ALLSTARS 2017
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of the Creative Corridor<br />
MAY <strong>2017</strong><br />
Meet Makenzie Kimm and<br />
other ALL STARS who are<br />
making an impact in the<br />
region’s business sectors.
Passion runs Deep.<br />
HIGHWAY EQUIPMENT<br />
Congrats to our regional manager dave baker for being<br />
named as a creative corridor all-star honorable mention!<br />
Highway equipment company is proud of dave,<br />
and all our team members who have the passion to<br />
build the best today for a better tomorrow.<br />
2 800-363-1771 ALL • www.highwayequipment.com STARS of the • © Creative <strong>2017</strong> Highway Equipment Corridor<br />
Company. All rights reserved.
of the Creative Corridor<br />
Mick Starcevich<br />
President<br />
Kirkwood Community College<br />
Iowa’s Creative Corridor is a great<br />
place to live and work. Many different<br />
communities, businesses,<br />
organizations and people all come<br />
together like pieces of a puzzle<br />
to make a greater whole. One integral<br />
piece holding it all together is the area<br />
workforce. It’s central to everything that<br />
happens here in our seven-county area of<br />
Benton, Cedar, Iowa, Johnson, Jones, Linn<br />
and Washington counties.<br />
For 50 years, Kirkwood Community<br />
College has understood the important<br />
connection between a talented workforce,<br />
employers, education and training, and the<br />
Corridor as a whole. Those four components<br />
form a relationship where each affects<br />
the other. That’s why Kirkwood works<br />
with local business and industry to develop<br />
relevant curriculum that puts our graduates<br />
in a position to succeed. When they<br />
thrive, employers flourish and so does the<br />
Corridor. When workers need retraining,<br />
Kirkwood supports area employers to make<br />
sure their employees have the knowledge<br />
and skills to take the organization, and<br />
their own careers, to the next level.<br />
Because the future of the Corridor is<br />
directly related to the success of this relationship,<br />
every single person has a vested<br />
interest in cultivating the area workforce<br />
and growing it to its potential. One way to<br />
encourage success is by celebrating those<br />
among us that are truly standing out in<br />
their field.<br />
In this magazine, you’ll be introduced<br />
to some of the promising Corridor<br />
employees making a huge impact today.<br />
It’s a glimpse of the younger workforce<br />
who will very soon become the movers<br />
and shakers of the future. These stories<br />
are inspiring. The best part is, they can<br />
encourage the next wave of talent whose<br />
time is fast approaching.<br />
These Creative Corridor All-Stars are<br />
proof that if you put in the time, and you<br />
work hard, you can accomplish any goal.<br />
I would encourage those inspired by these<br />
examples to take control of their future.<br />
When anyone is ready for the next step –<br />
whatever that may be – Kirkwood is ready<br />
to help them get there. Whether it’s career<br />
exploration and opportunities for our<br />
youth, or training for our more experienced<br />
workforce, Kirkwood is a one-stop<br />
shop for everyone in the Corridor when it<br />
comes to career development.<br />
Let the stories within these pages be an<br />
inspiration to motivate us as we move toward<br />
the bright future of our community. •<br />
CONTENTS<br />
ALL STAR SECTORS<br />
ARCHITECTURE, CONSTRUCTION,<br />
ENGINEERING<br />
Brandon Minick ............ 4<br />
Besnik Mucogllava.......... 6<br />
ADVANCED MANUFACTURING<br />
Cassie Ellis ...............10<br />
Amber Westemeier........ 12<br />
FINANCIAL SERVICE, INSURANCE,<br />
CUSTOMER SERVICE<br />
Amanda Wendling.........14<br />
Natasha Leiran............16<br />
HEALTHCARE<br />
April Golwitzer............18<br />
Sara Wattnem.............20<br />
INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY<br />
Matt Lapka ...............22<br />
Samantha Dahlby..........24<br />
TRANSPORTATION, LOGISTICS<br />
Phil Reges................26<br />
Makenzie Kimm...........28<br />
INTERNSHIPS<br />
Trent Brandenburg.........30<br />
INFORMATION<br />
AND RESOURCES<br />
Pathway to an<br />
All Star Career......... 11<br />
How Can I<br />
Be an All Star?......... 15<br />
About Sector Boards ... 23<br />
All Star Honorable<br />
Mentions ............. 31<br />
Main Campus, 6301 Kirkwood Boulevard<br />
Southwest, Cedar Rapids, IA 52404<br />
(319) 398-5411 • www.kirkwood.edu<br />
A print product of the<br />
Corridor Business Journal<br />
May <strong>2017</strong><br />
Shuva Rahim, Writer and Photographer<br />
Julia Druckmiller, Designer<br />
Rhonda Roskos, Media Consultant<br />
MAY <strong>2017</strong><br />
3
ARCHITECTURE, CONSTRUCTION, ENGINEERING SECTOR<br />
DIRECTOR OF<br />
VIRTUAL DESIGN<br />
AND<br />
CONSTRUCTION<br />
Brandon<br />
Brandon Minick<br />
Modern Piping, Cedar Rapids, Iowa<br />
What is the most rewarding part of your job?<br />
The most rewarding part of the job would be the completion<br />
of a project, to be able to go home at night and tell<br />
your wife or your kids, ‘I helped build that building or I<br />
helped be part of the design team on that building.’<br />
What does your company do?<br />
Modern Piping is a full-service mechanical contractor. We do<br />
plumbing, piping, sheet metal, controls and also compressed<br />
air. We also have a service division we handle. We basically call<br />
it a “one-stop shop.”<br />
What are your job duties?<br />
I lead and manage the Virtual Design team within the day-today<br />
operations. We have five locations. I oversee 15 employees<br />
at three different locations, including Cedar Rapids, Blaine,<br />
Minnesota and Oklahoma City. Modern supports the company<br />
from pre-construction all the way to final completion of a project.<br />
The projects we work on are typically commercial. We also<br />
do a very large amount of industrial projects. We just recently<br />
completed the Children’s Hospital project, along with the U of I<br />
Hancher Auditorium and the U of I Art Building replacement.<br />
What is most interesting about your job?<br />
The most interesting thing is the day-to-day challenges we have,<br />
specifically in the technology we use. The different software and<br />
hardware we utilize to complete a project – a robotic total station,<br />
3-D scanner and software – is pretty neat.<br />
How did you decide on this career path?<br />
I decided on this career path based on my childhood. My<br />
stepfather was a CAD designer in the Quad Cities. Really<br />
just watching him do it interested me and took me to the<br />
next level of wanting to do it myself. I went to Morrison<br />
Institute of Technology, a two-year tech school. I did CAD<br />
Design and Drafting with Engineering Technology. I also<br />
worked for another mechanical contractor before I got hired<br />
on at Modern Piping. I worked there for five years, and day<br />
to day kept learning and taking on more responsibility.<br />
What do most people not realize you do in<br />
your job?<br />
One thing people don’t realize would be juggling a lot<br />
of tasks, having many responsibilities and really keeping<br />
them all in motion at the same time. I’m doing a lot of<br />
other things with managing 15 employees, and working<br />
with the day-to-day operations within the company between<br />
the fab shop, the project management team, the IT<br />
department and within my own department. •<br />
ONLINE: Watch Brandon discuss<br />
working at Modern Piping.<br />
Go to http://bit.ly/CCAllStars<br />
4 ALL STARS of the Creative Corridor
Design - Build<br />
With our 69,000 s.q./ft., state-of-the-art fabrication facility in<br />
Cedar Rapids, IA we’re able to offer many plumbing, piping and<br />
duct fabrication benefits to our customers that are not<br />
provided by other mechanical contractors.<br />
Modern Piping, Inc. is ISO 9001:2008 certified, which is a<br />
third-party validation of our extensive quality control and<br />
continuous improvement processes used in our fabrication and<br />
VDC operations.<br />
15<br />
virtual<br />
designers<br />
on staff<br />
VDC Capabilities<br />
Our robust Virtual Design and Construction Department (VDC)<br />
is the largest of any mechanical contractor in the region. Our<br />
in-house engineers work closely with our VDC staff, estimators,<br />
fabricators, installers, and outside engineers to deliver the best<br />
designed and installed system for the customer’s budget.<br />
3D<br />
scanning<br />
capabilities<br />
Our Timble TX5 3D Scanner and Trimble Robotic Total Work<br />
Stations fully integrate with our 3D VDC software to provide<br />
