Brought to Light Uncovering Hidden Talents on Campus
Becoming Fluent
Spanish instructor encourages students
More Than Marketing Department in charge of more than one would think
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DRAGON’S TALE STAFF Hannah Brummer
Regan LaRue
Editor Hutchinson Major: Education
Kingman Major: Visual Media Design - Graphic Design & Web Technology
Azia Colvin
Rocky Sanchez
Hutchinson Major: Fine Arts
Hutchinson Major: Psychology
Kyli Dimmitt
Nickerson Major: Visual Media Design - Graphic Design & Web Technology
Dylan Shah
Hutchinson Major: Business
Matthew Folkerts
Hutchinson Major: Visual Media Design - Graphic Design & Web Technology
Myranda Stika
Burdick Major: Education
Sydney Henke
Pratt Major: Visual Media Design - Graphic Design & Web Technology
Greysin Wirths
Wichita Major: Cosmetology
The Dragon’s Tale is published four times a year by the Magazine Production class of Hutchinson Community College, 1300 North Plum, Hutchinson, KS, 67501. When compiled, the four issues serve as an overview of the activities and the people of HutchCC during the school year.
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TABLE OF CONTENTS 2
BECOMING FLUENT Spanish Instructor encourages students to learn and experience the Spanish culture • Regan LaRue
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PREPARING FOR SURGERY Students spend hours preparing to work in an operating room • Rocky Sanchez
MATH + KENYA = SANDRA CHEMJOR New math instructor brings her talent to HutchCC • Greysin Wirths
10 12
EDUCATION ANYWHERE Online Education at HutchCC • Myranda Stika
BROUGHT TO LIGHT Uncovering Hidden Talents on Campus • Azia Colvin
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JACK OF ALL TRADES Meet Adam Cooper • Kyli Dimmitt
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MOONLIGHT MADNESS Outdoor Movie Fun • Staff
18 20
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E - SPORTS Students power on their monitors to compete at the collegiate level • Hannah Brummer
MAKING THE CHOICE Students and staff make their voices heard during election • Matthew Folkerts
22 24
MORE THAN MARKETING Marketing department in charge of more than one would think • Sydney Henke
NO PAIN. NO GAIN Where athletes train on campus • Dylan Shah
20 ► Photo by Azia Colvin ► Bo Tolbert, Hutchinson, shows off his hidden talent - juggling. He used his talent to entertain and make others smile.
Dragon’s Tale • November 2020
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► Photo by Regan LaRue ► Mariana Segovia, HutchCC Spanish Instructor, reaches out to a student asking a question. Segovia encouraged her students to lead the class.
Regan LaRue, Reporter & Designer
America is one of the most diverse countries today. Being the second largest Spanish speaking country in the world, it’s important for others to grasp the concept of Spanish. Whether that means becoming fluent in Spanish or knowing the basics for simple conversations, Spanish can help to connect to others. This can also assist in communicating with employees, customers, and friends. Mariana Segovia is a HispanicAmerican woman who has dedicated her life to teaching college students the importance of learning Spanish. Since Segovia’s first language growing up in her household was Spanish, she’s made sure to use her knowledge to teach it to others willing to learn. Segovia, Spanish Instructor at Hutchinson Community College, said, “Since I was little I just knew I wanted
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to be a teacher because both of my parents were teachers. So I just wanted to be just like them. ” She began working at HutchCC three years ago. Before her time at HutchCC, she went to school for her bachelors and masters degrees at San Diego State University, then went to the University of Tennessee to get her doctorate in literature. Though, she’s been teaching Spanish for longer than she can remember. Segovia said, “Full time it’s been six years and before that I was a teacher’s assistant and I did that for almost eight years.” Teaching is all about motivation and fun for Segovia. In class she likes to improve the confidence and motivation by keeping it lively. She does this by assigning student groups, and allows her students to lead the class. Segovia has her students communicate with her
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and with one another to create a more interactive environment. “I try to put them in groups.” Segovia said, “Well, right now with COVID I’m not able to put them that much in groups to have them be at a proper distance. But right now giving them different activities, different movie clips, and videos, other things and activities to do in class.” When Segovia gets to teach her favorite lesson, she puts extra work into the creativity of her projects for the class. Segovia said,“For me, my favorite one to do is probably teaching them culture because that’s when they realize, oh there’s a difference between Hispanic cultures, it’s not just one whole big culture.” The COVID pandemic didn’t put a huge bump in the road for Segovia. Though this did affect how her usual lessons would take place, and how many students she has in her classes.
Dragon’s Tale • Becoming Fluent
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How Familiar are Students with Spanish 37.8% 59.5%
27% 73%
Do you know more than one language if so how many? No 2 3
2.7%
Have you ever been interested in taking a forgien language class?
Yes No
◄ Photo by Regan LaRue ◄ Eagerly awaiting her student’s answers, Segovia watches to make sure they aren’t in need of any help. Segovia keeps her eyes out for any questions.
