by Mari Radtke
Northwest Iowa Vocational School became a Community College in 1966. A “three-quarter mill levy” was put to a vote later that year. The determined a permanent location for the school on 246 a mile west of Sheldon, Iowa at $800 per acre. Ground breaking for its first building was April 13, 1967. It grew to 263 acres in 1976.
Between 1966 and 1975 the school’s primary focus was on technical education, it’s deep mainstay.
The school officially became Northwest Iowa Community College (NCC) in 1993, now offering Associate of Arts, Associate of Science degrees and transfer courses in addition to its menu of technical and vocational programs.
The first student housing was constructed in 1992 with additional housing being added in 2007 and 2009. The addition of campus housing inspired attention to “college life” at the small institution.
Today, Campus Life includes 5 residents’ halls offering school year housing for up to 226 students. Sioux Hall was finished in the summer of 2024.
Nick Wyatt, Coordinator of Residents’ Life and Student Activiites is a December 2024 NCC graduate. He fills a nearly invisible, but highly important role for NCC resident students. His duties oversee residents’ halls room assignments, arrange student activities both social and educational. He plans and invites students to the activities. Student orientation planning and delivery is an activitiy planned and organized by Wyatt, in an effort to create comfort and familiarity for new and returning students to campus. He helps residents know the rules, know their way around campus and who to reach out to when necessaryHe serves as a resouce for resident students. As Residents’ Life Coordinator, Nick Wyatt is responsible to annouce and enforce the rules, sometimes leading to “difficult situations.” He lives in on campus and has five Residential Assistants (RA) report to him. He is on call 24/7 during the school year.
Student activities is a like, but separate part of his duties. “Days of Thunder,” a homecoming-like event is something he plans. He does have some tangential involvement with the growing athletics program offered at NCC, but not a large role. His focus is on the bigger events of the year and student engagement overall. The activities he arrangements are for social and education development. They are offered at convenient times for the students as well as the school calendar.
He arranges activities both on and off campus. Trips in the fall to corn mazes and haunted houses, they play dodge ball, football and ping pong. They have video games, snack nights and board games. Canvas painting and other student ideas have all been part of building a strong social framework and sense of belonging for campus life at NCC.