Every life tells a story. My husband’s younger brother died last month after a short, courageous battle with a rare form of cancer.

We’re traveling next week for his memorial service.

Since February, 2020, I have personally lost nine family members and friends.

Some were due to COVID, some were related to other illness/disease, and some were old age, but all of them left behind a story of their life.

Over the past two years I’ve grieved, shared happy memories and even helped write obituaries. That last one got me thinking about life stories and how they are written.

Do we write the chapters? Are some chapters written for us? Setting aside religious belief for now, how much control do we exercise over the story our life will eventually become?

If any of this sounds familiar, it might be because the theme of DACC’s current marketing campaign is #writeyourstoryatdacc.

It’s not a gimmick.

This idea has grown out of my own experiences and those I’ve witnessed in our students over the past 22 years I’ve been at DACC.

Every life tells a story. At DACC, our purpose is to help people write their best chapters, or at least give them the tools and framework to ensure their best chapters are ahead.

In the time I’ve been at the College, I’ve known an octogenarian who returned to college to finish a degree she started six decades earlier, just so she could be a good example for her grandchildren.

I’ve met a middle-aged woman who started college in mid-life after leaving an abusive marriage.

I’ve met men who are re-training after the factory job they thought they’d have until retirement was pulled out from under them and moved to another state – or country.

All of them were writing new chapters.

In the past year, we’ve concentrated on telling the stories of our students and alumni. The results are inspiring!

Jake came back to DACC – after getting an Associate degree and transferring to university – because he didn’t like his original career choice and he wanted to make a change.

Now he’s in the Wind Energy program and he’s looking forward to traveling the world.

Dr. Jaya Nelson-Elliott came to DACC out of high school to run track and stay close to her ailing grandmother.

The money she saved through community college tuition, athletic scholarships, and living at home helped minimize the debt she accrued throughout dental school.

Autumn came to DACC as a Presidential Scholar, earned an Associate degree, and is staying with us while she works on a Bachelor’s degree through the 3 + 1 University Partnership with Franklin University.

Our alumni include engineers, doctors, dentists, attorneys, judges, police officers, college professors, college presidents, automotive repair professionals, nurses, factory workers, administrative assistants, daycare providers – you name it, we’ve trained someone who does it.

Their stories are rich and varied and we love hearing them.

DACC’s fall semester gets underway on Aug. 22.

All full-time students will receive $600 OFF their tuition costs for fall.

On Aug. 3, we’re hosting a Registration Open House on campus.

I hope you’ll join us and write your story at DACC.

Every life tells a story … yours is just getting to the good part.