Abby Gonzales Larson 2002

Current town: Osage, Iowa
Education: General Studies
About me: I grew up in Guthrie Center, Iowa. Best small town in Iowa. Love sports and music. Once upon a time I could play several instruments (not well): piano, organ, clarinet, baritone saxophone, drums and guitar.
I’m part of a Legacy family with my maternal great-grandfather as a professor, and my maternal grandparents, parents and sister, Sunny Gonzales Eighmy ’99, all of whom graduated from Central.
Immediately following graduation, I had a 10-month internship with sports information at Southern Illinois University-Carbondale. Then I was interim sports information director at Central while the legendary Larry Happel was on sabbatical. After a year doing that, I became the news and marketing writer for Central and was editor of the alumni magazine.
Since my time at Central, I’ve been working at Larson Law Office, PLLC in Osage as a legal assistant for my husband, Nic.
Hobbies/Activities: Right now, all my free time is spent raising two little boys ages 3 and 11 months. We live on a farm and love to be outside exploring, going for walks and chasing barn cats and mooing at the cows.
What I’m reading/Or book I’d recommend: Gulp. I don’t read much besides newspapers and magazines. I got my fill while in college!
What I’m doing now i.e. Employment/Future aspirations: Part-time stay-at-home mom, part-time legal assistant/office manager at Larson Law Office, PLLC in Osage.
How did Central prepare you for the life you are leading now? Having a liberal arts education has been very beneficial allowing me to do a wide variety of jobs. I never in a million years thought I’d be a legal assistant.
Memorable Central College moments: Track meets/trips including a 10-day trip to Australia in 2001. I would love to go back. I loved all the connections and friendships I made at Central and miss my days in Scholte, Prins and Leu. I also made a lot of memories following graduation at Central. It was fun to be able to serve at Breakfast of Champions after being on the receiving end for four years. I really enjoyed my student workers.
What was your favorite tradition at Central? Probably Breakfast of Champions. I like breakfast.
Did you have favorite professors or classes that had an impact on your life? I’m not sure I could nail down a specific professor or class as my favorite. I could probably tell you a few I didn’t like but even those are good memories like World Music my freshman year when Ray Martin had us sit alphabetically and I sat between my now brother-in-law and my sister. And fun fact, Sunny and I didn’t know we were both in that class until we showed up on the first day.
What advice would you give to current students? Take a variety of classes, even if you think you know what you want to do. Give things a try. Be sure to enjoy college as these are really the best times of your life. You will make life-long friends at Central College. Go Dutch!