Dr. Fred and Geralyn Sick named 2024 Dordt University Ambassador Award recipients

Dr. Fred and Geralyn Sick have been named the recipients of the 2024 Dordt University Ambassador Award, which recognizes a Dordt constituent who has made an impactful service to Dordt’s mission and Christian higher education.

For many years, Dr. Sick has mentored countless Dordt students interested in veterinary school as they have sought to be accepted into several veterinary schools across North America. A member of many professional boards, Dr. Sick has helped Dordt students and alumni make connections with other veterinarian professionals. Currently, Dr. Sick serves as a speaker for several courses and labs at Dordt.

“He is passionate about helping students fully realize their potential,” says Dr. Holly De Vries, professor of agriculture at Dordt.

Dr. Sick says that he and Geralyn were humbled when they found out that they had received the Ambassador Award. “We did not expect anything for working with the students,” he says. “It is our way of giving back and sharing what we have learned from our life.”

The Ambassador Award identifies Dordt alumni, parents, or donors who have advanced Dordt through acts of service, financial contributions, or connections that enable Dordt to fulfill its mission to equip students, alumni, and the broader community for Christ-centered renewal in new and deeper ways.

A veterinarian, Dr. Sick worked for Central Veterinary Clinic in Sioux Center for 23 years and then at Boehringer Ingelheim as site veterinarian in Sioux Center for 17 years. He earned a bachelor’s degree in animal science from Iowa State University in 1965 and completed his DVM at Iowa State University’s College of Veterinary Medicine in 1974. He was named the 2023 Iowa Veterinarian of the Year by the Iowa Veterinary Medical Association. He also received the 2020 Outstanding Service Award from the Veterinary Medical Alumni Association at Iowa State University.

Geralyn has cooked countless meals for college students and has helped review personal statements for students applying to veterinary school.

“Geralyn is also available to support students if they have questions about student life while attending vet school,” adds Dr. Sick. “We were married while I was in vet school, and we had a daughter during the first year of class. We had to quickly learn to balance school and a newborn.”

Dr. Sick enjoys working with students and keeping in touch with them via social media after they graduate.

“I appreciate working with students because I learn so much from them, and I can also discuss with them my experiences that I’ve had over my lifetime,” he says. “I have been blessed with a great career and a wonderful wife by my side (we will celebrate our 60^th anniversary next February). The experiences I have had often relate to what we are discussing in class. It is most rewarding to meet students during their first year and watch them grow and blossom during their time at Dordt.”

Granted by Dordt University’s leadership team, the Ambassador Award is given once a year to highlight how “Dordt would not be Dordt without the impact of this person.” Nominations for the award are made by Dordt faculty and staff.

About Dordt University

As an institution of higher education committed to the Reformed Christian perspective, Dordt University equips students, faculty, alumni, and the broader community to work toward Christ-centered renewal in all aspects of contemporary life. Located in Sioux Center, Iowa, Dordt University is a comprehensive university named to the best college lists by the Wall Street Journal, Times Higher Education, Forbes.com, Washington Monthly, and Princeton Review.