Nicole Branstad – social (media) butterfly

With a deep love for her hometown, Nicole Branstad is pro-Des Moines and is constantly touting its many events and attractions. When she isn’t out exploring the city she likes to spend time with her husband Marcus and their “son” Karl, a German shorthaired pointer. She enjoys hosting lavish dinner parties, collecting wine and buying fresh flowers at the downtown farmer’s market. Nicole works in the marketing & communications department as the online marketing-enrollment coordinator.

Barb Dietrich Boose – writer, reader, baker, mom

Endlessly curious and easily entertained, Barb Dietrich Boose loves being a member of the friendly, fascinating DMU community and its creative communications team.

The University’s publications director and DMU Magazine editor, Barb is always on the hunt for story ideas, good books and new recipes to try out on her family, such as her surprisingly tasty pork-and-bean bars.

Beth Runcie, D.O.’13

If you asked five-year-old Beth what she wanted to be when she grew up, she would have answered, “a doctor.” After receiving her Bachelor of Fine Arts degree and beginning her career in graphic design, she realized that five-year-old Beth was onto something which sparked her journey in medicine. Beth is a third-year medical student from Des Moines, IA. Currently on an elective rotation in Kampala, Uganda, she is spending two weeks in labor and delivery and two weeks in infectious diseases. When not working on school, her favorites include time with friends, family, and her dog Fiona, design and photography, traveling, canning, and working on the Community Interfaith Worm Project.

F.R “Fritz” Nordengren, MPH – I cook. I farm, I teach

Fritz Nordengren says his blog posts are “lessons learned from 80 acres and a six-burner stove.” When he’s not on campus supervising the final academic project for DMU’s health care administration students, he’s working on his 80-acre poultry ranch in southern Iowa.

He raises and releases ringneck pheasants and ethically grows pasture-raised ducks, turkeys and chickens that are antibiotic-free. While he writes about food, food politics and food systems, he leaves the lecture and policy-wonkish rhetoric in the classroom and shares the personal and family impacts here.

Karen Powell, 2014 D.O. Student and Secretary, International Medicine Club

Originally from Fort Pierce, FL, Karen has taken a circuitous route to medical school at Des Moines University. She received a B.A. in liberal arts/history of philosophy at St. John’s College in Santa Fe, NM, and then worked as a nurse assistant for four years at a community hospital in Lynn, MA. Karen spends her off-studying hours working on various school club projects, walking at Brown’s Woods or writing short stories and poetry. She’s the girl who brings a Mason jar of tea to class with her, and she always has a book nearby to pick up for a study break. Her favorite spectator sport is roller derby and her favorite medical subject is osteopathic manual medicine.

Shannon Layton – 2013 PA student

Shannon Layton is a physician assistant student, Class of 2013, from Kokomo, Indiana, home of the first canned tomato juice. When she is not studying, she enjoys laughing with her friends till her stomach hurts and spending time with her fiancé Clint Scruggs. Clint is also a student at DMU, enrolled in the Class of 2015 D.O. program. Shannon is happy to cross off her list “get into PA school.” Next on the list is “enter a hot dog eating contest.” Let her know if you hear of one in Des Moines.

Nathan McConkey – 2014 D.O./M.P.H. student & overachiever

Nathan McConkey discovered DMU all the way from his hometown near Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. After graduating college as a teenager with a degree in molecular biology, he wanted to begin a master of public health degree online while working as an EMT and teaching labs at his undergraduate college. Eventually, the plan was to attend a local medical school in Pennsylvania. Little did he know, however, that his exposure to the MPH program would eventually lure him all the way out to the Midwest to pursue his medical training at Des Moines University instead. When he’s not working on his two degrees or over ten different jobs and volunteer positions on campus, he enjoys discovering new reasons why the city of Des Moines isn’t nearly as boring as his East-Coast perspective had led him to believe.

Ashley Kent – D.O.’15

Ashley Kent is a member of the D.O. Class of 2015 and a die-hard Cyclone fan. After graduating from Iowa State University she took a year off before starting medical school this past fall. When she is not studying she loves to hang out with her adorable puppy and watch Friends re-runs. A good afternoon nap always seems to make her day brighter. This is her first Medical Mission trip to Honduras and she is excited to keep everybody updated on their group’s activities!

Bill Dyche, Ph.D. – anatomy guru

Dr. Dyche was born in New Jersey and trained at Penn State’s Hershey Medical Center before coming to Des Moines in 1976. Over 30 plus years he has taught gross anatomy, embryology and neuroanatomy. He also served in administration as associate dean for basic sciences, dean of the College of Health Sciences, and acting director of the PA program. He was one of the founding instructors of CPR and ACLS at a time when few medical schools offered this training.

He retired to Oregon in 2008, then returned to DMU in 2009. Did he miss the tornadoes, the below zero wind chills or the cadavers?

Jubil Young – mountain man and D.P.T.’13

Jubil Young grew up in southern Iowa and went to Iowa State University where he was involved in the Outdoor Recreation Program. This let him travel all over the U.S. during school breaks. He spent summers as a raft guide on the Colorado River and returned to school each fall with more hair each consecutive year.  Before long he was taking three-day weekends to race his mountain bike in Utah or ski in Colorado. After college he worked as a personal trainer, a health and fitness specialist and a rehabilitation aide before applying to physical therapy school. When he was accepted to DMU, he went back to the mountains for one last summer but ended up staying two years under a deferment. Coming back to Iowa has been a shock but the transition has been eased by his family.

Andrew Crisologo – D.P.M.’14

Andrew Crisologo was born in Ohio and raised in Alabama. He earned his B.A. in Biology at Asbury University (Wilmore, KY) and is now a student in the DPM class of 2014 at Des Moines University.

