IWCC Outstanding Alum 2021 Matt Wyant

Feature: Matt Wyant, Outstanding Alumni 2021

Matt Wyant, the 2021 Outstanding Alum of the Year at Iowa Western Community College. Each year the recipient is featured in the publication, “Iowa Western, A Magazine for Alumni & Friends,” since 2016, we’ve had the opportunity to photograph seven recipients.

These shoots take lots of careful planning and communicating with the writer on what angle the story will take. We want to ensure the photos illustrate Matt’s story, milestones, and accomplishments either personally or professionally.

Matt’s dedication to the community as the director of planning and development for Pottawattamie County made him the ideal candidate for the 2021 Oustanding Alum – his hard work hasn’t gone unnoticed. If you watched any local news or read the newspaper during the COVID-19 pandemic then you’re probably familiar with Matt’s face or name.

This is a shoot we look forward to every year, taking us to new places, meeting new faces, and plenty of time to get to know the Outstanding Alumni of the year, check out Matt’s story, along with others and the end of this blog post! Congrats Matt!

Location 1: Stanley’s Snack Shack, in Crescent Iowa

Stanley’s Snack Shack- Seasonal Cafe and Market is located on the corner of Old Lincoln Highway and Mahogany Road in Crescent, Iowa. The shack sits off the road and offers a variety of goat cheeses, farm-raised burgers, pizzettes, and Capretta Gelato, a farmstead dairy made by Honey Creek Creamery! The shack is closed for the winter but will reopen April, 22, 2022.

Location 2: Pottawattamie County Court House

Next up on our morning photo shoot, was the Pottawattamie County Court House, home to Matt’s office, and where he spent many hours conducting press conferences and meetings surrounding the health emergency in 2020, he kept the community informed, sometimes on a daily basis along with his many other roles as director of planning and development for Pottawattamie County.

Location 4: Iowa Western Community College

Back to where it began, Matt enrolled at IWCC in the fall of 1999 upon his return from Germany, after serving in the Army. Little did Matt know, years later he would be working closely with the college, helping guide and facilitate COVID-19 testing and vaccinations sites.

Location 5: Mac & V Studio

The final stop, Mac & V, located on the 100 Block in Council Bluffs, for one final shot, a traditional headshot. A headshot that will hang for years to come in the hallways at Iowa Western Community College, for students, faculty, and the community to acknowledge his impact and dedication to the community, college, and county.