extremely precise measurements, improve accuracy, and<br />
accelerate design and construction schedules.<br />
Stay In Touch<br />
modernpiping.com<br />
moderncompaniesinc.com<br />
(319) 841-1111
ARCHITECTURE, CONSTRUCTION, ENGINEERING SECTOR<br />
SUPERINTENDENT<br />
Besnik<br />
Besnik Mucogllava<br />
Woodruff Construction<br />
Tiffin, Iowa<br />
“Due to the<br />
experience<br />
I had in<br />
the past I<br />
progressed<br />
very fast.”<br />
ONLINE: Watch Besnik discuss his<br />
work at Woodruff Construction.<br />
Go to http://bit.ly/CCAllStars<br />
What does your company do?<br />
My company does general contracting and<br />
design-build services for commercial, corporate<br />
office and health care industries.<br />
What are your job duties?<br />
As superintendent my job duties are to<br />
plan, schedule and coordinate with other<br />
trades and also delegate work to our employees<br />
and subcontractors.<br />
What is the most interesting thing<br />
about your job?<br />
The most interesting things about my job are<br />
learning new things and ideas, and the continued<br />
improvement of ways things are built.<br />
What is the most rewarding part<br />
of your job?<br />
The most rewarding part of my job is the<br />
finishes toward the end of the project. For<br />
instance, now I’m running a project at the<br />
University of Iowa Children’s Hospital, and<br />
we’re at the finish part right now and it’s very<br />
exciting to get stuff done. It’s a rewarding<br />
part that you see how things are finished.<br />
How did you decide on this<br />
career path?<br />
I like construction, and I wanted to do<br />
something that is field-related but with<br />
more office responsibility. So superintendent<br />
gives me the opportunity to<br />
have both.<br />
I came to the U.S. in 2009 from Greece.<br />
I did construction in Greece for almost<br />
10 years. When I started with Woodruff,<br />
the construction was slightly different<br />
compared to Europe. So I started as a<br />
laborer even though I had experience.<br />
But due to the experience I had in the<br />
past I progressed very fast. Also, I have<br />
a degree in construction management. I<br />
graduated in 2014 from Kirkwood Community<br />
College. I’m currently at UNI pursuing<br />
a bachelor’s degree, to graduate<br />
next spring in technology management.<br />
What do most people not<br />
realize you do in your job?<br />
I’d say coordination between the other<br />
trades is easy for people not to notice,<br />
especially on this latest project (the UI<br />
Children’s Hospital). It’s very time-consuming.<br />
I personally don’t even know<br />
where my time goes. •<br />
6 ALL STARS of the Creative Corridor
MAY <strong>2017</strong><br />
7
Quick Facts about All Stars Industries<br />
Architecture, Construction, Engineering (ACE)<br />
Median hourly<br />
earnings in the<br />
ACE Sector in the<br />
Creative Corridor:<br />
$27.52<br />
In Iowa,<br />
Construction<br />
occupations are<br />
projected to<br />
grow by 24%<br />
from 2015 –<br />
2025 (EMSI)<br />
Careers with growth expected by 2020 in<br />
Iowa’s Creative Corridor (EMSI)<br />
Architects, Except<br />
Landscape and Naval<br />
Surveyors<br />
Architectural<br />
and Civil Drafters<br />
Cement Masons and<br />
Concrete Finishers<br />
Construction<br />
Laborers<br />
Drywall and<br />
Ceiling Tile<br />
Installers<br />
Construction<br />
and Building<br />
Inspectors<br />
+ 21<br />
%<br />
+ 10<br />
% + 10<br />
% + 26<br />
% + 12<br />
% + 36<br />
% + 9<br />
%<br />
EMSI occupation employment data are based on final EMSI industry data and final EMSI staffing patterns. Wage estimates are based on Occupational Employment Statistics (QCEW and Non-QCEW<br />
Employees classes of worker) and the American Community Survey (Self-Employed and Extended Proprietors). Occupational wage estimates also affected by county-level EMSI earnings by industry.<br />
Don Hummer Trucking Salutes the<br />
<strong>2017</strong> CBJ<br />
ALL STARS<br />
Don Hummer Trucking is proud to help Eastern Iowa develop a<br />
sustainable workforce by offering great career opportunities. We<br />
thank the CBJ All Stars for their commitment to do the same—<br />
together, we can develop and foster local talent to make our region<br />
more competitive, successful, and a better place to work.<br />
888-323-6115<br />
donhummertrucking.com<br />
8 ALL STARS of the Creative Corridor
Build your foundation for success with<br />
> Earn while you learn<br />
> Acquire no student debt<br />
> Receive regular pay raises<br />
Benefit with a<br />
Building Trades<br />
Union Registered<br />
Apprenticeship<br />
for a professional<br />
career in the<br />
Commercial<br />
Construction<br />
Industry<br />
www.builtbypros.com<br />
www.cricbt.org<br />
Must be 18 years of age with a high school diploma or equivalent. Must have good<br />
attendance, a great work ethic and willingness to work in all conditions.<br />
“Earn and Learn” in a Registered Apprenticeship for<br />
Union Construction careers. Apprenticeships provide a<br />
unique combination of on-the-job training working with<br />
Union professionals and structured learning from certified<br />
instructors. And the rewards are tremendous:<br />
A Paycheck with Benefits. From day one, you are on<br />
the payroll with guaranteed increases as you master your<br />
craft. Benefits include healthcare and much more.<br />
Hands-On Career Training. Apprentices receive<br />
practical on-the-job experience and regularly scheduled<br />
training and instruction in their Union Apprenticeship<br />
Training Centers.<br />
A Long-Term Career. Once you complete your<br />
apprenticeship, you’re well on your way to a truly<br />
rewarding and successful career with competitive salary,<br />
benefits and no student loans to pay off.<br />
MAY <strong>2017</strong><br />
9
ADVANCED MANUFACTURING SECTOR<br />
OPERATOR<br />
“The most rewarding part of<br />
the job is learning something<br />
new every single day.“<br />
Cassie Ellis<br />
Frontier Co-op, Norway, Iowa<br />
Cassie<br />
What does your company do?<br />
For Frontier, we bottle quality, natural and organic<br />
spices and seasonings. We also have a plant in Urbana<br />
that does essential oils and distributes them as well.<br />
Our products are distributed to natural grocery stores<br />
that sell organic products, such as Sprouts Farmers<br />
Market, 365, New Pioneer Co-op and Hy-Vees.<br />
What are your job duties?<br />
I operate the equipment. We have several different<br />
bottling and packaging lines. On any given day<br />
I can be on any of them. I’m in charge of setting<br />
up the capper,<br />
the sifter, the<br />
ONLINE: Watch Cassie discuss her<br />
labeler. We get<br />
job at Frontier Co-op.<br />
the spices in as<br />
Go to http://bit.ly/CCAllStars<br />
raw material,<br />
and then we put<br />
it in bottles, have all our QA checks and balances,<br />
and send it out the door for our customers. Each<br />
run is a different quantity. In eight hours, on any<br />
given line, we can get 10,000 bottles out. I’ve been<br />
here going on six years. I come a little bit early to<br />
drop my kids off at daycare. Our shift starts at 7:30<br />
a.m. We wear special coats, hairnets, earplugs,<br />
and special shoes, wash our hands coming in and<br />
going out for food safety. Other than that, you’re on line<br />
throughout the whole day.<br />
What is most interesting about your job?<br />
One of the most interesting things about my job is seeing all<br />
the different types of natural and organic products that come<br />
through. Some of them I’ve never ever heard of before.<br />
What is the most rewarding part of your job?<br />
The most rewarding part of the job is learning something<br />
new every single day. Frontier also is very good about giving<br />
back to the community. They’re active in the Honor Flight,<br />
Breast Cancer Walks, Junior Diabetes Walks, Heart Walk and<br />
Feeding Iowa First. So that’s very rewarding because they<br />
give us volunteer time to help serve our community.<br />
How did you decide on this career path?<br />
This job is a very family-friendly environment, and they<br />
have an on-site daycare. So it was a definite plus for me<br />
when I knew I wanted to start a family. It’s nice because<br />
you can just walk right down there, see your kid and<br />
go back to work. After high school, I went to the Army<br />
National Guard. When I decided to start a family, the<br />
environment is what attracted me here. I started as a<br />
production worker for Frontier. Everything I’ve learned<br />
has been hands-on. •<br />
10 ALL STARS of the Creative Corridor
Pathway to an All Star Career<br />
FINDING THE ROADMAP TO YOUR FUTURE<br />
