Ghost Peppers by Nichole Marcus
Cora hadn’t been enthusiastic about moving from the warm, elegant city of Tampa to the dull, dry rolling prairie of western Kansas; but as she stood behind her unspectacular little ranch house surveying her freshly constructed garden beds, Cora had …
Admiral McRaven: A Framework for Success in Life by Greg Barden
Four-Star Admiral William Harry McRaven, who served as the ninth commander of the United States Special Operations Command, delivered the commencement address at UT Austin in 2014 and provided10 lessons to use as tools when facing life’s challenges. He delivered …
The Struggles of Being a Woman in a Male-Dominated Industry by Edmary Rodriguez Rivera
To those who are strangers to the topic, it is easy to assume that most women struggle to make a name for themselves in an industry where males are the majority. Most people, despite their gender, can relate to this …
South Korea: The Often-Overlooked Pearl of the East by Anna Temple
Like many military members, my husband, Nic, was lured into the service with the promise of adventure and travel, and after seven years in, that promise was fulfilled with the offer for him to go overseas to South Korea for …
Photo Collection by Andrew Tijerina
Photos by Andrew Tijerina, PPSC Student
War. Who Really Wins? by Gabriel Villa
America has been known to have the greatest fighting force in the world. From all the different branches throughout the military, we are considered the best in our field. We have won many great battles and wars throughout history, but …
A Pantoum of War by C.S. Griffel
When bombs explode I feel nothing, In fact, my pace in slowed, There is no point in rushing, No place to hide, no, nothing, Death will surely come For every soldier rushing, No matter where they run. I know that …
A Sailor’s Lament by Bruce Gillies
Two decades of dawns in uniformed stride,Sailing through the rhythm of an endless ride.A Sailor’s path, both grueling and grand,Worn boots, heavy hearts, and a helm’s steady hand. In ship’s shadow, dreams are forged,Where friendships bloom and courage urged.Through deserts’ …
Script by Eros Duchannes
There’s a scene that plays in my mind where I’m walking too fast and you’re not payingattention. The collision knocks me down or maybe it doesn’t but you hold on to me just to besure. Our eyes gleam with remembrance …
Practice Piece 31 by Meghan Lynch
October 27, 1986 The animated warble of the sportscasters’ voice carries through the room, and I’m sitting cross-legged on the floor watching game 7 of the World Series. My little sister Sally is painting her nails in her trademark red, …
Two More Years by Aspen Haase
Two more years Two more summers Two more Christmases Two more years Time is slipping Moments lost Tick tock tick tock Two more years 22 more months 96 more weeks 673 more days 16,140 more hours 968,449 more minutes 58,106,978 …
Clear Water by Clara Bailey
The waves are crashing against us now, love As we stand, feet in the sand, despite our lives Our hands suspended over the water, our names: The knife-blade sun slicing white through the blue The air tastes and whips as …
Love, Grass, and Cat by Khaleigh Reed
A tingly feeling as the rough grass brushes against my arm, and my fingers seem to easily run between the greenery sprouting from earth. What is Earth? She’s a birth, a big ball waiting to be molded, not shy to …
The Dangers of Tradition by Juan Francisco Salazar
In Ecuador, the country where I come from, there is a New Year tradition called “Quema del Año Viejo” which means burning the old year. This tradition consists of collectively making a mannequin doll, and everyone does them at the …
My Lips Are Sewn Shut by Isolde Flynn
All my life I have struggled with laying my soul Bare via the words that fall from my mouth. Whether I was Crying out for help, or expressing my own anger, I always choked. Dying for someone to listen to …
Silent Resilience by Nick Drohan
Amidst the hum of passing cars, a figure stands alone at the traffic light on the highway off-ramp: a poignant silhouette against the urban backdrop. Clad in weathered layers that mirror the toll of time, the homeless individual embodies a …
Shadowdancer by Loralei Penumbra
You could not have known how the moonlight lit your hair. You could not have seen the hope in your defiant glare. I wish you would have listened, to the voice you heard below – telling you it shimmered, like …
Spring by Lauren Aoki
I will meet you in spring, Where the grass grows and the wind howls, Where the ice fades and the blossoms twist into blooms, Where the cats roam and the birds sing, A gentle melody strummed across the yellow sky, …
SOUL by Juliet Moore
climb inside my soul use the crack that appeared when I discovered that leaders don’t lead the way they once did use the hole that formed when I realized that kindness is not as common as it once was use …
