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Missouri

Valley College,

Marshall, Mo.

Volume 17, No. 3

December 2, 2011The The Delta Delta

The Celebration of Christmas Holiday MusicShow with performances by choir, band, and dancestudents, runs through Friday, Dec. 2, at 7:30 p.m.in Eckilson-Mabee Theater.

The annual holiday concert features ValleyConnection, MVC Concert Choir, Valley Voices,

MVC Repertory Dance Ensemble, andthe MVC Brass Ensemble.

The music includes “Deck the Halls,”“White Christmas,” “Jesus, Born ThisDay,” and a Celtic “Silent Night.”

The student performers are led by

Diana Malan, director of the choirs;Garry Anders, director of the bands; andJanie Morgan, artistic director for thedance ensemble.

PHOTOS: (Top,left) A “Santa Baby”number with Loren Gruber as Santa;(top, right) Soloist Tessa Belcher; (mid-dle) Drummer Joe Graham and thechoir; (left) The parade of the toy sol-diers; (right) Dancers Hana Urabe and Charlique Rolle.

Concert celebrates

holiday spirit, fun

8/3/2019 Delta - Dec. 2 2011


2 Dec. 2, 2011OPINIONTT hh ee DD ee llttaa

The Delta

Staff :Leon Emperio, Jessica Gates, Tora

Henry, Luka Jevtovic, Andrew

Mohler, Paulene-Wendy Ntsame

Assoumou, and Jordan Nichols

Photographer: Ariana Stephens

Guest Writer: Ralitsa Gospodinov

Editor Emeritus: Devon Wade

Delta Online Webmaster: Amit Ja

This edition of the Missouri Valley

College Delta was produced with th

assistance of the Newspaper class, th

Copy Editing class, and other classe

and students.

Faculty Advisers: David L. Roberts

and Harry Carrell

The Delta reserves the right to edit or

reject any articles or other material sub

mitted. Opinions in the Delta do not nece

sarily reflect the views of MVC or the

Delta newspaper.

The Delta is published byMissouri Valley College

500 East College Street

Marshall, MO 65340

(660) 831-4211

Email: [email protected]

The Delta is a publication project of th

MVC Mass Communication Departmen

It is printed by the Marshall Democrat

News. It is a member of the Missouri

Collegiate Press Association.

Congress shall make no law respectin

an establishment of religion, or pro-hibiting the free exercise thereof; or

abridging the freedom of speech, or

the press; or the right of the people

peaceably to assemble, and to petitio

the government for a redress of griev

ances.

--First Amendment

the U.S. Constituti

It’s about that time:

Column by Devon WadeDelta Editor Emeritus

Depending on who you’re talkingto, Missouri Valley could bedescribed as a modest, yet nicecampus, some classic historic build-ings or it could bedescribed as a tiny cam-

pus with nothing to do. Ihave been here longenough to have heardevery compliment andinsult that can be saidabout MVC.

As much as I like to jokeabout Valley as much asthe next student, I do knowthat this is where I wassupposed to be at this partin my life.

Growing up, I was taught thatwhen you are in a place where Godwants you to be, He will put peoplein place to help you, and I didn’t

realize how true that was until I lefthome in Stone Mountain, Georgia,and arrived in Marshall, Missouri.

Some people arrive here and getthe roommate from hell or an advis-er who they may only see or hear from when it is time for class regis-tration, and some people arrive hereand have no support system.

I was more than fortunate in eachinstance.

My roommate Clarence Franklin isprobably one of very few people whocould have tolerated sharing a roomwith me for four years.

We decided after freshman year

that anyone else would have killedus after a month so we might as wellremain roommates during the dura-tion of college.

When my mom dropped me off freshman year, she met Nurse Diane(Weinreich) and Nurse Diane prom-ised to watch out for me and endedup becoming my “mom” here oncampus, and anything I have ever needed she would have made sure Ihad it and for people who have been

in her office over the past coupleyears have more than likely seen asmany pictures of me in her office asher own biological children. I wasalso fortunate to receive, in my hum-ble (and slightly biased ) opinion, thebest adviser Missouri Valley has to

offer in David Roberts.He has been my aca-

demic adviser, my work-study supervisor, men-tor, teacher for sixclasses and apracticum.