An All Star Career does not have to be difficult. Through the many<br />
resources at Kirkwood Community College, it is possible to start a future<br />
in any of the industries represented in the Creative Corridor All Star<br />
magazine in several different ways.<br />
CAREER ACADEMIES: An option for High School Juniors<br />
and Seniors, Career Academies offer an opportunity for young<br />
adults to explore careers as part of their high school experience.<br />
In cooperation with area school districts, high school students<br />
land in hands-on technical programs and arts and sciences<br />
classes while earning both high school and Kirkwood Community<br />
College credit. Whether your interest is in Advanced<br />
Manufacturing, Engineering, Patient Care, Graphics Design,<br />
Business or in any of the other academies, Kirkwood Community<br />
College Career Academies are an excellent opportunity to<br />
move forward in your career exploration and development.<br />
For more information on Kirkwood’s Career Academies, visit: www.<br />
kirkwood.edu/careeredge and select your local Kirkwood County or<br />
Regional Center.<br />
KPACE: The KPACE program (Kirkwood Pathways to Career<br />
Education and Employment) is designed to provide a training<br />
opportunity for individuals that may need additional support<br />
in their journey through training and toward employment.<br />
Kirkwood Community College has developed four complete<br />
training pathways in health care, business and manufacturing<br />
so you can build skills for a new career. Whatever your personal<br />
situation, you can stop and start anywhere along the pathway.<br />
We’ll help you find funding, and provide the guidance, support<br />
and encouragement you need along your pathway to success.<br />
For more information on Kirkwood’s KPACE program, visit: www.kirkwood.<br />
edu/kpace<br />
KIRKWOOD COMMUNITY COLLEGE<br />
CONTINUING EDUCATION<br />
Kirkwood’s Continuing Education Division offers short-term<br />
training options in all of the industries represented in this<br />
Creative Corridor All Stars magazine. Through strong employer<br />
relationships, Continuing Education creates the certificates and<br />
programs that employers want and need. This provides the<br />
education and connections students need as they move forward<br />
toward their All Stars future. From Certified Nurse Aid, to Class<br />
A Truck Driving, to CNC Machining, to Customer Service<br />
Professional, Kirkwood Continuing Education meets the needs<br />
of employers and individuals looking to start their next step in<br />
getting the skills needed to jumpstart their careers.<br />
For more information on the trainings offered through Kirkwood Continuing<br />
Education, please visit: www.kirkwood.edu/ce<br />
KIRKWOOD COMMUNITY<br />
COLLEGE CREDIT PROGRAMS<br />
Students that start with a Career Academy, the KPACE program<br />
or Kirkwood Continuing Education often consider taking the<br />
next step in their education by considering a Kirkwood Community<br />
College Associates degree. For over 50 years, Kirkwood<br />
Community College has been serving the Creative Corridor<br />
through quality education that meets the needs of the region.<br />
More than 70,000 futures have started at Kirkwood Community<br />
College, yours can be one of them!<br />
To take your next step in exploring a possible Kirkwood Community College<br />
degree, visit: www.kirkwood.edu/academics<br />
BALANCE<br />
At Frontier Co-op, we are all about openness, teamwork,<br />
and honest communication. With a positive and supportive<br />
work environment, our employees thrive personally and<br />
professionally. Our growing organization provides a wealth of<br />
opportunities that allow you to decide what balance of work<br />
and life is best for you.<br />
Visit our website<br />
www.frontiercoop.com<br />
3021 78th Street<br />
Norway, IA 52318<br />
Frontier is a growing provider of organic herbs and spices, and aromatherapy products, and<br />
we offer easy access to high-quality choices that are earth-friendly.<br />
MAY <strong>2017</strong><br />
11
ADVANCED MANUFACTURING SECTOR<br />
OPERATIONS<br />
ASSISTANT<br />
Amber Westemeier<br />
Raining Rose, Cedar Rapids, Iowa<br />
Amber<br />
What does your company do?<br />
My company produces organic lip balms, body lotions,<br />
soaps and hand sanitizers.<br />
What are your job duties?<br />
I basically do quality checks to make sure the correct<br />
ingredients got into batch, that we’re following<br />
all procedures – whether they are safety or FDA<br />
requirements. I also deal a lot with our production<br />
floor – getting the paperwork<br />
out to them, making sure the lines are<br />
organized, calendars are correct. I’ve<br />
worked a lot with our production planner<br />
to learn how to run MRP (Material<br />
Requirement Planning), which gives me the opportunity<br />
to help ensure we get the product out in time.<br />
ONLINE: See Amber talk about<br />
her work at Raining Rose.<br />
Go to http://bit.ly/CCAllStars<br />
What is the most interesting thing about<br />
your job?<br />
The most interesting thing about my job is getting<br />
to see the whole process of how everything is<br />
made. I get to see when the raw materials come<br />
in, when they actually go into the product, seeing<br />
it get filled and then labeled and sometimes even<br />
seeing it go straight out the door.<br />
What is most rewarding about your job?<br />
The rewarding part is knowing the quality checks I<br />
do on the paperwork side is ensuring what goes out<br />
to our customer is excellent. I am one of the people<br />
who sees the paperwork and can say, ‘OK, we put<br />
too much of one ingredient in the batch, let’s see<br />
what we can do to correct the issue.’ It’s being able<br />
to know everything that passes my desk is quality<br />
and done correctly. There’s definitely a big sense of<br />
pride on that, especially when you get to see the<br />
product out in the real world.<br />
How did you decide on this career path?<br />
My path leading up to this is actually just high school. I graduated<br />
in May 2014. I got onto Twitter one day, saw the ad and applied as<br />
a machine operator. I really wanted to broaden my knowledge of<br />
manufacturing, so I started doing different classes through Raining<br />
Rose University, a leadership program that helps employees learn how<br />
to deal with difficult situations in a manufacturing setting and how to<br />
be a proactive leader to your peers. In the future, I plan on attending<br />
Kirkwood for Business Management/Human Resource Management in<br />
hopes of becoming more knowledgeable of the safety processes/rules<br />
manufacturing facilities must abide by.<br />
What do most people not realize you do in your job?<br />
I’m highly involved in the safety committee. I’m a first responder here<br />
and I’ve worked very closely with our safety coordinator making sure<br />
everyone’s doing his or her job safely every day. We have a daily safety<br />
check I actually worked on which produced a guideline that everyone<br />
needs to follow throughout the shift. Safety is my No. 1 priority. I treat<br />
everyone here like family and make every effort possible to ensure they<br />
have a safe shift while producing a high-quality product. •<br />
12 ALL STARS of the Creative Corridor
Advanced Manufacturing<br />
Quick Facts about All Stars Industries<br />
Careers with growth expected by 2020<br />
in Iowa’s Creative Corridor (EMSI)<br />
Median Hourly<br />
Earnings in Advanced<br />
Manufacturing in the<br />
Creative Corridor:<br />
$18.06/hour (EMSI)<br />
Industrial<br />
Machinery<br />
Mechanics<br />
Maintenance<br />
Workers,<br />
Machinery<br />
Maintenance<br />
and Repair<br />
Workers,<br />
General<br />
Millwrights<br />
First-Line<br />
Supervisors<br />
of Mechanics,<br />
Installers, and<br />
Repairers<br />
Welders,<br />
Cutters,<br />
Solderers, and<br />
Brazers<br />
+ 19<br />
%<br />
+ 16<br />
%<br />
+ 9<br />
%<br />
+ 13<br />
%<br />
+ 6<br />
%<br />
+ 8<br />
%<br />
EMSI occupation employment data are based on final EMSI industry data and final EMSI staffing patterns. Wage estimates are based on Occupational Employment Statistics (QCEW and Non-QCEW<br />
Employees classes of worker) and the American Community Survey (Self-Employed and Extended Proprietors). Occupational wage estimates also affected by county-level EMSI earnings by industry.<br />
MAY <strong>2017</strong><br />
13
FINANCIAL SERVICE, INSURANCE, CUSTOMER SERVICE SECTOR<br />
MARKETING<br />
DIRECTOR<br />
Amanda<br />
Amanda Wendling<br />
BerganKDV, Cedar Rapids, Iowa<br />
What does your company do?<br />
BerganKDV is a financial services firm.<br />
We have CPA services, wealth management<br />
and then a division we call<br />