However, she has continued to interact with her students as much as possible and created interactive activities with her online students to perform as well. “I try to keep the same game plan for class but it’s difficult now with everything going on.” Segovia said. Online classes are a large part of classes now with COVID being so prominent. Segovia tries her hardest to make sure her online students are being taught as much as a student in class would. She gives them video assignments so the class can still speak to one another in Spanish, and gives them “cultura” assignments every chapter to teach them about the different Hispanic cultures. Still Segovia recommends face-to-face classes to make sure students grasp as much of
▼ Photo by Regan LaRue ▼ Using her white board, Segovia flashes another slide about feminine and masculine pronouns. The class learned the basics of Spanish.
the language as possible. “If you really want to learn the language I would recommend going to a face-to-face class. That’s where you hear me get to speak Spanish even more and you get to speak with others in Spanish too.” Segovia said. No matter what, Segovia still stays dedicated to teaching her students just how important learning spanish can be for them in life. She uses online classes to her advantage and makes sure to keep up student morale through these difficult times.
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Preparing Students spend hours preparing to work in an operating room. Rocky Sanchez, Reporter & Designer
for
surgery
Being in the cold operating room gives the staff chilling goose bumps. The entire room is blue from the walls to the tile floor with a glare of white from the surgical lights that give off a warm heat. Brent Marker, Coordinator of the Surgical Technology Program, keeps the program running smoothly at Hutchinson Community College and up to date with current industry standards. “There are a biology class or concepts of allied health, a prerequisite for A&P, and they need to have A&P and microbiology. We have recommended prereqs, which is medical terminology and pharmacology, and we recommend doing those because our credit hour load for our program can be high, so getting those done, it can help students be successful in the future,” said Marker. When taking the program, there are 20 credit hours in the beginning and the second semester 19, but if students take both medical and pharmacology, there will be 17 credit hours in the first and 16 credit hours in the second semester. Students are required to learn the instruments by category and by general instruments. “For example, the good majority of instruments you are going to use in general surgery cases which would be a bowel resection or removal of a gallbladder through the laparoscopy
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approach, those instruments they have in those cases,” Marker said. “Those are the instruments we have here, so we go through each category, and we learn the 40 to 60 per category, and then we go over each instrument, what it is and how it is used, and then they have about two weeks to study them. And they can take pictures or use flashcards, stay after class and get hands-on with them if they like and about every two weeks there is a test, and after that, it repeats from there.” Apart from lecture and moving into the labs, students are required to open back table bag that has instruments inside for students to take out, learn how to open supplies correctly and sterile, how to open the instrument tray, how to open gown and gloves, and how to do a scrub and they are going to come in and order the back table with all the supplies on there. “When it comes to scrubbing in, students are extremely careful with what they touch, as soon as their hands go below their waist or touch anything, it’s considered unsterile. Anyone that has a gown and gloves is considered sterile,” said Marker. Processing the labs and lectures, students will first go over why they might need to scrub down first or handling the instruments. Once they have this down in class, they practice it in the lab. “We do mock surgeries with students, and sometimes doctors are put underneath stress. They might yell and raise their voice, and lots of times it
is not necessarily at you. Lots of times it’s the situation, and we also tell students they need to take constructive criticism,” Marker said. “If you can’t then this is not a good job for you because number one, the doctors are there to help you. Also, along with the student’s preceptor which is also a surgical technologist they,’re like here is a better way of doing this and lots of times we show the students that.” When students finish the program, they are hired at the clinic sites. Job placement is pretty high because at least in the next five years, the job market for surgical tech is expected to be pretty high According to Brent Marker. “We have face-to-face classes and online classes, and our online classes also coincide with the lecture and labs and everything else. If I see their grade slip, I will make sure to talk to them and ask them is there is something I can help you with or just get more of a background of them. Are they having internet issues or is it too loud where they are at, and I’ll make suggestions to go to the Rimmer,” Marker said. “They are open late. Debbie Ash is a clinic coordinator. So our lab classes are a pretty great ratio it’s eight students and two instructors.” Surgical Technology Program Clinical Coordinator Debbie Ash, is another instructor who helps students be successful in the program. She has a high value on how she views her students. “Knowing that I am producing patients to work in that OR [operating
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room] and take care of that patient, that I would feel safe if my student were to work on me if I needed surgery,” said Ash. If a student is struggling in class, the instructors are there to help. “If we see them struggling in the lab and we see that, and they are not as far as long as other students or they are just not getting it we will do one on one time with them,” Ash said. When students are getting ready for surgery, there is no disagreement between the instructor or student. ”We have to follow procedures, and we have to follow ARN [Association of Operating Room Nurses] and every facility has to follow those protocols and introduces all that to our students,” Ash said. Students who are potentially interested in taking this program can speak with either Debbie Ash or Brent Marker, and either of them would be happy to talk with you and even give you a tour of the facility as well. “If you don’t have teamwork, you don’t have an OR [Operating Room].”
“If you don’t have teamwork, you don’t have an OR,”
▲ Photo by Rocky Sanchez ▲ Students are presented with an actual surgical room that they practice in. Everything that is in this photo is what would be in a operating room.