In other words, wehave spent way toomuch time together. Andif someone would havetold me that he wouldend up having more of

an impact on me here on campusthan anyone else, while I was sittingbored out of my mind in his “Intro toMass Comm” class as an 18-year-old freshman, I would have assumed

they were doing drugs.I was also able to be acceptedinto the Adopt-A-Viking programwhere I was welcomed by theKennon family, and working at theSalt Fork YMCA has also given meanother family away from home aswell as support system (and plentyof funny stories and examples of how kids have no filter).

God had indeed surrounded mewith people at every turn to help me,and as whacky as this experiencewas, there are certain memories Iwouldn’t trade for the world. Likethe time I tricked half of the Men’s

Honor dorm to watch the infamous“Two Girls One Cup” video my fresh-man year. One of my good friendsstill hasn’t forgiven me for that.

Or that time this employee in theCafé attempted to chase mebecause I had two packets of Mapleand Brown Sugar Oatmeal and Iwas headed for the door.

She didn’t catch me, of course(this was back when they used toallow us to use the other exit door ).

I have also had the privilege of seeing the many changes that havetaken place here at MVC. I remem-ber wireless existed only at the TechCenter, and now you can get accesswireless almost anywhere on cam-pus. I remember when there wereno soap dispensers in the men’sdorms, and making a mental note of

everyone I saw, who washed their hands using nothing but water, andmaking sure I never gave them“dap”, ever.

I remember doing papers on mylap-top and having to save the docu-ment as “Word 97-2003 Document,”otherwise I would not be able toprint anywhere on campus.

I remember how easy it was totake toilet paper from the FergusonCenter bathrooms before theyinstalled those sophisticated toiletpaper holders.

I remember when the footballteam petitioned just to be able to

hear hip-hop music during pre-gamewarm-ups over the loud speaker atGregg-Mitchell Field. I remember when free laundry was only a fig-ment of my imagination, and whenthe prospect of a student center being built and new housing was anurban legend.

I remember when I first realizedthat squirrels indigenous to Marshalldo not fear humans at all. (If you donot believe me, try to scare off asquirrel here on campus.)

I remember when walking downthe steps of the football stadium wasone wrong step away from getting

seriously injured, and now the stadi-um is renovated and turf has beeninstalled.

There have been many improve-ments here and under Dr. HumphreyI’m sure the best has yet to come.

Although I will be leaving Marshallsoon, I would be lying if I didn’t saythat Marshall grew on me. Therearen’t many places where I can finda locksmith shop that is also an icecream shop.

As graduation nears, student reflects on time spent at MVC

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3Dec. 2, 2011 NEWSTThhee DDeellttaa

Graduate program applications due mid-monthStory by Ralitsa GospodinovaSpecial Delta Writer

The deadline for the spring semester applicationsfor Missouri Valley College’s CommunityCounseling graduate program is December 15.

The college launched its Master of Arts inCommunity Counseling (MACC) in the summer of 2011.

The mission of the graduate program is to preparestudents to use counseling principles and tech-

niques competently and ethically, to help individu-als, couples and families of diverse cultural back-grounds achieve a healthy adjustment in the areasof personal, social, educational, and career devel-opment.

With its focus on critical thinking, cultural aware-ness, communicative skills, and academic excel-lence, the program seeks to produce future profes-sional counselors who are exemplary members of society with lifelong love of learning.

“The program offers a very strong clinical train-ing experience for students,” Dr. Kevin Sanders,director of the Master of Arts in CommunityCounseling, said. “There are other master’s pro-grams that have more of a research emphasis, our program is much more suited for people who arecommitted to being practitioners,” he added.

Sanders recently joined MVC as MACC director bringing a lot of experience and new ideas for thegraduate program. He has bachelor’s degrees inpsychology and sociology from the University of Missouri and a master’s degree and doctorate of psychology from Forest Institute in Springfield,Mo. Sanders has vast clinical experience in differ-ent counseling settings and he is a great addition tothe Missouri Valley College community.

MACC is a flexible program that can accommo-date the needs of the adult learner who might not beable to come to classes during the traditional day-time course schedule, Dr. Sanders said. For conven-ience of such students, the classes are scheduled inthe evenings.

