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Nancy Aossey, shown at an International Medical Corps clinic in Pakistan, has helped shape IMC into one of the most effective help organizations in the world. International Medical Corps, based in Santa Monica, Calif., is a non-profit relief and development organization led by President and CEO Nancy Aossey (silent A) ’82, MBA ’84. With a staff of 8,000 and a budget of $100 million, IMC is driven by the idea that the best way to help people in dire circumstances is by helping them help themselves. IMC’s primary goal is to provide medical training to underserved, hard to reach populations. Its people were among the first on the scene when war, famine and genocide struck Kosovo, Somalia and Rwanda. IMC’s response to the recent tsunami further bolstered its reputation as one of the most effective and respected charities in the world. The success story began 19 years ago when Aossey’s job with AT&T sales took her to California. She discovered IMC as a volunteer, and was so attracted by its mission and its people that she soon accepted the top job. Back then it was a tiny start-up, the dream of physician Robert Simon, who sold his Malibu home and used the funds to set up medical training facilities to help refugees in Afghanistan during the Soviet invasion. “He had a vision of helping people help themselves when people weren’t doing that in the kind of environments we’re talking about,” Aossey said. “IMC started with him, two staff, 10 volunteers and a budget of less than $1 million.” Early on, Aossey spent her time in dangerous, unstable places like Angola and Bosnia, working with people who were “on the edge of life.” She learned first-hand why restoring self-reliance to decimated societies is an inside job. “We work with local populations to make them part of the solution because it’s their country, their region, their culture,” Aossey said. “We have to understand very quickly how to approach them based on their local sensitivities. In Afghanistan, for example, we have about 1,500 people. Only 10 are from outside the country, so it’s one Afghan person relating to another Afghan person over time. We build our infrastructure through the local people so that we’re not outsiders.” IMC does not wait for requests for help, because troubled populations often have no outside contacts. Nor does it wait for invitations from governments that may be either barely functional or responsible for the problem. Security risks are often an issue, such as in Bosnia where the Milosevic militia targeted relief workers and journalists. When the difficulties become overwhelming, Aossey said she draws hope from the very people she’s trying to help. “Many of them have lost everything from a natural disaster or had their family killed in genocide,” she said. “I’ve seen them carry on and try to have purpose in life. They are really the inspiration, the hope of our world. If they can put things in perspective, so can I.” As IMC has grown, so have the administrative demands on Aossey’s time. Funding is a challenge. It is harder to decide where to allocate resources. Two decades ago there were about five world “hot spots.” Today there are at least 40. Just under half of IMC’s funding comes from government agencies, much of it through the U.S. Agency for International Development, or USAID. Corporations and foundations are huge givers as well. Aossey said America deserves more credit for its generosity, especially where individuals are concerned. “Americans mobilize when they know about something. The technological revolution has brought the issues to our doorsteps, and Americans have done nothing but respond with big hearts and generosity.” Much of the credit for Aossey’s desire to help others goes to her parents, who still live in Cedar Rapids. Third generation Lebanese immigrants, Aossey and her three siblings were raised to appreciate their favorable circumstances. “My parents love this country. Growing up we felt lucky to be in America and proud to live in Iowa,” she said. “My parents made sure we got involved in the community.” Aossey said she’s grateful for her opportunities in life and that it is only natural to respond in kind. “To an extent, we are living off the goodwill and contributions of generations that came before us. We are in so many ways benefiting from people who made great sacrifices. We all have a part to play in giving something back and improving the world, because the world will continue way beyond us.” For more information about IMC and the regions of the world in which it operates, go to www.imcworldwide.org. Nancy Aossey, shown at an International Medical Corps clinic in Pakistan, has helped shape IMC into one of the most effective help organizations in the world.
