Arizona Native Finds Home at Central
— and Gives Back Through the Journey Scholarship Fund
“My dad was helped by many people as he built his life in this country, and I try to honor that by helping others.”
— Kim SooHoo Vann ’74
When Kim SooHoo Vann left the high-desert landscapes of northern Arizona for the snow-covered fields of Iowa, she knew she was in for a change.
“I wanted something completely different — geographically, culturally, environmentally,” she says with a laugh. “I wasn’t going to school next to my home. It was one of my big choices.”
That leap from Winslow, Arizona, to Pella, Iowa, in the late 1960s became more than just a change of scenery. It became a lifelong connection.
Vann, a 1974 Central College graduate and longtime supporter, has given to a variety of college priorities over the years — from the sciences to fine arts facilities — but in recent years, her focus has shifted to helping students directly through the Journey Scholarship Fund.
“Sure, buildings and programs are important,” Vann says. “But when you give to Journey, you see an immediate impact. Students are already here, and that scholarship money helps them right away. It’s tangible.”
Her thoughtful giving philosophy mirrors her practical upbringing. Growing up in Winslow, her family owned Freddy’s Tacos, a local fast-food landmark her parents opened to help fund college for their four children.
“My dad was a butcher and owned a grocery store in Winslow, so everyone thought we’d open a Chinese restaurant,” Vann says grinning. “But he realized you make more money off tacos than chow mein. He was an entrepreneur through and through.”
That spirit of determination and creativity carried into Vann’s time at Central, where she majored in biology.
“I knew I wanted to go into health care, and back then, a strong science background was essential,” she says.
After graduation, she worked in a pathology lab at the University of Arizona Hospital in Tucson, Arizona, where she met her husband, a Dutch naturalized citizen studying medicine.
“He was the foreigner,” she laughs. “I’m the native-born Arizonan — but people always assumed it was the other way around!”
When asked what she remembers most about Central, Vann didn’t hesitate: “The sense of belonging. You can step on campus years later, and people still smile, wave and say hello. It’s like coming home.”
She also fondly recalled the late biology professor John Bowles, whose enthusiasm for fieldwork left a lasting impression.
“He was nicknamed Batman,” Vann says. “We’d be out in a van on Saturday mornings, and he could pick out bird songs over the noise of the engine. His excitement was contagious.”
Vann smiled when thinking back to her college days — especially the surprises that came with Iowa weather.
“One day we were playing tennis in shorts, and the next day it was a blizzard,” she exclaims. “That was my sophomore year. Welcome to the Midwest!”
Even decades and many snowfalls later, her Central roots run deep.
“It hasn’t changed,” she adds warmly. “It’s still welcoming, still caring, still home.”
Over the decades, Vann and her husband have supported many Central projects — from the P.H. Kuyper Gym expansion and renovation to the Bosch Undergraduate Research Fund.
“We pick and choose the needs that resonate with us,” she explains. “My husband, a retired emergency physician, even gave to the organ restoration because of his love of music. It’s whatever helps Central continue to thrive.”
For Vann, giving back is not about recognition. “I don’t ask for acknowledgment,” she adds. “It’s just something I do. My dad was helped by many people as he built his life in this country, and I try to honor that by helping others.”
“Kim’s story reminds us that every gift — whether to Journey or to a campus project — builds the foundation for Central’s future,” says Sunny Gonzales Eighmy, Central’s vice president for advancement and a 1999 Central alumna. “Donors like Kim embody the heart of the college. Her generosity helps ensure that today’s students experience the same sense of belonging and opportunity that shaped her own Central journey.”