our outsourced services, anything an<br />
organization would outsource – payroll,<br />
technology, accounting services.<br />
What are your job duties?<br />
I’m charged with building our brand<br />
– this ranges from graphic design to<br />
marketing planning – across all six of<br />
our markets. We’re in Cedar Rapids,<br />
Des Moines, Coralville/Iowa City, Waterloo/Cedar<br />
Falls, and in Minnesota in<br />
Bloomington and St. Cloud. So I work<br />
with all of our different divisions on<br />
how they can grow their service areas.<br />
What is the most interesting<br />
thing about the job?<br />
Day-to-day it’s never boring. We, the<br />
marketing team, get involved in pretty<br />
much all aspects of the business, and<br />
that means I work with our operations<br />
director a lot. I work with our talent<br />
team on recruiting and creative ways<br />
to do that, and each of our different divisions.<br />
We also assist with our merger<br />
and acquisition teams, which has been<br />
a pretty active opportunity within our<br />
firm the last few years.<br />
What is the most rewarding<br />
part of your job?<br />
I like to see the work I do have<br />
an impact on our clients and<br />
our people. It’s cool to see how<br />
marketing contributes to that<br />
growth and offers opportunities for our<br />
people. As the marketing director, I obviously<br />
love when I tell someone where I<br />
work and they know what it is, they have<br />
good connotations about what BerganKDV<br />
is and they’re excited.<br />
How did you decide on this<br />
career path?<br />
I knew in high school I wanted to go<br />
into advertising or marketing. I liked<br />
the idea of psychology and understanding<br />
how people think, but I also<br />
really liked writing. So I have a journalism<br />
degree in advertising. I worked at<br />
a couple different design firms early<br />
in my career, found my way to insurance,<br />
and actually BerganPaulsen (now<br />
BerganKDV) found me.<br />
ONLINE: Watch Amanda discuss her<br />
work at BerganKDV.<br />
Go to http://bit.ly/CCAllStars<br />
What do most people not<br />
realize you do in your job?<br />
We really get involved with the business<br />
in ways you don’t think a marketing<br />
department would. I work heavily<br />
with our merger and acquisitions team.<br />
So I manage our merger and acquisition<br />
opportunities. With this, we get<br />
our talent director and myself involved<br />
to look at the culture and people,<br />
which is key for us. •<br />
14 ALL STARS of the Creative Corridor
Quick Facts about All Stars Industries<br />
Financial Service, Insurance, Customer Service<br />
Careers with growth<br />
expected by 2020 in Iowa’s<br />
Creative Corridor (EMSI) ><br />
In Iowa, Finance and<br />
Insurance occupations<br />
are projected to grow<br />
by<br />
18 %<br />
from 2015-2025<br />
(EMSI)<br />
Claims Adjusters,<br />
Examiners, and<br />
Investigators<br />
+<br />
30 %<br />
Loan Officers:<br />
+<br />
11 %<br />
Credit<br />
Insurance<br />
Analysts<br />
Sales Agents<br />
+<br />
22 %<br />
Financial<br />
Examiners<br />
+<br />
12 %<br />
Bill and Account<br />
Collectors<br />
+<br />
11 %<br />
+<br />
32 %<br />
Insurance Claims<br />
and Policy<br />
Processing Clerks<br />
+<br />
21 %<br />
EMSI occupation employment data are based on final EMSI industry data and final EMSI staffing patterns. Wage estimates are based on Occupational Employment Statistics (QCEW and Non-QCEW<br />
Employees classes of worker) and the American Community Survey (Self-Employed and Extended Proprietors). Occupational wage estimates also affected by county-level EMSI earnings by industry.<br />
How Can I Be<br />
An All Star?<br />
All Stars represent outstanding employees who are<br />
between the ages of 18-35 and have great stories to<br />
tell about their achievements. All Star and Honorable<br />
Mention winners represent careers within one of these<br />
industries:<br />
• Architecture, Construction, Engineering (ACE)<br />
• Advanced Manufacturing<br />
• Financial Service, Insurance, Customer Service<br />
• Healthcare<br />
• Information Technology<br />
• Transportation, Logistics<br />
All Stars can represent any career area within the six<br />
identified industries and are nominated by Creative<br />
Corridor employers and partners.<br />
Want to be a future All Star?<br />
Learn firsthand from the All Stars about their training<br />
and career paths by exploring videos of the All Star<br />
award winners on the online version of this publication,<br />
http://bit.ly/CCAllStars<br />
Congratulations,<br />
Amanda Wendling!<br />
Thank you for all you do to live BerganKDV.<br />
WE ARE BERGANKDV<br />
bergankdv.com<br />
MAY <strong>2017</strong><br />
15
FINANCIAL SERVICE, INSURANCE, CUSTOMER SERVICE SECTOR<br />
ACCOUNT<br />
SUPPORT<br />
ADVISOR<br />
Natasha<br />
Natasha Leiran<br />
GreatAmerica Financial Services, Cedar Rapids, Iowa<br />
ONLINE: See Natasha discuss her work<br />
at GreatAmerica Financial Services.<br />
Go to http://bit.ly/CCAllStars<br />
What does your company do?<br />
GreatAmerica is a finance company,<br />
providing financing for various types of<br />
equipment. We have multiple business<br />
units, so anywhere from office<br />
equipment to telecommunications and<br />
health care systems. We have different<br />
value-add services we provide as well,<br />
such as HR consulting, remote desktop<br />
support and portfolio servicing.<br />
What are your job duties?<br />
My main job duty is to provide our<br />
GreatAmerica experience to all of<br />
our customers. That means providing<br />
exceptional customer service<br />
when communicating with the end<br />
users, who are the people using the<br />
financed equipment. I’m answering<br />
any questions they would have on their<br />
invoices, agreements or end-of-term<br />
information.<br />
What is the most rewarding<br />
part of your job?<br />
I’m always learning something new every<br />
day, especially while sitting with new<br />
business units or different teams. I’m<br />
able to find more process improvements<br />
just by listening to other people talk.<br />
How did you decide on this<br />
career path?<br />
I graduated from Coe College with a<br />
degree in business administration. I<br />
knew that I wanted to work with people,<br />
whether it be over the phone or face-to<br />
face. I enjoy talking to people every day,<br />
and so that was something I wanted in a<br />
career. But I also wanted to be working<br />
somewhere where I really enjoyed what<br />
I was doing, the people I was working<br />
with and what the company stood for.<br />
Touching on that, GreatAmerica strives<br />
to provide the best customer experience<br />
to all of our customers – vendors<br />
and end users – so that they’re going<br />
to come back and tell people about<br />
GreatAmerica. But they also believe<br />
highly in helping their employees grow<br />
wherever they have passion. I feel really<br />
lucky I got in early because I never want<br />
to leave GreatAmerica. I said that from<br />
the day I started.<br />
What do most people not<br />
realize you do in your job?<br />
Most people would think we are a call<br />
center. We do answer the end user’s<br />
phone call, but we work with them<br />
from the moment they call in, are following<br />
through and making sure they<br />
don’t need any other information. If<br />
they do find they need more, we’re the<br />
ones providing that directly. We get<br />
to do that and that’s really something<br />
that’s different. •<br />
16 ALL STARS of the Creative Corridor
ADVERTISEMENT<br />
Geico continues to bring<br />
meaningful jobs to Corridor<br />
When GEICO opened its doors<br />
in Coralville in 1997, its mission<br />
was to do more than provide<br />
quality insurance and superior<br />
customer service. GEICO made it<br />
a priority to bring meaningful job<br />
opportunities to Iowans interested<br />
in building rewarding careers.<br />
Now 20 years later, GEICO<br />
remains true to that commitment.<br />
For the past three years,<br />
GEICO’s Coralville regional office<br />
has been named a Top Workplace<br />
by the Des Moines Register.<br />
Based solely on employee<br />
feedback, GEICO was selected<br />
for its unique culture that creates<br />
an atmosphere where associates<br />
can enjoy coming to work, have<br />
a healthy work/life balance, and,<br />
most importantly, feel valued<br />
and supported.<br />
Today, GEICO’s Coralville office<br />
has grown to employ more<br />
than 400 sales and customer service<br />
professionals. As GEICO’s<br />
policyholder base continues to<br />
expand, so does its team of talented<br />
associates. This year alone,<br />
GEICO’s Coralville team plans to<br />