▼ Photo by Rocky Sanchez ▼ Madison Heminway Rucker, Hutchinson, has to be cautious when she is gowning and gloving because if she ends up touching something that isn’t clean without putting her gloves on first then she has to rescrub in. Be sure to have your hands placed in front of you when you are gowned and gloved to let others know that you are clean
Debbie Ash, Clinical Coordinator
Madison Rucker, Hutchinson, said, “You need a lot of awareness to know where you’re at, what everybody else is doing around you and anticipate what’s going to happen.” After Rucker graduates, she plans on working at a surgical center. I don’t think this gets talked as much as some of the other disciplines, and it really is a unique experience that is different to anything else out there you are there for that patient, there with that surgery, and it’s an incredible experience,” said Rucker.
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Some of the things to know when starting off as a surgical technologist
▲ Photo by Rocky Sanchez ▲ Elizabeth Stone, Hutchinson, performs a surgical scrub before entering the operating room. In order to scrub in she has to do her forearms, hands, and even dig deep into her nails to get any dirt out that could risk contamination on the patient
▲ Photo by Rocky Sanchez ▲ Madisson Young, Heminway Rucker, Mariah Downling, and Debbie Ash listen in on a lecture about why it is important to open a back table bag that has instruments inside them. Opening a back table bag carefully is important because it keeps everything in order and nothing else would fall out during surgery.
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1.) Open Sterile Supplies (gown, gloves, anything that is going to be used for the case) 2.) Surgical Scrub 3.) Gowning and Gloving self and others 4.)Preparation and organization of supplies for the sterile field 6.) Learning the name and how to hand instruments to the Surgeon 7.) Medication and suture identification and how to pass to Surgeon 8.) Turnover of the room after a case and getting it ready for the next case scheduled in that OR room Along with all of this there is the didactic part also.
▲ Photo by Rocky Sanchez ▲ Melissa Espino, Hutchinson, has finished setting up a back table bag and then goes back and explains how to set everything out correctly.
Dragon’s Tale • Preparing for Surgery
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▲ Photo by Rocky Sanchez ▲ Students have to practice a mock surgery in order to get an understanding of what to do when they help a doctor. Also it helps them to handle a real situation if it were to ever come down to it then they would know how to handle something serious.
◄ Photo by Rocky Sanchez ◄ Olivia Justice, Arnold Delgado, Madison Young practice handling instruments to one another to ensure that nothing falls into the patient. Students are required to learn how to pass these instruments carefully.
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Math + Kenya Sandra Chemjor
▼ Photo by Greysin Wirths ▼ Sandra Chemjor, Instructor of Mathematics, works with Addison Baker, Ashland, during Intermediate Algebra to help him learn the materials efficiently. Chemjor explained what was on the board and then walked around to help students.
New math instructor brings her talent to Hutchinson Community College. Greysin Wirths, Reporter & Designer
Originally from a small east African city in Kenya, Mathematics Instructor Sandra Chemjor is in her first year teaching at Hutchinson Community College. She received her bachelor’s degree in her hometown, Eldorent City, and came to the U.S. to get her masters degree at Wichita State University. She has plans to continue her education with a doctorate degree in mind. Teaching was not her first choice but after working as a tutor she enjoyed the satisfaction of helping people. “The feeling of knowing I play an important role in someone’s life in college and my math helps them excel is satisfying,” said Chemjor. She became a teacher’s assistant in college so that’s when she got to teach classes. The hardest part about teaching for Chemjor is at the beginning of the year when meeting a new class because she doesn’t know anyone or how they view math. “Once I get to know the students everything becomes easy. Having face-to-face conversations creates a bond so students don’t feel like students, they feel like friends,” said Chemjor. She wants to help all of her students know that math is not a scary thing,. She always keeps a positive attitude towards mathematics in her classroom. Being from a different country, Chemjor comes with a
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Getting to know Sandra = Patient - Loves to binge watch thriller movies + Baking and cooking > Loves planning parties for friends + Dislikes waking up early and driving - Wishes she had a private jet to bring her to work every morning + Sudoku - Loves bonding with students + Music and dancing - Traveling
Dragon’s Tale • Sandra Chemjor
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▼ Photo by Greysin Wirths ▼ Chemjor is hard at work teaching the class how to simplify radicals. Students copy down the notes to help them with their homework.
▼ Photo by Greysin Wirths ▼ Chemjor grading the math tests of her students. Confidant that all her students passing her class.
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▼ Photo by Greysin Wirths ▼ Chemjor writing examples on the bored to help students with homework. She tought the students rational exponents during the Intermediate Algebra Class.
strong accent and sometimes struggles with pronouncing thing differently. She’s found that having to repeat herself in order to be understood helps with miscommunication. She’s constantly asking herself if her students can understand her. “The masks don’t help because reading lips is no longer an option when trying to understand people,” said Chemjor. Math can be a scary subject, but with Chemjor at the front of the classroom it can be a little less frightening as she is always willing to go above and beyond for her students.. “She goes through a step-by-step process, then proceeds to come to you personally if you need help and goes over it,” said Chayan Fox, Cheney. Her process includes writing down everything on the board and she explains it thoroughly then leaves enough time for the students to copy it down so they can use it when they go to do homework, as well as reminds her classes of the homework so they don’t forget. “It really helps that she gives her own personal time to help students but my favorite part about class is when the texts are over,” said Ethan Pearson, Kingman. Chemjor loves being in Hutchinson because it is very similar to her hometown back in Kenya with the surrounding fields and farms. Before coming to the U.S.,she was excited to get the chance to experience snow. “I forgot snow comes with cold weather, which was a big adjustment to get used to,” she said. Chemjor wants all of her future students to come in to class with a positive attitude and to know that mathematics doesn’t have to be scary. She is more than willing to work with students who put in the effort to learn and will go over the materials as many times as needed.
