Oh, the places you’ll go.
Dr. Seuss said it best: “You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself in any direction you choose.”
Cody Rozeveld, a 2012 NMC graduate, chose a career in cancer research. It’s taken him to the Mayo Clinic, and the University of Nebraska-Omaha. Soon, he’ll be working as a professor and researcher at Northwestern College in Orange City, Iowa.
Influenced by his parents, his teachers, and those around him impacted by cancer, Cody decided to set out to see how he could help. He’s excited to see advances being made in cancer research, and he feels blessed to be a part of that.
But there’s more to Cody than his PhD and research. Along with his wife, Olivia, and son, Caspian, the Rozeveld family still enjoys doing many of the same things they enjoyed doing as a part of the McBain community.
Being outdoors. Hunting. Fishing. Enjoying God’s creation. And recently, he’s taken up an interest in Formula One racing.
We caught up with Cody recently where we learned a little bit more about his story. We learned that Cody Rozeveld is certainly more than just another face in the crowd.
Marion Press: Where were you born and raised? What kept you busy growing up?
Cody: I was born and raised in McBain; between McBain and Falmouth. I went to Northern Michigan Christian School in McBain. I did a lot of sports, like most kids in the area: Basketball, and then in high school I played golf and soccer. Growing up, one thing that was really intriguing was doing Odyssey of the Mind [O.M.]. I did that from early elementary school all the way through middle school, and then – fortunately or unfortunately – sports were a priority in high school.
MP: Do you remember any of your favorite years from Odyssey of the Mind?
Cody: I think it was 5th grade and 8th grade when we went to world finals – those are the primary years that stick out to me. We went to Colorado and Maryland… I think it was the top two at state that go to worlds; so we did pretty well some years. That was a good time.
MP: What are your best memories from going to school at NMC?
Cody: I’m not sure… Odyssey of the Mind in the early years was definitely memorable. The main thing that I suppose is coming to mind about what I liked at NMC was the smaller class sizes – especially senior year, when some of us were doing some of the more specialized classes. There was only a small group of us, and you’d really form relationships with the teachers that way. It was a good way to be educated; I enjoyed that.
MP: So you graduated ten years ago, where has life taken you since then?
Cody: I went to Alma College, and I was a double major in biochemistry and biology. I graduated there in 2016. Then I got married and started graduate school at the Mayo Clinic in 2016, where I studied biochemistry and molecular biology. Then I got my PhD in 2021, and I’m currently a postdoctoral research associate at the University of Nebraska-Omaha.
MP: What have been your areas of expertise? And what are your plans for the future?
Cody: So my research and expertise is in cancer metabolism – specifically, I investigate how cancer cells exploit lipids and utilize lipids to promote their growth and spread throughout the body. Moving forward, I have a position that I’ll be starting this fall as a professor at a small college [Northwestern College in Orange City, Iowa]. I’ll be doing a good amount of both research and teaching.
MP: So cancer research. What made you want to get into that field of study?
Cody: Generally, growing up in the country, and I had some pretty great teachers at NMC: Dave Westmaas, who has passed away from melanoma, and Bernie Mulder; great science teachers growing up, who kind of instilled a passion and a curiosity. And that was kind of fostered through the fact that all of us – including myself – have someone close to us who has been impacted by cancer in some way. In that regard, I feel that I’ve been blessed with certain gifts; that I have a certain responsibility to apply to something worthwhile. Based on my upbringing, and teachers, and general curiosity, I’ve been doing my best to apply those gifts to cancer research to try and help people. It’s a horrible thing that affects a lot of people, so anything that we can do to try to help individuals who are impacted by cancer, I think, is positive.
MP: And along the way you got married and started a family. Tell us what that’s all about.
Cody: I married a woman named Olivia Kuiper; she was the year under me in high school – she went to NMC K-12, same as me. We got married at the exact same time that I started graduate school. I started classes and after about a week or two, drove home, got married, and we drove back! It was very much at the same time. We have a son now [Caspian], he’s 15 months old. He’s pretty funny. He’s at a fun age.
MP: What keeps the family busy these days? How do you spend your free time?
Cody: Once you become a parent, doing things with the child is what occupies a lot of your time. But I really enjoy hunting, and fishing, and archery – my wife and I both do archery. I actually have a small YouTube channel that is focused around outdoor activities. We like to spend as much time outside as possible. That’s what we enjoy doing – specifically me! Omaha is right on the border between Nebraska and Iowa, and I convinced my wife that we should live in Iowa just so that I could have Iowa resident deer tags! So I guess that’s kind of how deep that runs.
MP: I’m going to guess that your YouTube channel is mostly good things about good things.
Cody: Yeah, it’s called CreationOutdoors. It’s generally geared towards doing outdoor activities in a casual, approachable way. Trying to introduce people to the outdoors, because I think that a lot of good can come from spending time outside. Getting away from the hustle and bustle of things; unplugging. Spending time in creation, I think, is refreshing; it’s a great thing for everyone’s mindset. And alongside that, it’s just things that I enjoy doing recreationally, so I just have to bring a camera along.
MP: What did you enjoy the most about growing up in the McBain/Falmouth area? What do you enjoy about living in Iowa?
Cody: I enjoyed the McBain and Falmouth area, partly because it’s rural. There are a lot of advantages that come with that. Everything from being able to do outdoor activities, to the lack of traffic, to the amount of community investment into each member of the community – whether that’s through school, or church, or doing the Falmouth Youth Show… There are a lot of things that I like about rural McBain and Falmouth. And I think a lot of those things are recapitulated in Iowa. That’s why my wife and I sought out the position that I’ll be taking… Faith, and community, and a lot of things that we really enjoy that kind of happen organically in a rural environment.
MP: Who have been your role models over the years?
Cody: My parents have been good role models, and I’ve been really appreciative of their hard work. My mom was a teacher, and that probably impacted me more than I realized. I had two science teachers in school – both Dave Westmaas and Bernie Mulder – were great inspirations and awesome educators that really made an impact in a positive way on a lot of folks from the area.
