friday takeout

Kris Egan

Administrative Assistant, Learning and Student Success | Peosta Campus

What can the College do to better prepare students to be productive members of society prepared to work with and respect individuals from diverse cultural, economic and social backgrounds?

Current students have numerous opportunities to immerse themselves in a variety of culturally diverse, critical thinking settings. As educators and staff, I think our responsibility is to make learning positive, creative, engaging, “hands-on” and fun. Sometimes, it means traveling across the country or the world; other times, I think it is equally important to serve within “one’s own backyard.” The sky is the proverbial limit for service opportunities within the eight counties NICC serves. By pairing community involvement/service-learning with critical thinking opportunities, they challenge students’ “comfort zones,” while functioning as our best marketing and teaching strategies beyond the classroom.

What is your greatest achievement and how has it shaped you?

Being the oldest of 10, it was my choice to shorten childhood and take ownership of something very important to me – my private education. This was so important to me, I personally financed my high school and college tuition. The many values and life skills gained through those years has definitely positively impacted me. Upon graduation, my education had more value beyond an official document. It is a rare, non-tangible investment I earned and cannot be taken away.

What was the most courageous or adventurous thing you did in your youth?

During college, I participated in a social justice immersion trip to Washington, D. C. Coming from a law enforcement family, I knew not to tell my parents what was involved with this trip because I knew they would not approve of it. Thus, I had them believe it was an “educational trip” for $35! For a week, I resided in a church basement in a dangerous neighborhood filled with gangs and random shootings. Within a six-block radius of the Capitol and White House, I observed a great amount of irony: poverty, soup kitchens, injustice, homeless sleeping on street grates, park benches and individuals struggling to stay safe and warm. It was a “cultural shock” to encounter this in our nation’s capital, as my former “postcard perspective” of Washington, D.C. changed drastically.

Wild Card Question: Something people don’t know about me.

Several things! Dyersville’s former Ertl Toy Company’s “humble beginnings” started in the basement of my childhood home in Dubuque. My right thumb is shorter than my left one. When I was 12, I competed in my first tennis tournament in Dubuque. I was humbly awarded the city-wide sportsmanship award from my future high school coach, Bernie O’Connor. Lastly, I have a nickname and if you'd like to know the story behind it, feel free to ask me.

Why did you choose your current profession?

Upon graduation from Loras College, I desired to pay it forward by serving youth and young adults. A majority of my career focused on fund development and/or alumni relations for youth-oriented organizations. In 2006, I moved to Ames and worked with Iowa State University students attending St. Thomas Aquinas Church and Catholic Student Center. This opportunity confirmed my passion to serve college students by assisting them to recognize their gifts, talents and their leadership development skills.