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Photo by Myranda Stika Amanda Dorrell, Newton, uses Rimmer Learning Resource Center to work on assignments. Rimmer has about 70 computers for students to come in and work on online assignments.
Education Anywhere
Online Education at HutchCC continues to grow and provide many benefits for students. Myranda Stika, Reporter & Designer
In the spring of 2021, online education will be celebrating 20 years of online classes at Hutchinson Community College. Throughout the years, many changes have been made as well as the online education’s constant growth at HutchCC. In 2007, there were 100 online courses, which then increased to 246 online courses and 75 hybrid classes as of 2015. Currently, there are 420 online courses and 76 hybrid classes. Many students have chosen to take online courses through the years. However, in March, all face-to-face students at HutchCC were transferred to a remote-style learning which used the online course format due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Online courses can become a struggle depending on the students’ major. Ryan Roderick, Mulvane, is a sophomore music education major.
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“Music is hard enough to do and teach about through regular classes. To do choir and other instrumental or musical ensembles was impossible,” Roderick said. Other majors such as art can also be difficult to do online. “It’s hard to find clay and play dough. It’s not the same. It was a learning process for all of us as a class,” Lylia Fernandez, an art education major from Newton, said. Even though there were struggles in transferring these major specific classes to online, the teachers were very helpful and were learning themselves during this time. “My teacher would help us and have us write out our process, have us explain why we weren’t able to do it the way we had envisioned and what we thought we could have done differently,” Fernandez said. The bumps in the road when transitioning online was mainly due
to the unfamiliarity of online classes for some students and teachers. However, there are many benefits to this learning platform. Online classes can be scheduled around the student’s personal schedule and can help with management skills. “My time management skills were more of ‘how can I evenly space my homework over this day or week rather than getting it done in that one night,” Roderick said. Rhonda Corwin, Director of Online Education, helped the instructors at the college tremendously in March when transitioning to online. “We were prepared.We had a bunch of templates and provided training for them or met one on one [through Zoom],” Corwin said. Many teachers already taught classes online prior to the transition in March. The teachers with prior experience were a large help to the teachers new to online instruction. “We call them ‘super users,’ those who have already taught online jumped in and helped the others,” Corwin said.
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n e
57%
24%
Of students feel online classes are more difficult than face-to-face classes.
Of students said their time management skills improved after taking an online class.
95% 70% Of students have taken an online class.
Of students have taken an online class by choice.
Why students enjoy taking online classes • • • •
Flexibility Time Freedom Being Home Availability
1 in 37 Students complete online work using their cell phone.
Taking an online course can be just as rigorous as taking an in-person class. It is important for students to recognize this and put the same effort in for both learning platforms. “Students think online courses are easier. Online classes are just as difficult,” Corwin said. “Set up time to ‘show up’ to class, create a regular class time to work on homework.” HutchCC also offers short-term classes which can be four, six, or eight weeks long opposed to the regular 16-week semester. The short-term classes allow students to complete classes in a shorter time period which can allow them to take two to three classes in addition to their other classes. When taking a face-to-face class, there are more opportunities for students to interact with one another.
However, through discussion boards in online classes students are still able to interact with one another, just in a different way. “Students learn from the other students,” Corwin said. Corwin has a team in online education that she works with to help the students and instructors at the college. Her main job is to lead her team into making online education possible for students. “I organize a communication plan,” Corwin said. “With great people you accomplish great things.” Whether students take online classes for the convenience of fitting into their schedules, needing a few short-term classes, or challenging themselves and gaining time management skills, there’s an online class for everyone. ▲ Photo by Myranda Stika ▲ Lylia Fernandez, Newton, completes online assignments on her cell phone. Fernandez also used the library computers when available to complete her online work. ◄ Photo by Myranda Stika ◄ The Honors Executive Board meets through Zoom meetings. Many classes, clubs, and organizations used platforms such as Zoom to communicate with students online.
