Success in Business Begins Here.

Thursday, February 11, 2021

The personal attention from faculty, and opportunities to network with peers and build friendships, influenced their future success.

Launching your successful business career can begin right at your local community college.

That’s the reaction of two Northeast Iowa Community College alumni, Abigail Handtke and Rylynn McQuillen. The two graduates credit much of their professional success to the personal attention they received at the College and the relevant lessons learned from faculty.

“Just knowing that everyone had your back as a student and wanted to see you succeed – that was the most heartwarming feeling. You felt like you were a part of a community and of something so much greater,” recalled Abigail, a 2019 graduate of the Graphic Design program. She’s a creative designer now for FGC Creative, as well as a freelance artist, designer and photographer.

“The classroom experience I had at Northeast Iowa Community College was very hands-on. We were using a computer every single time in the Graphic Design program to learn Photoshop, Illustrator and InDesign software,” she said.

Rylynn, a 2015 Marketing Management graduate, now owns her own business, Fig Leaf women's boutique. “My business degree from the College I apply daily. When you’re running a business, you have marketing and budgets; NICC definitely helped provide the background I needed,” Rylynn explained.

The personal attention from faculty, and opportunities to network with peers and build friendships, influenced their future success. The approach instructors take to teaching their students is informed by years of experience in their respective fields, Abigail added.

“The instructors have a lot of knowledge from actually working in the field and that really helped because they didn’t just teach out of a book – they taught from real-world experiences,” she said.

The Northeast Iowa Community College student experience encompasses more than attending classes and completing assignments, Rylynn expressed. “I think this is my favorite part about NICC: you really become a part of the class, you become part of the NICC family. The experience taught me how to be a businesswoman,” she said.

Learn more about the business, marketing and hospitality programs at Northeast Iowa Community College. Visit www.nicc.edu/business.