Ada Limon, a poet and freelance writer, began writing as a child when she would write songs and sing them to her giant Labrador. She always loved poetry and began to seriously study it in her junior year of undergraduate college. She received her M.F.A. from New York University in 2001. LimonRead More

On Monday April 4, winners of the district-wide creative writing contest were invited to Beaverdale Books to perform a public reading of their writing. In addition to reading their work for the packed bookstore, each winning student was awarded a scholarship or cash prize. They also all had the opportunityRead More

As spring appears the desire to go outside increases, and I find myself wanting to explore Ankeny.  One of the best ways to get to know a city is through its food. You can tell a lot about a place by the selection, variety, and offerings of restaurants in anRead More

Four nationally-acclaimed authors arrived in Iowa last week to take part in DMACC’s 2016 Celebration of the Literary Arts Festival. The three-day festival, which started Monday, April 4 and finished Wednesday April 6, allowed students to meet and speak with professional published authors. The festival was organized by Marc Dickinson,Read More

If you follow my columns, you know I have a career outside of being a student at DMACC.  I have been a DJ for the last 25 years entertaining at approximately a thousand weddings, and probably another 500 parties/dances.  I also publish a trade magazine for such DJs (Mobile BeatRead More

The college atmosphere is like a pressure cooker that breaks down a student’s mind until it is pull-apart tender. With constant pressure from peers and the media, many students develop severe anxiety from the stress and many believe it is due to the environment. “Everyone experiences some type of mentalRead More

To some, millennials are depicted as overly sensitive, politically-correct, and anything but tough.  As the country’s demographics become more complex and diverse, certain classrooms have become debate arenas, while others remain devoid of challenging discussion. Consequently, teachers are faced with the choice to either encourage more controversial, passionate discussions, orRead More

DMACC is celebrating 50 years of educating in 2016.  It has a history growing from a vocational learning center to the community college it is today. According to the DMACC website, “DMACC has become Iowa’s largest, most diverse community college, serving more than 70,000 credit and noncredit students annually throughoutRead More