Category: Education

Campus, Community, Education

Del Mar journalists compete at annual TCCJA conference

Arianna Rios

The Texas Community College Journalism Association hosted its an annual fall conference  for students in journalism and other media professions on Oct. 8-9 in Stephenville, Texas. Community college students from across Texas gathered to compete in a real-time multimedia reporting contest based on mock news events.  The conference also offers students professional development workshops held by industry experts to help students prepare for their careers in journalism and media after graduation. “I truly believe these competitions are essential experiences that could make someone a better journalist,” said Del Mar Digital Media major Tamara Martinez. “You get real life experiences from…

Campus, Community, Education, Texas

Gov. Abbott pushes for less tech in Texas classrooms

Victor Herrera

Gov. Greg Abbott visited Del Mar College Aug. 13, to support lessened screentime in K-12 education in Texas. Abbott was joined by state reps. Denise Villalobos and Todd Hunter, along with school administrators, superintendents and Del Mar College staff at the Lichtenstein Center for Early Learning on Heritage Campus. He unveiled the push to limit screentime in part of a broader plan to make Texas the nation’s top state in education for Pre-K-12. According to U.S. News and World Report, Texas is currently ranked 30th for best Pre-K-12 education. “My solution is to create a learning environment that prioritizes physical…

Campus, Education

Apply for your DMC scholarship now

Alondra Alonzo

The Del Mar College Scholarship Foundation has awarded nearly $3 million in scholarships this academic year, making college affordable and accessible for every student who is awarded. The foundation announced that they have awarded $2.85 million to about 1,431 students for the 2025-2026 academic year. Students can apply for scholarships for the 2026-27 academic year at https://dmcfoundation.awardspring.com/ now through April 30. New students can sign up and make an account for free with their personal email. Students fill out one application and the program searches more than 100 scholarships to see which they qualify for. “In May of 2025, I…

Education

Screen Time

Haylie Godoy

In a world where our screens are always within reach, it’s easy to lose hours scrolling, streaming, and tapping away. I know this all too well with TikTok being one of the biggest perpetrators, raising my screen time average while dragging down my productivity. My phone was the first thing I checked in the morning and the last thing I looked at before bed. The constant blur of social media posts, YouTube videos, and endless rabbit holes of mindless browsing. When life jumbles into one long stream of content instead of real, genuine experience and progress, something has got to…

Campus, Education, Featured

DEI ban causes rising concerns for the future of Texas higher education

Haylie Godoy

Higher educational institutions all over Texas have seen losses of personnel and student resources as a result of Texas Senate Bill 17. While Del Mar College has not been affected on a wide scale, the bill has sparked fear in some professors as to what legislators could go after next in the upcoming legislative session. SB17, which went into effect Jan. 1, 2024, bans colleges who receive state funding from having diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) offices as well as engaging in DEI training and hiring policies. The bills effect was felt on campuses across the state, but Del Mar…

Campus, Education

New Continuing Education grant opportunity for Building Construction Trades

Evie Lopez

Del Mar College’s Continuing Education department has begun offering a building construction trades grant to anyone looking to boost their skills. The grant, which started in August 2024, will continue to be available through June 2026. The classes are four weeks long, offered both on weekends and evenings. This grant offers classes in six different trades: carpentry, house wiring, cabinetry, plumbing, print reading and lastly trim and stairs. All students must be 18 years old, have either a high school diploma or a GED and must have the recommendedninth grade level in math and reading knowledge. The grant allows students…

Campus, Education

From the office to the ambulance

Brandi Villarreal

Paramedic student Jesse Gil, 44, has always had a lifelong passion to become a Firefighter-EMT After working as a financial advisor for 16 years, Gil decided to follow his dream. After working in the new career for nearly six years, he decided to continue his education in order to become a paramedic. “I am advancing my skill set from EMT to a paramedic so I can be more beneficial to my team and the patients in the field,” Gil said. Several paramedic students stated the hardest part about the program is not just learning the material but applying it during…

Education

Grant gives students a chance for success

Brandi Villarreal

As of July 1, Del Mar College is once again offering Adult Education classes for free. For four years beginning in 2014, the college served over 8,000 students with a $6 million Adult Education and Literacy Grant from the Texas Workforce Commission. But in 2018 the grant was not renewed, forcing the college to drop the course. But now, there are two grants that are currently active through Del Mar College. One grant assists with GED preparation, or high school equivalency preparation, along with career training services. The second grant is focused on English Language Learners and English as a…

Community, Education

OER Grant awardee saves students over $200,000

Haylie Godoy

With Open Educational Resources, higher education is not just more accessible—it has the potential to be more adaptable, inclusive, and engaging than ever before.According to the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board, an Open Educational Resource (OER) is a teaching, learning, or research resource that is in the public domain or has been released under an intellectual property license that permits the free use, adaptation, and redistribution of the resource by any person.OER’s could be the solution to the growing costs of higher education in the country. College tuition and fees have risen over 80% in the past 12 years, with…

Campus, Education, Technology

Coding and competing

Andrew-Pól Clements

Youth program robots during weeklong camp Del Mar College held a five-day programing and coding camp for sixth- through eighth-graders, concluding in a robotics competition on July 21. Starting on July 17, 24 middle school students from West Oso ISD and other Corpus Christi schools met at the Oso Creek Campus. Over the next five days, the students began receiving instruction and getting the chance to grow familiar with the various types of programable robots the camp uses. According to Korinne Caruso, an assistant professor of computer science at Del Mar College, those first days can be difficult for some…