Hello, my name is Joe Bolick. I’m a 36 year old father of two boys. I was born and raised in Waterloo, Iowa where I still reside today. I work as the communications and public relations manager of Business and Community Services (BCS) at the University of Northern Iowa (UNI).

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I consider myself a pretty open and honest person (sometimes a little too honest). I think this is because of three major moments that have happened in my adult life. First of all, because of an extremely rare genetic condition, my ex-wife and I were forced to make the impossible decision to terminate two pregnancies, late-term. With that said, we were able to have two healthy sons, who are my absolute everything. The other major event in my life that has molded me into the man I am today is my divorce. My ex-wife and I were high school sweethearts that just eventually grew apart. We have an amazing relationship now, just not as husband and wife, but as parents to our children.

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As I stated above, I am the communications and public relations manager of the BCS division at UNI. I originally started as a student intern at the Iowa Waste Reduction Center (one of the twelve BCS programs that I now work for) sweeping floors and cleaning painting equipment and editing PowerPoint presentations. Through the years I have progressively moved up within the division to the role I currently have.

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Academically, I spent my first three years out of high-school taking a bunch of art classes, coaching classes and playing baseball at a couple of community colleges across the state. After I received my AA degree, I decided it was time to take college seriously and transferred to UNI where I received a BA in Marketing Management. Today, in hopes of furthering my career, I am currently enrolled in Gonzaga University’s Communications and Leadership Studies program.

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Away from work and school, I take immense pride in being a father. My ex-wife and I share 50/50 custody of our kids, so half of the time I’m trying to be the best dad that I can be. I coach just about every sports team imaginable (except for soccer….I just can’t do it) and I also coach a First Junior Lego League team that has competed at the statewide level the last two years. When my children are with their mom, I try and live my life to the fullest and make as many memories as possible.

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Last year, I was recognized by the local newspaper as one of the “20 Under 40” business leaders as well as a distinguished alumni of the UNI College of Business for my continued work at the university. This was actually kind of difficult for me to deal with. I’ve never done anything in my life for recognition and I felt like I was being acknowledged just for doing my job and being an involved dad. I viewed the 20 Under 40 award as a huge accomplishment and I felt like a fraud, but recently at a reunion of past winners, I looked around and finally felt like I belonged.