By Kathleen J. Van Steenhuyse, Vinton Resident
When I flipped our calendar over to October (Is it October already?), thinking about our oldest son’s 50th birthday on October 1, it led me to reminisce about the wonderful nurses and doctors who handled my emergency C-section at Mercy Hospital in Cedar Rapids. Their dedication and training saved Todd’s life for sure and, probably, my life that day.
Revisiting that memory led me to think about how critical a great education is–one that balances hands-on experience with knowledge shared by professors and mentors in order to prepare students for current needs and the challenges of the future.
That is the kind of education that we designed at Kirkwood Community College, where I was the dean of Social Sciences and Career Options from 1997–2012. We were always mindful of the changing workforce needs, state mandates, international opportunities, and the best options for our students to seamlessly head straight to the workforce or to transfer on to our public and private college and university partners. Our focus was on collaboration instead of competition, and success-oriented results over hoops that students would have to jump through.
Planning was always key. I was ever admiring of how our administration would look ahead and be willing to start new programs with things like the Kirkwood Kids Early Childhood Center, the wind turbine, or a viticulture program. We also built a world-class hotel and combined it with an expanded culinary program. Additionally, we expanded the Nursing program’s capacity, as well as the truck-driving program, and built an equestrian center too.
When our department became aware of shortages in education, we expanded the Education Careers, Paraeducator and Early Childhood programs. We added classes in sign language interpreter training, as well as the Paralegal, Criminal Justice and Communications/Media Arts/PR programs. All of these programs required expanding our Social Sciences class offerings to meet transfer requirements. Kirkwood’s enrollment grew during these years from 10,500 students to over 18,500 full-time students. Statistically, at the time, it made us the third largest institution in the state behind the University of Iowa and Iowa State University. That willingness to try something new and collaborate with partners is a hallmark of Kirkwood. Those two fundamental principles saved my life and the life of my firstborn.
So, when I reviewed my sample November 3 ballot and noted the measure to pass a bond issue to add resources and upgrade facilities for Kirkwood for the next several decades, I was “all in!” I truly believe in Kirkwood’s 60-year mission: “To provide access to quality education and training, offering personalized support for all students while innovating to respond to the evolving needs of the community.” It is a mission I lived proudly during my tenure, and I am proud to continue to support this mission today with my vote.