Becoming a man by DeAndre Bright
Few examples remain today. Most great men have been led astray. What is new? Greatness must rise from the dirt. Righteousness remains in the heart of the hurt. A man must suffer to eat. Any other way leads to defeat. …
My ocean by Olivia Stevens
That it was midsummer and i saw you & (it should’ve been nothing but) it was a rainy evening in june & the ocean is falling from the sky That i’m pulled apart by the tide, left untied in the …
You Should Have Asked… by Shannon Schumm
While chopping tomatoes next to a gently boiling pot of pasta, Sarah, still in her work clothes, navigates the following from her family: “Mom, have you seen my baseball pants?” (In the dryer). “Babe…are we out of mustard, I don’t …
One Missing Piece: The PFC Floyd K. Lindstrom Outpatient Clinic by Malcolm McCollum
Originally published in the Veteran Writers Network One of the ten smartest people I’ve ever known told me this story: During the height of the 1930’s Depression, she graduated from high school at the top of her class. At her …
Helping Veterans through Off-Road Therapy by Deven Merriman
My name is Deven Merriman. I am a United States Army retiree and currently a student at Pikes Peak State College. I am the owner and founder of a social cause known as the “VeteranSuicideAwarenessJeep.” Our motto is #NeverGiveInToTheWarWithin. I …
Little Girl by Jennifer Valk
You once asked me what it would take to ease the burdens and sorrows of the little 10-year-old girl living deep within myself. I scoffed. Because – really. Why would I have an answer to that? Little 10-year-old me? I …
Big Mountain by Mae Faglier
“The Unseen Beast” She sits atop a tree that lives on The Mountain, watching for anything that might sound good to eat. Her fluffy gray coat moves with the wind while she is cemented to the tree with claws. Her …
The Pool by Julian James
“Those of you who are mine, drop. You know who you are. Flutter-kicks, let’s go.” There is no hesitation; the pool deck comes up fast and counting begins with earnest, masochistic urgency. The rest of the formation, about two-thirds of …
Adventures Through Reading and Writing by Sarah Seales
I’m the youngest and only girl of four kids in my family. As an Air Force family, we had the opportunity to live all over the country. My oldest brother, Aaron, was born in Denver; Josh and Chris were born …
Our Final Goodbyes by Patricia Hansen
I will never forget the day of November 21, 2018, a day that forever changed the dynamics of my family. It was the day before Thanksgiving, and I was looking forward to the gathering my family was planning. I recall …
Neverland by Alexa Hoskisson
Father/ I feel your shadow attached to my feet/ but I am no lost boy/ and you don’t have the strength to be mischievous./ Father, I don’t want to forget/ but my memories are clouded by your crooked walk/ I …
The Midnight Bookstore by Juliet Moore
They walk to her shop on starry nights and sometimes through rain or snow. People who like the quiet of an almost empty space with low lighting and long tables and dusty particles that drift through lamplight to settle on …
Who am I? by Carolyn Bates
Who am I? Biologically speaking, a 20 year old female. True, yet that doesn’t feel right. Who am I? Some may say ‘hard worker,’ ‘student,’ ‘associate.’ Is that all I am? Who am I? Maybe it’s how others see me …
Scales, Fails, and Mirrors by Brandon Carver
Being healthy is almost effortless when you’re young and active. As a three-sport athlete in high school, I never even thought about needing to get fit or be in better shape. With the rigorous year-round practices and games that come …
The Start by Katie Kocheski
A short figure was standing in the middle of a field of blood and bodies. She was panting, puffs of air coming out like smoke; it was freezing. Sword in hand staring off into nothingness, doused in the blood of …
Ableness is Close to Godliness by Salem Verrie
It’s eerie. I lay awake at night as the monster rips at my skin. I have to do what everyone else can do despite the monster. Me and the monster are not friends. But, when people poke at the monster …
Like Words Upon Petals by Brynn Greene
Two birds of a feather. Smiling ever so bright, fitting for the god of the sun. He played songs to his lover, Beautiful music on his golden lyre. They shared a bond that rivaled Orpheus and Eurydice. Connected at the …
Meditations on Fall (from a bunch of random books in my room) by Meagan White
the first week of august was motionless and hot when at last— a long caesura fell and at once it was mid-october and that’s when i begged “Let me do the eternal work of Autumn!” and plucked the greenest leaf …
The Hawk and the Rabbit by Marion Scroggins
Fast wings flap skyward The hawk dives for the rabbit Too late, it escapes.
