion for the institution and causes one supports. I am blessed in these three areas because of my continued lifelong experience with Iowa State University. Over the years, I have been blessed with amazing involvement and volunteer opportunities with great institutions and organizations. Iowa State University is at the top of my list year after year. True Cyclone spirit inspires a passion that didn’t end upon graduation but burned stronger as I continued to reconnect in so many ways. Through serving on the ISU Alumni Association Board of Directors and alumni advisor to Sigma Pi Fraternity, I have never been more passionate and connected to Iowa State than I am right now. I financially support many organizations but never thought of supporting ISU in a meaningful way until I saw the ISUAA campaign priorities. Anyone who knows me understands that diversity and inclusion are immensely important to me. When I learned I could support the Association’s efforts with diversity and inclusion, I immediately checked the box! Any type of support I can offer to help ISU grow even stronger in this area is a win. #CyclonesEverywhere and a Cyclone forever!”

Tim Quick ** ’01 marketing / intnatl business / Spanish Clive, Iowa Pledged $5,000 to the LegaCY Program Endowment and the Diversity & Inclusion Initiatives Endowment ** Life members of the ISU Alumni Association

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 ALAMO BOWL 2018 ALAMO BOWL BY THE NUMBERS

Cyclones in San Antonio The 2018 Valero Alamo Bowl was the highest-attended non-New Year’s Six or playoff bowl game of the 2018 season – no surprise, of course, as Cyclones everywhere descended upon San Antonio for their Dec. 28 date with No. 13 Washington State. ISU came up just short in the contest, but Cyclone spirit certainly won the week in San Antonio. The ISU Alumni Association and ISU Athletics partnered to provide fan travel and pre-game events. Check out some of our favorite photos from ISU Alumni Association visual content specialist Rachel Mummey (A).

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• Official travel packages sold: 1,011 • Number of charter airplanes: 6 • 3: The number of venues it took to host the Traveling Cyclones Welcome event (Howl at the Moon, Hard Rock, Merkaba) • 48: Number of hours in which Iowa State sold out of its original allotment of 12,000 tickets; more tickets were quickly requested • Estimated number of Cyclone fans in San Antonio: 30,000 • Estimated number of Cyclone fans at the ISU Spirit Rally: 10,000-15,000

SPRING 2019 WWW.ISUALUM.ORG VISIONS

VISIONS WWW.ISUALUM.ORG SPRING 2019

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 NEWSMAKERS & CY STORIES

Reunions connect Cyclones everywhere

C

yclones love to stay connected, and here are three groups who met at Iowa State and have kept in touch for many years:

RACIAL EQUITY IN THE WORKPLACE  In December, foundation CEOs gathered for the inaugural meeting of the Presidents’ Forum on Racial Equity in Philanthropy, convened

by Keecha Harris (L)(’96 dietetics) and Associates (KHA Inc). The CEOs met to examine how their personal experiences inform their decision-making, glean practical insights from their peers, develop goals for their roles as leaders, and think about the role of racial equity in their work as they address complex societal issues. The forum was a constructive space to address issues like talent development, board engagement, and sectoral impact.

Alumni Honors  Lindsay Tigue (A)(MFA ’14 creative writing and environment), a PhD student in English/creative writing at the University of Georgia, is one of 100 doctoral students in the U.S. and Canada selected to receive a $15,000 scholar award from the P.E.O. Sisterhood. Tigue is the author of the Iowa Poetry Prizewinning collection System of Ghosts.  Steven Lonergan (A)(’88 animal science, MS ’91), an Iowa State University animal science professor, was awarded one of two 2018 national U.S. Department of Agriculture Food and Agriculture Sciences Excellence in Teaching Awards. Lonergan is known for his high-energy teaching methods, and he consistently receives high evaluation scores from students.  Mollie (Luze) Aronowitz (A)(’06 horticulture) has been awarded the Accredited Farm Manager designation from the American Society of Farm Managers and Rural Appraisers. She is one of only seven females holding this designation in the 40

TRI DELTA: Priscilla (Grigg) Brickley (A)(’59 home ec ed) of Dixon, Ill., tells us that the pledge class of 1959 has stayed unusually close over the years. Of the 24 original pledges, 18 continue to gather every three years or so.

They’ve met in 1 1 different states, in homes and hotels, with husbands also being included and becoming close friends.

The Tri Delta pledge class of 1959 meets in Sarasota during its November 2018 reunion.

PHI GAMMA DELTA: David Buck (A)(’64 journalism) of Waterloo, Iowa, is proud to report that his Phi Gamma Delta class has held reunions throughout the United States over the past 20 years. The friends met most recently in Wyoming and on the Oregon coast.

GAMMA PHI BETA: One pledge class, 1956, has maintained a round-robin letter nearly every year since graduation. Once a year, every member writes a summary of the year past (many are handwritten). Another member assembles the letters, makes copies, and mails them to the rest of the class. Thanks to Carole Tillotson (’85 ag business) for letting us know about the round-robin. Her 83-year-old mother, Karla (Baur) Tillotson (L), was one of those pledges.