The program consists of 60 credit hours, whichcan be completed in two years or more. “This isbeyond what is currently required for licensure inMissouri and a lot of other states,” Dr. Sanders said.“It enables students to meet most of the licensurerequirements as far as academic standards in differ-ent states, which may have higher requirementsthan Missouri currently does, and enhance thetraining of the students.”

With December 15 as the deadline for the springsemester applications to enroll into the graduateprogram, candidates for the program need to have a

bachelor’s degree in psychology, or a bachelor in arelated field who must complete prerequisite cours-es; 2.5 undergraduate GPA; GRE score of at least900 (currently incorporating the new GRE scoringsystem); three letters of reference; personal state-ment; and an interview with MACC officials.

There are currently 13 students enrolled in the program. The student body consists of individualswho just completed their bachelor’s degree toadults who are returning to school after many yearsof work.

“You can get one on one attention a lot quicker, people respond much faster,” Dr. Cami Miller, aMACC professor, said. “If you ever have a problemeverybody comestogether to help youout. The studentsare great, they arevery collaborative,studious and theyreally participateand make classwhat it is,” she said.

“We have differ-ent evaluative pro-cedures that a lotof other programsdon’t to the sameextent,” Sanderssaid. “We want tomake sure that thestudents are goingto be successful when they enter the clinical world,so we have different professional milestones theyhave to successfully reach.”

After completing the five foundation courses, thestudents of the MACC program petition for candi-dacy status. The candidacy process ensures theMACC students’ readiness to continue in the pro-gram and evaluates the sufficiency of the students’academic performance.

There are also qualifying exams prior to practicum to ensure students are ready to enter thatstage of the program. They are required to completea 100-hour practicum and two 300-hour intern-ships.

“Six hundred hours of practice might not seem alot, but, for the state of Missouri, it is good, and itmirrors what students can expect once they gradu-ate,” Rachel Mayfield, MACC Practicum coordina-tor, said.

There is also a Capstone project which gives stu-dents the opportunity to demonstrate the knowl-edge gained from academic as well as experientiallearning. In order to be eligible for graduation,

MACC students must pass the CounsePreparation Comprehensive Examination (CPCin their final semester. The CPCE is a nationadministered multiple-choice exam designed provide evidence of competence in the field of pfessional counseling, and it is also a smaller versof the exam students will have to pass in order become licensed professional counselors.

“We are kind of tough on the students acadecally because we expect so much,” Mayfield s“It is because they are going to be our colleagu

they won’t be considered students anymore othey pass that licensing exam,” she said.

“After graduating from our program students w be trained to win private pracwork, communmental health cters, service agcies, correctiofacilities, hostals, and e potentially wing with the system,” Sandsaid.

“There are aof varied typesexperiences tcan get involin,” he added.

The 60-crehour curriculum helps students prepare for licsure in many states, allowing for mobilityexplore employment opportunities throughout United States.

The MACC officials realize that some of the sdents are adult learners and they may be investedstaying in their own communities rather than goout to different areas of the country, therefore program is structured in such a way that there lot of flexibility when working with studentstheir practicum and internship opportunities.

“I started this program in the summer semesnot really knowing what to expect but knowwhat I wanted to get out of it,” Tabatha Inscorstudent in the MACC program, said. “I feel likethe instructors are extremely knowledgeable, fact that they can bring practice and not just bknowledge to the program is extremely benefifor the students. It’s challenging and so far I really enjoying it.”

The clinical courses are taught by practicing pfessionals who bring in a lot of knowledge aexperience to the MACC program.

Community Counseling master’s degree

Dr. Kevin Sanders is the director of the MACC graduate

studies program. (Photograph by Ralitsa Gospodinova)

8/3/2019 Delta - Dec. 2 2011


4 Dec. 2, 2011FEATURETThhee DDeellttaa

Conference focuses on children’s educationStory by Paulene-Wendy Ntsame AssoumouDelta Staff Reporter

“Mr. Stinky Feet,” a silly name that makes chil-dren laugh and provides smiles to the grown-upkids, entitles Jim Cosgrove to be, as his websitejimcosgrove.com notes, a kid rocker!

Cosgrove performed in a free family concert atthe Eckilson-Mabee Theater on Friday, Nov. 18.

He sang songs and played his guitar, oftenjoined on stage by excited children who wereeager to sing and dance.

