Across the nation, experts and policy makers are lauding small business and entrepreneurial ventures as one of the keys to bringing the United States out of the economic downturn. In Des Moines, the startup community is thriving and growing, and Drake University students are well positioned to become part of the movement. Several Drake students...
Author: Ashton Hockman (Ashton Hockman)
Post
Language of excellence
While the members of Alpha Mu Gamma speak many different languages, they are all fluent in success. The new student organization — which was officially approved by Drake’s Student Senate in February — honors academic excellence in foreign language study. The organization creates opportunities for students to apply their language study through a variety of...
Post
“Drake Blue” magazine examines “Reinventing Leadership”
From living in Egypt during the Arab Spring to some final advice from departing Drake female leaders, the latest edition of Drake Blue magazine is full of fascinating articles. The Spring 2012 edition hit mailboxes earlier this month; the issue’s focus is the concept and practice of leadership. Readers can also find all content online...
Post
A Drake love story
The story of Jack Watson, LW’42, and Josephine Barnes Watson, DV’67, is more than 73 years old. They’ve been married for one month of those years. Jack, 92, and Jo, 87, married at Wesley Acres retirement community in March, where they reconnected after meeting at Drake 73 years ago. A few volunteer activities lead to...
Post
A playbook for life
Drake’s student athletes are some of the young adults who are going to change the world — in business, education, non-profits, medicine, or any other field where the students’ hearts reside. And guiding them along the way is a responsibility that Drake’s head coaches and Athletic Director Sandy Hatfield Clubb take seriously. “Student-athletes motivate their...
Post
The 50-year club
In 1962, Elvis Presley’s swiveling hips were in full swing, Lawrence of Arabia and the first James Bond film were hitting the silver screen and the Vietnam War was rapidly escalating. Although James Bond films are still being produced, and 1960s fashions, a la Mad Men, are back in style, Drake University has changed significantly...
Post
Old School Photo: The Drake Relays “Tornado”
Before the Blue Oval was blue, and before it was common to see female track and field superstars take the Drake Relays by storm, there was Wilma Rudolph. Nicknamed “The Tornado” at the 1960 Rome Olympics, Rudolph became the first woman to win a Drake Relays event in 1961 — the 100-yard dash, with...
Post
“A Wednesday with Wanda: Wanda’s Last Lecture”
Wanda Everage, vice provost for student affairs and academic excellence, will give her last lecture on Wednesday, May 6 at 7 p.m. in Sheslow Auditorium. Many alumni and students remember her annual “Wake up with Wanda” speech during Welcome Weekend. Although the event is open only to students, faculty and staff, alumni can still catch...
Post
The right to literacy
For most Americans, the ability to read is a skill that is taken for granted — a skill people rarely imagine their life without. Low literacy in adults is a hidden but surprisingly large issue in today’s society; in fact, about 93 million American adults read at an eighth grade level or lower, which is...
Post
The future of science
Drake juniors Ryan DuToit and Bennett Hansen learned the basics of mobile application development in an introductory course last year. When the semester ended, the two — both are triple-majoring in computer science, math and physics — wanted to boost their knowledge of mobile development and establish first-hand skills in that rapidly growing field. They...