The ISU Alumni Association’s 2024-25 wall calendar is making its debut, bundled with this Iowa Stater summer issue to association members and available to purchase by all at the ISU Book Store. In the calendar and in this magazine, you may spot a new name in the photography credits: Isaac Farner. Farner, an entrepreneurship major from Omaha, Nebraska, is entering his second year at Iowa State next month; he joined the alumni association last fall as our Lora and Russ Talbot Visual Content Intern.
“I love this job,” Farner says (that’s a direct quote, I promise). “It gets me into the action of events on campus that I might not otherwise go to. I’ve met a lot of great people and learned so much about so many different ways of doing photography and videography.”
Farner’s passion is car photography; at the alumni association, he’s had the chance to learn more about shooting portraits and in-action shots, like at Homecoming’s Yell Like Hell (covering the pep rally has been his favorite event so far).
And like many of our readers, Farner appreciates getting to see his photos come to life in a magazine, in print. “I love to look at them and know how those photos came to be and the backstory behind them, something most people don’t get to see,” he says.
August marks one year since I joined Iowa State. I’m still processing the whirlwind of the last year, but two attributes that were clear from day one and continue to shine today, are how talented our students, faculty, and staff are, and how community-centric the university and alumni association is. I see that firsthand every day at the Alumni Center, whether it’s welcoming a new colleague, mentoring a student worker, helping a visitor, or connecting Cyclones everywhere. The folks at Iowa State deeply believe in going the extra step to support this community.
Here’s one example: While talking to Randy Shaver for a Cyclone Story (p. 32), ISUAA’s visual content specialist Matt Van Winkle noted that Shaver spoke highly of his advisor and mentor from Iowa State, Dennis Hart. After the conversation, Matt tracked down Hart’s contact information and provided it to Shaver, who reconnected with his advisor for the first time in 40 years. Shaver wrote to Matt in an email: “It was such a wonderful thing to be able to thank him for all he did for me. You made that happen.”
This is just one story of many. ISU Alumni Association members help us to continue support and expand our community, thank you.