friday takeout

Greetings colleagues,

September 22 was the first day of fall and we are into the fifth week of classes already. As of now, we have met our goal for enrollment with the second session of eight-week classes yet to start. The concurrent classes continue to grow with our K-12 partners. Our retention rate remains strong because of your engaging efforts inside and outside the classroom.

Engaging future students is an ongoing priority. Last week, 450 FFA students from 32 K-12 schools from Wisconsin, Minnesota and Iowa attended the annual Tri-State Dairy Expo at our Dairy Center. From September 17-19, our heavy equipment simulation trailer was at the 75th anniversary celebration of C.J. Moyna & Sons in Elkader. Many children and adults enjoyed the hands-on simulation experience.

Our industry and business partners are critical to our teaching and learning. The simulator, for example, was made possible through the partnerships with our businesses. Ag producers and organizations were on hand to guide the FFA students.

Together with our partners, we create awareness and pathways for current and future Northeast Iowa Community College students. Thank you, all, for what you do to live our mission.

Renae Parker

Financial Accountant | Calmar Campus

What is the most irrational fear or phobia that you have?

My biggest fear even as an adult is that I am deathly afraid of the dark. I will constantly leave lights on so the house isn't dark at night when I am by myself.

A person who doesn’t know they have greatly impacted my life is ________________________. Please explain.

Someone who greatly impacted my life, and I am not sure if they really know it, are my high school trap shooting coaches. I went out of my comfort zone and signed up for trapshooting my senior year of high school after a few knee injuries that left me unable to do track. These coaches went out of their way to help and teach me, one of the few girls on the team, and make me feel comfortable in a different kind of sport. Their dedication to helping me and teaching me everything led to my love of hunting, and I found a passion beyond my high school years.

What fashion trend do you regret?

There are many fashion trends looking back on that I regret and wonder what I was thinking. The biggest one is the layering of camis/tank tops. Wearing three layers of tank tops plus a shirt on top of that, looking back I realize I looked ridiculous. I am sure my mom hated that trend as well when it came to doing the laundry.

Would you own or use a self-driving car?

I would love to own a self-driving car, especially if it helped me avoid fender benders and hitting deer. As long as I can control how fast I am able to travel I think it would be a great idea.

What is the most unusual job you have had in your life?

One of the most unusual jobs I have had was a "chore" while I was growing up. My parents had put in new landscaping that consisted of about 80 plants around their house, and my brother and I had the chore of watering every single plant. We had to count to 100 seconds on every single one of them; we always hoped for rain at night so we wouldn't have to water the plants the next morning. We had to get this chore done before we could do something fun with our friends.