Dragon's Tale - October 2022 Issue

Page 1

Keep Public & Be Safe

Public Safety programs teach what is needed to start a career

Milestone Celebration

The City of Hutchinson throws a 150th birthday party

One Chapter at a Time

Former NFL player talked about how a decision can be life changing

Nina Becaro | ARUJÁ, SÃO PAULO

Major: Journalism

After HCC, plans to learn evrything there is to know about the world of journalism.

STAFF

Jaden Harp | ANDALE

Majoring: Visual Media Design - Emphasis in Graphic Design/Web Technologies

After HutchCC, she plans to launch her graphic design career.

Ashlyn Neufeld | HUTCHINSON

Major: Agriculture

After HutchCC, she plans to transfer to Kansas State University to major in Animal Science and Industry with a focus on large animals.

DRAGON'S TALE

Hailea Redinger | HUTCHINSON Major: Undecided

She plans to find her career path soon and decide what the next step in her life will be.

KEEP PUBLIC & BE SAFE 2

Public Safety Programs at HutchCC | Nina Becaro

FINDING A MAJOR 6

Resources help students find their path | Hailea Redinger

BAND NEW DAY 8

HutchCC's new band instructor | Nina Becaro

CREATING CONNECTIONS QUICK 10

What it takes to become an ambassador | Ashlyn Neufeld

DAREN DUNN 12

Local radio announcer followed his dream | Jaden Harp

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1 4 MILESTONE CELEBRATIONS

Hutchinson gathered to honor the city | Hailea Redinger

1 6

PUTT PUTT PUTT Hole-in-one Deals | Jaden Harp

1 8 ONE CHAPTER AT A TIME

Dillon Lecture Speaker | Alonso Frances Aguilar

20 DUKE THE DRAGON

Becoming the mascot | Ashlyn Neufeld

› Nina Becaro | Cover Photo

Using wood blocks, a fire science student practiced jacking up a car so that it was supported and safe from falling before they started using the jaws of life.

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.

Dragon's Tale 1 Table of Contents

BE &

SAFE PUBLIC

KEEP

1,2,3 CLEAR!

EMS Program:

In 1991, something clicked inside Cliff Moore's head.

“I decided that I didn’t want a job anymore, I wanted a career,” Cliff Moore, EMS Program Coordinator, said.

He has been working in this field for 34 years and not only coordinates the program at HutchCC, but also teaches in the area.

One of his main goals for the students is that they serve with compassion, clinical excellence, and honesty.

Moore said, “It is not fair to the other patients that you will touch, if you don’t have compassion for them and truly love

what you do. If the career ever becomes a job, I'll go find another job.”

Teaching for Moore is a blessing. He always wants to teach with compassion, and also, desires instructors all around the world to do the same. On the other hand, one of the hardest parts of his job is when students can’t make it.

“When they start to get behind things that are not necessarily hard but they make it hard [by not being there],” Moore said about the importance of attending each class.

He is willing to keep pushing and teaching students so that they can get the best out of each class and apply it to their career.

Dragon's Tale
"The adjectives that I would use to describe this class are entertaining, challenging, fulfilling, and rewarding," Misha Thompson, Paramedic & ALS Instructor
"I would describe the class as laid back but conductive to learning," Daniel Jones, EMS Lab Assistant
› Nina Becaro | P hoto Makayla Hollerich, Beloit, and Harley Goetz, Kingman, review notes for their next test in the EMS program. ‹ Nina Becaro | P hoto The empty EMS Lab showcases the training materials that students use during the program classes.

HutchCC!

Let me see your hands

Police Science:

After getting a degree in Biology and aiming to become a fish and wildlife officer, Sheldon Stewart wasn’t expecting any changes in his future plans – but they came.

Stewart tried to find a job in the area that he wanted but couldn’t so he decided to become a police officer instead. That decision led to more opportunities later on in his life. Even thoughit wasn't his original plan, he said that he liked the career as a police officer, and chose to stay with it for 25 more years.

Stewart said that the hardest part of being a police officer is to deal with crimes that involve children, and that for most police officers that would also be the case as it’s a very delicate subject. On the other hand, the most gratifying part of being a cop is being able to help those that are in need.

When Stewart retired, he decided to keep helping others but this time it was

from behind the books. This is his seventh year teaching at Hutchinson Community College, but his goal for the students never changed.