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brought to light
Uncovering Hidden Talents On Campus Azia Colvin, Reporter & Designer
Hutchinson Community College has plenty of talented students. Whether it be football, theatre, choir, or basketball, these talents have been put on display for others to see. However, there are many other students who have talents that aren’t in the spotlight. Abi Egerstaffer, Hutchinson, is focusing on anthropology, but what many don’t know about her is that she’s very skilled at crocheting. “Crocheting, in this generation at least, is seen less in this generation than the previous generations, as many people have the mindset that they can buy it instead of making it,” Egerstaffer said. “It’s a very enjoyable hobby and I love that I can use it to make someone smile by giving them a blanket, sweater, or whatever their heart desires. I also have an Etsy shop that I used to put my creations on to sell them.” Another talented student, Bo Tolbert, Hutchinson, is an aerospace engineering major and is not only a juggler, but a very skilled juggler. He is not only able to juggle under his leg, but he can even do it one-handed. Juggling sets him apart from most people, but it’s not something that he shares very often. “Usually people are pretty surprised, but I share it when I’m trying to help
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people think about a better side of the world when so much negativity is going on,” Tolbert said. Other than putting a smile on faces, this hidden talent helps Tolbert with his hand-eye coordination, which in turn improves his skills in tennis, pickleball, and ping pong. “Sometimes I like to juggle a couple of balls in one hand while playing ping pong and hitting the ball with the paddleboard in the other hand to better my hand-eye coordination and intimidate the opponents a little,” Tolbert said. “I first figured out that I liked to juggle when I was about five years old. I would juggle the dirty laundry and as a small child, it was the funnest time ever.” Not only do students have impressive hidden talents, but so do some of the instructors. Nicholas Schroeder, Music Professor and Jazz Coordinator, is very skilled when it comes to music. He also possesses a special skill that is not as well-known - his dedication to bicycling. “When I moved to Hutchinson, I got into triathlon training just because I was looking for something new to do. I love to bicycle and I do also love to swim, even though I hate running,” Schroeder said. “After five years of triathlons, I began to focus on bikeriding because it was my
favorite part of training and it has been something that I’ve been interested in even before moving to Hutch.” Schroeder is inspired by stories of other people who have overcome highendurance rides. He has been constantly trying to find opportunities to beat his own personal records. He even won a triathlon in his division in 2019 and he won his first official gravel race for bicycling back in March in Hutchinson. “People would be surprised to hear that I’m obsessed with cycling in my free time instead of playing my trumpet or listening to jazz music,” Schroeder said. “There is a really compelling motivator to this and that is having this goalsetting mentality. Having this side hobby is also a great opportunity to get away from everything else in life and gives me a chance to be alone with my thoughts and sort out whatever problems I am facing.” Hidden talents can be impressive and even astounding, but discovering that hidden talent and putting it into the spotlight can be extremely beneficial. Whether it can make some extra money, make people smile, or improve and sustain good physical health, it just takes a little extra push to bring that hidden talent to the surface for others to appreciate.
Dragon’s Tale • Hidden Talents
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◄ Photos by Azia Colvin ◄ Bo Tolbert, Hutchinson, effortlessly juggles with three objects. He used his talent to make others smile.
Photos by Azia Colvin Abi Egerstaffer, Hutchinson, crochets a black kneehigh sock. She planned to reoppen her Etsy shop and start selling her creations again.
known vs. hidden Real examples of students and teachers around campus who have hidden talents that are contrasting to their majors or main focus.
Music
Bicycling
Engineering
Juggling
Anthropology
Crochet
Theatre
Poetry Writing
Painting
SFX Makeup
Drawing
Photographic Memory
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“Jack of All Trades” Meet Adam Cooper Kyli Dimmitt, Reporter & Designer “Adam, he’s like a machine sometimes, he just puts it in gear and goes,” Chris Miertschin, music instructor and band director, said. Adam Cooper grew up southwest of Buhler. Cooper went to Buhler grade school and graduated from Buhler High School in 2018. He’s been in band and choir since the fifth grade. While attending Buhler High School, he was involved in pretty much all of the music ensembles he could be in - marching band, choir, jazz band, and Buhler Singers. After graduation he kept that tradition and is currently in many music ensembles offered at Hutchinson Community College. Cooper is currently involved in Jazz Lab Band, Concert Chorale, Wind Symphony, and Pep Band on campus. Cooper claims he has “perfect pitch” and lives up to and proves these claims every day. He could think of a song and just start playing it on his trombone without any piece of music in front of him. He also knows when a song is being played in a different key. “When I was nine years old,” Cooper said, “I had an old clock radio that I had set to a certain station. One day I noticed a song that usually played on it and it sounded a little different. I couldn’t put my finger on what it was at the time but a year or so later, I realized that it was being played in a completely different key signature.” One may think Cooper is majoring in music based on how prodigious he is in the art, how many music classes he’s in and how long he’s been involved with music, but he is actually majoring in Automotive Technology. Cooper really only started becoming interested in cars his senior year of high school. For his senior project he thought he would work on his grandpa’s 1985 GMC pickup. Cooper said, “As I was working on it, I was thinking to myself, ‘I’d like to learn more about this pickup.’” When Cooper started attending HutchCC, his friend who was in the automotive program said to him that it’s a great program and if Cooper was interested in it at all he should go
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▲ Photo by Kyli Dimmitt ▲ Adam Cooper, Buhler, poses outside the Stringer Fine Arts building for a picture in his shop uniform.