A Dream by T. Jones
A dream. 30 seconds of an 8 hour journey. I blink. Where am I? There is a concrete jungle covered in ferns and vines. A whisper. Calling my name each time I close my eyes. She calls my name. I …
Limbs by Sara Potter
Limbs Out of the skyline they rise. Bare branches like arms reaching out trying to touch limb to limb. Yearning to no longer be bare like the skin on my chest. The wind causes swaying of branches wrapping around each …
I Felt Like a Failure (A Critical Analysis) by Hanna Slaughter
I Felt Like A Failure: A Critical Analysis of Sarah Hoffmann’s “What the Pandemic Has Done to the Class of 2020” A 2020 graduate Allyson Prater, M.A., explained how her pandemic graduation was “just another Thursday.” When asked how she …
Denver by Jayden Burley
Original photography by Jayden Burley
Secondhand by Meagan White
I walk through the aisles of mismatched junk from people’s lives that they donated for the sake of a tax break I walk to the baby aisle and see a pair of brand-new baby shoes with the tag still on—score! …
Turtle Medicine Dream Catcher by Marie Rodriguez Carrillo
Original art by Marie Rodriguez Carrillo
The Student’s Fairytale by Haven Jordan
In the school, the young boy sat— Never knowing where his mind was at— The teacher taught— But it was all for naught— For the little boy whose mind unfocused— Sat thinking of when the end of school would be …
Owl in a Tree by Tea Hopkins
Original photography by Tea Hopkins
My Hummingbird (for Theo) by Elizabeth Ward
You came by my window and you hovered there, I gasped at your beauty as you floated in air. So small yet so perfect you brightened my day, And I thought for a moment that you’d come to stay. But …
Poison by Jolise Hansen
The distribution of foreign anger or vengeance sweeps the grounds of poisoned millennials. As things go, the miniscule amount of two grains of salt can be so boundlessly lethal anymore. Not only the unknown I mourn, while of course they’re …
Nostalgia by Cassidy Monroe
The tattered worn down, gray fabric hung barely by the gaping holes at the top of the seven-foot window. A slit just big enough for rays of the golden shimmering sun to shine through the dark and dingy cave like …
Music Vibes by Sara Potter
I have decided to ride on top of the rhythm of the music that seems to be creating the soundtrack of my life. As the beats assimilate and the treble vibrates, so does the beating of my heart and the …
Hollow Eyes: Victim’s Impact Statement by Nichole R. Newberry
Our eyes are the windows to our souls and our auras are filled with colors that reflect our psyche. Eyes filled with merriment, love, happiness and kindness embrace auras of yellow, red, green, and orange. Eyes filled with anger and …
Finding Chico Suave a Forever Home by Marie Rodriguez Carrillo
One day I received a call from my neighbor Jim; he was upset. He had a family of Mallard baby ducks, and two magpie birds had killed all the siblings but one. I said, “Bring him to me.” He brought …
Death to Crows by Jason Lucero
The Farmer and farm in the story are based on “American Gothic” by Grant Wood while his actions are based on Ozzy Osborn’s old stage presence. Everything else in the scene from the shocked sun to the UAP are all attempts at distracting the viewer with equally strange things happening in the background.
Luck Dino by Jason Lucero
Never leave home without your adventurer’s hat.
