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Pictured back row from left – Jayna Blome (Ledyard), Ben Harthan (Clear Lake), Haley Holmes (Plymouth), Jesus Zaldarriaga (Forest City), Adam Collen (Garner), Matthew Kofel (Kanawha), Jacki Williams (Clear Lake), Andrew Klein (Clear Lake), Shawn Bishop (Osage), Bill Freerks (Belmond), Jackson Renberg (Rockwell), John Fuls (Belmond), Robert Walker (Mason City), Colin Morgan (Oelwein), Jessica Ott (Marble Rock), Jordan Rishavy (Rochester, MN), Rachel Colsch (Plainfield), Parker Moorman (Mason City), Megan Buchholz (Waverly), Amanda Speake (Colo), Breanna Giordana (Kaukauna, WI), Alicia Kingery (Nora Springs), Kelli Ciavarelli (Plymouth), Samantha Pederson (Nora Springs), Emily Boster (Mason City), Mijean Beyer (Mason City)

North Iowa Area Community College recognized 47 student leaders at the 20th annual Pathways to Success luncheon held last month in the Muse-Norris Conference Center at NIACC.  The program highlights the achievements of alumni and recognizes the potential of current student leaders. The students recognized at the event were nominated by two or more faculty or staff for their academic achievement, positive attitude, character, teamwork and ability to inspire others. The program also recognized the 2010 Outstanding Alumnus Senator William Dotzler Jr. (’69) and the 2010 Distinguished Alumna Dianne L. Dethmers Paca (’60).

Notable for his continuing commitment to public service and community development in Iowa, state Senator Bill Dotzler was selected as the 2010 Outstanding Alumnus. This award recognizes alumni who have an affinity for the College and have made significant personal and professional achievements.

(L-R): Dawn Southwick (NIACC Alumni Advisory Board President), Dr. Debra Derr (NIACC President), Senator William Dotzler, Jr. and Dianne Paca.

As the Assistant Majority Leader and Chair of the Economic Development Subcommittee in the Iowa Senate, Sen. Dotzler certainly gives NIACC a cause for great pride. He also serves on numerous committees in the state legislature including Appropriations, Labor & Business Relations, Economic Growth, Human Resources and Ways & Means.

After his graduation from NIACC in 1969, Dotzler went on to serve with the United States Army Security Agency in military intelligence. He resumed his college education at the University of Northern Iowa, graduating with honors in 1975. A retired employee of John Deere Waterloo Works, Dotzler was employed as a machine operator and also served as a labor representative.

“I am greatly honored and humbled to receive recognition from a college that played such an important role in my life. I made my decision to attend NIACC because, even in the sixties, it was known as a community college with the highest academic standards. My time at NIACC was a time of personal growth and learned responsibilities. It was my first time away from home, and besides the academic challenges of college, I also had to work a number of jobs in the community in order to pay my expenses. My NIACC experiences have been an integral part of my life and have helped set me on the path to becoming an Iowa Legislator,” Sen. Dotzler said.

Sen. Dotzler has received numerous special recognitions and awards, including the Governor’s Volunteer Service Award, the Governor’s Special Recognition Award and the Governor’s Lifesaving Award for saving the life of a Mason City banker while attending NIACC. In 2000, he received the International Citation Award for workforce development, an award once granted to President Kennedy.

As a longtime supporter of the College, Dianne Paca shares that she is very honored and extremely humbled to receive the Distinguished Alumna award. Having served as a member of the NIACC Foundation Board of Directors from 1991 to 2002, Paca understands the importance of the Pathways to Success program for the student body. “The dedication and loyalty for students at NIACC is unsurpassed. The culture at NIACC is a positive environment that provides the opportunity for students to be the best they can be. There is a definite enthusiasm for students to succeed,” Paca said.

With the goal of becoming a teacher, Paca, a Garner native, enrolled in Mason City Junior College, graduating in 1960. Following her graduation from Drake, a long and accomplished career in education began.

Paca taught school in Britt, before taking time to raise her three children. She went on to serve on the Garner-Hayfield School Board from 1970 to 1980, making her one of only 11 women in the state serving on a school board at that time. She was appointed to the State Board of Education from 1980-1992. During her tenure she served as the Liaison to Community Colleges, allowing her to work closely with all 15 Iowa Community College presidents and their trustees. Paca later served as a Hancock County Supervisor from 1995 until her retirement at the end of 2002.

Generous with her time, several organizations in the area have benefitted from her expertise. She has served terms on the NIACC Foundation Board, the Iowa Public Television Board, the Department of Human Services, served as Vice Chair for Vision Iowa and has been very active as a member of St. Wenceslaus church in Duncan. Paca and her husband, Kenneth, have three grown children, Patti, Mark (’86) and Kent (‘88), and three grandchildren.

Forty-seven students were honored this year alongside Sen. Dotzler and Paca.  The NIACC Foundation is pleased to recognize these prominent alumni and future leaders. Students honored at the event included:
Belmond
John Fuls
Billy Freerks

Britt
Remington Cook

Charles City
Ryan McCauley
Melissa McCoy
Joan Nixt

Clear Lake
Ben Harthan
Andrew Klein
Louisa Montealvo
Jessica Morton
Jacki Williams

Colo
Amanda Speake

Dows
Mikyla Muhlenbruch

Elgin
Monica Radcliffe

Forest City
Jesus Zaldarriaga

Garner
Adam Collen
Collie Wood

Hampton
Levi DeYounge

Kanawha
Matthew Kofel

Ledyard
Jayna Blome

Marble Rock
Jessica Ott

Mason City
MiJean Beyer
Emily Boster
Kelli Ciavarelli
Erin Kruckenberg
April Lam
Parker Moorman
Kaitlin Sutcliffe
Sadie Wilson
Michelle Rowland
Robert Walker

Nashua
Rachel Colsch

Nora Springs
Alyssa Kelly
Alicia Kingery
Samantha Pedersen
Angela Dockum

Northwood
Scott Kalvig

Osage
Shawn Bishop
Emily Gast

Plymouth
Haley Holmes

Rockford
Phillip Forbes

Rockwell
Jackson Renberg

Stanley
Colin Morgan

Waverly
Megan Buchholz

Rochester, MN
Jordan Rishavy

Kaukauna, WI
Breanna Giordana

Mosinee, WI
Hilary Brown

NIACC’s 20th annual Pathways to Success event was sponsored by the Cerro Gordo County Board of Supervisors and the NIACC Student Senate.

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