 READ MORE CYCLONE STORIES AT ISUALUM.ORG/CYCLONESEVERYWHERE country, and the only female in the state of Iowa. Aronowitz is a land manager for Peoples Company, an agricultural real estate firm in Indianola, Iowa.  Minna (Quint) Bothwell (’09 art & design and intl studies), pastor of Capitol Hill Lutheran Church in Des Moines, has been named to the Des Moines Register’s list of “15 People to Watch in 2019.” One of the metro area’s youngest pastors, Bothwell is known for her compassionate and progressive leadership of the church, including outreach to immigrants in the community.

 Jean Duffy (L)(’87 fam resource mgmt & consumer sci) was recently recognized as one of the “Top 50 All-Star Women” in the field of retirement plan consulting by the National Association of Plan Advisors, an affiliate organization of the American Retirement Association. Duffy is senior vice president and financial advisor at Captrust in West Des Moines, Iowa.  M. Dudley Bonte (’71 civil engr), of Martinsville, Ind., was inducted into the Asphalt Pavement Association of Indiana Hall of Fame. Bonte’s career included 40 years with Rieth-Riley Construction Company, where he retired as regional quality control director.

SPRING 2019 WWW.ISUALUM.ORG VISIONS

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 NEWSMAKERS & CY STORIES

 Julie Lichty Peterson (L)(’81 indus admin), vice president of Peterson Farms Seed in Harwood, N.D., is being recognized as one of Prairie Business magazine’s “25 Women in Business.”  Islam El-adaway (PhD ’08 construction engr), the Hurst-McCarthy Professor of Construction Engineering and Management at the Missouri University of Science and Technology in Rolla, Mo., has been named

by Engineering News Record as one of the Midwest’s 2019 top young professionals.

He was recently named a fellow of both the American Society of Civil Engineers and Institution of Civil Engineers.  Margaret A. Smith (’77 agronomy, MS '80), operator of Ash Grove Farm in Hampton, Iowa, has been chosen along with her spouse, Doug Alert, as the recipient of Practical Farmers of Iowa’s 2019 Sustainable Agriculture Achievement Award.

Top Jobs  Corinn (Brockman) Hardy (L)(’03 microbiology, DVM ’06) has been promoted to lieutenant colonel in the U.S. Army Reserves. She was previously a member of the U.S. Army Veterinary Corps (20062014), where she oversaw and conducted Department of Defense veterinary service activities, focusing on preventive medicine as well as contagious and zoonotic disease control. She also helped train military working dog handlers to respond to medical emergencies.  Diana (Overstake) Wilson (’03 civil engr) is the new general manager of the Island Water Association, a member-owned utility that provides potable water to Sanibel and Captiva Islands on Florida’s Gulf Coast.

She is the former general manager of West Des Moines Water Works.

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Remembering the Alamo

I

owa State’s first-ever trip to the Alamo Bowl in December held extra-special meaning for ISU alumnus Jeff Ehler (A)(’79 civil engr, MS ’82 structural engr) of Omaha’s InfraStructure, LLC. Ehler was the chief design engineer for the Alamodome and told the Des Moines Register’s Randy Omaha, Neb. Peterson all about it. #CyclonesEverywhere

“I remember when my boss came into my office and said, ‘Well, we’ve got the Alamodome – and you’re going to lead the charge,” Ehler said. “I’d never done a project that big. It scared me to death.

I worked on it one day at a time – kind of like Matt Campbell’s ‘trusting the process.’ It was very rewarding to see it get built.”

JEFF EHLER

An adult career with a childish past

W

hen Bryan Scheckel (’12 pol sci) transferred from the University of Minnesota to Iowa State, he promised himself he’d get more involved in clubs and student organizations. Scheckel had a passion for the entertainment industry and quickly found himself getting involved at the M-Shop and with the VEISHEA entertainment committee – which booked comedian Donald Glover to perform on campus in 2011. That was the first time Scheckel met Glover and the first time anyone had ever Los Angeles, Calif. suggested Scheckel become a tour manager. #CyclonesEverywhere Today, Scheckel is a freelance tour manager and production manager who has worked with such bands as Passion Pit, Vampire Weekend, Haim, and St. Lucia. And currently, he’s working with Glover – who became a household name with the success of his TV series Atlanta, his role in the blockbuster film Solo: A Star Wars Story, hosting Saturday Night Live to rave reviews, and winning a Grammy under his musical stage name Childish Gambino. While “This Is America” won Grammys for song and record of the year in 2019 – becoming the first rap song to win the prestigious awards – his musical roots actually date back to 2011.

And, as Scheckel explains, the first-ever Childish Gambino show was actually at Iowa State University.

