Katie Larson
The winners of the local top 10 under 40 were announced on September 17th 2017, and Iowa Central’s very own, Samantha Reeves was declared one of the 10.
This is the second year that the Greater Fort Dodge Growth Alliance, Fort Dodge Young Professionals, and The Messenger have partnered up to recognize 10 hard working leaders from Fort Dodge that are under the age of 40. In order to be considered for this title, each candidate must be nominated by someone. The individual must be able to explain how their nominee has demonstrated a commitment to business growth, professional excellence, and community leadership. A judging panel was then created to represent the sponsored organizations and were tasked to judge the 50 total anonymous entries. The judging was split into two categories when looking into each nominee: excellence in the workplace, and community leadership engagement and involvement.
Samantha Reeves was selected for Fort Dodge’s 10 under 40 because of her commitment and involvement with student success at Iowa Central Community College, and her involvement with the Iowa Donor Network. Reeves has been a volunteer for the Iowa donor network based out of North Liberty, and Altoona, IA for a year now. She got involved with this because she is a living organ donor since she donated her kidney to her father two years ago. Reeves recently had the opportunity to share her kidney transplant story to over 600 plus people. She is glad that her experience is something that she can use to positively influence someone’s decision to become an organ donor, or even just to help spread awareness of organ donation.
Reeves is the Academic Assistance & Accommodations Coordinator at Iowa Central. The academic assistance aspect of her job is a free service for students to visit with her to seek the help they need in any of their courses. She explained the Reading and Writing center is open for all students, as well as the fact that her door is always open for students seeking help with their classes. The other aspect of her job, accommodations coordinator, allows her to work with students with disabilities in a one-on-one setting to assist with barriers they might face on campus.
Reeves began her college career with the outlook that college might not be for her because she had a bad advising experience. Eventually when she started school at Iowa Central she was given an advisor that encouraged her to continue with college and to get involved in programs that interest her, such as her passion to help others. After graduating she accepted a position in admissions at Iowa Central and has been working here for over seven years. Reeves is passionate about meeting with students to help them meet their educational goals, no matter how small or big that goal may be. When asked about what her favorite part of her job is, Reeves exclaimed, “Little moments that students find success is really why I keep getting up every morning to come back to my job. It’s amazing to help a student cross a barrier no matter how small it is. I had one student that couldn’t get their alarm clock figured out so they could simply wake up in time for class, and when we figured it out it was such a big breakthrough for them!”
Samantha Reeves is dedicated to student success here at Iowa Central, and says that her door is always open to students so she can help them in any way they need assistance.