Because of COVID-19, the enrollment for the criminal justice program went down and classes were shifted to the online format. According to Stewart, he hopes that people will return to feel passionate about being a police officer and the criminal justice program on campus and little by little, it will grow again.

With a brush and magnifying glass , Stewart analyzes a fingerprint that he created with a brush

O c tober 2022 | 4 | Dragon's Tale
“I want them to actually know what it’s like to be a police officer. It’s not all what it appears on the tv,” Stewart Sheldon, Criminal Justice Instructor.
› Nina Becaro | P hoto Nina Becaro | P hoto Sheldon Stewart, Department 2 Co-Chair and Instructor, prepares his materials in order to collect a fingerprint sample.

The program on fire

Fire Science:

Chief of the fire district, 34 years working as a firefighter, and a small-town boy − those are some characteristics that describe Fire Science Coordinator Bobby White.

White said that this career found him and since then he has been teaching all that he knows to those who want to learn. Being able to help others is one of his main goals for the classes he teaches, so a lot of discipline is going to be expected on behalf of the students.

“When the house is on fire, we either did it right or we didn’t. We can’t say that we are going to be better next time, we can’t do that,” White said.

In the field, students mainly focus on the structure of fire fighting, how to choose the proper gear, and even simulations of what can happen during an actual fire. Besides that, HutchCC has classes like building structure and rescue training and is one of

the only schools that offers a certificate for that kind of training.

“We do a little bit of everything,” said White.

Watching the students succeed and observing how they manage to build their career is the greatest part of his job.

White said, “the best way to impact the fire service is to teach young people good habits. Eventually, as they grow up, it will affect the fire science program more and more in a good way.”

"The instructors offer criticism as you explore the program. They promote that positive change of teaching the new,"

Robert

Westminster, Colorado

Dragon's Tale | 5 | Public Safety Programs
Nina Becaro | P hoto Students pose for a picture while they wait their turn in line to do the required activity from their instructors.

Finding a MAJOR

The college offers resources to help students find a career path.

For students that come into college undecided on a major, Hutchinson Community College has resources to help them choose a career path.

Counselors try to offer as many students as they can a place into any success seminar orientation class or they put them in a career exploration class.

“In that class you're going to take some career assessments and so those career assessments are supposed to help you decide on a major, DJ Chastain, Coordinator of Advising and Career Development, said.

Finding a major can be tough but there are a few different ways that students can find something they will be interested in.

“The thing about a two-year college is that depending on the major, for the most part, any degree they need requires pretty simple

classes,” said Chastain.

So if they're in the middle of the semester and they decide to declare a major, there's not gonna be a lot of change because they'll still have to finish their Associate of Arts or their Associate of Science degree. What usually happens and what most parents want to happen is if the student is gonna take a gap year is that they're gonna work.

“My recommendation is to always see a career counselor,” Chastain said. “A lot of people take a year off because they don't want to spend money on classes trying to figure out what they want to do. They'll just go work for a year. The thing is if they do that the right way we have classes in the first semester designed to help them figure out what they're interested in.”

The Student Success Center on campus helps students who don't

O c tober 2022 | 6 | Dragon's Tale

know what career path to take.

“I come in and speak to the classes and I talk about the Myers Briggs Type Indicator which is a personality inventory which also helps students find a major. I speak to about 10-12 classes and I teach my own classes a semester about that stuff,” Chastain said. “We give two career- type assessments called the Myer Briggs Type Indicator and the Strong Interest Inventory.”

For some students, a year away from school can help them decide what they want to do with their future. For others, a career exploration class is just what they need with the intention of learning new skills while exploring careers that fit their personality and ideal work environment.

From the polls...

of students that were listed as an undecided major 74.8%

of students that did not take a year off of college 67.8% of students that haven't switched majors 60.8%

of students that knew a career exploration class was offered by HutchCC out of 143 students who took the survay.

82.5%
Hailea Redinger | P hoto Staci Unruh, acadimic adviser and DJ Chastain, coordinator of advising and career devlopment. taking a photo for the dragons tails magazine.

BAND BAND BAND BAND DAY new

If you believe in destiny, this is the article for you. Growing up in a family of educators, Eric Stambaugh could see his own destiny. He learned from his dad who was a vocal musical teacher and his mom was both a history teacher and counselor.

What made him decide a similar path? Stambaugh said that it was his “avenue” and music was something that he was good at. With that, he majored in vocal and instrumental music and at the end he decided to continue his instrumental career as he was more gifted at that.