hire 100 new associates to help<br />
keep up with the increasing services<br />
GEICO provides customers.<br />
GEICO’s Coralville associates<br />
demonstrate an ongoing<br />
commitment to not only serving<br />
policyholders, but also investing<br />
in the well-being and development<br />
of the local economy and<br />
community. As active corporate<br />
citizens, associates provide many<br />
volunteer hours to support such<br />
organizations as Habitat for Humanity,<br />
United Way of Johnson<br />
County, Iowa City Special Olympics,<br />
March of Dimes and the<br />
Leukemia & Lymphoma Society,<br />
to name a few.<br />
“Here at GEICO, we understand<br />
the core strength of our<br />
GEICO’s Coralville<br />
office has grown<br />
to employ more<br />
than 400 sales and<br />
customer service<br />
professionals.<br />
organization is in our associates,”<br />
said Pete Rizzo, director<br />
of GEICO’s Coralville regional<br />
office. “We value the hard work<br />
and dedication our associates devote<br />
to serving our policyholders<br />
and the local community. We<br />
recognize that GEICO’s success<br />
is due in large part to our more<br />
than 36,000 associates across the<br />
country. I’m especially grateful<br />
for the team here in Coralville<br />
that supports our operations<br />
each and every day.”<br />
GEICO offers competitive<br />
starting salaries and a comprehensive<br />
benefits package. Many<br />
associates also participate in<br />
GEICO’s tuition reimbursement<br />
program, which is offered to encourage<br />
continuing education,<br />
personal development and career<br />
growth.<br />
GEICO is excited to continue<br />
to grow in Coralville and add<br />
new talent to the team.<br />
For job opportunities and information, visit https://www.geico.com/careers/office-locations/iowa-coralville<br />
MAY <strong>2017</strong><br />
17
HEALTHCARE SECTOR<br />
NURSE<br />
April<br />
April Golwitzer<br />
UnityPoint – St. Luke’s Hospital<br />
Cedar Rapids, Iowa<br />
ONLINE: See April discuss her work<br />
at UnityPoint – St. Luke’s Hospital.<br />
Go to http://bit.ly/CCAllStars<br />
What does your company do?<br />
We are here to serve the community<br />
and take great care of patients.<br />
What are your job duties?<br />
The first thing I do is I am a leader to<br />
the float pool staff. That means I manage<br />
and help lead 35 team members,<br />
a combination of IV therapy and critical<br />
care nurses, medical surgical nurses<br />
and patient care techs. Aside from<br />
that, I am the lead for pain management<br />
at St. Luke’s. I also assist with<br />
advanced practice work, so I help with<br />
education for the patient care techs<br />
and nurses who work our front lines<br />
on the units. I oversee the telecenter<br />
system, which is a video monitoring<br />
system. Finally, I attend committees<br />
and councils, and support three<br />
specific units within the hospital with<br />
quality-control metrics and educationbased<br />
topics.<br />
What is the most interesting<br />
thing about your job?<br />
The most interesting would be the<br />
variety of things I actually get to do. I<br />
get to see a lot of patients, but I also<br />
do a lot of chart auditing. So I get to<br />
see both sides of the spectrum. I like<br />
to be able to identify on both sides of<br />
‘What is the front-line nurse needing?’<br />
and then ‘What type of education can<br />
I and my colleagues help provide to<br />
be able to reach that goal or outcome<br />
that they’re working on?’<br />
What is the most rewarding<br />
part of your job?<br />
The most rewarding is when I’m able to<br />
see one of my team members succeed,<br />
or a team member from another unit<br />
I have coached or worked with on the<br />
side in regards to a skill succeed. I see<br />
everything click in their minds and then<br />
I watch them achieve what they wanted<br />
to. When I see the pride on their faces,<br />
their inner confidence starting to build<br />
– that’s most rewarding.<br />
How did you choose this<br />
career path?<br />
I had a grandmother in a nursing home<br />
and a grandfather who was in critical<br />
care and then went through hospice<br />
– I saw nurses at the bedside who did<br />
exceptional care, and I saw nurses who<br />
did not quite deliver on that family,<br />
patient-centered care. I wanted to figure<br />
out how I could make a difference.<br />
So I went to Mount Mercy College,<br />
and graduated with my bachelor’s. I<br />
worked in the hospital setting. Then I<br />
wanted to go back for my master’s. I<br />
completed my master’s in Leadership<br />
and Management at Allen College in<br />
Waterloo in December 2016.<br />
What do people not know<br />
about your job?<br />
I do a lot of data collection. I think<br />
when people think of a nurse or a<br />
nurse educator, they don’t always<br />
understand we link ourselves to data<br />
as well. We like to see specific metrics<br />
improving because we put in this quality<br />
initiative on this specific unit. We<br />
are very data driven. I do a lot of chart<br />
audits. I pull a lot of data to be able to<br />
support the work I’m doing. •<br />
18 ALL STARS of the Creative Corridor
Why choose a career with<br />
UnityPoint Health - Cedar Rapids?<br />
As a team member, regardless of your position,<br />
you will have the opportunity to<br />
change lives on a daily basis, delivering on<br />
our vision of Best Outcome for Every Patient<br />
Every Time. That privilege drives employees’<br />
passion for making a difference in the lives<br />
of our patients, helping them create healthier,<br />
more rewarding lives. UnityPoint Health<br />
sets high expectations for team members in<br />
order to establish a trusted team capable of<br />
taking on the toughest of challenges.<br />
Our team members strive to work as one<br />
through four key values:<br />
1. Foster Unity<br />
– We use the skills and abilities of each<br />
person to enable great teams.<br />
– We collaborate across departments,<br />
facilities business units and regions.<br />
– We seek to understand and are open to<br />
diverse thoughts and perspectives.<br />
2. Own the Moment<br />
– We connect with each person treating<br />
them with courtesy, compassion,<br />
empathy and respect.<br />
– We enthusiastically engage in our work.<br />
– We are accountable for our individual<br />
actions and our team performance.<br />
ADVERTISEMENT<br />
Our Mission: Improving the health<br />
and lives of communities and<br />
patients we serve<br />
Our Vision: Best Outcome Every<br />
Patient Every Time<br />
Our Values: At UnityPoint Health,<br />
we know our collective actions<br />
determine the experience we<br />
create.<br />
3. Champion Excellence<br />
– We commit to the best outcomes and the<br />
highest quality.<br />
– We have a relentless focus on exceeding<br />
expectations.<br />
– We believe in sharing our results,<br />
learning from our mistakes and<br />
celebrating our successes.<br />
– We take responsibility for solving<br />
problems regardless of origin.<br />
4. Seize Opportunity<br />
– We embrace and promote innovation<br />
and transformation.<br />
– We create partnerships that improve care<br />
delivery in our communities.<br />
– We have the courage to challenge the<br />
status quo.<br />
UnityPoint Health team members come for a job, but stay for a career.<br />
When will you begin yours?<br />
Career Opportunities<br />
Our award-winning providers,<br />
specialists and care teams<br />
contribute to our communities,<br />
support patient’s family members<br />
in time of need and make a difference<br />
in the lives of our patients<br />
every day. And they wouldn’t<br />
have it any other way because<br />
that is why they are in this business<br />
in the first place – to care for<br />
others. To us, everything begins<br />
and ends with delivering an<br />
unparalleled health care experience<br />
for our patients. That begins<br />
with a culture that leverages our<br />
most powerful resource – our<br />
team members – who make a difference<br />
on a grand scale across<br />
our organization, regardless of<br />
the role:<br />
Clinical Opportunities<br />
Registered Nurse<br />
Certified Medical Assistant<br />
Home Care Coordination<br />
Hospice and Palliative Care<br />
My UnityPoint Nurse Call Center<br />
Pediatrics<br />
Pharmacy<br />
Laboratory<br />
Advanced Practice<br />
Therapy/Behavioral Health<br />
And More!<br />
Non-Clinical<br />
Administration/Clerical<br />
Billing Office<br />
Environmental Service<br />
Finance and Accounting<br />
Home Medical Equipment<br />
Human Resources<br />
Information Technology<br />
Patient Registration<br />
Procurement, Supply, Distribution<br />