BRYAN SCHECKEL

 READ MORE CYCLONE STORIES AT ISUALUM.ORG/CYCLONESEVERYWHERE

SPRING 2019 WWW.ISUALUM.ORG VISIONS

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 NEWSMAKERS & CY STORIES

 Rob Henson (’92 industrial education/ technology) has joined Rudolph Libbe Inc., of the Rudolph Libbe Group, as a senior preconstruction leader in the Walbridge, Ohio, office. With more than 33 years of experience in construction, Henson previously served as director of preconstruction services with Touchstone Construction in Lima, Ohio.  Ryan Schon (L)(’95 agronomy) is the new general manager of Latham Hi-Tech Seeds in Alexander, Iowa. He is the former senior manager of corporate development for Granular in Johnston, Iowa, and also has professional experience with DuPont Pioneer and Monsanto.  Kyle Peterson (’10 journalism & marketing) has joined the editorial board of the Wall Street Journal.  James O’Brien (L)(’97 agronomy) co-founded Agrograph, Inc., a software

company combining satellite imagery and field data with machine learning algorithms to predict crop yields. Agrograph recently completed a seed-funding agreement with the Idea Fund of LaCrosse, Wis.  Denise (Bertram) Porter (L)(’84 el ed) is director of school support services at UChicago STEM Education. She started her education work as a classroom teacher and a mathematics specialist and has been working with the Everyday Mathematics curriculum since 1993. She was involved in writing the first edition of the fourth, fifth, and sixth-grade Everyday Mathematics and provides coaching to teachers to help them implement the program.

Alumni Bookshelf  Margarita Engle–Modrus (MS ’77 botany) has received a national Green Earth Book Award for her children’s book, Forest World, a story of a Cuban-American boy who visits his family’s village in Cuba for the first time. The award recognizes books that

convey the best environmental stewardship message and inspire youth to respect their natural environment.  Jeff Deitering (L)(’91 civil engr) recently published On the Hook, a fast-paced, light-hearted diversion from reality. The setting is a combination of real and fictional locations in a place with which many Iowa Staters are familiar: Kansas City.

The book is the third novel in Deitering’s “Hook and Patch” mystery series.  Margaret Krug Palen (’52 textiles & clothing) has published A Different World: My Life and Making a Difference in the World, a detailed picture of rural American life from the 1930s to the 1950s. The author also journeys to college, to work with the Department of Agriculture, and to work in other countries to improve food, textile, and clothing production.

Cultivating community

A

nkeny, Iowa, is America’s fourth-fastest-growing city.

In fact, it is expected to at least double in size by 2040.

It’s also 96 percent white, which makes the August swearing-in of the city’s first-ever black police chief a unique opportunity in a unique community at a unique point in time.

Darius Potts (L)(’89 telecom arts) told the Des Moines Register he’s up for the challenge.

“It is good, overall, for other people – kids, society – to see different faces,” Potts said. “It shows progression. To the African-American community, I think it’s important to see somebody at a position like this.”

Potts is also excited to return to Iowa and focus on community policing. He says there is ample opportunity to expand the Ankeny Police Department around the concept with outreach to schools and neighborhood events. He was previously a lieutenant in Phoenix but lived in Chandler, Ariz. – so the opportunity to both live and work in Ankeny is something he relishes.

DARIUS POTTS Ankeny, Iowa

#CyclonesEverywhere

 READ MORE CYCLONE STORIES AT ISUALUM.ORG/CYCLONESEVERYWHERE

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SPRING 2019 WWW.ISUALUM.ORG VISIONS

SAY I DO AT THE ISU ALUMNI CENTER

MEET A FEW OF OUR CYCLONE-FRIENDLY BUSINESS MEMBERS (OF THE ISUAA): 1+1 Restaurant & Tea Ames, Iowa

Barefoot Athletics Stephenville, Texas

Chick-fil-A Ames, Iowa

Accura Healthcare of Ames Ames, Iowa

Barefoot Campus Outfitter Ames, Iowa

Chitty Garbage Service, Inc. Nevada, Iowa

AES Corporation Cedar Rapids, Iowa

Best Western University Inn & Suites Ames, Iowa

Christiani’s VIP Catering Service Ltd. Des Moines, Iowa

Bethany Life Communities Story City, Iowa

City of Ames Ames, Iowa

Burchland Manufacturing, Inc. Gilman, Iowa

Clothes Cottage Ames, Iowa

AmericInn Hotel & Suites Ames, Iowa

You want your special day to be elegant and intimate, but with a Cardinal & Gold flair. Weddings and receptions held in the ISU Alumni Center are uniquely Iowa State!

Call today to book a tour.

ISUAA members receive a discount. isualumnicenter.org 515-294-4625

Ames Chamber of Commerce Ames, Iowa Ames Convention and Visitors Bureau Ames, Iowa Ankeny Chamber of Commerce Ankeny, Iowa Bank of America Corporation Riverside, R.I. Bankers Trust Company Ames, Iowa Bankers Trust Company Des Moines, Iowa

Burgies Ames, Iowa Campustown Spirit Ames, Iowa Cannon Moss Brygger Architects Sioux City, Iowa Causey & Ye Law PLLC Des Moines, Iowa Central Iowa Symphony Ames, Iowa

BUSINESS MEMBER

Your business can join TODAY! isualum.org

SAY “YES” TO NEW ADVENTURES

CY’S DREAM TEAM LEGACY CLUB CHALLENGE Do you know a child who is dreaming of being part of the Iowa State University team? Or should be? Enroll your child, grandchild, niece, or nephew in the LegaCy Club during Cy’s Dream Team Challenge now-April 8 for a reduced price and a chance to win a slam-dunk prize package. isualum.org/cysdreamteam

VISIONS WWW.ISUALUM.ORG SPRING 2019

Travel with people you know! The ISU Alumni Association has been offering exemplary travel experiences to its alumni and friends for more than 40 years. Whether you’re a seasoned or novice traveler, let us plan the details so you can savor the journey. isualum.org/travel 515-294-9171

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 CARDINAL & GOLD GALA

A CARDINAL & GOLD CASINO A record-shattering 750 Cyclones gathered to support student scholarships and alumni and student outreach at the 2019 Cardinal & Gold Gala, held Feb. 15 at Prairie Meadows Casino in Altoona, Iowa.