Stambaugh said that he was inspired by his dad to start teaching band classes and was ready to “spice things up a little.” He looks at band classes at Hutchinson

Community College as a stepping stone into a higher university education such as Division 1 and Division 2 schools. Not only that, Stambaugh wants his students who are coming from high school to see HutchCC as a first step to go to a four-year college and, consequently, achieving their goals.

“It keeps me under my toes, but I appreciate everybody’s different skill set,” Stambaugh said about teaching classes at HutchCC.

He’s always looking forward to Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays because it keeps him busy and it is a whole different thing about teaching in class and for band.

Stambaugh wants his students to create a product that they can be proud of and to

O c tober 2022 | 8 | Dragon's Tale
HutchCC has a new Band Sheriff. His name is Stambaugh, Eric Stambaugh.
“It keeps me under my toes, but I appreciate everybody’s different skill set,” Eric Stambaugh
Nina Becaro | Reporter ‹ Nina Becaro | P hoto Band Director Eric Stambaugh conducts his class as students work on perfoming a song.

“Eric has a great desire to improve the program – and he will get it done. He is a talented conductor and motivator with very high energy.”

“The atmosphere that he creates in his classroom is of hard work and respect for one another and for what we do. He really puts people out of their comfort zone but ultimately, he does it to make the band better.”

Maddie Holland, Band Student.

understand that nothing comes without hard work and time spent out of class.

Even being a new instructor, Stambaugh has a lot of plans for the future. He wants to see 90 to 100 members in the band, to play at the state convention in Wichita, and to guide those who have financial aid difficulties to become successful. Stambaugh has goals in his mind, dreams in his heart and music for the world.

“Eric is almost frenetic and he has a lot of energy. You don’t get a call every time you make a mistake, and if you make a mistake... just fix it. It’s not that big of a deal.”

Barbara Carter, Band Student.

“The musical department is phenomenal and Eric is a great addition to the team. An adjective for Eric can, definitely, be dedicated.”

Greg Weis, Music Instructor.

Three steps

to join the band

Schedule a private audition at any point and time.

“Open-door” policy, meaning that if you want to play there is an open spot for you.

Work hard and be passionate about what you are doing – you got this.

Nina Becaro | P hoto Jacob Waters and Jarred Littrell, both from Hutchinson, laugh while paying attention to Stambaugh's class. The two are part of the trumpet group.

Creating Connnections

QUICK

What it takes to become an ambassador

As he stands in the Parker Student Union with a smile on his face, Zach Schletzbaum, Hutchinson, says five words when he sees the campus visitors he has been waiting for, "welcome to Hutchinson Community College."

The HutchCC student ambassadors greet prospective students and their families. Oftentimes, they help to calm the nerves that arise when trying to decide what lies ahead in their future. The transition from high school to college can be tough but ambassadors help present a friendly face to campus visitors.

Whether students are looking for a great sports team to participate in, a two-year technical degree, or a financially responsible way to get some prerequisite classes out of the way before heading to a four-year university, the first face they often see is that of a fellow student. While touring campus, potential students have the opportunity to talk to student ambassadors about their first-hand experience at the college.

Each year, a group of students are hand chosen by the admissions counselors to be ambassadors for HutchCC.

“For the main goal, we're looking for people who are personable, good listeners, and good communicators,” said Director of Admissions Corbin Strobel.

The relationship between an ambassador and a potential student on a tour is the first thing about the college that they will remember, because that ambassador was just recently in that scenario. Allowing students to lead tours can open a door to HutchCC visitors instead of a counselor who may have been removed from that experience for a while.

“Really just someone who can try to make a connection with prospective students and their parents in a short period of time,” Strobel said about how the program is set up.

He said that he loves when he can see it come full circle. When a returning ambassador comes for their second year and they see a student they gave a tour to the year prior, they can see the impact they made during that campus visit.

“It’s a great opportunity to meet people and get connected to the college, but that's just like any program,” Strobel said.

Schletzbaum became a new student ambassador this year.

“I’d say it is worth the extra time on campus because I am continu-

O c tober 2022 | 10 | Dragon's Tale

ally learning about the college,” said Schletzbaum.

He was excited to play a key role in the recruitment of new students for HutchCC, helping them begin their future plans.

