Category: Campus

Campus, Education

Poet reads to crowd from his new book

John Gonzales

Laughter and applause filled the room as George Bilgere, author of the newly released poetry book titled “Central Air: Poems,” read a few poems aloud on April 6 in the Venters Business Building. As Bilgere made his way to the podium, he donned a stylish pair of reading glasses, warmly greeted those in attendance and began with “Push,” a poem from another book about the peculiar nature of being a witness to childbirth. Despite the poem’s subject being an awe-inspiring experience, Bilgere opted to write it in a manner that emphasized the mundane small talk between a doctor and nurse…

Campus, Education, Staff

Journalism students win big title at TIPA

Webmaster

Staff brings home more two dozen awards from annual state conference Students in the college’s journalism and radio/TV programs recently attended the annual Texas Intercollegiate Press Association conference in Fort Worth, returning with more than two dozen awards including Overall Excellence for Best Newspaper and also for News Video Production.  Nichaela Shaheen, editor-in-chief of the Foghorn News, said the awards are a result of the staff’s dedication. “Knowing that all the time spent putting together our paper shined through gave me a sense of pride and accomplishment,” Shaheen said. “The Foghorn staff goes above and beyond to cover events with…

Campus, Community

DMC hosts high school welding competition

Nichaela Shaheen

High school students traveled from across Texas to compete in several welding events at the Skills-USA State competition April 1 at Windward Campus.  According to Assistant Welding Professor Jose Cortez, the event is a great opportunity for Del Mar to spark interest in high school students by allowing them to see and use the college’s facilities. “Hosting the state event lets schools all over Texas know what Del Mar is doing,” Cortez said. “If they get exposed to this kind of welding and we talk to them we sometimes do get students who register at our program.”

Campus, Education

2022 summer and fall registration begins with rally

Tito Valdez

Del Mar is kicking off registration with a rally this week at both the Heritage and Windward campuses. The rally is for students planning to register for summer or fall 2022 courses. Students can take advantage of the rallies by being able to register early and not have to worry about last-minute registration. The rallies include food for those attending and games where students can win prizes such as a Del Mar T-shirt when they show rally hosts their finalized schedule for their upcoming semester. “Registering early is a great way for our Vikings to secure their schedules at the…

Campus

Award-winning poet visits DMC

John Gonzales

Award-winning poet and author George Bilgere will read from his book “Central Air: Poems” at Del Mar College at 7 p.m. April 6 in Room 100 of the Venters Business Building. The event, part of National Library Week, is free and open to the public. Alongside being a creative writing professor at John Carroll University in Cleveland, Bilgere earned his bachelor’s degree from the University of California in Riverside, a master’s degree in English literature at Washington University in St. Louis, and a doctoral degree in contemporary British and American Poetry from the University of Denver. Bilgere is a recipient…

Campus, Health

Dementia tour raises awareness

Melissa Nicole Mata

Nursing students host tour that allows others to feel what patients feel Understanding the challenges of those who have dementia was the goal for the Del Mar College Continuing Education Nursing Assistant students who held a Virtual Dementia Tour open to the public on Feb. 24 at the Harvin Student Center. According to Continuing Education Health Care Instructor Kathryn Garcia, the tour teaches the Continuing Education Nursing Assistant students to be more patient and understanding while working with dementia patients. “When I tried this tour out I figured it would be easy. But with the dim lights and sunglasses your…

Campus, Music

Students perform at honors music recital

Miranda Lisette Medina

The DMC music program held the 70th annual honors recital on Feb. 23, which included four students out of six that auditioned.  The four students: Christopher Pena, guitar; Damien De La Cruz, tuba; Matthew Gomez, euphonium; Julia Arnett, piano, began rehearsing and preparing for their performance months before the honors recital.  Arnett, who would like to get a degree in piano pedagogy, performed ‘Golliwog’s Cakewalk,’ by Claude Debussy.  She was introduced to music about 10 years ago when her oldest sister shared piano lessons with her.  Arnett has been enrolled at DMC since fall of 2019, and plans to transfer…

Campus

A woman of many degrees

Nichaela Shaheen

Sarah Contreras has been a student her whole life, but teaching breathes more life into her. Contreras, who triple majored in speech, education and theater at Corpus Christi State University, now known as Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi, also holds a master’s in communications studies with an emphasis in communication education from Southwest Texas State University, now Texas State University in San Marcos. Contreras, a mother of two boys, has been a speech professor at Del Mar College for the past 27 years. With a mother and grandmother as educators, she believes it was in her blood to become an educator…

Campus, Sports

Lift the weight of school off

Nichaela Shaheen

After not being able to break a sweat at the recreation center in nearly two years because of COVID-19 restrictions, students finally can use the facility again. Intramurals Director Kristy Urbick said she is excited to have students use the rec center after following the health and safety protocols that the college had in place since March 2020 due to the pandemic. “We’ve been looking forward to having students back for a long time,” Urbick said. “We are excited to be opening up the fitness center, pool, the tennis courts and the racquetball courts, all of which are available for…

Art, Campus

Artist draws inspiration from travels and background

Melissa Nicole Mata

Guest lecture artist Sharon Kopriva came by Richardson Performance Hall at Del Mar College’s Heritage Campus on Feb. 17 to introduce a few of her pieces that will be shown at DMC’s 56th annual National Drawing and Small Sculpture Show. Kopriva is the guest juror for the show. According to Assistant Professor of Art Benjamin Ogrodnik, Kopriva is a multidiscipline artist whose work is mysterious and timeless. Kopriva’s work consists of sculptures, drawings, and paintings. The Houston-based sculptor and painter portrays her Catholic faith through her artwork. Kopriva said her piece “Pendent Woman” portrays a new period of light in…