Morningside Connect

Playing Life by Ear is a collection of poetry and prose that doesn’t cover the story of one’s life but the multiple stories that make up a life. Author Doris Markland writes about the odd things that happened, the funny things, the challenging things, and thoughts that rhyme and bring on a smile.

Doris Markland is a 1946 graduate of Morningside College. Her major was English. Upon graduation she was offered many writing jobs including offers from Hallmark Cards Inc. and a chief editor position at Mayo Clinic. Markland chose to take her career in a different path and headed out to become a high school teacher.

Later in life, she did write greeting cards for Hallmark Cards Inc. along with various other companies. This is the first book she has written but she has been published before in multiple magazines including Good Old Days, Mature Living, and the Saturday Evening Post.

“My poetry is very down to earth,” said Markland. “Many of these poems echo my search for meaning in life, but I write about ordinary things too and most with a touch of humor.”

Playing Life by Ear covers her years of smoking and how she quit and taught hundreds of people how to quit, about being a young parent, the real experiences of aging, how people learned to hug in the 70’s and 80’s, and cultural journeys. It is a collection of writings that have been written throughout the years.

“We learn not only by what we experience in life but also by observing the odd moments and the bright moments of our siblings and parents,” said Markland.“

Markland says her book will appeal most to seniors because she writes about things that they experience and think about. She writes for the sharp older generation and their middle-aged kids.

“Most of the material is either very thoughtful, comforting, inspirational, or very funny,” said Markland. “There’s some of everything.”

Markland’s book has 182 pages and is currently offered in softcover. It is available to purchase at http://bookstore.iuniverse.com. In the future, it will be available at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and other bookstores.

We had multiple good answers for last months trivia question, How many students is Dimmitt Hall capable of housing?

The correct answer is 385 students. Dimmitt Hall has 15 floors and has two-, three-, and four-person rooms. However, the housing capacity number might change this summer as the $14 million renovation of Dimmitt starts in May and ends in August.

The Women’s basketball team brought home a National Championship March 19. The final match was played against Concordia. The final score was Morningside 59, Concordia 57.

Following the championship game, the team and fans went to Bob Roe’s to celebrate their victory.

Photos Courtesy of the Collegian Reporter.

The Morningside College Jazz Band performed at El Fredo’s. Photos Courtesy of Beth Anderson.

Dimmitt Hall’s remodel process has started to take place. They construction team is currently working on removing the floor, walls, and ceiling along with clearing out everything else from the apartments. Along with work being started on the apartments, they have been starting work on the west side of Dimmitt.

The BIG news – work has already begun on the remodel of Dimmitt Hall. This is the first complete major overhaul since the building was constructed nearly 100 years ago! (see more)

To get a head-start on the tight remodeling deadline, construction crews started removing flooring and other prep work in vacated Dimmitt apartments as well as work in the old kitchen, and informal lounge area.  Additionally, they have been removing flooring in various locations out of the way of students and staff.

College staff are keeping students updated – almost on a daily basis – so that they know what is happening, when it happening, and how it might affect their daily routine.

As you can imagine – this multi-million dollar project has produced a great deal of excitement on campus. It’s thanks to you, our alumni, that we are able to move forward with this huge undertaking!

Mark your calendar for Homecoming – October 9-10. We will have some kind of Dimmitt celebration or open house! It’s a bit too early to say just what….but stay tuned! I will share photos marking the progress of the remodel as we go along! Keep in mind – it will be done by August 15.

Speaking of changes – a Task Force recently completed a thorough review of where the college is presently and where we should be headed between now and the year 2025. Many, many exciting things in the future. The Alumni Office is going to take on a major new role in educating current students about what it means to be an alum. Can’t wait! Lots of fun ahead! (Work too!)

Lastly – let us know what’s up with you! We love hearing from you!

Best,

Gene Ambroson

Director Alumni Relations

Networking has many benefits; including making new connections, both socially and professionally, establishing goodwill with connections, advancing your professional development, and learning about new professional challenges, even if you are not actively looking for other opportunities.  Part of this process is to be open and adaptable, as well as prepared.

If someone asked you for a resume today, could you accommodate?  Or would you have to scramble to put something together last minute?  The key to proper resume preparation is time and reflection; making sure you are giving yourself enough time to accurately and adequately describe the experiences you have had.

This resume preparation extends past just job search as well; perhaps you will be approached about joining a board, heading a committee, or to present at a professional development opportunity.  It is always a good idea to be prepared with your resume so you can spend just a little bit of time updating and tweaking, versus long periods of “starting over”, and trying to remember everything you have done.  A good rule of thumb is to take out the resume once every six months and update it.

Morningside College Career Services is available to help review your resume and make sure you are on track.  You have spent countless hours dedicating yourself to your career and professional goals.  Be sure your resume reflects that same kind of time and dedication.

Stacie Hays

Career Services

Morningside College

Click Here for more photos from the LA Alumni Chapter launch.

Greetings from Morningside College! As I write this note, the weather in Sioux City is gorgeous, and it’s going to be another 70 degree day. We can all feel spring in the air.

We launched our fourth chapter in Los Angeles on the 1^st of March. It was a very successful event. We had about 16 people in attendance. New connections were made, fond stories from the past were shared, and a lot of fun was had by all. The group is very excited about the next event in the near future. Please check out all the pictures of the event in this newsletter.

We are currently in the process of working on details for the launch of the Dallas – Ft. Worth chapter. We are hoping to have this event in mid-April. We have two alumni who are helping with this initiative – Bill Montignani ’67 and Kent Ackmann ’98.

We are also working on launching a chapter in Chicago. Our goal would be to have this launch in mid-May. If you are in the Chicagoland area and would be interested in helping out with this, please feel free contact me at: nathaniel@morningside.edu or 1-800-831-0806, ext. 5295.

By the end of this fiscal year, May, we would have had six successful chapter launches. Our goal for next year is to continue to strengthen the existing chapters, and also launch new ones around the country.

Aaron Lukken, a 1993 Morningside College graduate, has a role on the Planning Committee for the Kansas City Alumni Chapter.

“We haven’t been up and running for very long, so I just helped out with the logistics for the first gathering of the chapter last fall,” said Aaron.

The Chapters Program is the most recent addition to helping alumni stay in touch and connected with Morningside College.

“The college’s social media presence is great, other electronic communication is pretty darn good, and the Morningsider is a favorite,” said Aaron. “But none of them replace the face-to-face interaction that chapters are starting to provide for those of us who aren’t close to Sioux City.”

The Chapter Program is helping keep graduates of Morningside College connected with other graduates, along with keeping them connected with what is happening back on campus.

“It’s still home,” says Aaron.

The campus may be growing and changing, but the memories are still present.