With simple songs for sing-alongs and a lot of energy, Cosgrove had an enthusiastic audience of children, parents, and others.

At the end of the concert, he even got some par-ents to join him on stage for a performance.

Having performed twice at the White HouseEaster Egg Roll, Cosgrove also was the keynotespeaker at the Care Conference, held in the MVCTechnology Center on Saturday, Nov. 19.

His message was simple and positive. In the cur-rent, fast-paced society, people need to enjoy tak-ing time with children, Peggy Sherman, assistantprofessor of Education, said.

The Care Conference basically brings child-careproviders, parents and grandparents together todiscuss and hear about educational topics about

toddlers.Some of this year’s topics were about child

motor development, speech development, learn-how-to-read tips, and taking action for autism.

The Care Conference existed for 8 to 9 years butthe Birth To Five part of it has just been broughtback this year. It has been gone for 2 yearsbecause of founding issues and changes of thedirectors, Sherman said. Peggy Sherman is afounder of the Birth to Five ProfessionalConference titled “The Care Conference,” withMelissa Pointer as a co-founder.

“Children” were a natural calling for Sherman.She always has enjoyedactivities with them andwants to make a difference

for others as well as theless fortunate, she said.

Childhood is not the onlytime to make a differencein an individual life as it isnever too late, but theformative years are a cru-cial time, Sherman said.

Sherman, Pointer, andRachel Mayfield who is anassistant professor of Psychology and campus

counselor, also have a group called “Parents asTeachers” which work with Marshall public

schools. The goal is to reach out to parents incommunity and help with birth to 3-year-olds’child development, she said, so once a month for ahour some teachers go to the homes of parents andhelp them concerning activities, she said.

Knowledgeable and experienced are two wordsused by her students to describe Peggy Sherman.

Brielle Martinez, a junior majoring in SpecialEducation, said that one feature she retains fromSherman’s class is that patience is a master wordto handle situations with children.

Emily Adams, a junior majoring in ElementaryEducation with a minor in Early Childhood, said

that Sherman’s teaching alsounderlines that not categoriz-ing children because all are

different is important.Martinez and Adams love chil-dren and feel like, as withSherman, it is something thatcame to them naturally.

Sherman advises her stu-dents, who are looking for internships and to work in thefield, to help the children bekind to one another but, aboveall, lead by example and seek to be the best role model they

can be.Also a director of a pre-school, Sherman has

four children (a 10-year-old, 7-year-old, 4-year-and 2 year-old) and truly lives her experienceevery day, she said.

Sherman is already getting the don’t-pick-myclothes-in-the-morning and the drop-me-at-the-corner-of-school with her 10-year-old pre-teen,she said. But she is in the healthy process of letting her daughter be a pre-teen. She will see hoit goes and adapt when her daughter becomes ateenager, she added with a smile.

“People call me the organizer or the founder b please mention” that it is actually real team worSherman said. The Birth to Five council is com posed of Sherman, Jackie Marshall, RachelMayfield, Melissa Pointer, Rise DePaoli. An allfemale team? “Yes, I don’t understand why?

Maybe males would go crazy working with all us!” she said jokingly.

The team also has the great support of a lot osponsors, such as the Lighthouse Shelter, theMarshall Lions Club, and ConAgra. Local businesses are the largest contributors, without whicthey couldn’t organize free family events like thconcert and the conference, she said.

While the parents found interesting subjectscovered at the conference, the children enjoyedconcert, singing and dancing joyfully with Mr.Stinky Feet. No audience could have been happ

Jim Cosgrove, who goes by the name of “Mr. Stinky Feet” for his concerts for children, sings and

plays the guitar while children and students eagerly join him on stage. (Photo by David L. Roberts)

Jim Cosgrove rocks with a young fan.

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8/3/2019 Delta - Dec. 2 2011


6 Dec. 2, 2011SPORTSTThhee DDeellttaa

Freshman takes helm as quarterback Story by Drew Gregory

Special Delta Writer

Five-foot-eleven, 180 pounds isn’t what you pic-

ture when you think of a college quarterback at

any level. But that is what the Missouri Valley

Vikings got when they recruited Bruce Reyes from

Beaumont, Texas.