Dawn by Ahmed Salih
Old, they said, so you cannot make it through Success is persistence, dreams will be true! Knowledge is power without a limit Secure our future in every minute Nourishes the soul, enhances the mind Great is the feeling to save …
A “Not-So” Dystopian Future by Jordan Phillips
“Hey Siri, how will the implementation of artificial intelligence advance human beings into the next technological revolution?” Hollywood cinema might suggest a horrifying visual of a technology obsessed culture suffering its demise through a robotic uprising. While it makes for …
Return Policy by Adia Reynolds
“I would like to make a return, please.” The employee’s pierced eyebrow rises Marking her disdain “No returns, no refunds, no exceptions.” I squeeze it harder in my hand “I would like to make a return.” Return that which has …
That Tooth by Juliet Moore
She first saw him when they were in elementary school, a scrawny boy with freckles and torn pants and skinned elbows and she decided that she liked his slightly crooked tooth which she hardly ever saw because he was always …
Choosing Secondhand First by Juliet Moore
Children are often protected by their parents from the financial realities of family life. When I was very young, my own mother and father were embarrassed by how tight their money was after they both left the Army in the …
Ray by Sarah Kuhns
I could probably walk there blindfolded for someone who doesn’t have much sense of direction. I can see it now. The tinted barber’s pole sat slightly below the sign outside. Red, white, and blue swirls. The sign either read “Ray’s” …
The Socratic Seminar: A Queer Ethos by Sierra Shields
I graduated in 2015 from Sierra High School located in the Harrison school district, the same year that same-sex marriage was legalized. In both our English and Social Studies classes, we used the Socratic method when we would discuss various …
My First Semester by Juan Johnson
As I step out of my car and look at the college campus, I see a majestic mountain looking down upon me. I think to myself, “Do I have all my equipment to make it to the daunting top?” The …
Fair Mermaid by Lawrence Koebernik
The moon was full and high in the sky that night, giving off a glow of light to the beach. It allowed me to see the board walkway that led nearly to the water’s edge, stopping only a couple yards …
Bad Day by DeAndre Bright
The sky is grey with rain. You feel a kind of strain. The mind is getting narrow-sighted. Anger can easily be misguided. The usual outlet is to scorn. The family we have known since we were born. Everything seems wrong, …
Accounts Payable by Joanna Southcott
I wouldn’t call myself a poet I wouldn’t call myself a dancer I wouldn’t call myself anything really maybe sad I wish I could write I wish I could pour my heart and turn it into beautiful stories I do …
Sounds of a Vietnam War-Era Childhood by Dana Zimbleman
Always murmuring in the background, the television taught me the alphabet game using words from faraway lands. P-P-P… Phnom Pehn L-L-L… Laos A-A-A… Agent Orange Y-Y-Y… Y? Subtle sounds, soothing to a civilian child remote and removed from sad suffering …
To Mom & Dad by Joanna Southcott
You are the rock in the water, and I am the little seashell, or maybe a crab, or a fish you have weathered many storms, stood the test of time provided solace, comfort, and stability one day I will be …
The Final Embrace by Kevin Auer
Have you ever just wanted to walk to the edge of the earth, standing on the last little corner of dry land? Standing there watching waves dissipating into the vast void, turning in the wind as the water at your …
New Journey, New Light by Dre Guy
Dre is an Army Veteran and Dakota Promise Coach at PPSC.
Recovery by Eric Stephenson
I wanted to return to some imaginary life based on a collection of unstable memories I thought were real. I would gaze fondly on those memories and dwell in their hazy light, hoping they would do more than flicker in …
PTSD Comes in Different Shapes and Sizes by Skylaa Richardson
You say, “You haven’t deployed;” “You’ve never seen war,” But I’m fighting a constant battle with the drunk man who was outside of my barracks door I thought I was safe with my brothers in arms I thought they were …
Freedom by Angellica Mattson
I was born free As so I thought Until the day My heart forgot As I awoke That September day Everyone was saying Someone’s trying to take our freedom away They tried to scare us But we made them see …
Camouflage of Normal: A Collection of Poems by Nekedra Bullock
Visible “Invisible” Wounds Invisible wounds only because you choose not to see them Invisible wounds because you chose not to listen My invisible wounds are visible just like me You were too busy and didn’t want to be inconvenient to …
Embracing Winter in October by Emily Rivera
Emily is an Air Force Veteran and a photography student at PPSC.