Black-tie-clad attendees enjoyed games of chance, live and CYlent auctions, signature drinks, food, and Cyclone camaraderie. More than $120,000 was raised at the event.

2019 Cardinal & Gold Gala co-chairs Julie (’88) & Jay (’89) Jacobi** Kent (’78) & Sara Johnson**

FOOD, FUN, AND FRIENDSHIP: Table 32 included, seated from left, Dan (’09) and Lisa Lewis, Ryan (’06) and Megan (’06) Mortier (L), ISUAA Board of Directors Chair Lawrence Cunningham (L)(’02) and Brandy Cunningham (L)(’04); standing from left, Jenny Groeltz-Thrush (L)(’01) and Tony Thrush, Shannon Winters (L) and the evening’s emcee, Dan Winters (’03).

2018-19 scholarship recipients Eric Butoto, Urbandale, Iowa ISUAA Board of Directors Cardinal & Gold Leadership/ Terry Denny Memorial Scholarship Curtiss Richards, Danville, Iowa Terry Marie Denny ISUAA Cardinal & Gold College of Engineering Scholarship Lincoln Lutrick, Mount Ayr, Iowa Terry & Craig Denny ISUAA Cardinal & Gold Gala/ College of Human Sciences Scholarship McKaila Von Johnson, Earlham, Iowa Lora & Russ Talbot ISUAA Cardinal & Gold College of Veterinary Medicine Scholarship 3rd Year Elizabeth Brehm, Centralia, Iowa Lora & Russ Talbot ISUAA Cardinal & Gold College of Veterinary Medicine Scholarship 4th Year Jessica Hagin, Rockford, Iowa Iowa State University Stadlman Family Cardinal & Gold Scholarship

PLACE YOUR BIDS: Gala co-chairs Sara and Kent (’78) Johnson (L) try their hand at mobile bidding during the CYlent auction. Also co-chairing the event were Julie (’88) and Jay (’89) Jacobi (L).

Cardinal & Gold Scholarships • Collin John Bell, College of Liberal Arts & Sciences, Davenport, Iowa • Reagan Jo Brackey, Ivy College of Business, Clear Lake, Iowa • Tierney Raye Lynn, College of Human Sciences, Des Moines, Iowa • Taylor Marie Reth, College of Agriculture & Life Sciences, Hopkinton, Iowa • Madeline Olivia Ryan, College of Design, Waukee, Iowa • Duc To, College of Engineering, Johnston, Iowa Each of these students also received a $100 course materials scholarship from the University Book Store.

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SPRING 2019 WWW.ISUALUM.ORG VISIONS

GALA ATTIRE: Kim McDonough (L)(’02, MS ’04, PhD ’17) and Rachel Moylan are dressed for the occasion.

HELLO! Theresa Brehm, a senior global resource systems major, hugs Russ Talbot (L)(’17 honorary).

CYLENT AUCTION WINNERS: John Hooker (A)(’10), Stacie Stearns (L) (’11), and Mario Hess-Winburn (A) (’11) left the Gala with a basketball signed by women’s basketball coach Bill Fennelly, along with several bottles of wine from the Mystery Wine Pull.

2019 Cardinal & Gold Benefactors Forever True: $5,000 Julie (’88) & Jay (’89) Jacobi** Sara & Kent (’78) Johnson** Brad & Lesa Lewis Bank of America Merrill Lynch Davis Brown Nyemaster Goode, P.C. Sigler Companies Bells of Iowa State: $2,500 Jon Fleming (’75)** McFarland Clinic Lori (’86) & Paul (’87) Kirpes**/ TPG Companies Rueter’s Lora & Russ Talbot (’17 honorary)** Tim (’76) & Mary (’78) Wolf**

CARDINAL OR GOLD? Mary-Kate (’14) and Austin (’13) Lange (A) and Ted Casady (A)(’06) are ready to play the game. Mary-Kate and Ted are members of the ISUAA Young Alumni Council.

WINNING HAND: Suzie Richmond (’02) shows her winning cards.