And More!<br />
Come for a<br />
job, stay for<br />
a career.<br />
unitypoint.org/career<br />
All Stars Ad.indd 1<br />
MAY <strong>2017</strong><br />
3/2/<strong>2017</strong> 9:35:37 AM<br />
19
HEALTHCARE SECTOR<br />
Sara<br />
REGISTERED<br />
DIETITIAN<br />
Sara Wattnem<br />
Virginia Gay Hospital and Clinics, Nursing & Rehab<br />
Vinton, Iowa<br />
“Dietitians like<br />
junk food, too.”<br />
ONLINE: Watch Sara discuss her<br />
work at Virginia Gay Hospital and<br />
Clinics. Go to http://bit.ly/CCAllStars<br />
What does your organization do?<br />
We make sick people better and enrich the lives of our long-term<br />
care residents. In the hospital and clinics we see different illnesses<br />
and disease processes. For our long-term care, we help residents<br />
who can no longer live in the community alone. Virginia Gay<br />
includes family practice clinics, skilled nursing, operating room,<br />
and a long-term care facility attached to the hospital. Virginia Gay<br />
also has home health services to which people can get referrals.<br />
If a patient needs to see me, their physician will refer them.<br />
Patients can see a dietitian for diabetes management, weight<br />
management, hypertension, autoimmune disorders, etc.<br />
What are your job duties?<br />
I’m responsible for the food service department (planning,<br />
organizing, coordinating in accordance with state, federal, and<br />
local standards governing the facility to ensure quality nutritional<br />
standards are provided daily and the department is maintained<br />
in a clean, safe, and sanitary manner). I supervise dietary staff,<br />
assess the nutritional needs and plan therapeutic diets to meet<br />
patients’ requirements, and provide patient instruction on diet<br />
therapy to patients and family members, if needed. Also, I provide<br />
outpatient dietary consulting and assessments.<br />
What is the most interesting thing about your job?<br />
I always get to do something different. No two patients or diseases<br />
or illnesses or nutritional needs for any two people are the same.<br />
What is the most rewarding part of your job?<br />
The most rewarding is when I get to see patients or<br />
long-term care residents get passionate about their<br />
health and their diet, whether it’s getting to plan a<br />
meal or how they can make their lives a little better<br />
through healthier nutrition.<br />
How did you decide on this career path?<br />
I became a dietitian later in life. I started working at a<br />
long-term care facility when I was 14. I worked my way<br />
up the ranks. When I became the supervisor, I was talking<br />
to the dietitian and she said, “Why don’t you just<br />
become a dietitian?” So I did. I always liked how food<br />
can impact your life. The education and training for a<br />
dietitian at a minimum is a bachelor’s degree. I have<br />
two: one in nutrition from Kaplan and one in dietetics<br />
from Kansas State. Then you complete a 1,200-hour<br />
supervised practice internship, and I completed mine<br />
at Iowa State.<br />
What do most people not realize you do in<br />
your job?<br />
Dietitians like junk food, too. People would be surprised<br />
to see the variety of options learned from dietitians.<br />
People think dietitians will take away food you<br />
like or make them eat rabbit food, and that’s not the<br />
case. We want to take your lifestyles and tweak them a<br />
little bit to help you with what you want to achieve. •<br />
20 ALL STARS of the Creative Corridor
Healthcare<br />
Quick Facts about All Stars Industries<br />
Health Sector occupations are<br />
projected to grow in Iowa’s Creative<br />
Corridor by<br />
12 %<br />
2014-2020 (EMSI)<br />
Median Hourly Earnings in<br />
Healthcare in the Creative<br />
Corridor: $23.74/hour (EMSI)<br />
Careers with growth expected by 2020 in<br />
Iowa’s Creative Corridor (EMSI):<br />
Personal Care Aides +27%<br />
Insurance Claims and Policy<br />
Processing Clerks +21%<br />
Nurse Practitioner +21%<br />
Surgical Technologist +17%<br />
Home Health Aides +16%<br />
Medical Assistants +16%<br />
Phlebotomists +15%<br />
Occupational Therapy Assistants +13%<br />
Medical Records and Health<br />
Information Technicians +12%<br />
EMSI occupation employment data are based on final EMSI industry data and final EMSI staffing patterns. Wage estimates are based on Occupational Employment Statistics (QCEW and Non-QCEW<br />
Employees classes of worker) and the American Community Survey (Self-Employed and Extended Proprietors). Occupational wage estimates also affected by county-level EMSI earnings by industry.<br />
MAY <strong>2017</strong><br />
21
INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY SECTOR<br />
SENIOR<br />
DEVELOPMENT<br />
OPERATIONS<br />
PROGRAMMER<br />
Matt Lapka<br />
MediRevv Inc., Coralville, Iowa<br />
Matt<br />
What does your company do?<br />
MediRevv is a revenue cycle management company in the health<br />
care industry. We partner with hospitals and physician groups<br />
all over the United States to help them with their revenue cycle<br />
needs, whether that’s working with insurance companies to make<br />
sure they’re paying what they’re obligated to or taking phone<br />
calls from patients or working in the medical coding division. We<br />
help our clients increase their revenue stream.<br />
What are your job duties?<br />
I oversee a team of three, including me. I was the only programmer<br />
when I started. It’s pretty exciting. Being in charge of the<br />
programming team, I get to set the practices we do. I don’t<br />
adhere to rigid standards all the time, because I want to be flexible<br />
enough to meet client A’s needs as well as client B’s needs.<br />
There’s a lot of different facets to our business, and being able to<br />
understand the uniqueness of it is very important in knowing how<br />
the technology we develop in-house can help the company. Coming<br />
up with different documentation and different elements a lot<br />
of people don’t see gives me quite a bit of creative freedom.<br />
What is the most interesting thing about your job?<br />
The most interesting thing about my job is translating the business<br />
needs into technical and programmatic requirements my<br />
team then can turn into applications.<br />
How did you decide on this career path?<br />
I was working in retail management and I was working<br />
40-50 hours a week. So I decided I needed to<br />
make a change. I’d always been around technology.<br />
Both my parents were programmers. But for some<br />
reason, I never saw that as a viable career option. I<br />
just was thinking one day, and decided ‘hey, I work<br />
with computers. Why don’t I do that?’ I decided to<br />
try out some online courses through MIT’s Open-<br />
CourseWare program, and I absolutely just loved the<br />
problem solving. So I went to Kirkwood and got my<br />
associate’s in computer software development. While<br />
I was finishing my degree I started at MediRevv.<br />
What do most people not realize you do<br />
in your job?<br />
I don’t think most people realize the planning,<br />
design, testing and documentation that actually<br />
go into application development and deployment.<br />
I don’t just start coding right away and then I’m<br />
done. There’s actually a lot of behind-the-scenes<br />
work. It’s also really important to help my team<br />
grow in their professional and personal lives, so<br />
there’s a lot of mentoring that goes on. •<br />
ONLINE: Watch Matt discuss his<br />
work at MediRevv.<br />
Go to http://bit.ly/CCAllStars<br />
22 ALL STARS of the Creative Corridor
About Creative Corridor<br />
SECTOR BOARDS<br />
QUESTIONS?<br />
Employer members of the Creative<br />
Corridor Sector Boards work<br />
to collectively develop workforce<br />
solutions tailored to an industry<br />
sector. Workforce solutions include<br />
development and sustaining a comprehensive<br />
regional career pathway<br />
system that is targeted to meet the<br />
needs of the talent pipeline, employers<br />
and workers. Sector Boards<br />
use data to forecast labor needs<br />
and identify specific jobs and skill<br />
needs, develop career and training<br />
pathway maps, and develop workforce<br />
strategies that address supply<br />
and demand.<br />
These Sector Boards are employer<br />
led, and membership comprised<br />
of employers as well as economic<br />
development, workforce, nonprofit<br />
and community groups. The region’s<br />
six Sector Boards include:<br />
• Architecture, Construction,<br />
Engineering<br />
• Advanced Manufacturing<br />
• Financial Service, Insurance,<br />
Customer Service<br />
• Healthcare<br />
• Information Technology<br />
• Transportation, Logistics<br />
Through this partnership, the<br />
