Amber Thomas - Leadership Iowa University

Amber Thomas

Southwestern Community College

I am currently going to be enrolled in my sophomore year at Southwestern Community College. I have thoroughly enjoyed my time at Southwestern, and without the people I met there I wouldn’t be in the company of your presence today. I went to Southwestern on a volleyball scholarship, and ended up playing basketball as well. I am also involved in many school related activities as well. I was selected through an interview process to be a Student Ambassador. Their job is to give tours to prospective students as well as help around the school administration building. I was also selected to be on the Student Senate, which is compared to a student council in high school. Through my above 3.50 GPA I was invited to be in Phi Theta Kappa, a National Honor Society for college kids. I have loved every minute at Southwestern and can’t wait to start my sophomore year.

One of the main points of Leadership Iowa is the StrenghtsFinder that we did before we met today. Their main focus is not dwelling on what your weaknesses is and trying to fix them, it’s to figure out your strengths and to excel in them. I’m very fortunate to have this opportunity through Leadership Iowa, you have already given me the resources to figure out my strengths. Five of my top strengths labeled out and explained for me. I know now what I can use to excel in throughout life.

My top characteristic was Woo. I can somewhat agree with this characteristic. It is true that I love meeting new people, and I love winning them over. But my hard part is the initial interaction, for example, today I was extremely nervous. It makes me very uncomfortable walking into a room full of people I do not know. On the plus side of that it only took me about a half hour to get comfortable with everyone and I felt myself interacting with the other students more freely than before.

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A Future In Iowa

Posted on Aug 15, 2011 at 9:00 AM

I went into this experience second guessing why I was here. My birthday was the day before, the camp was five days long, and it was right before I had to leave for college. I originally turned down the nomination offered to me by my Dean of Students. Looking back now, that probably could’ve been one of the biggest mistakes I ever made in my life.

Leadership Iowa University has opened my eyes to so many new and exciting things. Des Moines is actually a very interesting city, and is growing economically and commercially every day. We met so many people that worked and lived in Iowa that would never want to live anywhere else. I never really knew where I wanted to live, but now I know that there is a great possibility that I will stay in Iowa. It has so much to offer me and my future family.
 
Leadership Iowa University was such a new and exciting experience I absolutely cannot wait to tell people about it. It has helped me in so many ways, and I believe that it truly has given me the resources to be successful in life. One of the things that I dreaded the most about this was our networking sessions. Like many of the kids I was not one to just run up to someone and strike up a conversation, but now I know that it is an essential tool that I need to use in my life.
 
There was so many activities that we did on the trip it is hard to point out my favorite, but the day we spent in Pella was a great eye opener for me. These people were so devoted to their community it was such a great thing to see the sense of family that community had. Also, the day we visited the capital was one of my favorite days as well. I always thought of going to the capital as something you do on a 6th grade history trip, but that capital was absolutely beautiful. Every room I entered my jaw dropped and I couldn’t help but say, “Wow.”
 
One of the most impacting things that I will never forget about this trip however is the people that I met. Those other 20 students plus Kay, Sarah, and Wade are just absolutely amazing in their own ways. Everyone was so nice and helpful, and they really do just want to see you succeed. Even the business people and the speakers that came to us were truly sincere and wanted to help you to succeed in every way possible.
 
Leadership Iowa University has opened my eyes to so many possibilities, even the sad realization that I will probably be changing my major. The Holmes Murphy Insurance Firm was one of our speakers at the Blank Park Zoo, they talked about their company and some internships. I became highly interested in their company and what they believed in. I will be applying for their internship in the fall, and hopefully with the help of everything I’ve learned here and my outside experiences I will be fortunate enough to get the internship. A company that I didn’t even know existed was made aware to me by Leadership Iowa.
 
I truly cannot say enough good things about this organization, they truly are self-less people that just want to see others succeed to ensure the welfare of Iowa. I am so happy that I was able to participate in this experience and will hopefully someday be able to participate in the adult one as well. I cannot begin to thank you enough for everything that you have done for myself and the other students!

 

College of Agriculture and Innovation

Posted on Aug 11, 2011 at 11:42 AM

Today we got to visit the wonderful city of Ankeny, which previously I only knew as simply an exit on the way to Ames. I was surprised at the growth of the city and all that it has accomplished in merely the past decade. One of the places that we got the opportunity to visit today was the Iowa Soybean Association. I learned so much there and it opened my eyes to many new areas of farming that I had not previously thought of.

One thing that has always troubled me was what I’m going to do with my life. I have always loved math and science, especially an interest in chemistry. So the natural thing for me to do was Chemical Engineering. Unfortunately for me I am not aware of the possibilities, if any, for me to be a successful Chemical Engineer and still stay in Iowa.
 