Dragon’s Tale • Jack of all Trades
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for it. So he did. “I got to bring my own truck in,” Cooper said, “And I got to learn more about it. The more I learned about my own car, the more I wanted to learn about other vehicles.” Cooper is currently working on two projects - one is the 1985 GMC. Cooper says, “It cracked cylinder heads last October when I was driving to the first choir concert of the year. I couldn’t get any further than Lorraine Street and had to take it to the nearest parking lot.” The second project he’s been working on since July. “It’s a three quarter ton work truck. I’m working on swapping out the motor. It’s my first engine swap so I’m learning as I go,” he said. Cooper wants music to always be part of his life and that he plans to continue furthering his skills in music but automotive technology is where his career lies. “The fact is that at the end of the day,” Cooper said, “When I get done with everything and I start up the engine and it runs or even runs better than it did before, I think to myself, I did this with my own two hands and head, I did this. I just think it’s the coolest thing that I can do that and bring something back to life.” ▼ Photo by Kyli Dimmitt ▼ Cooper takes time out of his day to practice his Trombone for pep band in the instrumental music room.
▼ Photo by Kyli Dimmitt ▼ This is part of Cooper’s uniform he was given for his automotive shop classes. He even has an embroidered name tag on the other side.
▼ Photo by Kyli Dimmitt ▼ Cooper works on his car, He needed to put motor oil in it before he left for the day.
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MOONLIGHT MADNESS
Outdoor Movie Fun Azia Colvin, Designer
Students set up their lawn chairs and threw out their blankets on the football field of Gowan’s Stadium on October 6. They gathered for a Moonlight Movie Night where they watched a scary movie on the big screen. The movie was voted on through a student survey and prizes were handed out during the event as well as hot chocolate, caramel appl sundaes, and popcorn. The outdoor movie allowed students to social distance and still have fun during the campus event.
Photos by Dylan Shah
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Dragon’s Tale • Moonlight Tale • Basketball Madness
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Photos by Myranda Stika
Dragon’s Tale • October 2020
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E-sports HutchCC students power on their monitors to compete at the collegiate level.
Hannah Brummer, Reporter & Designer
E-Sports is growing rapidly in colleges and universities across the U.S., it has even reached quite a few of the other schools here in Kansas. Hutchinson Community College recently started their own E-Sports team. “We are hoping to hold tryouts for the team for the 2021-2022 school year,” said Heath Hensley, E-Sports Coach and Computer Support Instructor. Coached by Hensley, the team consists of Bailey Nachtigal, Caleb Spencer, Christyn Howard, Clayton Huston, Dakota Wolfe, Justen Ortega, Lane Pitts, Morgun Roeder, and Zoe Barta. “Currently practices are one day a week for a couple hours. Up until the last week of October, we did not have our arena done so we mostly did team building, working on soft skills, and made decisions for our future actions once we could get into the arena to play the games,” said Zoe Barta, Ellsworth. One of the additions to the most recent renovation of Parker Student Union was the E-Sports arena in the
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basement. The arena consists of topof-the-line gaming PCs, top-of-theline gaming keyboards, high-powered monitors and webcams. “As of right now all of the games are PC, but a lot of them are cross platform so they are games the team members have played on devices like XBox, PlayStation 4, or even the Switch,” said Hensley. The team consists of students from different majors. Whether a student is majoring in computer technology, nursing, elementary education, or even auto mechanics, if they have a passion for gaming, they can try out for the team. Being on the E-Sports team can be a place where they can go and have fun doing what they love with their new teammates. “I would absolutely encourage others to come and try out,” said Morgun Roeder, Buhler. “We are in the process of really trying to make an amazing E-Sports program for the college and the more people we have, the better the program can become. Also, it’s just a good opportunity to
meet people. The team has grown really close just from the meetings, building up to the completion of our setup. So if nothing else, come and try out and maybe meet some people you otherwise wouldn’t have.” During practice they will work on their skills on many different games. “The games they play are - Overwatch, Rainbow Six Siege, Rocket League, Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, Valorant, and a few others that we are looking at but we have not made a decision on them yet,” said Hensley Aside from the weekly practices, the team has to motivate themselves to practice on fine tuning their skills on their own time. “On my own time I put about five to six hours a week of practicing and improving my skills. As a team I would probably expect us to put two to four hours in a week, just to keep ourselves on top of things,” said Bailey Nachtigal, Hutchinson.
Dragon’s Tale • E-Sports
11/12/20 1:52 PM
Photo by Hannah Brummer A photo of the new workspace of the E-Sports team. The arena was located in the basement of the newly renovated Parker Student Union.
Photo by Hannah Brummer This side view showcases one side of the E-Sports arena. There are currentely a total of 10 PC’s, monitors, keyboards, gaming chairs, and webcams inside the arena.
▲ Photo by Hannah Brummer ▲ This close up view is one of the new high-powered monitors. The team competed on a variety of different games.