In Texas, high school football is king and being

a product of a good Texas high school program

developed Reyes into a starting quarterback at the

winningest program in the NAIA.In high school, Reyes threw for 4,767 and ran

for 1,022 yards which got him many accolades in

Texas, including two-time district MVP, Dave

Campbell’s 5A breakout player of the year, and

all-state honors.

Not many 18-year-olds can go from high school

to college and play, not to mention start, with the

impact that Reyes had on the Vikings in the 2011

season.

“I didn’t think I would start. I just wanted to

play football for at least four more years,” Reyes

said.

“It feels amazing. I can’t believe that I am

experiencing so much as a freshman,” Reyes saidabout how it feels to lead the Vikings to champi-

onship as a freshman. He led the Vikings to their

first HAAC championship since 2006 and second

play-off appearance in three seasons.

Reyes came to Missouri Valley while the

Vikings were looking to replace four-year starter

Chris White who graduated last May. Reyes, who

fought through a potential redshirt and being third

on the depth chart during fall camp, climbed his

way into the starting spot for the week four match-

up with the Baker University Wildcats and neve

looked back.

Going 7-1 as a starter in the regular season,

Reyes never seemed uncomfortable in the starti

role, being in the backfield with other natives o

Beaumont: Nijel Daw and Keith O’Neil. “I first

heard of Mo Val when I asked Keith where he w

going while we were both still in high school.

Football made me come here. I had a good fee

ing about the team,” Reyes said.

Finishing the season with a 9-2 overall recor

losing in the first round of the NAIA play-offsthe Vikings lose 16 seniors to graduation. The

football careers are done at MVC.

Reyes is looking forward to his first off-sea

as part of the Vikings. “I’m looking to get bett

at everything I possibly can. Get bigger and

stronger and improve my throwing more,” Rey

said.

The football program at MVC which is alwa

at the top of the HAAC and nationally ranked

each year will continue to strive for excellence

and push another conference championship ne

season with Reyes at the helm. With a season

under his belt, and entering the off-season as t

starting quarterback of the HAAC champion

Vikings, Reyes is on route to having a great

career at MVC with three years left.

Story by Brittany Stone

Special Delta Writer

Playing volleyball was tricky before, but hav-

ing Erbs Palsy can make it even more of a chal-

lenge to play.

Dustina Bitten, a 21-year-old senior volleyball

player at Missouri Valley College, has proved

that it is possible to be paralyzed in one arm and

still be able to perform on the court.

During birth is when Bitten’s left arm became

paralyzed, her muscles and nerves of her neck

and shoulder became stretched, causing nerve

damage. Never getting to crawl and going

straight to walking at 6 months, Bitten has raised

the bar for herself in many ways, including vol-

leyball.

In the sixth grade, Bitten underwent a surgery.

The procedure included taking out the bone turn-

ing the arm 90 degrees and placing a plate and six

screws in the bone’s place. In a sling for 6 to 8

weeks and following physical therapy, Bitten was

back playing volleyball as an outside hitter, prov-

ing that her left arm was no match for her amaz-

ing skill of placement and power of hitting.

Bitten, still unable to use full motion and turnher left hand palm side up, has managed to play

volleyball since seventh grade as a hitter and on

into her college years. Bitten had played in three

different high schools, never playing below a jun-

ior varsity letter.

Her talent and skill and love for the game

helped her push through the pain and struggle to

play at a higher level than high school, and con-

tinue on to play at the college level.

Lamar Community College in Lamar, Colo.,

was where Bitten first played her two years of

college volleyball, earning a varsity letter and

many awards. Continuing on to finish her playing

career at Missouri Valley College, she lettered

varsity and was second team all-conference as a

junior and first team all-conference as a senio

and Student Athlete of the Week.

“I never thought that I would ever play collegevolleyball because of my condition and look

where it landed me. Four years of starting as an

outside hitter on varsity in college on a scholar

ship,” Bitten said.

Bitten has shown that she is a strong player who

has the dedication for the game to keep working

toward her goals. In her final season to play,

Bitten has proved any struggle or injury can be

overcome if you work hard enough and have the

heart and love for the game.