Cardinal & Gold Supporter: $500 Mark (’79) & Ann (’78) Aljets** Hallie Still-Caris (’83) & Dave Caris (’83)** Jeff (’91) & Cathy Harty* Jeff Johnson (’14)** Peggy Johnson** Ed (’66) and Ana (’84) McCracken** Rebecca Miller (’06) & Timothy Beauchamp (’99) Michael Simonson (’82, ’83) Jill (’80) & Dan Stevenson** Michael (’77) & Carrie (’77) Thrall** Todd (’94) & Kari Van Thomme** Dwayne (’93) & Lori (’93) Vande Krol**

Special Thanks ISU President Wendy Wintersteen (PhD ’88)** and Robert Waggoner** Cardinal & Gold Scholarship recipients Sigler Companies Dan Winters (’03), emcee** Adam Curran, auctioneer Colorfx, mobile bidding sponsor

* ISU Alumni Association annual member ** ISU Alumni Association life member

VISIONS WWW.ISUALUM.ORG SPRING 2019

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 FACULTY & STUDENT AWARDS

Faculty-Staff Inspiration Award Wallace E. Barron Award The ISU Alumni Association established the Wallace E. Barron AllUniversity Senior Award in 1968 to recognize outstanding seniors who display high character, outstanding achievement in academics and university/community activities, and promise for continuing these exemplary qualities as alumni. The award is named for Wallace E. “Red” Barron (class of 1928), who served as director of alumni affairs at Iowa State from 1937 to 1968. The 2019 recipients are:

Rachael Barnes*

Benjamin Dralle

Detroy Green

Connie Hargrave

’18 biological systems engr / global resource systems Bettendorf, Iowa

Nutritional science / genetics Osage, Iowa

Professor emeritus of agronomy Posthumous award

PhD ’93 curriculum & instructional technology Associate professor, School of Education, Center for Technology in Learning & Teaching Ames, Iowa

Barb Licklider**

Nancy Osborn Johnsen

’74 zoology, MS ’81 ed admin, PhD ’86 University professor emerita of educational leadership & policy studies Boone, Iowa

’68 anthropology, MS ’76 Adjunct instructor, Department of Anthropology; former administrative academic adviser, College of Liberal Arts & Sciences Madrid, Iowa

Brandon Hanson**

Jenny Junker

Ag business / econ / international ag Iowa Falls, Iowa

Apparel merchandising & design Waukee, Iowa

Zoe Lambert

Joi Latson

Kinesiology Macomb, Ill.

Global resource systems / Spanish Florissant, Mo.

Alexander Lev** Software engr Eagan, Minn.

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Outstanding faculty and staff will be recognized at the ISU Alumni Association Inspiration Awards and Annual Reception on May 17. The ISU Alumni Association established the Faculty-Staff Inspiration Award in 2011 as a way for former ISU students to recognize current or former ISU faculty and staff members who had a significant influence in their lives as students at ISU. The award is funded by earnings from the Nancy (’72 food science) and Richard (’72 agriculture, MS ’77) Degner (L) Alumni Association Endowment. Here are the 2019 recipients:

Read about these students’ accomplishments and nominate a student for the 2020 award online at www.isualum.org/barron.

The nomination deadline is Dec. 1, 2019. *Annual member of the ISUAA **Student member

Chris Rehmann

Jessica Van Winkle*

Associate professor of civil, construction & environmental engineering Ames, Iowa

’01 finance, MBA ’09 University EAB student success coordinator; former academic advisor for Departments of Mechanical Engineering and Civil, Construction & Environmental Engineering Ankeny, Iowa

Read more about these inspirational faculty and staff and nominate someone for the 2020 award online at www.isualum.org/inspiration.

The nomination deadline is Dec. 1, 2019. *Annual member of the ISUAA **Life member of the ISUAA Only ISU degrees are listed.

SPRING 2019 WWW.ISUALUM.ORG VISIONS

DES MOINES, IOWA

AFFORDABLE. COMMUNITY. VIBRANT. Top 10 Best Place for Business and Careers — Forbes, 2018

#DSMUSA

VISIONS WWW.ISUALUM.ORG SPRING 2019

Easy living is abundant in Greater Des Moines (DSM). With a cost of living that earned the region a #1 Best Affordable Place to Live in the U.S. ranking by U.S. News & World Report in 2017, DSM is a community that will make you happy to call home.

Live life without compromise in DSM.

liveDSMUSA.com

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Voteonline

T H E 2 0 1 9 I S U A L U M N I A S S O C I AT I O N B O A R D O F D I R E C T O R S S L AT E

The ISU Alumni Association Board of Directors recommends the following candidates for membership on the board. Each of these individuals has agreed to serve a four-year term. As a member of the ISU Alumni Association, you are invited to go online (www.isualum.org/boardslate) before April 26 and cast your vote for the slate of new ISUAA board nominees or write in the name(s) of others you would like to see serve on the ISUAA board.

To request a printed copy of the ballot, please call (877) ISU-ALUM and request that one be sent to you by mail. Each member may complete only one ballot.

Final results will be announced at the Association’s Annual Meeting on May 17.

Thanks in advance for your participation.

Kelli Ann Cameron** ’02 agriculture education Janesville, Wis. Kelli Cameron is the director of physician recruitment and retention for Mercyhealth in Janesville, Wis. She is known and recognized for her service to her community, working with the downtown Janesville redevelopment fundraising campaign, leading Janesville Morning Rotary, working with a local homeless shelter, promoting the roles of women and girls in Rock County, and more.

