Published September 27, 2024
The Dodge City Community College (DC3) Library Read and CONQuer Committee is celebrating multiculturalism and diversity during the month of October. And one of the special activities this month is a student essay contest called Tell Us Who You Are.
Based on the October Read and CONQuer book selection, “Tell Me Who You Are: A Road Map for Cultivating Racial Literacy” by Winona Guo and Priya Vulchi, the contest encourages DC3 students to submit a 350-word essay about their unique stories and experiences.
Committee member and DC3 Director of Marketing and Public Relations, Lance Ziesch, suggested the contest after reviewing the “Tell Me Who You Are” book, which is a collection of stories about race and identity from people of all walks of life across America.
“Dodge City Community College is a very diverse place with students coming from up to 40 U.S. states and 40 foreign countries each academic year,” he said. “After reading some of the essays in the book, I thought it would be neat to hear these types of stories from our own students.”
After discussing the idea, the committee enthusiastically decided to move forward with the Tell Us Who You Are essay contest.
“Not only will our students be able to tell their stories on campus, but the Top Three essays will be published in the fall issue of the Conquistador magazine,” Ziesch said. “In addition, the writers of those three winning essays will also receive gift cards to either the campus bookstore or the Conq Corral snack bar.”
Holly Mercer, DC3 Library Director, said the overall goal for the essay contest is to provide encouragement and inspiration to students, which encourages them to share their unique stories, perspectives, and identities. Writing these types of essays, she said, can foster empathy, understanding, and connection among students from different backgrounds—and give voice to experiences that might otherwise go unheard.
“Recording their own stories offers students a powerful opportunity for self-reflection and personal growth,” she said. “It allows them to explore their identities, experiences, and perspectives in a structured way, while also hopefully having some fun with it. This process may lead to increased self-awareness and possibly even increased confidence.”
Mercer said she also hopes the essay contest will allow faculty and staff a deeper understanding of students’ experiences.
“Hopefully the contest will create a collection of authentic, personal narratives that represents the student body,” she said. “I also hope that it will inspire conversations about identity, diversity, and inclusion on campus, while providing students with a platform to express themselves creatively and authentically.”
Ziesch said another benefit of the essay contest will be the opportunity to showcase student-produced content in the college magazine and elsewhere on campus.
“In addition to the three essays published in the magazine, we will also collect all of the submissions in a special booklet after the contest, which also will include photos of the authors,” he said.
Contest rules can be found on the DC3 Library’s website at sites.google.com/dc3.edu/dc3library, under the “Library Programs” and “Essay Contest” tabs. Entries are due by Oct. 18, at 11:59 p.m.
After all submissions are evaluated and judged, a celebratory reception is planned for Oct. 24, at 3 p.m., in the DC3 Library.
For more information about the essay contest, students are encouraged to contact the Office of Marketing and Public Relations at PR@dc3.edu.
By Lance ZieschDC3 Director of Marketing and Public Relations