Pediatric Suicides: Colorado’s Mystifying Dilemma by Jeremy Wilson
Dear Dr. K. Ron-Li Liaw, Director of Child and Adolescent Mental Health, Children’s Hospital Colorado, As an Emergency Medical Technician, I noticed an issue in Colorado Springs, Colorado. I work for Ambulnz, an ambulance transport company in Colorado Springs, and …
Human Trafficking Victims: Immigrants’ Vulnerability and Continual Exploitation by Kaylie Pippin
In Colorado, human trafficking has been on the rise, and specifically, in sexual exploitation. Sex trafficking is predominantly seen in cities and is not unusual to have high rates (E. Reid, personal communication, May 4, 2022). High rates of sexual …
In Censure of Censorship: A Brief History of Power and Censorship in Public Libraries by Katherine Atherton
Before the start of the 2019 school year, Reverend Dan Reehil of the St. Edward Catholic School in Nashville quietly decided to remove some books from circulation at his school’s library, the most prominent of which is the Harry Potter …
“The Killing Type” Nereyda Flores
the scene is set with a girl working the front register at a gas station. she does nothing but smile while standing at the front counter. there is no life behind her eyes. it is eerily quiet, only the buzz …
Limbo by Carson Hill
Swirling, twisting, turning, blue Thoughts of my own contained, thrown, maimed,by reminders of the home you became,and the ceaseless, burning, spiteful road. The unknown frightens my best and tightens my chest,inciting endless unrest, forced growth,sparking light more potent than words …
The Opioid Crisis by Natalie McFarlane
The opioid crisis has been a major issue facing the United States for over twenty-five years. Over 500,000 people have died from opioid overdose and the amount of deaths continues to rise every year. Not only is this a national …
The World Needs Survivalists by Andi Mezel
In October 2016, a friend of mine texted me to turn on the TV. A mandatory evacuation for all of Chatham County was in effect immediately. Hurricane Mathew, a category 5 storm, was hurtling towards Savannah GA. Every store was …
Mountain Mothers and Coal Miners’ Daughters: Gender Roles and Educational Attainment in Appalachia from the 1800s to the 2000s by Emily Prichard
In spite of the sense of heightened cultural sensitivity that has characterized much of the 2010s and the uptick in people-centered activism it has wrought, Appalachians fail to stand out as a grossly underserved population. Of the scant political dialogue …
A Post-Racial America by Joseph Logan
Abstract The reason for this data and research study is to explore the relationships between finance education, diversity, and equity among various ethnicities. Characteristics of learning, comprehension, ideology, education, equity, and career are the main strategies approached in the data …
Tis the Season to Be Sad by Jessie Sharp
I just don’t have it in me to be thankful this holiday season. I don’t even have the energy to summon a pretend smile, which I assume the rest of you are doing. Perhaps my seasonal depression is starting to …
The Shiny Sea & Silver Siren by Angela Sisk
The Shiny Sea She held my hand and made me feel something. There was electricity that passed from her grasp into mine. Her mocha-brown locks bounced all over her face as she skipped across the sand. She was free. She …
The Way it Speaks, Salem Verrie
My body knows a different language. Not that I can’t understand it, but my surroundings are completely lost. When my body says “sit” and I deny it, it is not shy to pinch me as a punishment. My body doesn’t …
Beware Killer Vegetation
by Ronnie Locke The day started out like many other days in Diego Garcia, a tiny island in the Indian Ocean. A tropical rainstorm in the morning had served its purpose, adding to the sticky humidity already prevalent everywhere on …
Anything is Possible
by Nik Gonzales Nik Gonzales is a student at Pikes Peak Community College. His father, Army Major Ken Gonzales, is stationed at Camp Humphreys in South Korea for the third time. This shift has been a change for both him …
Interview with Director of Military & Veterans Programs, Paul DeCecco
by Dana Zimbleman, English Faculty, SITREP Editor-in-Chief In February 2021, MVP Director Paul DeCecco sat down with me to discuss his military career and the worthwhile projects he and his staff are involved in to help student veterans and their …
World on Fire
by Aurorra Wise
Protector of My Sole
by Maxwell Sisk, SSG US Army
Disclosure/Self-Portrait in Uniform
by Theresa Ann Thomas Theresa Ann Thomas is a retired Chief Warrant Officer.