Dragon’s Tale • November 2020
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Making the choice
Students and staff make their voices heard by showing support for their candidate. Matthew Folkerts, Reporter & Designer
As the semester comes to an end, students are looking forward to the holiday break. With social distancing, face masks, and hybrid learning, the semester was not the easiest. In addition to all of this, students were faced with another obstacle to overcome, the election. With America in the state that it is in, this election is one of the most important elections in recent years. “There is a lot that has happened in the last year and a lot of things have come out this year. Our country is being divided right now and it has been divided,: said Rachel Wilson, Hutchinson.“We have so many things separating us right now and so many people are in distress.” There are quite a few first time voters on the Hutchinson Community College campus. Parker Student Union became a polling place on Oct 21. These first time
voters could take to the polls to let their voices be heard. “There is a lot more on the ballot this election than years past. Women’s rights, LGBTQ+ rights, Black Lives Matter, Immigration, and environmental policies are all at stake, so it felt extremely important to vote,” said Jaydin Elmore, Hutchinson. Donating and supporting a candidate can be just as important as voting for them. Many individuals show their support for a candidate whether it be nationally or locally. The support was shown with flags, hats, t-shirts, yard signs, stickers, and other miscellaneous items. When purchasing these items, supporters were essentially donating to these candidates’ campaigns. Supporters also showed support via social media and word of mouth. “I discreetly show support on social Photo by Matthew Folkerts Cooper Self, Hutchinson, casts his ballot. Self took the advantage of Parker Studen Union becoming a polling place on Oct 21.
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media. Being too vocal about who you support can cause too many personal issues with family members. I do it privately and honestly,” said Wilson. According to the Campus Vote Project, young individuals make up to about 20 percent of eligible voters. Some of these young individuals have either college degrees or college experience. Young individuals vote whether these candidates best suite education and college debt. “I know Joe Biden feels as though education should be free or shouldn’t cost as much as it does. During the height of the pandemic Biden had said that college students should receive stimulus checks as well. Joe Biden’s wife, Jill Biden, is an educator, so Biden understands what it means to be an educator,” said Elmore. Students participated by voting and showing support for their preferred candidates. With this being a major election year, it was important to participate in our country’s democracy whether it is local or national.
Dragon’s Tale • Election
11/12/20 1:45 PM
â–źâ€ƒ Photo by Matthew Folkerts  â–ź Dana Hinshaw, Director of Residence Life, casts her ballot. Hinahaw sponsored the College Republicans Club.
DECISION 2020 Results gathered from Student Survery in October
Are you registered to vote
Will you vote this november
No
No
Who will you be voting for in the presidential race No
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â–źâ€ƒ Photos by Matthew Folkerts  â–ź Hutchsinson residents show support for movements and political candidates. Showing support for candidates has increased as the election grows closer.
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Who will you be voting for in the Kansas senate race 20 15
10
5 0
Dragon’s Tale • Novemeber 2020
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The Hutchinson Community College marketing department is in charge of a lot more than one would think.
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ocial media posts don’t happen on their own. Someone has to capture campus photos and websites have to stay up to date. It takes a team to make sure everyone knows what’s happening at Hutchinson Community College. The HutchCC Marketing Department is made up of three people - Denny Stoecklein, Director Of Marketing; Janae DeWeese, Assistant Director of Marketing; and Kerry Holden, Webmaster. A big part of what Stoecklein and DeWeese do is trying to get the word out about the college through various media platforms. “I spend a decent amount of time meeting with a number of different media. It used to be you had three choices: newspaper, radio, and TV. Now it is so much more than that, everywhere, everything,” Stoecklein said. DeWeese takes care of all of the graphic design for the college and all photography needs except for athletics. “One minute I’m designing a t-shirt for the chess club and the next minute I’m designing a very serious postcard then I’m taking pictures of ducks on the campus pond,” DeWeese said about the variety of her daily tasks. Holden’s job is to design and manage the content of the public website.
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“I also train content editors on managing content and making the content accessible,” Holden said. “Also to inform people of any new technology involving the public website.” Holden earned the Computer Support Webmaster Technology Degree from HutchCC. She applied for the job in her last semester of school. One of the biggest jobs of the marketing department is getting students to HutchCC. “Trying to get students interested and come for a visit,” Stoecklein said. The marketing department doesn’t have a lot of direct interaction with students or at least not that they recognize. They are the faces behind HutchCC’s social media. When school is canceled, the marketing department is responsible for relaying the information across the different social media platforms. “We don’t make the decisions, we are told about the decision making but we don’t make it,” DeWeese said. Stoecklein and DeWeese both love the flexibility of their jobs. “The variety is key and the flexibility as well,” Stoecklein said. DeWeese has been with the marketing
▲ Photo by Sydney Henke ▲ Denny Stoecklein, Director Of Marketing; Kerry Holden, Webmaster and Janae DeWeese, Assistant Director of Marketing; and took a picture via zoom. Due to COVID-19 this is how all meetings are held.
department for 11 years and still loves coming to work everyday. Stoecklein loves his job as well. “I’m a big sports fan so I also have the flexibility to help out with athletic events which still represents the college and doing my job but for me it’s a getaway,” Stoecklein said. Another thing that the marketing department is in charge of is making sure the Blue Dragon logo is being used correctly. The logo is supposed to always be facing right and can’t be skewed in any way. This is important to maintain consistency. One may never recognize the face behind the camera, know who runs the social media pages, or keeps the website up to date but the marketing department team will remain working behind the scenes.
