Dan Rice is a transfer relations and outreach adviser for the College of Liberal Arts & Sciences. In this installment of Humans of Iowa State, Rice discusses his 45+ year experience with Iowa State while taking a trip down memory lane.

“I came here in 1979, it was my first time being a student here,” Rice said. “I’ve been here for quite a while.”

Rice shared his experience working at the Maintenance Shop (M-Shop) in the late 1970s and early 1980s when the drinking age was still 18.

“I got a job at the Maintenance Shop, and that’s when it kind of all clicked for me,” Rice said. “In the fall of 1980, I was hired as the first full-time manager of the Maintenance Shop, which was a pretty big deal back then.”

Rice highlighted this experience as a very lively atmosphere where students and professors would come to enjoy live music, comedy, poetry and much more.

“All my aunts and uncles, cousins and brother graduated from here; they’re all Iowa Staters,” Rice said. “When it came time for me to go to school, it was kind of like ‘Well, that’s where you go.’ There was really no choice. It was kind of interesting.”

Rice elaborated on his involvement in on-campus groups as a student. He said that when something happened on campus, he was surely behind it.

“I was managing [a] bar, and a good friend of mine… came up to the bar one day, and he goes, ‘Hey Dan, I’m going to Iowa State this winter. Do you want to go?’” Rice said, “I’m mixing drinks, and I’m like, ‘Yeah, it’s about time.’ So, about two years out of high school, I end up coming here in the winter term.”

Rice also expanded on his time teaching and advising students at the University. He previously advised open-option students from the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences and taught LAS 101 and LAS 129. Rice emphasized the importance of making these classes memorable by making LAS 101–in his words, a game show with loud music, balloons and guest speakers–while requiring students to dress up as clowns for their final assignment in LAS 129.

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To view Rice’s story, click the watch link at the top of the article.