Joining the Diamond was the best opportunity Dordt gave me, though proofreading for the Academic Enrichment Center is a close second. I grew to love AP style and the freedom to explore the goings-on of Dordt. I appreciate every student, professor, and coach who shared their thoughts and experiences with me. I lost track of how many interviews turned into deeper conversations after I stopped taking notes.
I can’t begin to describe what being part of The Diamond has done to enhance my college experience. It has given me opportunities to meet new people, do new things, and learn proper grammar. The latter being the most important.
It’s occurring to me that my time here is almost over. Four of the most transformative years of my life, wrapped up and handed to me in a diploma as I shake the President’s hand.
As Dordt University looks ahead to the 2024-25 school year, Aaron Baart, dean of chapel, in conjunction with President Erik Hoekstra and Campus Ministries, has developed a “Vision for Chapel” that hopes to act as a guide for students, faculty, and parents with questions about Dordt’s Wednesday morning service.
Just a few weeks ago, Mylia Wagenaar never imagined she would be Dordt University’s next student body Vice President. However, that is exactly what will be the case come the 2024-2025 school year, after Wagenaar won the Vice-Presidential election two weeks ago.
Journalism has allowed me to talk to people I never would have met without it. I’ve gotten to pick the brains of pastors, politicians, scientists, business owners and activists. I’ve gotten to follow issues that I’m curious about and hear from the experts in those fields. I wanted to learn more about immigration, so I spent a semester hearing local stories of immigrants and non-profits, covering legal changes, and churches hosting refugees.
On Monday, April 15, Dordt University graduates Nicolas Vedlhorst and Jacob Vander Plaats waited eagerly at the starting line of one of the biggest races in America: the Boston Marathon. Although a daunting task for most, Veldhorst and Vander Plaats are no strangers to long runs. While at Dordt, both men ran cross country and indoor track all four years, and additionally ran multiple half marathons and marathons before training for the Boston Marathon.
When I first joined The Diamond, I had very little interest in journalism. To me, the news was a fast-declining profession full of tragedy, scandal, and manipulation. Why bother with that, when I could continue writing my fantasy stories?
What I love about journalism is that every day of my job reminds me of our humanity. It reminds me of what brings us together, what excites us, what we love, what we hate, what we strive for. It has taught me the true meaning of community.
Dordt, you were my home. The Diamond, you were where I found my voice. It’s time to move on now, but just know, I’m really going to miss you.
“It was a dream, and it was madness. Just the visual of the students, fans, and my players together on the court was incredible—it was something I will never forget,” Harmsen said. He looked to his team as they made snow angels in the confetti on the hardwood court–where they forever sealed their position as 2024 national champions.
We’ve all been there – a shiny new-to-you tattered textbook in the backpack and the throw away syllabus overview day of class. Then the terrible news hits when the professor gets to the assignments section of the syllabus. To complete the homework, one will need to spend what could sometimes be hundreds of dollars to buy the assignment software online.
Dordt University Students looking for refuge from the March rain were surprised to find a bustling atmosphere, filled with booths, prize drawings and popcorn. The Sioux Center Chamber of Commerce hosted their annual fair in the Recreation Center from March 20-21.
Starting in the Fall of 2024 Dordt University class schedules are undergoing a time shift. All classes will begin at 8:10 a.m. instead of 8:00 a.m. Registrar Jim Bos said an updated schedule has been in the works for the past few years to accommodate the need for more class time.
There are official agencies in Sioux County who can assist with finding housing, but those services are often focused on families and individuals facing a severe cost burden, or other barriers to finding an affordable place to live.
This semester, I am studying at VIAA University in Zwolle, Netherlands. While there, I am studying international marketing and learning more about Dutch culture. However, most students don’t study abroad solely for academic benefits. Before I left, people asked me why I wanted to study abroad. My answer: When else do you get to live in a different country for four months?
Thirty years ago, in 1994, Ben Kornelis was crowned the Dordt University concert choir Toidmaster, an important role bestowed upon the tallest member of the concert choir to distribute ‘curiously strong mints’ to its members before concerts. What started off as a joke to keep the choir’s breath minty fresh has now turned into a tradition that has lasted 30 years.
Survive. This word echoed though the Dordt University’s Recreation Center courts when over thirty women repeated it during the self-defense class held on March 19. Kamera Thompson, one of the self-defense instructors and Sioux County Deputy, asked the women what their main goal was in any dangerous situation. She wanted them to repeat back to her: “SURVIVE.”