For her efforts, she was named Rock County Woman of Distinction in 2017. She was also active at Iowa State as a member of the Presidential Leadership Class, University Honors Program, Agriculture Education Club, and Sigma Alpha sorority. She says, “I am passionate about building relationships, developing and executing strategic initiatives, and connecting people with opportunities. My hope is that I can transfer these skills and interests to my role on the ISUAA Board of Directors.”

Taylor Davis* ’17 supply chain management Ames, Iowa Taylor Davis is a procurement coordinator at Renewable Energy Group (REG) in Ames, Iowa. During her time at Iowa State, Taylor was involved with the Black Campus Ministry, Multicultural Business Network, Office of Admissions student associate, student fundraising for the ISU Foundation, Supply Chain Management Club, and English Women’s Studies Learning Community.

She currently works directly with the local NAACP chapter, Habitat for Humanity, ACCESS shelter, and The Boys and Girls Club. Her proudest accomplishment is continuing the proud legacy of ISU graduates contributing to the local community and representing her family as the first to graduate from the Ivy College of Business.

Chad Harris** ’01 political science Kansas City, Mo. Chad Harris is chief development officer for Cornerstones of Care, a healthcare nonprofit. As a student at Iowa State, his myriad leadership activities ranged from Student Alumni Leadership Council and FarmHouse fraternity to University Honors Program and University Museums. He received the Wallace E. Barron All-University Senior Award, served as a Cyclone Aide, and was the student representative on the Iowa 4-H Foundation Board of Trustees.

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Members of the ISU Alumni Association are invited to attend the Inspiration Awards and Annual Reception on May 17, 2019 (reception at 5:30 p.m., program at 6:30 p.m.) in the ISU Alumni Center. Register online by April 26 at www.isualum.org/awardsandreception.

For more information, or to register by phone, call toll-free 1-877-ISU-ALUM. Locally, call 294-6525.

Chad was a charter member of the ISUAA Young Alumni Council and received the ISUAA Outstanding Young Alumnus Award in 2013. His community involvement has been no less vast, with full integration into the Kansas City not-for-profit environment. He received the 2017 Fraternity Executives Association award for community contributions following a 10-year tenure serving as the executive director of FarmHouse Fraternity.

Cathy McCall Schmidt** ’88 marketing Plymouth, Minn.

Cathy Schmidt is president of Surfacequest, a distributor of adhesive-backed architectural overlays. Cathy was highly involved as a student at Iowa State in such organizations as Cardinal Key, Student Alumni Association (now SALC), Delta Zeta sorority, and VEISHEA. She has been a community leader, working with Feed My Starving Children, Greater Twin Cities Youth Symphonies, Minneapolis Regional Chamber of Commerce, Women Run the Cities, and other organizations. Cathy says, “I have a deep love for Iowa State and would like to use what I have learned both in my work life and in my extensive board of directors experiences to bring more alumni close to Iowa State, increase membership in the Alumni Association, and continue to grow Iowa State’s reach across the globe.”

Martha A. Smith** ’04 agricultural business/international ag St. Louis, Mo. Martha Smith is the global issues management lead for new platforms for Bayer Crop Science in St. Louis.

At Iowa State, Martha was involved in Farm Operations Club, Agricultural Business Club, Block and Bridle, and other organizations. As an alumna, she was active in ISU club programs in North Carolina and Denver, and she is a member of the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Curtiss League. In 2018, she won the American Farm Bureau Young Farmer & Rancher National Discussion Meet Contest.

Martha says, “I owe much to Iowa State and would be humbled to have the opportunity to give back [by] serving on the ISUAA Board of Directors.” * Annual member of the Iowa State University Alumni Association ** Life member of the ISU Alumni Association Note: Only ISU degrees are listed

SPRING 2019 WWW.ISUALUM.ORG VISIONS

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VISIONS WWW.ISUALUM.ORG SPRING 2019

51

“I didn’t come

here to finish second.”

JIM HEEMSTRA

– ISU HEAD WRESTLING COACH KEVIN DRESSER

FUTURE

In just his second season, Kevin Dresser’s wrestlers are giving top teams a reason to take the Cyclones seriously

I

owa State Olympic wrestling gold medalist and legend Dan Gable was amazed when he walked into the crowded ballroom hosting the ISU wrestling social at the Cyclones’ team hotel after the finals of the 2018 NCAA Championships in Cleveland.

After all, Iowa State had been represented at the meet by just a single wrestler.

“There were so many people there,” Gable (L)(’71 phys ed) said. “You would have thought this team was going for a championship.”

The Cardinal and Gold fans who flocked to Cleveland had in fact made a down payment on their faith in the vision of Iowa State’s eighth wrestling coach for the resurrection of the Cyclones’ storied program.

Humboldt native Kevin Dresser had been lured from Virginia Tech by Iowa State athletics director Jamie Pollard (L) in March of 2017. Dresser had saved the Hokie program from extinction and built it into a perennial top-10 NCAA national fixture.

The dividends of that initial investment of confidence in Dresser are already being 52

BRIGHT

realized. Iowa State’s wrestling team is back in the national rankings in just its second year under Dresser, powered by a young squad that has totally bought in to Dresser’s vision for the future.