“This [learning about the college] helps with giving a more detailed tour, hoping to encourage incoming freshmen to come to HutchCC,” Schletzbaum said.

After HutchCC, Schletzbaum plans to attend Kansas State University to study engineering.

The student ambassador program is a way to stay connected with the campus community, meet new people, and gain many kinds of skills for possible future pursuits.

Dragon's Tale | 11 |
Ambassadors
Ashlyn Neufeld | P hoto Schletzbaum stands in Lochman Hall for a picture in front of the "Ages of Duke." These photos are one of the common quick stops in a tour for him. BreAnne Edwards | Courtesy Photo The 2022-2023 student ambassadors came together for a group photo during their training before classes started. Each year, ambassadors are trained on all different aspects of the college to be ready for the many tours they will give throughout the year. Ashlyn Neufeld | Photo Student ambassadors Zach Schletzbaum and Kyle Werth, both from Hutchinson, pose next to the bronze statue of Duke the Dragon on campus.

Daren Dunn ...in the

Local radio announcer followed his dream

Using an audio drop from the Truman show, Daren Dunn closes out every radio segment with, "In case I don't see ya, good afternoon, good evening and goodnight."

Dunn is the local 93.1 radio station announcer. His interest in announcing began at the start of his childhood.

Currently, he can be heard broadcasting live across the Hutchinson community every Monday through Friday from 6 a.m. until10 a.m.

By the time Dunn graduated from high school he had already accomplished many things. He performed in the school play his junior and senior year acting as the lead role, Steve Martin, in "Cheaper by the Dozen." He was also a three-sport athlete in track, basketball and football. After Dunn attended Hutchinson Community College, he had many different jobs that he actually had little to no interest in. He never gave up his dream of announcing. Dunn’s

primary job is being a radio personality for the local 93.1 radio, but he can also be heard announcing the HutchCC football and basketball games.

“First you have to get your foot in the door and very early in your career, you have to say yes a lot,” Dunn said.

Sometimes in one’s life, they have to do things they don't like or don’t want to do, but they have to focus on the future. This is what Dunn focused on that eventually led to his true passion.

“I had an initial path of who I wanted to be or who I thought I wanted to be when I had initially graduated high school. I had ideas of going to college, being an architect, a pastor, and performing in plays,” Dunn said. “I felt like I could combine all of those things together and I would build the church, I would preach in the church, and perform all the plays and I would be involved with those and it

would be this grand thing. Then life came at me and God was like, ‘no, I have different plans for you.”

He never knew what his next step in life would be or become. According to Dunn, only God knew his true path to his future career.

“People always say that if you love what you do you’ll never work a day in your life. So if you kind of find that thing and stick with it, even when things look bleak, and you feel like where is this going, what am I doing with my life, those doors will open back up,” Dunn said.

Dunn is doing what he loves and fulfilling his passion.

“This journey of knowing where I wanted to go and where I wanted to be, not knowing how I was going to get there, God just kind of opened up the door and said, ‘hey, here it is,” Dunn said.

Jaden Harp | P hoto Daren Dunn, 93.1 radio announcer, broadcasts live outside of KHYM-FM hosting the car seat check with Child Passenger Safety (CPS) Technicians. Local Hutchinson residents stopped by during the live broadcast to check if their car seats were installed correctly by CPS.

Saying the word “yes” came in handy for Dunn as he began expanding his career.

“I took a public address gig announcing at a cross country meet. The athletic director at the time, Randy Stange, at HCC was there. He came up to me and said ,'hey get ahold of me after this I might have a job for you.'

That job ended up being a fill-in announcer for the non-HCC events at the time like tournaments or pre-season games before the season,” Dunn said. “The public address announcer at the time ended up where he was going to miss some games and then he ended up moving away and then Randy Stange came to me and said, 'hey i got a lot of guys knocking on my door and they want this job, but I wanna offer it to you first.' From that time on I've been the basketball and football public address announcer for HCC and working for the station.”

One of the reasons his voice is so familiar is because of the various jobs he holds. He broadcasts throughout the week on the local 93.1 radio. He can be found in the press box

on Saturday nights as he announces the HutchCC football games which currently has a record of 5-0.

“I was that kid when mom or dad would drive us by the Sports Arena I was practic ing the starting line ups,” Dunn said. This shows that even from a young age a person’s passion stays with them.

“You go in as a sponge, kind of like when you're a kid you just absorb so much,” said Dunn.