Escaping from gang violence, and fighting for life, a Haitian refugee, Max-Soni Destine made his way out of the country and found a safe harbor in Sioux Center, Iowa. Now, he is learning how to live in a new place and culture.
Dordt University men’s track sent eleven individual competitors and three relay teams to compete in the NAIA Indoor Championship held at South Dakota State University, in Brookings, S. D. on Feb. 29-March 2. Throughout the weekend, the athletes showed determination and stamina, which contributed to their success.
Deciding to spend a semester in Spain has been one of the best choices of my life. These past few months have absolutely changed my outlook on the world and my place in it, but it hasn’t been without its challenges. Initially, the newness of everything completely captured me. Everywhere I turned was captivating: the vibrant culture, bright orange trees, and stunning architecture…. the list could go on.
Dordt University pulls in students from around the country to study agriculture. Students are enticed by the Christian education and the modern facilities at the Agriculture Stewardship Center located just north of Sioux Center. Dordt already offers a variety of agriculture majors, including agriculture, plant science, missions, agriculture technology and agri-business.
According to Derek Buteyn, associate dean of students and director of residence life, housing is a year-round process. Admissions and the registrar work alongside him and his team to predict what the student population will look like so they can have a better understanding of what housing is needed.
For the 2023 fall semester, campus pastor Sam Ashmore planned sermons to emphasize different ways of hearing God’s voice, such as through the spiritual discipline of prophecy.
Dordt University students scattered around the world on their ten-day spring break from classes. Not only did PLIA (Putting Love Into Action) and AMOR (A Mission Out-Reach) groups station themselves in different areas on the globe, but friend groups, families, and faculty also took the opportunity to get much-needed rest away from Iowa’s Northwest corner.
After classes wrapped up on Friday, Mar. 1, the concert choir members loaded onto a charter bus and headed to South Dakota to begin their tour of the Pacific Northwest. With luggage and equipment filling every available compartment and no seat left unused, the choir members were given ample time to get to know each other in the small space.
“It’s so exciting when I realize, “Oh my goodness, I did that!” said Bell. “I helped them learn something!”
The Defenders are coming off from their best season, with two seniors earning All-American status—pitcher Abby Kramer and designated player Ella Koster. In the previous season, the team finished third in the GPAC conference with a 35-13 record.
“At any level of college recruiting, it is challenging because there is always another program that wants the same player,” head football coach Joel Penner said. “They are making their case just like we are. At the Division 1 level, it’s even harder with [name, image, and likeness] and all the money with that. Unless you are the very best, it can be very difficult.”
Netflix’s new series, “One Day” stands out from other love-focused series like “Outer Banks” and “Bridgerton” with its look into the relationship of characters living in our recent time and have mostly normal lives. The 14-episode series was released on February 8, and quickly climbed to the #4 show on Netflix a week later.
Robert Taylor took the stage and began to speak to the crowd of roughly forty people. He began by explaining the placement of the new housing building, which is scheduled to be finished Fall of 2024. He and other masterminds behind developments at Dordt wanted to build it on the edge of campus because they were unsure of how or if they wanted to change anything in the center of campus.
One of the major goals of attending college or university is finding a job. The Career Development Center at Dordt University works alongside students to help them find those jobs. One way that they help is through hiring fairs.
Soon, Sioux Center will add a new-school, based on an ancient teaching method to it’s educational offerings. The Classical Academy. The soon-to-be accredited classical school was founded by Dordt professor, Geoffrey and his wife Katherine Fulkerson, Shaun and Sarah Stiemsma, and Pastor Kurt and Jennifer Monroe of First Christian Reformed Church. The Classical Academy plans to have its inaugural semester in the fall of 2024.
On Feb. 17, the Students Without Borders Club hosted their largest event of the year, the Cultural Fair. The Cultural Fair is an opportunity for both students and Sioux Center community members to come and learn about different cultures.
Digital Media students at Dordt University have the option to take the course COMM 333 “Documentary Film Making.” Students in this advanced digital media course will create a documentary over the course of the semester. This semester’s documentary film class has some exciting productions in the works, including a film about the women’s basketball team.
Brown joined Dordt in November as a business instructor and Director of Global Strategies– an unexpected part of his journey. He’d been serving as a director and pastor at his church for the past twelve years, which followed years of experience in business across the globe. Teaching was not in the picture.
The plot is a humorous tale following two sets of twins, mistaken identities, and the ensuing confusion around them. The theatre department has combined the familiar characters with modern references, putting their own spin on the old story.