“I lived in the same house, same town, same state my whole life and never wanted to go anywhere else,” she said. “Then my dad got a job in Creston, Iowa. ‘Where on the map is that?’ was my teenage thought.” After graduating from Creston High School, Spedaliere attended UNI, although she didn’t plan to stay long. “When I think back about my first day at UNI I remember not wanting to be there and wanting to be at a California university. I was sure I’d transfer by the end of my first year but I was hooked after that first semester. Once I started meeting people and getting involved I couldn’t stop,” said Spedaliere, a 2004 graduate with a B.A. in elementary/middle level education. “Each year I took on a new challenge and enjoyed UNI more.” At UNI Spedaliere was an RA, director of Resident Hall Relations for NISG, SAVE Frontline public relations committee chair, Student Alumni Ambassador, member of Kappa Delta Pi and member of Camp Adventure™. “All of these organizations allowed me to work with different groups, spreading Panther pride and making a difference for students,” she said. “I am definitely a more flexible person, able to work with different types of people under almost any circumstance. As an educator, I have to be prepared to make limited resources last and create a comfortable atmosphere for my students. These different organizations have helped me do that more easily.” “The training I received as an RA helped me in everything I have done since, and I think I will always have RA instincts somewhere inside me. Working and living closely with five other female Camp Adventure™ interns I’ve had to deal with several roommate conflicts. The camp director recognized these skills and asked me to be the on-site liaison for Katterbach,” she explained. The Katterbach base is in the 235th Base Support Battalion and the 98th Area Support Group for the U.S. Armed Forces Europe. Spedaliere provided support for military and civilian personnel as troops returned and went through the reintegration process. She worked with infants, toddlers and preschool-age children. “This was my first experience living on a base and working closely with military and civilian personnel,” she said. “It also created a new face for me during this time of war. That face is the children I worked with and spouses I talked to.” “Some of my friends and family are baffled as to why I go off on these short-term adventures but I enjoy the challenge of starting in a new place, figuring out the train schedule, learning a little of the local language and especially meeting new people.” She also plans a trip to Cedar Falls to visit her alma mater and friends. “I’ve been away from Cedar Falls for almost a year and I truly miss walking around campus and seeing familiar sites like the Campanile,” she said. “UNI is full of people who make you feel like you have a home away from home and definitely make you want to come back.” In August, Spedaliere will again pack her bags and head for Honduras to begin “my first real job!” She will teach 8th-grade algebra at Escuela Internacional Sampredrana (EIS), a bilingual school in San Pedro Sula. Teaching at EIS will be a homecoming of sorts for her—part of her student teaching assignment at UNI was teaching 7th- and 8th-grade math at EIS. “I loved it, that’s why I’m going back,” she said. “The people at these schools and in these communities were so wonderful and really make you want to return.” Before embarking on a new adventure Spedaliere reads as much as she can about her destination, talks to people who have been there and, perhaps most importantly, keeps an open mind. “I’m always careful not to let anyone poison the well by taking pieces of advice with a grain of salt. Sometimes I’ll recall what I heard about a place and laugh about how different our perspectives and experiences were,” she said. In addition to Germany and Honduras, Spedaliere has traveled to Taiwan, Spain and France. “Why I travel is to be immersed in cultures other than my own.”
Catherine Herman’s reputation as an excellent student earned her a chance to help another UNI alum perform important immunology research. Catherine Herman does that every day. The 2003 graduate is a research technician in Duke University’s Department of Pharmacology and Cancer Biology. Her boss, Dr. Jeffrey Rathmell, is also a UNI alumnus. He graduated from UNI in 1991 with a B.S. in biology and is now assistant professor of Pharmacology and Cancer Biology, and Immunology at Duke University’s Sarah W. Stedman Nutrition and Metabolism Center. “It’s been wonderful working with another alum. I am very fortunate to be working with a scientist as well trained as Dr. Rathmell. He received his Ph.D in immunology from Stanford University, completed his post-doctoral training in a top research lab and published excellent research papers along the way,” said Herman, who has a bachelor’s degree in biology. “He has been a great role model. I hope to be as successful as him one day.” She heard about the Duke job from one of her UNI biology professors, Darrell Wiens. Rathmell, also a student of Wiens, had contacted him about needing a research technician to start his lab at Duke. “Jeff was looking for someone dependable, hard working and intelligent to work in his lab, so he thought to ask his contacts at UNI,” Wiens said. “He studies cell signaling pathways in lymphocytes, especially those that lead to ‘cell suicide.’ I knew this wasn’t exactly Cathy’s choice of specialty in biology or career path, but I also knew that she was a quick learner, adaptable and adventurous enough to move to a world-class research center in North Carolina.” Herman’s duties at Duke are varied: she is the lab manager, which includes maintaining a mouse colony, training lab personnel on lab procedures and equipment and performing experiments. Her research led to co-authoring an article for recent publication in the European Journal of Immunology, a prestigious immunology research journal. “The lab I work in focuses on how cell-extrinsic signals affect lymphocytes, cells of the immune system. Of particular interest is how those signals affect cellular metabolism and homeostasis and how changes in signals can lead to diseases such as cancer, autoimmunity and immunodeficiency,” she explained. UNI provided her with a strong science background, which included serving as Wiens’ lab assistant. “She was a strong student because she had good study skills, worked hard and had a healthy curiosity,” Wiens said. “We had many discussions about biological form and other subjects outside of class. She was a great help to me as a lab assistant in developmental biology because she knew the material well and interacted positively with students.” “Kenneth Nuss acted as the Tri-Beta Biological Honor Society adviser and taught Comparative Anatomy of Vertebrates. After completing his course, I became a teaching assistant for Comparative Lab. He always showed great interest in his students and let us know of our potential,” Herman said. “His wife, Sherry Nuss, serves as the biology academic adviser. She is very caring and has a great ability to guide biology students throughout their time at UNI.” Almost immediately after graduation, Herman moved to North Carolina. “It really sunk in that I was no longer in college,” she said. “I didn’t know anyone in North Carolina. Part of the reason I decided to pursue the opportunity at Duke is I wanted to take on the challenge of living somewhere new, especially since I had never lived anywhere other than Iowa.” Her interest in science came from growing up on a farm and participating in science fairs in elementary school. “As a kid I spent a lot of my time outdoors exploring and observing nature; my large backyard was very good for this. I also have fond memories of helping with our garden and watching certain plants return to bloom every year.” Graduate school is in Herman’s plans, but during her last semester at UNI, the opportunity came to work with Rathmell. Unsure of where she wanted to go with her degree, she opted for the research experience before continuing her education. But she will always remember where she first got her start. “The close interaction I had with many of my professors of both science and non-science disciplines was something I benefited from at UNI.”
Late in his junior year, the management information systems major from Fort Dodge was positioned for a seamless transition from an internship to a job with John Deere Waterloo Operations. He had also become very active at St. Stephen Catholic Student Center. Vit attended Mass with other students, became a member of the Center’s Discipleship Council and grew deeper in his faith.
After graduation from UNI in 1999, Vit was directed by his bishop to attend Conception Seminary College, a Benedictine monastery, to take foundational courses in philosophy. Upon finishing he was sent to study theology in Rome. Vit is currently at the Pontifical North American College, which is at the Vatican, and he takes classes at the Jesuit University in the center of Rome. Vit belongs to the not-so-uncommon category of people who choose to pursue Roman Catholic priesthood after having begun a career in another field. For such individuals, two additional years are usually needed to complete a bachelor’s degree in philosophy prior to the minimally required four years of theological studies necessary for ordination. Vit said most people go on to receive a Master’s of Divinity degree. He is working on an advanced degree with an emphasis on Early Church Fathers, or Patristics. The goal Vit set for himself seven years ago is now a reality—he was ordained July 2. After he finishes his advanced degree in spring 2006, he will return to northwest Iowa to serve the Diocese of Sioux City as a parish priest. “The bishop will assign me to a church,” Vit said. “Then the real work begins of ministering to the people and meeting their sacramental needs.” Even though Vit chose to pursue the priesthood, he found value in his internship experience at John Deere. He was impressed by the company’s way of recruiting and assisting students, as well as its working environment, wages and advanced education opportunities. He liked the work and enjoyed his co-workers. “Keeping the assembly line going is definitely good, but I had a desire to work with souls and help them stay ‘on the right track,’ so to speak,” Vit said. “I was enticed to work toward a greater and more lasting good by joining people on their path of faith. Ultimately, this desire was a calling from God to go beyond what I expected from life and accept the challenge to feed his sheep.” Vit has not entirely abandoned the worldly issues of computers and information systems. He has found a way to integrate his interests much as he did in his time at UNI, when he developed a database that helped St. Stephen keep track of members’ contact information and activity registrations. While he stressed that his studies and the priesthood take absolute priority, Vit is volunteering some of his free time to develop computer systems for a few Vatican offices. “The Church depends on donations to get by and funding is limited for upgrades, so the computer systems used to take care of various needs are always in need of attention,” Vit said. He has developed programs to help with a wide range of functions including budgeting, financial management and payroll. With two to five projects going at any given time, Vit said he can usually devote an average of 15 to 20 hours per week to computer solutions, depending on his volume of academic responsibilities. “We take advantage of the latest technology, such as barcode systems to manage inventory items and Web-based interfaces to manage data that is integral to day-to-day business,” Vit said. “The business degree at UNI was a perfect foundation for the technical side of things, but also proved to be very important for the financial management of these computer applications. “For example, the finances here are in two currencies, dollars and Euros, so all the software needs to be custom designed for multiple currency accounting. This work is all in addition to priesthood, but is nonetheless very enjoyable.” |
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by CJ Hines 
