With a UNIBusiness education as a base, Becca Flynn Kettman (Marketing ’14) has been serving a larger purpose in her career track — working to improve and preserve our planet. Kettman is a fellow with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Office of Ground Water and Drinking Water in Cincinnati, Ohio.
A few weekends ago, we spent a lot of long hours cleaning up a seven acre property. With that space, social distancing would not be a problem, so we hired three Panthers to help get it done. Fortunately, they all passed the Wilson Work Ethic test.
At first glance, it looks like something sprung from the mind of Jackson Pollock.
But the vibrant colors strewn across the image represent not the paint strokes of an artist, but the tiny, mineralogical components of a rock. And they were produced by a new set of scientific instruments at the University of Northern Iowa that will give students a deeper, more detailed look into geology than was previously possible.
With Cedar Valley hospitals, health clinics and nursing homes still in critical need of personal protective equipment, the University of Northern Iowa continues to be part of the supply effort.
A deadly outbreak without a cure. Local governments urging residents to stay inside and avoid other people. Medical professionals on the frontlines trying to halt the rapid spread of an infectious disease.
It’s not COVID-19, but the 1924 outbreak of the Black Plague in Los Angeles.
Her story almost sounds like a made-for-TV movie — a young girl from small-town Iowa is hand-picked by an instructor from the famed Juilliard School of Music to pursue a career in New York City under her guidance. It might sound too good to be true, but that’s actually what happened to UNI alumna Sheri Greenawald ‘68.
Paige Mathews always knew she wanted to help others. She was pursuing a nursing degree when she unexpectedly discovered her true calling while taking a prerequisite athletic training class.
“I went in and I thought, ‘I’m just gonna’ go and tape some ankles and watch people on the sidelines. It’s gonna’ be so boring,’” said Mathews, now in her second year of graduate studies in UNI’s athletic training program. “Now, I’m still surprised every day of what athletic trainers can do.”
Karen Mitchell had just experienced a series of unthinkable tragedies — including the death of her partner of almost 20 years — and felt herself in a fugue state. Then she tried an increasingly popular form of yoga developed to help people recover from trauma. The class helped her start a path towards healing.
“I think it has a lot to do with listening to your body. Your body will tell you the truth,” she said.