For love of game, volleyball senior overcomes challenges

New Viking Quarterback Bruce Reyes captures some

extra yardage. (Photograph by Ariana Stephens)

8/3/2019 Delta - Dec. 2 2011


7Dec. 2, 2011 NEWSTThhee DDeellttaa

An author and an artist were subjects of the firstspecially presented “Faculty Lectures,” whichtook place on Nov. 14 in the R. Wilson BrownRoom.

Jennifer Eimers, assistant professor of English,and Valerie Wedel, assistant professor of Art, pre-sented the academic topics.

Eimers, who also ischair of the Languagesand HumanitiesDivision, spoke aboutauthor Henry James in a

lecture titled “Isabel inItaly: AestheticExperience in ThePortrait of a Lady.”

Eimers had presentedthe subject in a paper ata conference in Italy

this past summer.Eimers has a doctoratefrom the University of Georgia. She said she

was a graduate student at Creighton Universitywhen she studied author Henry James, reading hispersonal letters first. She said it was over aestheti-cal philosophies that, through their correspon-dence, James and novelist H.G. Wells disagreed

and even ended their friendship.Eimers talked about the characters, such as

Isabel, and noted passages from “The Portrait of ALady,” which was published in 1881. Some of James’ other novels include “The Turn of theScrew” and “The Ambassadors.” His influences inliterature include literary realism and the psycho-logical novel.

In the lecture by Valerie Wedel, who also servesas co-director of the Morris Gallery of Contemporary Art, the focus was upon the life andartwork of artist William A. Berry, who died lastyear.

When Wedel was a graduate student at the

University of Missouri-Columbia, she became anassistant and then archivist to Berry, who was aretired professor suffering from Parkinson’s dis-

ease. He had taughtart there for 15years.

As an assistant,Wedel said she readto him articles fromthe New York Timesand even the novel“Casanova.” Shesaid, “Over time, Igot to know him.”

In her lecture titled“Perseverance and

Memory: The LateWork of William A.

Berry,” Wedel saidthat Berry hadmore than 6,000 pieces of artwork,including watercol-ors and oils, thoughmost are drawings.The work he isknown for is largecolor line draw-ings, she said.

Berry loved art

and used almostanything as hiscanvas. One pieceof art that Wedelnoted, during aslideshow of hiswork, was drawnon a brown paper towel. One of Berry’s illustrations was a scene a helicopter in Vietnam, which was used on thecover of an edition of Newsweek magazine. Behad diverse interests, including learning other laguages, such as Italian and Arabic.

About the lecture presentations, English studeRobert Pannell said he found the lecture series t be fascinating. “It allows students and faculty

members to experience the research and scholarship of our wonderful instructors,” he said.

Faculty present literary, artistic topics

Dr. Jennifer Eimers

presents information

about Henry James.

Valerie Wedel’s lecture

focuses on the work of

artist Willliam A. Berry..

A slide show includes this

self-portrait drawing by

artist William A. Berry.

Story by Jordan Nichols

Delta Staff Reporter

With the busy life of a college student, it often is

impossible to participate in everything that’s hap-

pening on campus. Wouldn’t it be nice to have a

recap of what you might have missed? Let the

Missouri Valley “Viking Views” be your source for

sports highlights, music concerts, upcoming shows,

and other campus events.

This informative campus news segment is creat-

ed by students in the Mass Communication depart-

ment who spend hours behind-the-scenes shooting

camera footage of campus and community events

along with additional hours in the Ferguson Center

editing lab making the news show come to life.

The show is anchored, produced, directed, and

videotaped all by students involved in the TV broadcasting courses who plan to pursue various

areas of Mass Communication.

“Working on the show I get hands-on experi-

ence of what it’s like to work with a production

crew. I liked how it took everyone’s effort to come

together to make a nice show,” said senior Toray

Henry who helps produce the show.

To catch the Missouri Valley “Viking Views”

news show tune into Windjammer channel 3 in the

local Marshall area or visit their Youtube channel

at “mvcviking”.

Recap news through ‘Viking Views’ shows

Mass Comm students Scott Charboneau and

Melissa Bublitz prepare to film a news show.

In addition to

the exhibit about

Abraham Lin-

coln, which runs

through Dec. 5

at the Murrell

Memorial Library, MVC

faculty member

Kristopher

Maulden provid-

ed a view of

Lincoln as a

legislator in

Illinois on

Wednesday

evening.

