Meet Officer Soubayi

Jon Soubayi is not only one of Nevada’s new police officers – Soubayi is also a new dad.
“I enjoy it,” he said of fatherhood. “It brings its own challenges and rewards at the same time.”
Soubayi and his wife, Taylar, met a few summers ago. She’s originally from Grinnell. The couple now lives in Ames, and their daughter Icelynn is 5 months old.
Soubayi, 25, has lived in several places. His father was a Biomed engineer who worked at different hospitals in cities around the country. “I was born in North Carolina, lived in Minnesota and Michigan, and went to high school in Dallas, Texas.” His parents, Dawn and Marcel, and his older sister, Hannah, still live in Texas.
After graduating from Berkner High School in 2013, Soubayi came to Iowa to attend Faith Baptist Bible College in Ankeny. “My mom reached out and said I should check out [Faith Baptist College],” he said. “She thought it would be a good school for me. I visited one time and loved it; I loved that the people got to know me.”
He also liked that the environment of Faith Baptist College, because Ankeny was a smaller community than the cities he’d grown up in during his life. “I liked the smallness of it,” he said.
Counseling was Soubayi’s area of study at Faith Baptist, and that degree has been a good fit for him when it comes to being a police officer. “When it comes to interacting with people, it’s helped,” he said. “Some people you can talk to one way and some another way.”
He had a couple of other jobs after college, even coached an AAU boys’ basketball team for All Iowa Tech in Ames on the side and loved that. When he was in high school, he’d thought about becoming a law enforcement officer, and the idea came back to him. “I had always envisioned law enforcement, and after working a couple of other jobs, I knew I still had the interest in law enforcement.”
The Nevada opening was a welcome opportunity last fall. Soubayi joined the department in August 2019, attended the Iowa Law Enforcement Academy during the fall, and completed all the required training in Nevada. He’s now working on the day shift and said it’s been great.
“From day one, I’ve been very supported,” he said of those in the department. “I enjoy conversations (with fellow officers) and the laughs we have. I enjoy the different things we do each day and the focus on staying safe, so everyone gets to go home at the end of their shift.”
He also has enjoyed the projects, like the recent Teddy bear hunt. “That was a good time. I enjoyed it a lot.”
Soubayi wants people to know they can reach out to him. “I’m definitely one who puts people first. I like connecting and getting to know people and their backgrounds. We all grow up differently.”
When not at work, Soubayi enjoys playing sports with friends. He played basketball and wrestled in high school. He now enjoys adult leagues for basketball and soccer.
About Nevada, he likes the community. “People have been very welcoming.”