Creative Corridor Sector Boards<br />
are able to collectively promote<br />
the opportunities for training and<br />
employment for the region’s growing<br />
industry sectors through various<br />
activities and projects, such as the<br />
Creative Corridor All Stars. •<br />
If you are interested in learning more about<br />
the Creative Corridor Sector Boards, or want<br />
to become an employer board member,<br />
please contact:<br />
Architecture, Construction, Engineering (ACE)<br />
Erica.Bergfeld-Reed@kirkwood.edu<br />
Advanced Manufacturing<br />
Erica.Bergfeld-Reed@kirkwood.edu<br />
Financial Service, Insurance, Customer Service<br />
Judy.Stoffel@kirkwood.edu<br />
Healthcare<br />
Judy.Stoffel@kirkwood.edu<br />
Information Technology (IT)<br />
Gary.Vogt@kirkwood.edu<br />
Transportation, Logistics<br />
Chris.Kula@kirkwood.edu<br />
ANDREW J.<br />
Employee-Owner<br />
CHANGE<br />
YOUR LIFE.<br />
If you’re ready for more than a job, you’re ready to join our team. Everyone here is an<br />
employee-owner. That means your ideas are valued, your voice is heard and our success is<br />
your success. When we all come together as owners, it suddenly doesn’t feel like work.<br />
OPERATIONS<br />
DELIVERY DRIVERS<br />
AND MORE<br />
With branches across the Midwest and openings in operations,<br />
delivery and more – Van Meter is ready to help you OwnUp.<br />
Contact us today at vanmeterownup.com/contact<br />
MAY <strong>2017</strong><br />
23
INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY SECTOR<br />
K-12 EDUCATION<br />
COORDINATOR<br />
Samantha Dahlby<br />
NewBoCo<br />
Cedar Rapids, Iowa<br />
Samantha<br />
What does your company do?<br />
NewBoCo’s mission is to accelerate world-changing ideas<br />
from Iowa through many initiatives. I’m part of the Imagination<br />
Iowa initiative, which encourages K-12 students to<br />
get excited about STEAM (Science Technology Engineering<br />
Art & Math) and foster the technical and creative<br />
talent for future startup leaders.<br />
What are your job duties?<br />
My primary role is with our Code.org partnership. Code.<br />
org advocates computer science for every student in every<br />
school, and selects regional partners. Our region is all<br />
of Iowa. Through this, we can offer free (no subscription),<br />
high-quality teaching training through Code.org’s curriculum.<br />
We get to help teachers implement it and provide<br />
support so they aren’t alone. I also get to work with K-12<br />
students through events. Coder Dojo, which is free for<br />
elementary students every first and third Saturday from<br />
1 to 3 p.m., has volunteer-run stations that include Lego<br />
Robotics, coding and electronics. I also enjoy our Summer<br />
Challenge Camps for second through eighth graders. The<br />
focus is STEAM and entrepreneurial experiences. Some<br />
unique camps are Young Authors Accelerator, Social Robotics<br />
and Fashion Business.<br />
ONLINE: Watch Samantha talk<br />
about her job at NewBoCo.<br />
Go to http://bit.ly/CCAllStars<br />
What is the most interesting thing about your job?<br />
The variety is interesting to me. I’m teaching programming or<br />
basic circuits one day, talking with our state computer-science<br />
working group another, or strategizing with other regions on a<br />
national level a different day.<br />
What is the most rewarding part of your job?<br />
I love seeing when students conquer challenges and actually<br />
build things and are excited about it being hard. Also, I like<br />
knowing I’m spreading that impact through Iowa by providing<br />
teachers the tools, training and support to help them succeed.<br />
What was your career path?<br />
My degree is in computer engineering and was an embedded<br />
software developer with Bluetooth. I loved the tinkering<br />
and solving problems. But at the end of my maternity leave,<br />
I wanted a bigger purpose to drive me. While home with my<br />
daughters, I kept active with software development through<br />
doing side projects and our family attending Midwest industry<br />
conferences. As our oldest started preschool, I began volunteering<br />
at Imagination Iowa Coder Dojo events. I realized<br />
I wanted to show kids what is possible in STEAM relating to<br />
jobs they may not think about.<br />
What do people not know about your job?<br />
I work part-time. I do a lot of stuff and I fit it in. It works because<br />
as a nonprofit, budget is important and as a parent, I’m<br />
easing back into the workforce as our kids get older. So this is a<br />
great marriage where I can do something I’m passionate about<br />
and still provide the time my family needs. •<br />
24 ALL STARS of the Creative Corridor
Information Technology<br />
Careers with growth expected by 2020 in<br />
Iowa’s Creative Corridor (EMSI)<br />
+ 3<br />
%<br />
+ 9<br />
%<br />
Computer Systems<br />
Analysts<br />
+ 5<br />
%<br />
Information<br />
Security Analysts<br />
Quick Facts about All Stars Industries<br />
In Iowa, there is a projected growth<br />
in jobs of 8.3% from 2014-2020 in<br />
Information Technology (EMSI)<br />
Median Hourly Earnings in the<br />
Information Technology Industry (EMSI):<br />
Computer and Information<br />
Systems Managers $58.72<br />
Computer Systems Analysts $35.96<br />
Network and Computer<br />
Systems Administrators $34.36<br />
Web Developers $33.55<br />
Computer User Support<br />
Specialists $20.69<br />
Computer User<br />
Support Specialists<br />
Median Hourly Earnings in<br />
Information Technology in the<br />
Creative Corridor: $37.48/hour<br />
EMSI occupation employment data are based on final EMSI industry data and final EMSI staffing patterns. Wage estimates are based on Occupational Employment Statistics (QCEW and Non-QCEW<br />
Employees classes of worker) and the American Community Survey (Self-Employed and Extended Proprietors). Occupational wage estimates also affected by county-level EMSI earnings by industry.<br />
Congratulations<br />
<strong>2017</strong><br />
All Stars<br />
of the Corridor<br />
Supporting and Inspiring<br />
creativecorridor.co<br />
www.cedarrapids.org<br />
www.icadgroup.com<br />
MAY <strong>2017</strong><br />
25
TRANSPORTATION, LOGISTICS SECTOR<br />
DIRECTOR OF<br />
OPERATIONS FOR<br />
AFTER HOURS<br />
Phil<br />
Phil Reges<br />
CRST Expedited, Cedar Rapids, Iowa<br />
ONLINE: Watch Phil talk about his<br />
work at CRST Expedited.<br />
Go to http://bit.ly/CCAllStars<br />
What does your company do?<br />
Our company provides a service by moving goods for customers<br />
across the country. Cedar Rapids is the headquarters<br />
for CRST International and CRST Expedited.<br />
What are your job duties?<br />
My job is to facilitate the operations for anything outside<br />
the normal business hours of Monday through Friday 7<br />
a.m. to 5 p.m. I have four managers who directly report<br />
to me. Then, they have each individually underneath them<br />
anywhere from 10 to 20 people who report to them for<br />
different job duties, such as customer service, load planning<br />
or accounts. Between me, the four managers and the<br />
people who work for them, we all help to manage all the<br />
customers and the 4,000 different drivers working for us at<br />
any given time.<br />
What is most interesting about your job?<br />
The most interesting thing about the job is no two days are<br />
the same. Every day is something different and there’s always<br />
a curve ball. So you never know what you’re going to<br />
get, but that makes it interesting and fun at the same time.<br />
What is the most rewarding part of your job?<br />
The rewarding part is seeing people coming into this industry,<br />
growing and being successful within their own specific<br />
job function, especially in the After Hours. We hire a lot of<br />
college grads and they don’t know anything about the<br />
transportation industry. Watching them grow, knowing<br />
everything there is to know and progress to their next<br />
role is really the most rewarding part for me.<br />
How did you decide on this career path?<br />
In college I talked to a recruiter who talked to me about<br />
supply chain management. From there, I researched it<br />
and started off working at Target as a logistics manager.<br />
Then I transferred into CRST in 2009, and have<br />
been doing it ever since.<br />
What do most people not realize you do in<br />
your job?<br />
We provide a service for everyone, especially with the<br />
After Hours. Most people don’t realize all of the things<br />
we do and all the things we measure are geared to our<br />
service level to our customers. We still have to provide<br />
a service to answer the phones for our drivers and answer<br />
the phones for our customers as well as meet their<br />