Library

features

Lincoln

8/3/2019 Delta - Dec. 2 2011


8 Dec. 2, 2011FEATURETThhee DDeellttaa

Story by LeKyndra Duncan

Having a twin has its ups and downs.

Let’s start with the downs. Dressing alike every single day until we were in

middle school, for one. It was cuter when we were babies. And birthdays— Getting the exact, same gift is cool, but it can lead to confusion and con-

frontation when she thinks it is hers and it is mine.

Though we are twins and were forced to share a room in growing up, we

do not like sharing at all. Period.

There are different types of twins. There are

fraternal and identical. I am fraternal, and I am

the oldest by 10 minutes. So, it is a major insult

to wish my sister a “Happy Birthday” first.

Last, but not least, never, ever, ever, compare us

to one another. It is not fair to the other and we

personally hate it.

Now, let’s work our way to the positives.

One positive is that I have bragging rights to

say I have a little sister, 10 minutes younger

than me. Other positives of being a twin includealways having someone to talk to, to hang out

with, and an everlasting connection no matter

what the circumstance is.

People tend to think it’s cool to have a twin, so it makes a twin feel like

they are one in a million. Your twin will always have your back and never

leave your side.

Though being a twin has ups and downs, I wouldn’t trade it for any-

thing.

Story by Sasa Devic

A few years ago, I played professional basketball. After my second injury,

it was not the same as before and I could not play it as I used to.

In Miami, I met a person who is one of the top people in the entertainment

business and he was a great influence.

I founded an event management company and started organizing events

around the world.

7D/Seven Dimensions is a unique lifestyle and events management compa-

ny that prides itself on a level of services, sense of style, and attention to

detail that is quite rare.

Our events have been successful all over the world—New York, Miami,

London, Cannes, Barcelona, San Francisco, Geneva, and other places.

What does it feel like to be paid to party? Of course, it sounds like a lot fun. Actually, it is a totally different story. To be “paid to party,” you have

conduct a most serious and responsible job that includes event production

complete organization; arranging for the camera crew, crowd, theme, and

ating the vibe; and everything else.

It is not uncommon to go without sleep for a few days in a row, just wor

ing on the computer and phone, and not in a club.

It is a lot of hard work. And then, when the night comes, if everything w

right and people are having a great time, I enjoy it, too.

Our events recently have been featured in many magazines and on TV n

works. One recent event was in New York during Fashion Week where P.

Diddy, Rihanna, Ciara, Kim Kardashian, Chris Brown, and Drake came to

our event. It grabbed a lot of media and, for us, it was a great reference.

Story by Jake Coleman

All my life, I have had a fascination with birds, jets, space shuttles, and

things that could soar high into the sky.

Looking deep into the aqua-colored sky, I imagine myself high above a

cloud, ascending toward the stars and moon.

As my life progressed, I came to see that you don’t ne

wings to fly.

My runway is the hardwood and I am preparing for

launch. As the tunnel vision sets to the end of the runwa

it’s take-off. My mind is accelerating as I grip the orang

Spalding ball, yet I feel slow as if I’m stuck in time. My

heart starts to beat faster, feeling as if it is roaring like th

engines of a jet.

What seemed to be time at its slowest is just magnifie

Creeping gradually as if gravity is fading by the second

float. I sit at the top of the gym that’s transformed into s

Boom! The ball whips through the rim, leaving a “sw

to echo throughout the gym.

Casually, I drift back toward land and end up on the ru

way. Another flight I’ve taken to the clouds and back to

reality. The feeling of flying is unique and can take you

beyond imagination. No matter if you’re on a plane, watching the birds, o

using your own two feet.

What it feels like...

...To be a twin

...To be paid to party

...To be able to fly

Delta Online websiteThere will be more “What It Feels Like”

stories at the Delta Online website through-

out the holiday break. Also, stories about the

library stitching group, a Volleyball player,

and students who live on campus. Also,

photos of various events throughout the

semester. Check out the Delta in December.

The Delta Online websiteis at www.mvcdelta.com.

This series of short articles was written by students in the Basic News Reporting class. Additional stories will be posted on the Delta Online website, at www.mvcdelta.com this month.

Knitting is a story to

be featured online.

delta - dec. 2 2011

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