Life has thrown some curves to Cindy Happel. But you couldn't tell it
from her attitude.
Despite being her high school class valedictorian in the mid-'70s, Happel
followed her father's advice to choose marriage and family because "girls
don't go to college."
"Four years later, when my husband left my seven month old son and
I to pursue a life of chemical dependency, I realized I needed to take
control of my own life in order to insure the brightest possible future
for myself and for my young son," Happel said.
Some of the ways Happel took control of her life included:
* Instead of going on the welfare rolls, Happel provided childcare out
of her small apartment until she had saved enough money to attend nursing
school.
*Since graduating from nursing school she has worked as a registered nurse,
most recently at Mercy Hospital in Cedar Rapids.
*She has helped raise her brother's two small children.
*And when her son's (Chris Furder, a management information systems major)
fraternity experienced financial difficulties, Happel kept the fraternity
operating when she found a former chef that was willing to relocate to
Ames and work for room and board in lieu of salary at the fraternity.
But it's Happel's journey back into the academic world that may be her
biggest accomplishment. A 4.0 student majoring in psychology, Happel is
one of six recipients of the 2002 Wallace E. Barron All-University Senior
Award given annually by the Iowa State Alumni Association. She is the
only student in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences to be so recognized.
But those accomplishments may not have been possible without assistance
from her son and his fraternity.
"I lived in the Delta Chi house the first semester I was a full-time
student," Happel said. "They set up a room for me in the house,
but I wasn't sure it (her return to school) would work out."
That first semester went well, but it took encouragement from her son
to continue on her road to a bachelor's degree.
"I didn't know if I wanted to continue," Happel recalled. "Then
one day, my son literally dropped me off and told me to go sign up for
five more classes."
Since that point Happel has never looked back. The Barron Award is the
latest in a series of honors she has received since enrolling at Iowa
State.
A member of both Golden Key International Honor Society and the National
Society of Collegiate Scholars, Happel also belongs to Psi Chi, the national
honor society in psychology, and the Iowa State Psych Club. In March she
was inducted into Phi Kappa Phi.
Happel is the current research assistant in the laboratories of both
Gary Wells, Distinguished Professor of psychology, and Brad Bushman, associate
professor of psychology, where she helps with Wells' research on understanding
mistaken eyewitness identification and Bushman's work on media violence.
She spent last summer studying English literature and theatre in London.
As a Psychology Ambassador, Happel meets with prospective students and
their parents. She offers peer-tutoring services in a variety of subjects
including abnormal psychology, brain and behavior, cognitive processes,
and research, design and methodology.
Her current internship at the Seven-12 House "enables me to work
with adolescents who, through their use and abuse of mood/mind altering
chemicals, have disrupted healthy growth and development and led to existing
behavioral problems," she writes.
This semester, she spends her Sunday afternoons volunteering at the Jacobson
Center for chemically dependent youth while facilitating family education
and group sessions.
And if that wasn't enough, while other students were enjoying their spring
breaks in warm climates, Happel traveled to New York City as a volunteer
for the American Red Cross. There she worked with individuals still affected
by the September 11 tragedy.
Despite all the accomplishments and activities, Happel will be most proud
of her degree, which she expects to obtain in December 2002.
"It's something I've looked forward to for such a long time,"
she said. "To have a bachelor's degree is just awesome to me."