Self-Portrait with Mask/The Mask We Wear
by Jessica Rich Jessica Rich is the daughter of veterans.
Can You Hear Us? Are We There Yet?
by Salem Garrett Salem Garrett is a child of a veteran with 20+ years of service. These are a collection of his works.
My Life After the Marine Corps
by Alyssa Nelson There are three days I will never forget: the day I earned my Eagle, Globe, and Anchor, the day I graduated bootcamp, and the day I signed my DD-214. I often have dreams I am still in …
Sometimes People Just Don’t Know
by Teresa K. Howes He pours a half-a-cup of pure white sugar into his pure black coffee. “Wow, are you drinking a little coffee with your sugar?” I jest, AND, secretly internalize my gasp as the stream of sugar …
The Will-O’-the-Wisp
by Simon Yates Simon Yates is a first-year PPCC student who also attends Palmer Ridge High School. He will be enlisted as a Marine within the Delayed Entry Program and ships out next year. Other than playing with his family’s …
Operation Desert Storm: A View from Inside China
by Carol Forseth, English Faculty August 1990: Iraqi forces invade Kuwait. Iraq annexes Kuwait. The United Nations Security Council and the Arab League condemn the actions. Operation Desert Shield begins. Iraqi closes all borders. I move to Nanchang, China, to …
Lonely Spaces
by Jeff Joles, Associate Dean of Mathematics Jeff Joles is a veteran of the United States Army where he served from 1985 to 2006. He had a variety of communications, teaching, and operations research assignments at locations in the U.S., …
Success is Failure
by Zack Swann My name is Zack Swann, I come from a long line of military in my family; my dad, both brothers, both grandfathers, and two uncles all have served. I decided to go a different route and get …
Stay-at-Home Mothers: The Luxury & Challenges
by Jazmin Abreu My name is Jazmin Abreu. I was born in Brooklyn, New York. I am a mother to three girls, 11, 9, and 7, and I have a golden retriever dog that’s one year old. I became a …
My Family History in the Military
by Zeke Wood For generations, my family has been involved in the military. The most famous in the family was my great grandpa, Charles “Chuck” Byron Wood. He was in the Air Force during and after World War II. During …
Making Friends from Sports
by Antonio Yacono Growing up in a military family, I found it hard to make friends. Some military families move constantly. Luckily, I only moved twice while I was in school. I started elementary school in Okinawa and moved to …
One Wrong Turn
by Jennifer Valk, PPCC English Instructor Jennifer Valk is an English instructor at PPCC. She served on active duty as a combat medical specialist from 1998-2005 t in Fort Hood, TX, and then at Madigan Army Medical Center in Fort Lewis, …
Thanksgiving at a Missile Silo in the Middle of Montana
by Carrie Spencer, PPCC History Faculty I must have been really young and naïve to think taking two small boys out to a missile silo in the middle of Montana for Thanksgiving dinner was a good idea. It was already …
The Benefits of Corporate Social Responsibility
by Tyler Garcia The Walt Disney Company, Google, and Ben & Jerry’s are all well-known businesses, but what do they have in common? Although they operate in different industries, these three firms are lauded for the positive impact they have …
No Justice, No Peace:
Police Brutality in Colorado Springs, the Community’s Response, and the Path Forward by Kimberly Boatwright Abstract Across the United States, there has been an increasing awareness of the acuity of racial injustice. The historical atrocities of the enslavement of African-Americans …