She then found her way back to Iowa Wesleyan serving as the Development Coordinator in the Advancement Office and the Assistant Softball Coach. Later, she became IW’s Director of Advancement Operations, while also enrolling as an online student at William Penn University to earn a second Bachelor’s Degree in Education. Kali is currently in her first year of teaching at West Liberty Elementary School.
While at Iowa Wesleyan, Kali played softball, was involved in Sigma Tau Delta, and AMBUSH. AMBUSH was an organization of student-athletes that coordinated with Student Development to organize black-outs at games and other activities having to do with athletics.
One of her favorite memories at IW comes from a winter storm. As the story goes, “We had a huge blizzard, it was probably the first time school had been shut down in many, many years, because there was snow all the way up to our hips. They canceled class and it was the best thing ever. The snack bar was open and we were able to go and get all kinds of food and snacks and pop and all kinds of things like that because we couldn’t go anywhere else. Dr. Potts, who was an English Professor, was also a Zumba Instructor at the Rec Center and walked to campus when everything else was shut down. So she gave a Zumba lesson in the basement of ST Hall – it was so much fun.”
Kali remembers Dr. Shawna Hudson as someone who influenced her while at Iowa Wesleyan. “She’s always been open to answering any questions I had about education, even though it’s been forever since I was in an education class.”
The advice Kali offers to young alumni is to “Keep your relationships with your professors even after you leave IW. They’ll continue to help you even if you’re not a student anymore.”