expectations for on-time delivery. Also, everyone is our<br />
customer. We consider ourselves more of a triage center<br />
because we are here to execute from A to B. When<br />
something goes wrong – whether a truck breaks down<br />
or a driver has an emergency – we figure out a quick<br />
fix for it, and output almost the same result as far as<br />
execution goes. •<br />
26 ALL STARS of the Creative Corridor
Got “Moxie”?<br />
mox·ie (mok-see) • n. Slang<br />
Dictionary Definition:<br />
1. The ability to face difficulty with spirit, courage and determination<br />
2. Aggressive energy; pep, initiative, guts or attitude<br />
3. Skill; know-how and expertise<br />
We’re looking for it!<br />
If you’ve got moxie, we’d love to hear from you.<br />
Apply today at www.crst.com/careers
TRANSPORTATION, LOGISTICS SECTOR<br />
HUMAN<br />
RESOURCE<br />
MANAGER<br />
Makenzie<br />
Makenzie Kimm<br />
JMS Transportation Co. Inc.<br />
Cedar Rapids, Iowa<br />
“We continually problem solve and grow to make our customers happy.”<br />
What does your company do?<br />
My company is a trucking and brokerage company. It was<br />
established in 1992, and primarily hauls corrugated products<br />
through the Midwest.<br />
What are your job duties?<br />
I do accounting and human resource functions. I interact with<br />
multiple employees on a daily basis. In our company, we have<br />
our brokerage, dispatch, billing and accounting [departments],<br />
and I handle all those areas. I also assist the president and<br />
owner of JMS with the business‘s day-to-day activities.<br />
What is the most interesting thing about your job?<br />
The most interesting thing about my job is in the trucking<br />
industry there are new changes every day, so it keeps you on<br />
your toes and challenges you on a daily basis. Some examples<br />
of new changes in the trucking industry would be new DOT<br />
regulations and rules, as well as new employment laws.<br />
What is the most rewarding part of your job?<br />
The rewarding part of my job is rewarding employees and giving<br />
them recognition for the work they do. We reward employees by<br />
compensation or letting them know how good they’re doing.<br />
How did you decide on this career path?<br />
I decided on this career path when I went to Mount<br />
Mercy College. My degree is in Human Resource<br />
Management and Business Management. While I was<br />
in college, I worked for a bank. I was in banking for<br />
quite some time until I received a call one day from<br />
JMS. I didn’t have any background in trucking. It was<br />
overwhelming in the beginning. Trucking grows on you.<br />
The employees grow on you. The drivers grow on you.<br />
We are a family in this industry. We continually problem<br />
solve and grow to make our customers happy.<br />
What do most people not realize you do in<br />
your job?<br />
One thing people do not know I do is I handle IT issues,<br />
so any computer issues that come up I try to figure out<br />
what‘s going on before I send it out to the outsourcing<br />
company that we use. •<br />
ONLINE: Watch Makenzie discuss<br />
work at JMS Trucking.<br />
Go to http://bit.ly/CCAllStars<br />
28 ALL STARS of the Creative Corridor
Transportation, Logistics<br />
Quick Facts about All Stars Industries<br />
Careers with growth expected by 2020 in Iowa’s Creative Corridor (EMSI)<br />
Industrial Truck and<br />
Tractor Operators<br />
+9 % +13 %<br />
Transportation, Storage<br />
and Distribution Managers<br />
Light Truck or Delivery Services Drivers<br />
In the Creative Corridor, the<br />
transportation and logistics<br />
sector is projected to grow<br />
6.6 %<br />
(EMSI)<br />
+33 % 2014-2020<br />
Cargo and Freight Agents<br />
Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck<br />
Drivers, is projected to grow by<br />
20% with median earnings at<br />
First-Line Supervisors of Transportation<br />
$41,454. It is the fastest growing<br />
+15 % and Material-Moving Machine and Vehicle occupation in the Creative<br />
Operators<br />
Corridor (EMSI)<br />
+30 %<br />
EMSI occupation employment data are based on<br />
final EMSI industry data and final EMSI staffing<br />
patterns. Wage estimates are based on Occupational<br />
Employment Statistics (QCEW and Non-QCEW<br />
Employees classes of worker) and the American<br />
Community Survey (Self-Employed and Extended<br />
Proprietors). Occupational wage estimates also affected<br />
by county-level EMSI earnings by industry.<br />
MAKENZIE<br />
Congratulations from<br />
JMS on being named an<br />
All Star! We’re lucky to<br />
have you on our team!<br />
Please visit our website at<br />
www.jmstransport.com<br />
and “like” us on Facebook<br />
@jmstrucking!<br />
MAY <strong>2017</strong><br />
29
INTERNSHIPS<br />
ENGINEERING<br />
INTERN<br />
Trent Brandenburg<br />
Hall & Hall Engineers Inc.<br />
Hiawatha, Iowa<br />
Trent<br />
What does your company do?<br />
They are a civil engineering firm. They specialize in<br />
four main areas, which include municipal engineering,<br />
landscape architecture, land development and land<br />
surveying. So that includes designing things like trails,<br />
roadways, sewer systems and parks. Other things that<br />
we do include traffic engineering, drainage, site development<br />
plans and erosion control.<br />
What are your job duties?<br />
Currently, I’m an intern. I’m at Kirkwood Community<br />
College right now, my sophomore year. Some things<br />
I do around the office are CAD (Computer-Aided<br />
Design) work. Currently I’m mapping several subdivisions<br />
in the city of Urbana onto CAD. I prepare and<br />
deliver plan sets and submittals. During the summers,<br />
I’m mainly out with the survey team doing things like<br />
pavement staking, finding property boundaries, and<br />
creating topographic maps. Some other things I’ve<br />
done include traffic studies, inspections, career fairs,<br />
and posting signs for rezoning.<br />
What is most interesting about your job?<br />
My two favorite parts of this job are working with<br />
CAD – getting to know the program, all the ins and<br />
outs and everything – and going with the survey crew.<br />
My favorite part’s probably the survey crew because I<br />
actually get to go out into the field. It’s a lot of manual<br />
labor, but it’s very rewarding because at the end of the<br />
day you know you’ve done something to help out your<br />
community, which will be there for a very long time.<br />
How did you decide on this career path?<br />
Growing up I was always interested in building things<br />
out of K’nex and Legos. I always liked building dams<br />
out of mud,<br />
sticks and<br />
rocks. So,<br />
I kind of<br />
knew I was<br />
interested<br />
in designing and building things.<br />
ONLINE: Watch Trent discuss his<br />
internship at Hall & Hall Engineers Inc.<br />
Go to http://bit.ly/CCAllStars<br />
What do most people not realize you do in<br />
your job?<br />
One thing most people don’t realize I do is probably<br />
going out in the field and doing lots of manual labor,<br />
such as pavement staking. Most of the time during<br />
the summers I’ll be out with the survey crew unless it’s<br />
really slow or it’s cold and rainy. •<br />
30 ALL STARS of the Creative Corridor
HONORABLE MENTIONS<br />
The following individuals are All Star Honorable Mentions and should be<br />
commended for the contributions they make toward their industries:<br />
Leslie Allred, Cedar Valley Habitat for Humanity Dave Baker, Highway Equipment Company<br />
Sam Jones, McCreedy Ruth Construction<br />
Kari Pollard, NIS<br />
Kip Opheim, Rapids Foodservice Contract & Design Gabriel Glambo Akpalo, Raining Rose<br />
Spencer Osborn, Shive Hattery<br />
Brad Dockendorf, GreatAmerica Financial Services<br />
Kyle Faille, Shive Hattery<br />
Cheryl Paradiso, Veridian Credit Union<br />
Mayra Barajas, ACH Foam Technologies<br />
Jenni Kasper, Pleasantview Home<br />
Amanda Russell, Bazooka Farmstar<br />
Stephanie Brady, Pleasantview Home<br />
Andrew Witte, Centro<br />
Rachel Bowers, St. Luke’s Hospital<br />
Craig Radnich, Centro<br />
Jessica Bertling, NewBoCo<br />
Wendi Kafer, Clickstop<br />
Benjamin Joseph Kreger, Iowa Department of<br />
Belgica Murillo, Engineered Building Design<br />
Transportation<br />
Arice Lefebvere, Frontier Co-op<br />
Erin Cowden, CRST Logistics<br />
Congratulations!<br />
MAY <strong>2017</strong><br />
31
GREAT CAREERS<br />
IN 1–2 YEARS…<br />
OR WEEKS<br />
Not every high school graduate has the<br />
same career plan. That’s why we offer<br />
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Check us out for training and education<br />
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visit today.<br />
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