From North Iowa Area Community College, www.niacc.edu

Foundation News
Students, Alumni to be Honored at 18th Annual Pathways to Success
Mar 18, 2008

Ref. 2854

The public is invited to attend the NIACC Alumni Association’s 18th Annual Pathways to Success luncheon on Thursday, April 10, 2008. The event is scheduled over the noon hour in the Muse Norris Conference Center on campus.

Tickets are available for $11.00 through the NIACC Business Office (1-888-GO NIACC, ext. 4188). Sponsors include the NIACC Student Senate, Cerro Gordo County Board of Supervisors, and First Citizens National Bank.

During the program, more than 50 current students will be recognized for their scholarship, leadership and character, and two alumni will be honored for their accomplishments.

Adam Bleakney, Class of 1997, is the keynote speaker and NIACC’s Outstanding Alumnus for 2008. A Mason City native, Adam currently lives in Savoy, IL, where he is head coach of the University of Illinois wheelchair track and road racing squad.  As head coach, Bleakney develops individualized and comprehensive annual training programs for student athletes as well as serving as the lead track instructor for numerous community based and national level sports clinics. 

Bleakney also works as a free-lance web and print designer for Free-lance Creative Development in Champaign, Illinois.  He develops and deploys full-scale web sites from design to programming.

Adam is currently training for the Beijing 2008 Paralympics.

Adam and his wife, Laura, have one son.

Donna DePrenger, of Mason City, will be named 2008 NIACC Distinguished Alumna.  She graduated from NIACC in 1967 with an LPN degree and in 1969 with and Associates of Arts degree.

Mason City Junior College is what brought Donna and her husband Don to the Mason City area.  Don was hired as a chemistry instructor in 1965.  Donna was working as the supervisor for the Candy Stripers at Mercy Hospital when she decided to pursue a LPN degree.  Following her completion of that program, Donna worked as an LPN at Park Hospital and was then assigned to Mercy.

Shortly after that Donna pursued an Associates of Arts degree, which led her to employment that reflected one of her passions.  Donna was hired as an assistant in the NIACC music department.   She served as a piano instructor at NIACC for 16 years.

DePrenger is widely known throughout Mason City for her community involvements including her current contributions to the Mason City Foundation, Community Kitchen, Chautauqua Circuit, Matinee Musical, Monday Club and Order of the Eastern Star.  She is also the director of the hand bell choir at First Presbyterian Church in Mason City.  Several other community groups have benefited from her membership over the years.

Donna and her late husband, Don, have two children, Dan and Annie, who are also NIACC graduates, seven grandchildren and 11 great-grandchildren.

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