A spokesperson for the Des Moines Area Community College in Perry reflects on the difference a local hero made to students.

With the one year anniversary coming up where the beloved Perry High School Principal Dan Marburger tragically passed away following a shooting incident, DMACC VanKirk Career Academy Director Eddie Diaz was very close with Marburger, while also serving on the Perry School Board. Diaz tells Raccoon Valley Radio that Marburger was his vice principal when he graduated from Perry High School in 1997, then hired him to work as a teacher in the early 2000s. He notes that Marburger played a pivotal role in helping open the VanKirk Career Academy in August of 2011 in order to assist both high school and college students.

“After that, was a huge advocate for his students to be able to get those dual enrollment college credit courses at no cost to themselves, so we work with quite a few principals in the area, (and) he was one of the biggest advocates in trying to get his students the opportunity to get college credits.”

Diaz comments that following the tragic shooting that took place on January 4th, DMACC immediately responded by closing down the VanKirk Career Academy campus in Perry for classes, but soon opened up the center to provide mental health services to the community. He mentions that when the campus allowed students back into the building, the DMACC president and vice president frequently visited classrooms to offer any assistance they could.