Soaking up as much knowledge from others in any industry is required in order to excel.

A lot of people in not only the career field, but also in life, say no to things that they are either uncomfortable with or have no knowledge of. From when Dunn was a child, he knew what he desired for his career and the drive he had for announcing. Anything and everything is possible when the right opportunities are in one's reach. Dunn never gave up on his passion of broadcasting until he got it.

As

exactly

All

Dragon's Tale | 13 | Daren Dunn
‹ Jaden Harp | P hoto Dunn broadcasts live on the air for 93.1. KHMYFM radio station had a recording room for all
Get your foot in the door and very early in your career, you have to say yes a lot,” Daren Dunn
Jaden Harp | P hoto he watches his computer screen, Dunn knows when to speak during the live broadcast. radio announcers control the timing of previously recording segments from outside sources.
morning

An aerial view of the mile-long block party held on Aug. 18 was estimated to bring out between 5,000 to 7,000 people. The event was a team effort put on by The Hutchinson Chamber of Commerce, Hutchinson Recreation, the City of Hutchinson and the Reno County Museum.

Nick Hemphill | Courtesy Photo
O c tober 2022 | 14 | Dragon's Tale

Milestone celebration

Itstarted with a really small group casually discussing the 150th celebration that was coming up for both the city of Hutchinson and the county. What did they want to do and how were they going to make it special?

The conversations occurred by virtual Zoom meetings due to COVID-19. The pandemic became the reason for postponing the big party but that didn’t stop it from happening altogether.

In early 2020, Rebekah Keasling, Director of Public Information and Community Engagement for the city of Hutchinson, along with her colleagues and some other organizations started to talk about Hutchinson’s 150th birthday celebration. It would be coming up in a couple of years and they wanted to start brainstorming ideas to make it special.

Fast forward to early 2022. They all got together again to start thinking of ideas, and again, Covid was still high in numbers so they were a little hesitant to over plan. One of the ideas that had come up was a mile-long dinner which they had actually done to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Hutchinson.

The group began to grow, adding other organizations to the planning committee and brainstorming along the way. Instead of a mile-long dinner they decided to go with a mile-long block party. Different groups adopted blocks along Main Street to pull off the event.

The activities and displays were up to the businesses and organizations on that block. Hutchinson Community College had a booth near the college’s Peel Center. They gave away hundreds of items such as sunglasses, baseball hats, Duke baseball cards, jar grippers and bag tags. In addition to winning prizes from a Plinko game, booth visitors could play a giant Connect Four game or view photos of the college throughout history.

“It felt amazing walking down Main Street that night. Every time I passed another person who had worked on the event we shared

The city of Hutchinson and its residents gathered to honor the people, the town and its businesses throughout history.

smiles and congratulations and talked about how exciting it was, how it was everything we hoped for and more,” Keasling said.

The more historical celebration took place on Monday, August 15, at the city hall where they unearthed a time capsule that was buried to celebrate the centennial in 1972. After reviewing the contents, they buried a new time capsule to be opened in 2072.

“I had a really good time working on the time capsule. It's not everyday you get to open one,” David Reed, Reno County Museum Chief Curator, said. “As curator, I didn't get to handle everything first, that was for the archivists, Thomas and Ceeley. Once they got everything sorted and cataloged I was allowed to work on it. The dozen letters that were included were fun to read. Everyone that we contacted let us keep a copy or the original of the letters inside. Some of them had really good family stories behind them and that made me happy to help people reconnect.”

Items were collected weeks prior from residences and organizations and the city itself to include in the new time capsule. The event was live streamed for everyone to see.

The Reno County Museum and Historical Society were huge partners in making the celebration a success as they know what's been done before and have historical records.

Celebrations like these are about community involvement and showcasing pride across Hutchinson. The city now awaits the next event in 2072.

The downtown celebration brought many businesses out including Hutchinson Community College who set up tables to encourage the public to gather information and win prizes.

› Janae DeWeese | Courtesy Photo

› Nina Becaro | P hoto Christopher Hall, Chanute, stops mid swing while putting on the golf course.

Nina Becaro | Photo Lebogang Ndlovu, Zimbabwe, Bulawayo, poses for a picture on the mini golf course. Ndlovu and some of her friends enjoyed

| 16 | Dragon's Tale

PUTT PUTT PUTT

Hole-in-one Deals

It’s an affordable, friendly venue for weekend fun located right in Hutchinson. Hutch Putt is that place for families and friends to get outside and enjoy an 18-hole miniature golf course. College students can enjoy playing 18 holes for only eight dollars. If looking for an all-day adventure with unlimited play the cost is only fourteen dollars. These deals sound like a hole-in-one.

