Several factors make Don Boyle's four Iowa State degrees remarkable:
- He was diagnosed twice with leukemia in the 1990s. Both occurrences required bone marrow transplants.
- The father of three, he coached, refereed and served as director of fields for Ames Soccer Club and was a Boy Scouts den leader.
- While working and studying at Iowa State, he served in the U.S. Navy Reserves as an electronics technician (1976-2001), including a recall to active duty for Operation Desert Storm (January-April 1991). By the time of his honorable discharge, he advanced to the highest level in the enlisted rank (Master Chief, E-9).
"Education was important to my parents, and it's been very good for me," Boyle said. "My mother had one year of college but was a very strong advocate for school. My dad had a degree from Seattle Pacific. He died when I was five, and my mother, who had four children, remarried. My stepfather also had four children. We were raised in Winneshiek County and all eight of us went to college."
Later, it also was important to him to set an example for his children, all of whom completed at least an undergraduate degree. He said his education and volunteer record were instrumental in his Navy career. And he credits coursework for its role in his transplant recoveries.
"Taking classes, even one at a time, was a very good thing for me to do as part of my recovery. You get to learn, you get to meet people, you get to challenge yourself," he said.
