"The last year was very eye-opening for us as instructors. It really showed us how much these students truly care for each other beyond the performance aspect," says Jonathan DeLoach, Associate Director of Bands.

“It was 80 degrees that Sunday afternoon, and I was sitting in my stand sweating when ‘Gramps’ came out of the clearing. I caught a glimpse of the horns, and I swore he looked right at me with a scowl…I drew back, and the moment he stepped from behind the tree, I let my arrow fly.”

“I always wanted to do something that could give back to people, so giving back to children and the future generations of our society felt like a good job to me.”

“My mom told me every morning before school to remember who I am and whose I am,” he says. “I’ll never forget that.”

“We were just talking one day and [Dad] said, “When are you going to come to Dreamland? … my dad had done so much for me—sent me to college, bought my first car—and it was my time to give back and let him fully retire. I prayed a lot about it, cried a lot about it, and made the decision that it was time.”

. “A lot of times in juvenile cases, you come across parents who maybe screwed up in the past,” she says. “Perhaps they had addiction or mental health issues and have since turned their lives around for the better. I help those individuals get reunited with their kids.”

“I got the guys together and I said, ‘Guys, I need your help,” Bobby remembers. “’Y’all don’t know how fortunate you are to be able to go fishing just about any time that you want to go, but these kids probably get to go once a year.’

“I feel very responsible for my co-workers. I want us all to be successful and have a good career. It’s not just about me, but all of us as a team working together.”

“As a future educator, I want my students to know I am not just here to teach them and send them home, I am here to serve them in any way. My goal is to make them feel like we are a big family.”

“I am blessed with such a wonderful husband,” she says. “James is my biggest supporter, so I told him his name should also be on my nursing degree because I couldn’t have done it without the love of my life.”