Today we went to the Iowa Soybean Association which honestly I knew nothing of. I didn’t think that they would have so many areas of study of so many different types of jobs within their area either. With that being said I was truly surprised to find when we walked down stairs a lab room filled with all the machines that I’ve seen in my own lab rooms throughout school. I now know that Iowa does have the opportunities for me to grow and succeed.
 
Iowa’s main thing is agriculture and today I learned so much about the growing and expanding opportunities in agriculture right here in the heart of Iowa. I am so excited to continue my schooling, and excited to learn more about all the possibilities in this great state. I would love to live here for the rest of my life Iowa really is a great place to live. I can’t wait to grow as a person in this great state, Iowa has offered me so much already and I can’t wait to give back to Iowa.

 

Land of Opportunity

Posted on Aug 10, 2011 at 10:55 AM

After all of our group outings and social functions that we have had I have seen so much growth and potential in Iowa that honestly I had never seen before. I honestly believe that I now have the resources and the alliances to be a successful person in Iowa. These people have truly opened my eyes and encouraged me to believe that there are so many things I can accomplish.

What I find very interesting about this assignment that we were given is telling about the things that are not offered in Iowa. But once I thought about this it’s exactly what we need to keep growing and improving as a community and a state. I have thought about everything that we have been taught and seen over the past couple of days.
 
One of the things that we have a lot of is small businesses; it has been our burden and our curse here in Iowa. It truly makes us unique, and in every small town you will find on Main Street Iowa is that little family owned coffee shop, or the new boutique that has open up the street. It completely defines us as a state, and gives us a great sense of community and family.
 
Small businesses are most people’s way of life in Iowa, but ever sense the downturn of the economy many of those businesses have suffered greatly. There are not a whole lot of major companies and corporations here in Iowa that other states have a luxury of having. Yes, we have Des Moines with a great growing and expanding economy, but what about the rest of the state? We need more large business opportunities and companies in this great state to help keep our economy growing.
 
On the flipside of that, is it really necessary to bring all these big businesses in when Iowa and the Midwest is known for such great hospitality and kindness. We are so willing to help each other with whatever is needed, it has made us so strong and connected over the years. So we need to ask ourselves do we stay true to our past that has made us so ethically strong, or do we look to rapidly expand and ensure the wealth of this great state? I am the future of Iowa and it is something that my generation will have to decide. I hope that all the experiences throughout my life thus far and everything I am about to encounter will help me to make the right decision for our future generations of Iowa.

 

"UnEARTHing Iowa"

Posted on Aug 10, 2011 at 10:54 AM

Today I learned so many things about a small town Iowa business. The importance of the community is absolutely a very important aspect, and I definitely saw that at the Pella Corporation, without a doubt. Pella is based out of a small town in Iowa and employs a large number of their community members. This is helpful for them to give back to the community that has truly helped them prosper over the years.

One of the things that stood out to me the most was the sense of awareness of their employees as well as the value of those employees. They truly value all the hard work that their employees do. Our tour guide literally said hi to every person that we passed as we went around Pella Corp. That just shows the level of respect that is given around that corporation.
 
Another thing that amazed me is the attendance records our tour guide pointed out. They reward their employees for coming to work and make a good public display of it so that others can see their fellow workers succeeding. What really amazed me was that one or two guys have perfect attendance records of 39 years. I can’t even begin to get my head around that. They must truly love their job that they haven’t taken a sick day or a personal day in 39 years.
 
All these things that I saw today at Pella are a true example of a company I would be more than willing, and hopefully someday will work for. I love having a sense of community and strive in settings like the ones presented at Pella Corporation. I can only hope that one day I will be fortunate enough to enjoy working for a company that truly values me as an individual and not just another worker.

 

College of Human Resources - YOU!

Posted on Aug 10, 2011 at 10:53 AM

I feel like this could contribute to the future success of Iowa in a number of ways. I say that I’m going to be a Chemical Engineer, but the more I think about it I really think I could succeed more in a Business Management situation. I love people, I love interacting with them, talking to them, and I love being in a team setting and trying to accomplish a goal. With my Woo attribute I could be the representative of my Company or Firm or Management Team. I have a very good sense of humor and can almost instantly connect to anyone on any level. The relationships I can make with lots of different people can come in handy when trying to look into different marketing ideas or even shipping efficiencies.

I also think that everything I learn on the next couple of days is only going to better me as a person and a future employee or possible owner of an Iowa business. I am thrilled to be here and I can’t wait for all the new things I’m about to learn. I know that everything I’m about to experience will only benefit Iowa in the future.

 

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