Pollard says Iowa State’s current wrestling rebirth comes as no surprise to him.

“It was very obvious from the first day on the job that coach Dresser had extensive experience leading a top-level program,” Pollard said.

Dresser’s hire caused a national buzz and gave hope to an Iowa State fan base that had witnessed a one-win dual season and 57th-place national finish in 2017 by a program with a legacy that includes eight NCAA team titles and six Olympic Gold medals.

From the start, Dresser affirmed his eyes were focused on taking the Cyclones back to the top shelf of the national collegiate scene.

“I didn’t come here to finish second,” Dresser said.

While the first season (2017-18) had its share of challenges, attendance at Iowa State home matches soared. This season,

Dresser’s program is again at the forefront of the collegiate wrestling conversation.

A third-place team finish at the Southern Scuffle Holiday tournament behind No. 1 Penn State and No. 2 Oklahoma State boosted Iowa State’s national standing.

The overall balance in Iowa State’s lineup has given Cyclone fans something to talk about on social media platforms and at the office water cooler.

“I have always enjoyed building something that generates pride and excitement,” Dresser said. “You are hired to coach young men to accomplish things that they will remember the rest of their lives.”

While most observers expected Iowa State to be an improved team for the 201819 season, the Cyclone lineup would still be very young, featuring up to eight freshmen or sophomores spread out across the 10 weight classes. Virtually no one outside the ISU wrestling room imagined just how precocious this group would be on the mat.

The first tremor of Iowa State’s early resurgence came in its Iowa Corn Cy-Hawk Series match at No. 3 Iowa Dec. 1 in Iowa SPRING 2019 WWW.ISUALUM.ORG VISIONS

The crowd that filed into Hilton Coliseum for Iowa State’s 25-6 rout of No. 23 Oklahoma Jan. 25 was the program’s largest for a Big 12 dual since Cael Sanderson’s final match in 2002.

City. The Cyclones had not beaten the Hawkeyes since 2004. Few expected ISU to offer Iowa a serious challenge. Before the match would end, the black-and-gold-clad fans in Carver-Hawkeye Arena would be riveted in their seats, white knuckled.

Led by three former Iowa national champions, Dresser and assistant coaches Derek St. John and Brent Metcalf, the Iowa Staters gave no quarter. Redshirt sophomores Ian Parker and Jarrett Degen won with late takedowns at 141 and 149 pounds, respectively. Freshman Marcus Coleman won at 174 pounds, and 184-pound sophomore Sam Colbray upset Iowa’s rated Cash Wilke.

Iowa led 19-15 going into the final match, at 133 pounds. Iowa State freshman Austin Gomez — a promising first-year competitor who, like his fellow teammates, has thrived under the guidance of Dresser and his staff — did more than just try to win his match: He tried to win the meet. Gomez scored on a big throw of 11th-ranked Austin De Santo.

The Cyclone nearly pinned his Hawkeye foe, holding his shoulder an inch from the mat for 20 seconds as an audible gasp reverberated out of crowd. Gomez won 14-9 as Iowa escaped with a 19-18 win. The two teams had just split the 10 matches.

Dresser wanted no accolades for a loss.

His Cyclones weren’t looking for any. Nevertheless, the performance garnered full notice from the whole of the Cyclone nation.

Six straight dual victories followed, the longest Iowa State single-season winning streak in nine years. The crowd that filed into Hilton Coliseum for Iowa State’s 25-6 rout of No. 23 Oklahoma Jan. 25 was the program’s largest for a Big 12 dual since Cael Sanderson’s final match in 2002.

Pollard says Iowa State’s grappling transformation didn’t happen overnight.

“The fans are now seeing the results on the mat, but we saw [Dresser’s] overall leadership, knowledge, and understanding of how to lead a championship-level program from the first day he walked in to the buildVISIONS WWW.ISUALUM.ORG SPRING 2019

Sports

by Tom Kroeschell

ing,” Pollard said. “We see it in recruiting, fundraising, coach/student-athlete relationships, and obviously on the mat. We could not be more excited.”

The Cardinal and Gold maturation of redshirt sophomores Parker, Degen, Colbray, 125-pound Rutgers transfer Alex Mackall, and heavyweight Gannon Gremmel has been a factor in the rise of the team in the national polls. Dresser sold Missouri three-time All-American Willie Miklus on Iowa State. The sixth-year senior is seeking a second master’s degree at ISU. Miklus’ father is battling Lou Gehrig’s disease, and the Altoona native wanted to be closer to home during his final collegiate season.

His veteran presence has been good in the locker room as an example to the young Cyclone corps.

Gomez has been joined in the redshirt freshman class by Coleman, an Ames native.

Gomez is sold on the leadership of Dresser and his staff.

“I decided to stay [when Dresser was hired] because I believe 100 percent in coach Dresser’s vision for the program,” Gomez said. “We have effort-based coaches.

You may not always get the result you want, but what they care most about is the effort.”

The effort starts at the top. Dresser‘s non-stop, home-bred work ethic has long been a well-known commodity among the nation’s coaching fraternity. St. John has seen it up close at Virginia Tech and Iowa State.

“I don’t think there is anybody who works harder in Division I wrestling,” St. John said.