On the weekend of Feb. 2 and 3, the dance and cheer teams participated in their first two competitions of the season at Midland University and Doane University in Nebraska. Both competitions were successful and the dance and cheer teams are in strong positions for the rest of the season.
Dordt University’s track and field indoor season is off to a fast-paced start.
The mens team ranked in the top five in the NAIA coaches’ poll.
Many athletes on the team have met both the automatic and provisional standards to qualify for indoor nationals at the end of February.
On cold winter mornings, kids watch the television screen with wide eyes, tracking every school that goes by. Finally, their school scrolls across the screen. The moment is exciting and cheerful for many young students: there’s a snow day.
Unfortunately, Dordt University students will not get that feeling anytime soon.
Corlin Feikema and Sharon Ammons-Feikema decided to start a indoor mini golf and restaurant business: RJ’s Indoor Golf and Bar. The grand opening is scheduled for late summer of 2024 and it will be located in Sioux Center’s South Ridge Estates Commercial Park south of the Terrace View Event Center.
On June 21, 2023, Dordt University announced that Ross Douma would be leaving his position as the Director of Athletics for a job as the President of Avail Academy, in Minneapolis- St. Paul. Since Douma’s departure in December, Trent Roose been fulfilling the responsibilities. Now Dordt has announced that Dr. Darin Keizer will be the newest Director of Athletics.
Starting Fall 2024, Dordt University will begin its new Master of Business Administration program. The program will be fully online, and the 36 required credits can be completed in two years.
The first couple of days spent at my new “home” were filled with change and acclimation: meeting all the other students, meeting my new roommate, learning what is acceptable or not in the culture, and getting accustomed to the New Zealand sun. After spending two days at our campus (Sky Hi Lodge), a couple of the other students had a genius idea of going on an overnight hike for our first weekend.
I started to see these kids not as people who made a few bad choices and got caught, but as kids who are figuring out their place in the world. These kids have hopes, aspirations, and dreams of their own that have nothing to do with their sentencing. These kids long for belonging and security. For some of them, the pain of broken families runs deep within their veins. Some may feel as if they do not belong to any one place.
Over Dordt University’s spring break, groups of students will travel across the country, helping and serving in different areas. These trips called PLIA (Putting Love Into Action) are an opportunity for Dordt students to engage with short-term missions.
“I hope that we can keep providing for years, serving the community and adapting, while keeping our core values– and having that quality coffee that people around here crave,” Dykstra said.
On a typical Wednesday night in the B.J. Haan Auditorium, a special kind of music can be heard from the band room. This is where the jazz band rehearses their set; classic and contemporary pieces, played by a select group of around 20 instrumentalists.
The main challenge for the city is to deal with the high demand for housing and create opportunities that appeal to a younger generation—one where Dordt students and graduates make up a large portion.
The Dordt University women’s basketball team started 2024 the same place they left off in 2023: on top.
The Dordt University Defenders men’s and women’s track and field teams have broken a total of five school records over the course of the outdoor season.
The Dordt University men’s volleyball team lost to the Morningside Mustangs in the GPAC Tournament Semifinals on April 19, 2024. This defeat aligned with the loss that came just 13 days earlier, on April 6, when Morningside beat Dordt 3-1 on senior day in the DeWitt Gymnasium. The Defenders came in as the underdog and left after a valiant effort fell short and ended their season.
Dordt softball head coach Jeff Zomer hit 300 wins following his team’s triumph over College of Saint Mary on April 20. The team is diving into their last week of the season with 301 wins and gearing up to enter the GPAC Tournament.
After Swift’s fans endured many long days of waiting, Swift released her 11th studio album “The Tortured Poets Department” on April 19. The album came with 16 songs. But at 2 a.m. ET, Swift surprised us again, taking to Instagram and announcing that TTPD was a secret double album. Fifteen more songs dropped, and it made for a very long, very emotional night.
With the new Commons coming to Dordt University soon, inevitably, something will have to happen to the old building. Many different opinions are floating around campus, from parking to green space, possibly even more underclassmen dorms.
In his latest film, “Challengers,” director Luca Guadagnino tells the story of two talented tennis players in conflict over their relationship with professional tennis player turned coach, Tashi Duncan (Zendaya). One of the two players in conflict, Art Donaldson (Mike Faist), is married to and coached by Tashi. Because of his wife’s fame and his success as a player, Art made a name for himself. However, his former doubles partner and best friend Patrick Zweig (Josh O’Connor), struggles to maintain a stable living because of his lack of success.
While in Arizona this past week, I had the chance to visit Arizona Christian University and find out how their student newspaper, Stronghold Media, works and benefits the campus community.
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