Student Impact Grant Recipients


Student Impact Grants help Hawkeyes experience, learn, and discover important lessons outside the classroom. Past recipients show you cannot always anticipate when a unique idea is going to arise—or when it will inspire action or creation. Support from the Iowa Impact Fund helps in the pursuit of new and exciting ventures. Read the stories of two Student Impact Grant recipients.

For a More Accepting Community

An image from Nachte Raho, a celebration partially funded by an Iowa Student Impact Grant.

Ridhi Jani

In an effort to celebrate and share Indian culture with the University of Iowa community, the Indian Student Alliance (ISA) hosts a series of charitable, cultural, educational, and social events each year. "Spreading diversity and cultural awareness is extremely important to us," says Ridhi Jani, president of the Indian Student Alliance.

The group’s yearly showcase event, Nachte Raho, is one of the largest Bollywood fusion dance competitions in the Midwest. Eight of the best university dance teams from around the nation come to Iowa and perform. The Student Impact Grant helped pay for a top-notch venue, Hancher Auditorium, and secure judges for the competition.

For a Better Quality of Life

An image of Sandra Castillo, a recipient of an Iowa Student Impact Grant.

Sandra Castillo

Tackling real-life problems and gaining hands-on experiences are important for future engineers, including Sandra Castillo. Through her work with the University of Iowa chapter of Continental Crossing—which helps communities in developing countries construct footbridges— Castillo spent five weeks in Nicaragua repairing two suspended bridges.

Thanks to the Student Impact Grant, Castillo was able to pay for lodging, meals, medical and health expenses, and equipment for the trip. "Your support made my experience accessible and affordable," says Castillo. "Your generosity is helping change the world and making a difference in the lives of so many students."

Learn how to apply for the Student Impact Grants.

If you are interested in helping provide students with more opportunities like these, please support the Iowa Impact Fund.

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Travel back to 1980 Iowa City with this recruiting film preserved in UI Special Collections. Hayden Fry had the swagger. He just needed the players. When the larger-than-life Texan arrived in Iowa City in 1979, the Hawkeyes' new coach faced a tall task: rebuilding and rebranding a football program that hadn't enjoyed a winning season since 1961. But how would he draw elite players to a team with its fourth head coach in a decade? The answer, at least in part, came in this 13-minute recruiting film, produced by the Iowa Athletics Department in 1980. The film, archived at UI Libraries' Special Collections and the Iowa Digital Library's Athletics Film Collection, is a nostalgic look at the birth of Fry-era Hawkeye football and a trip back in time to early-'80s Iowa City. There's the original Hancher Auditorium in its heyday. The newly renovated pedestrian mall. Some Urban Cowboy-era dancing downtown. And Hayden chowing down with his team at the training table. University Archivist David McCartney says the film harnessed a "feeling of long-shot optimism" that Fry brought to the program. "One of the selling points in the recruiting film was the loyal Iowa fan base, that fans kept coming to the games even after 17 consecutive losing seasons," McCartney says. "It was a drawing card for Fry when he accepted the offer to coach, plus he knew Bump Elliott, the athletic director, even though Fry hadn't spent much time in Iowa before." Fry's recruiting efforts were more than effective. He soon lured future greats like Chuck Long (85BBA), Larry Station (87BBA), and Andre Tippett to Iowa. The team made an improbable run to the Rose Bowl in 1981, and the rest is Hawkeye history.

Iowa alumni with shared connections are invited to join an affinity group. Some of these organizations are an extension of student interests, like Alumni Band or Dance Marathon Alumni Group.

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