Dragon’s Tale • More Than Marketing
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11/12/20 12:22 PM
Holden, ctor of OVID-19
Sydney Henke, Reporter & Designer
Meet the TEAM Denny Stoecklein
Janae Deweese
kerry holden
Director of Marketing
Assistant Director of Marketing
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Webmaster
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Years in position
Years in position
Years in position
Most memorable moment on campus HutchCC is full of so many gems. One of my favorites is the Dillon Lecture Series. Some of my personal favorites have been Dr. Rick Rigsby, Kansas City Royals GM Dayton Moore and Kansas City Chiefs broadcaster Mitch Holthus, Also, I must mention having the oppurtunity to work the scorers table for the 2017 NJCAA basketball championship game when the Blue Dragons won their third national championship.
Most memorable moment on campus In one week I have gone from meeting a gold medal Olympian at the Dillon Lecture series to crawling over rafters in pitch black at the Fire Science building smoke lab to photographing sheep brain dissection in A&P to trudging through a field to get up close for pictures of our Black Angus steers at South Campus. Combine that with construction renovations, sneak peeks at theatre productions and being at most significant events on campus, I love the all access pass!
Most memorable moment on campus When they began updating the campus buildings starting with Gowans Stadium and Rimmer Learning Resource Center in 2001. Part of my responsibilities was to walk around in a hard-hat and take photos of the progress. I was the only person on campus with a digital camera at the time if you can believe that! Since that time we’ve hired a permanent graphic designer/photographer for campus.
Dragon’s Tale • November 2020
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Dylan Shah, Reporter & Designer
Photo by Dylan Shah Trey Pettway, sophomore wide receiver lifts in preperation of the upcoming season. Pettway is committed to go play at UMASS this up-coming fall.
When athletes are used to competing in the fall and it’s pushed to spring schedule, many teams are faced with a lot of off time. Along with the Blue Dragons, many athletes all across the country have been forced to go through this same situation. With this given time, many coaches are creating schedules to best prepare their players for the upcoming season. Many teams across campus were given a 60 day period of fall practice. After speaking to head coaches Steve Eck (Men’s Basketball) and Jamie Rose (Softball), they both said that not much has changed. The biggest differences for Men’s Basketball was that they transitioned to 1.5 hour practices instead of 2 hour practices. And for softball, the biggest difference was that they unfortunately were never able to get any scrimmages in against an opponent. Even though the fall season has been put to a pause, teams are looking to get better and better each day. When it comes to developing into a stronger and faster athlete, many coaches say the weight room is where to start. For the Blue Dragons, the weight room is almost an everyday thing. From football to softball, HutchCC athletes are in the weight room putting in the work they need to excel themselves in their sport. The weight room is easily one of the most used facilities for the 12 Blue Dragon Athletic teams across campus. That is why Football Head Coach Drew Dallas has tried to utilize the turf at Gowans Stadium as much as possible during workouts and practices. Dallas and his team have also been able to utilize the Jack Mull Family Football Complex in small groups and make modifications to weight lifting schedules. The Jack Mull Family Football Complex houses the football offices, the Dragon Den Players Lounge and the Bob and Lou Peel Weight Training Center.
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Dragon’s Tale • No Pain. No Gain.
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The football complex borders Gowans Stadium, home of Blue Dragon football and Track and Field since it opened in 1930. It features a 5,500-seat venue with a new press box, Field-Turf surface, polyurethane nine-lane track, and a Dragonvision video board. Gowans Stadium has also become home to the Kansas State High School Class 3A state football championship game. Gowans Stadium also has been the home of the NJCAA Division I Outdoor Track and Field Championships of 2009, 2010, 2011, 2013, 2015, and 2017.
Along with Gowans stadium in serving big NJCAA events, the Hutchinson Sports Arena became the host venue for the NJCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Tournament since 1952 and remains so today. The sports arena is home to Blue Dragon Men’s & Women’s basketball, volleyball and houses the Athletic Office. In 2015, a $29.5 million renovation to the Arena was approved. The sports arena now has an improved infrastructure, three new practice gyms, a re-done Sports Medicine office, weight room, locker rooms, NJCAA Office and Blue Dragon Athletic office. The Sports Arena is a great multi-use facility, while Volleyball, Women’s Basketball and Men’s Basketball all can practice comfortablbly with the use of the main arena and the two practice gyms while teams rotate gyms each day. Not only are the gym’s multi-use, the weight room located in the Sports Arena is used widely across all sports besides football. Men’s Basketball uses the weight room for cardio and strength lifting 5 days a week. Men’s basketball are not the only ones to utiltize the weight room either. After the so-called “fall practice”, Head Coach Jaime Rose has been using the remainder of the semester to do small group training on skills and weights/conditioning. Along with using the weight room, Head softball coach; Jaime Rose has been using the Fun Valley complex. Fun Valley is a seven-field complex that has hosted numerous state, regional, national and world baseball and softball tournaments, including the NJCAA Division I Softball Championships in the mid-1990s. Blue Dragon softball plays on Field 3, which has been converted into a true fastpitch softball field which gives Blue Dragon softball a home-field advantage. Fun Valley Complex has also been home to Blue Dragon Cross Country since before the 2016 season. Fun Valley’s cross country course is very different from the standard cross country course. The complex creates a unique one-mile loop around the complex with a path that consists of a mix of grass and dirt that winds down service roads and crossings that make the home meet one of the best early season college runs in the region.
Dragon’s Tale • November 2020
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