“A lot of his success comes from going out and doing things that other people wouldn’t take the time to do. His creative approach in recruiting and the wrestling room makes him stand out from other coaches.”

Experience has taught Dresser that different wrestlers respond to different coaching styles. He stresses that his program is focused on more than just time on the mat.

“Ultimately, we get these guys for three hours a day,” Dresser said. “You need them to live the championship lifestyle 24 hours a day.”

None of Dresser’s success comes as a surprise to Gable, who coached Dresser at Iowa to the 1986 NCAA 142-pound championship.

“Kevin is a problem-solver,” Gable said.

“He had to work to establish himself as a wrestler and became a national champion.

He has done the same as a high school and college coach. He sees the whole of the program.”

The future is bright. One of Dresser’s first recruits was five-time state high school champion David Carr, son of former Iowa State three-time NCAA champion and Olympian Nate Carr (’85 sociology). Nate helps direct the Cyclone Regional Training Center, a program that provides training to post-collegiate competitors who can work out with aspiring Cyclones.

The CRTC is a part of a big picture that Dresser sees as a necessary building block for Iowa State’s drive to the top of the national collegiate ladder.

“It still comes down to coaching and recruiting,” Dresser said. “It is easier to get from unranked to 10th than it is to get from 10th to first.”

Even in defeat, the Iowa Staters are turning heads. After Oklahoma State beat the Cyclones in Stillwater, Okla., Cowboy head coach John Smith called Iowa State “the best team we have wrestled this season.”

Dresser, St. John, and Metcalf have their team focused on an everyday process. The willingness of their young squad to follow their lead has produced a unit on the rise, aware of buzz around them, yet still zoned in on the lifestyle choices that can get them to that jewel at the top of the wrestling ladder.

Iowa State fans in turn are returning to the fold, bringing new supporters with them.

“We’re not satisfied by any means,” Dresser said.

Pollard, too, sees bigger things ahead.

“The best is yet to come,” Pollard said.

“I told people a couple years ago this transition would happen fast,” Gomez said.

“They didn’t believe me. They mocked me and laughed at me. I told them, ‘You are going to eat your words.’”

Those detractors have long since receded into the shadows. Even they know.

Something great is coming.  Tom Kroeschell is director of programming for Cyclone Athletics.

53

Calendar  Cyclones Everywhere:

Des Moines

June 5: Young Alumni Zoo Brew July 28: ISU Day at the I-Cubs

 Cyclones Everywhere April 23: Celebrate State in Seattle June 1: Cyclone family event at Henry Doorly Zoo, Omaha June 18: Celebrate State in Chicago

 On campus &

around Ames

May 9: Graduate Commencement May 9: Lavender Graduation May 11: Undergraduate Commencement May 11: Veterinary Medicine Commencement

 Arts and entertainment April 27: RENT, Stephens

 At the ISU Alumni Center April 5-6: Young Alumni Council spring meeting (Interested in applying for the council? Visit www.isualum.org/yac) May 17: ISUAA spring Board of Directors meeting and annual meeting May 17: Faculty/Staff Inspiration Awards May 23: 2020 Travel Preview for Traveling Cyclones May 27: ISU Retirees/Wall of Alumni & Friends Memorial Day Ceremony

 Awards April 26: Distinguished Awards Celebration* May 17: Faculty/Staff Inspiration Awards* *For criteria and to submit a nomination for ISUAA awards: www.isualum.org/ awards

 Find more events online Campus Calendar: http://event.iastate.edu/ ISU Alumni Association: www.isualum.org/calendar Cyclone Athletics: www.cyclones.com Reiman Gardens: www.reimangardens.com Iowa State Center: www.center.iastate.edu University Museums: www.museums.iastate.edu Lectures: www.lectures.iastate.edu/

 Cyclone Athletics Mark your calendar now for Cyclone football!

 Alumni travel

2019 IOWA STATE FOOTBALL SCHEDULE Aug. 31: Northern Iowa Sept. 14: Iowa Sept. 21: Louisiana-Monroe Sept. 28: at Baylor Oct. 5: TCU Oct. 12: at West Virginia Oct. 19: at Texas Tech Oct. 26: Oklahoma State Nov. 9: at Oklahoma Nov. 16: Texas Nov. 23: Kansas Nov. 30: at Kansas State

SAVE THE DATE! May 23: 2020 Travel Preview for Traveling Cyclones See the world in 2020 with the Traveling Cyclones! Travel operators will be on hand at the ISU Alumni Center from 4-6:30 p.m. to answer all of your questions. For more information on the Travel Preview or upcoming 2019-2020 trips, go to www.isualum.org/travel.

For all Cyclone sports schedules, go to www.cyclones.com

54

SPRING 2019 WWW.ISUALUM.ORG VISIONS

Iowa State University Alumni Center 429 Alumni Lane Ames, Iowa 50011-1403

VISIONS magazine is published four times a year by the Iowa State University Alumni Association, which serves more than 262,000 living alumni as well as ISU students and friends. VISIONS reaches nearly 53,000 Alumni Association members and is just one benefit of membership; details can be found at isualum.org/join.

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