Not only is there miniature golf but there’s also snacks and merchandise. The mini-golf course is close to campus and offers student discounts and weekend entertainment.

Dragon's Tale | 17 | Local Entertainment
P hoto Izabella Palacios, McPherson, a Hutch Putt Employee and Hall share a friendly conversation while returning their golf equipment.

One Chapter at a Time

Former NFL Player Kevin Lockett

Talked about How a Descison Can Be Life Changing

O c tober 2022 | 18 | Dragon's Tale
Stephn Dunn | P hoto Kevin Lockett hyped up during a Kansas State University game. Lockettt played from 1993-1996. Darren Whitley | P hoto Lockett is shown scoring a touch down his senior year at Kansas State University. Alonso Frances Aguilar | Reporter

Former National Football League player, Kevin Lockett talked about how his decisions have led him to where he is right now. At Booker T. Washington High School he played football, basketball, and baseball. He worked hard and eventually earned himself a full-ride scholarship to Kansas State University. In 1997, he was drafted by the Kansas City Chiefs. Lockett went on to play seven years in the NFL playing for the Chiefs, Washington Redskins, Jacksonville Jaguars, and the New York Jets. These last ten years, Lockett has been working for Venture Capital investing in newly starting businesses.

NFL Stats

Tale | 19 |
Dragon's
Dillion
Lecture Speaker Josie Schrag | P hoto Lockett greeted fans after the Dillion Lecture Speech. Josie Schrag| P hoto Lockett looked off at the crowd as he finished his speech.
YDS- 1738 Y/R- 13.4 TD- 8 REC- 130

Duke Dragon

the

Becoming the Mascot

Fans are sometimes surprised when sitting at a sports game in the middle of Kansas and a Blue Dragon runs onto the field.

Yes, that's right, the mascot for Hutchinson Community College is the Blue Dragon.

The Blue Dragon was voted in as the official mascot for the college in 1930, and since has been a key presence in all sorts of events. In 2013, the mascot was officially named Duke and since then has played an even more vital role in the campus community.

From the outside, the mascot uniform appears to be an easy job, walking around giving fans high fives and cheering when the cheerleaders are trying to pump up the crowd. So what does it actually take to become Duke the Dragon?

The HutchCC Spirit Squad Head Coach Samantha Bell said she would sometimes have them do a small audition to see what their personality would be like when they put on the dragon's head.

Bell said, “You still have to have all the

Ashlyn Neufeld | P hoto Duke the Dragon waves to fans at the HutchCC volleyball game on Sept. 28. It was the annual Pink Out Night game recognizing breast cancer awareness.

requirements of a student athlete; so you still have to maintain your 2.0 [GPA], still have to be enrolled full time, we do grade checks. So whoever is in Duke is still treated like a well-known student athlete.”

There are a lot of perks that come with the role, the mascot is part of promotional events and they make way more connections being Duke. The Blue Dragon plays a vital role in the game day experience.

“He is the main character, literally,” Bell said.

Duke is the one that the crowd looks for even more than any other part of the spirit squad, and the mascot helps take the experience to the next level.

“They wave, and especially the kids go crazy and are always asking for pictures. When he is not there, the crowd tends to be not as rowdy and not have as much energy,” said Ashley Koehn, McPherson, a freshman on the HutchCC Spirit Squad.

It is important for the person under the mask to stay a mystery to the community.

“People say that you aren't supposed to meet your hero, and to the kids at the games, Duke is their hero,” said Jaden Harp, Andale.

To Duke, though, he doesn’t think he is a mystery, he is just himself.

“I really don’t know what you mean, I have obviously been here for a while now. I came to campus in 1930. I am who I am," Duke said. "I’m not a person with a mask, I am Duke."

If a student is looking to get involved on campus, being Duke the Dragon is one way to be part of a team, interact with the student body and help pay for school.

Dragon's Tale | 21 | Duke the
Dragon
Ashlyn Neufeld | P hoto Duke interacts with a young fan during the volleyball game. Ashlyn Neufeld| P hoto As he walks through the crowd, Duke shakes hands with a fan.
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