Storm Lake graduate races through college, aims for South Dakota law school

Landon DeMoss turned a Storm Lake classroom start into a compressed run toward law school. In May 2024, he graduated from Storm Lake High School and Iowa Central Community College at the same time, then transferred to Buena Vista University as a junior and is set to graduate in May 2026 before heading to the University of South Dakota School of Law.

For Buena Vista County families looking for a practical college plan, DeMoss’s path shows how early credit work can shorten the road and trim the cost of extra semesters. By arriving at BVU already advanced enough to enter as a junior, he cut the usual four-year bachelor’s timeline down to two years on campus, while keeping his next step firmly in view: law school.

That head start was built through Iowa Central’s Senior Year Plus and high school partnership options, which let students take online, on-campus or virtual concurrent courses while still in high school. Iowa Central says its Storm Lake Learning Center serves as a centralized hub, and part of that space is dedicated to a Career Academy that reaches students from five school districts. For students in Storm Lake and nearby towns, that creates a local route into college-level work before graduation day.

DeMoss found his direction through mock trial, which pushed him toward a career as an attorney. At BVU, he has worked on the political science major’s legal studies track with support from Dr. Bradley Best, whose faculty profile includes Constitutional Law, Political Philosophy, Congress and the Presidency, Public Administration and State and Local Politics. DeMoss also said his father helped sharpen his argumentative side over the years, an early advantage for anyone headed into law.

BVU’s pre-law program is designed to give students a competitive edge through expert faculty, co-curricular activities, internships, leadership opportunities and professional development. The university also promotes a 3+3 accelerated pre-law pathway, in which students can earn a bachelor’s degree during the first year of law school, giving students another way to move faster if they are ready for the pace.

DeMoss’s story is not only about academics. He has also been part of BVU’s Overwatch Gold team, and the university says its esports program regularly competes in games including Overwatch. That fits a campus where BVU says three out of every four students join at least one club or organization, reinforcing that a fast track does not have to mean a narrow one. With BVU’s 60-acre campus along the shores of Storm Lake and Iowa Central’s Storm Lake campus at 323 W. 20th Street, DeMoss’s route stayed rooted in the same local education network that helped launch it.