My Family History

Iowans from Dubuque are typically Irish or German, and I think I'm German. My dad’s family farmed in Dubuque. My mom’s father fought in Korea and then worked at Dubuque Meat Packing until he retired, and her mother worked as a secretary at the local university . My parents met on the third shift at Dubuque’s Regency Thermographers (my dad pressed wedding napkins, my mom worked in printing) and moved on to various publishing and printing jobs in Dubuque. Later on, my dad started his own wedding entertainment business.

Living in Iowa

I love how Iowans genuinely care about one another and are so authentic with their community. I also love how Iowans are always passionate to bring change to their community and make things better, which empowers and inspires others, including myself.

My Dreams

My goal, as a future teacher, is to inspire students to become empathetic, communicative, and creative students through the support of a safe environment. Through my education at the University of Northern Iowa, I’ve gained much experience through a variety of opportunities, such as peer mentoring a first-year-only classroom for two years, working as an Academic Coach, being an Assistant Director to TheatreUNI’s musical Cabaret, and working as a group leader for UNI Summer Orientation Staff for two summers. From these experiences, I’ve learned first-hand how our different perspectives and walks of life impact our daily lives. These opportunities taught me to listen, to learn, and to educate others. But most importantly, I learned how our differences helped us learn from and with each other.

A Teacher Who Changed My Life

Mrs. Heather Coenen, Theater Education, Dubuque Hempstead High School Mrs. Heather Coenen is the reason I chose my major and, ultimately, my future career in theatre education. As a high school senior, I thought I might audition for the fall play (Our Town by Thorton Wilder), but told her my color guard schedule might conflict. She looked me straight in the eyes and said, "Don’t let that stop you.” I was always anxious to do the wrong thing, so hearing her words of encouragement and persistence struck me. Mrs. Coenen, I have never let anything stop me since that day, and I cannot thank you enough for that.

My Favorite Thing

In 2015, I had brain surgery to remove a brain tumor, and suffered from a seizure which left my left arm and leg paralyzed. I had to relearn normal, daily movements, such as picking up objects and walking. My brace has helped (and continues to help me) with my physical abilities in daily life. After the surgery, my eyes were opened to a new world. I never realized the privilege I had with my abled body. I became passionate to advocate ability privilege to others and to advocate for representation in communities. More so, I was motivated to learn about identities other than my own. I wanted to learn what I was blind to before surgery and how I could advocate for representation and diversity in every aspect in life. Therefore, my brace represents not only my adversity of my own physical journey, but the beginning of my social justice education advocacy.

What #DIVERSITYISOURSTRENGTH means to me

As a society, we thrive on diversity. Listening and learning from others’ stories only makes us stronger as a society and closer as a community.

Celebrating Our Diversity

Iowans champion education. Through this project, which focuses on Black Hawk County, Iowa, we acknowledge the state’s historical commitment to educational quality. We also urge Iowa educators to celebrate and capitalize on the rich diversity in our state and our classrooms.

The Iowa portraits above represent a few of the leaders, educators, and students in the Cedar Valley who will help guide our region and Iowa into the coming decades. We represent a sliver of Iowa’s educational diversity in Black Hawk County. Hover over each of our faces to find a short biography documenting our unique paths to Iowa, and summarizing our dreams, talents, distinctive qualities, and the teachers who changed our lives by treating us as special individuals.

Our various family stories are tied to opportunity and community. Like all Iowans who are not First Nation people, we are Iowa immigrants; some of our families arrived more than a century ago, others only recently. It’s this racial, ethnic, religious, and gender diversity, constantly changing and remixing each decade, that has made Iowa stronger, as each generation brings new traditions, enterprises, and perspectives to sustain the hundreds of communities between the Missouri and Mississippi Rivers. And yet, Iowa is too often defined and celebrated exclusively in terms of its White and rural cultural mainstream. (Ask yourself or someone else to envision what an Iowan looks like.)

We cannot say we want equal educational opportunities for all children and then fight to advantage our own. -Nikole Hannah-Jones

Iowa Nice... for Everyone

When we reflected on what it means to be Iowan, the idea of “Iowa Nice” percolated through our answers – the notion that Iowans are unconditionally nonjudgmental and community-minded. Iowa is a good place. And yet, many of us featured here – who are not White or rural – have not experienced “Iowa Nice” in exactly the same way. To fully celebrate our diversity as our strength, we must also address inequality as our challenge. As we have been reminded by yet another tragic murder of an African American man by law enforcement in our nation, this is a challenge for the soul of our society in Black Hawk County, the state, and across the country. We find hope in the millions who have peacefully protested, here and around the world, and gather strength from their vision to live up to our democratic ideals.

We get enormous inspiration from Waterloo, Iowa native Nikole Hannah-Jones – a New York Times journalist, originator of the 1619 Project, and Pulitzer Prize winner. Her career as a critical commentator on race in America was shaped by her daily bus ride in the 1970s from the East Side of Waterloo to the West Side, where she attended school. She could not help but be struck by the inequality she observed riding from one end of town to the other.

Through this project, we’d like to challenge Cedar Valley/Black Hawk County residents, all Iowans, and Iowa educators specifically, to consider what Iowa Nice means to our Iowa community writ large. How can we ensure that Iowa Nice extends to all Iowans? How can we see all residents of Iowa – regardless of racial, ethnic, gender, or religious status – as embodying the kind, humble, determined spirit of Iowa Nice? The answer lies not only in understanding each of our personal histories, but also listening to each other’s dreams for the future.

Dr. Shuaib Meacham, Literacy Education, University of Northern Iowa

Dr. Bettina Fabos, Interactive Digital Studies, University of Northern Iowa

Megan Lenstra