Greg Stokes, academic adviser, announced his retirement after 28 years of working at Kirkwood Community College. He started as a continuing education instructor and assistant basketball coach before transitioning to working at the academic advising office.
“It’s just kind of the right time for me, I think,” said Stokes. “Again, I really love what I’m doing but even more looking forward to how this retirement is going to play out.”
Stokes grew up in Hamilton, Ohio, where he was raised by his grandmother in a predominantly Black neighborhood. He was recruited to play basketball after graduating high school, and he decided to go to the University of Iowa before playing for several years in various professional leagues.
After his basketball career ended, Stokes transitioned into real estate for a few years before taking jobs as a real estate instructor in the continuing education building and as an assistant basketball coach for the Eagles. After more than 10 years in that position, Stokes moved to academic advising.
Stokes’ career with Kirkwood mirrored his life and family outside of work. When his children started going to school, he began working at Kirkwood so he could spend more time with them and as they went off to college, he stepped away from the Eagles basketball team so he could go visit them more often.
He said he was able to use his experiences of coming from a predominantly Black neighborhood and moving to Iowa City, which was, and still is, predominantly white. He explained that this helped to build a level of trust and connection with the students he worked with at Kirkwood who have experienced similar situations while coming to Cedar Rapids.
“It was pretty extraordinary how well he could relate to every kid that sat in front of him: Traditional, non-traditional, student of color, regardless of their background,” said Laura Riley, supervisor of academic advising.
“Prior to our move up here (to Kirkwood Hall), I used to be right next to him in Iowa Hall, and my favorite thing to do was to just listen to him talk with kids,” she continued. “He was just so personable and able to listen and then just relate. You can’t quantify that, and that’s a big loss for Kirkwood.”
Stokes added that the most fulfilling part of his time at Kirkwood was the impact he had on students. “It’s really rewarding to see them be successful, but overall, the big thing throughout it all has been to help students.”
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