Before choosing a career in podiatric medicine, Andrew shadowed professionals in several fields of medicine, from family practice to dermatology to ophthalmology. He knew medicine was for him, but none of the specialties caught his attention until he shadowed his podiatrist and saw how lower limb health directly impacted one’s quality of life. He now looks forward to one day providing that same care and aid to his own patients.

Gina Smith – admissions guru

Gina Smith joined the admissions team (formally the Enrollment Management department) in early 2005. She strives to keep you up to date on all things admission related.

Since graduating from the University of Iowa in 2003, Gina continues to cheer on the Hawkeyes, the best team ever, pretty much any way you look at it. Gina and her husband live in West Des Moines with their son, dog and cat.

Michael Drnec

Michael Drnec is a software developer for Sum Total Systems in West Des Moines, and an avid technology enthusiast. He is husband to fourth-year D.O. student Sheila Drnec, and president of DMU Significant Others Support (SOS) organization, which offers a unique system to help people connect during the grad school years. Mike and Sheila moved here from Chicago and found Des Moines to be a surprisingly rich and entertaining city. Aside from keeping up with technology, Michael, with his wife, likes to travel, home brew, watch movies and British TV comedies, play tennis, and spend time with his 2 cats (Beeble and Trillian) and 2 German shepherds (Winnie and Wolfie).

Past Authors

Courtney Tompkins – lil miss marketing

Courtney Tompkins was a part of the DMU marketing team from 2005-2011 and loved promoting a school she believes in so thoroughly. Proud daughter and patient of DMU alumni, Courtney knows, first-hand, that Des Moines University is doing a world of good.

A fan of all outdoor festivals, fruity drinks and nearly all edibles, she has a hard time narrowing down her list of favorite places to go and things to do but lists the Iowa State Fair as an all-time fave. She loves her 8-minute commute to DMU from Urbandale, a suburb of Des Moines. She and husband Tyler are owned by three large dogs, Tonka, Tucker and Tank.

David Lay – student’s spouse & photo extraordinaire

David Lay is a freelance photographer and husband to CPMS student Jennifer Gerres. He relocated to Des Moines from Cleveland, Ohio in 2008 after their June wedding. He is documenting his foray into Des Moines residency and capturing photos of his exploits.

After earning his photography merit badge in Boy Scouts, David made a name for himself covering the Cleveland music scene. In the last few years, he has branched out into photojournalism, working with newspapers and websites in Ohio. His work has also been published by Des Moines’s Juice magazine, Cox Communications, CNN, Reuters and Yahoo! News.

When he isn’t taking photos, he enjoys gourmet cooking (ask him about his mango salsa), drinking too much coffee and listening to heavy metal — sometimes all 3 at the same time. He is also an avid reader, amateur radio enthusiast and NWS-trained skywarn storm spotter.

Jeremy DeFoe – 2012 D.O. student & Guitar Hero rockstar

Jeremy is a D.O. student in the class of 2012. Originally from Farmington, MN, he has been in Des Moines since 2003 when he started at Drake University. After majoring in biology he took a year off before progressing to DMU and spent the year in China teaching English to nursing students in a small-town, Chinese medical school.

Jeremy enjoys cold weather and enjoys the Iowan winter. When not in class or studying, he can be found relaxing with his new medical school friends, walking his dog around the neighborhood or rocking out with Guitar Hero.

Kendall Conder – 2011 D.P.T. student & class comedian

Kendall was born and raised in Las Vegas and at the tender age of three began a life devoted to dance. By the end of high school, she had danced all over the world, including snagging a gig as the end-unit of a high-kick routine on a cruise ship. Once college rolled around, she decided to hang up her dancing shoes to get serious about her future. She threw a dart on a map to decide where to attend undergrad and headed to Alabama for Auburn University. After soaking up all the hospitality, she moved west to San Francisco to take time off before getting serious about her future again.

Kendall is now a serious D.P.T. student in the class of 2011. She enjoys cooking, traveling, sending emails, being loud and talking sports, namely college football. Within the first two minutes after meeting someone, in an effort to impress and ensure friendship, she also likes to mention that she was the 2006 Miss Auburn University Homecoming Queen. Kendall is exceptionally pleased with her new home and school and hopes DMU never figures out they got the raw end of the deal.

Lindsay Dean – D.P.T. student and global health traveler

Lindsay Dean is a D.P.T. student in the class of 2010. Her husband Mike works at DMU and they live in Indianola with a cute lab mix, Dallas. She enjoys music, exercise and being outdoors.

In August 2009, she will travel to St. Lucia and work at St. Jude’s hospital where she looks forward to experiencing a new culture, treating patients and bringing new ideas to the physiotherapy staff.

Andrea Cooley – social media maven

Andrea Cooley is a midwest girl at heart, but loves to travel around the country visiting friends and family. She loves to try her hand at new recipes, explore Des Moines and spend time with her husband Adam. She is enjoying decorating and designing the couple’s new home and exploring Beaverdale.

Before joining the DMU marketing team, she was an editor for Country Home magazine. She’s still a little obsessed with magazines, so if you want to talk about decorating, remodeling or gardening projects she’s your go-to girl.

Tea Nguyen – 2011 D.P.M./M.P.H. student & California transplant

Tea Nguyen is a dual degree D.P.M./M.P.H. student at DMU. She was born in Utah but raised in California and left the great state to be at one of the best podiatry school in the country.

She has aspirations in international medical service trips and hopes to hit several continents during this lifetime. Traveling is also on the top of her to-do list and she often reminisces about her prior travels to Italy, France and Greece. She also enjoys eating adventures with her boyfriend Paul and is a major food-snacker. It is not uncommon to find her lapsed in a food coma in the middle of her studies.

Daley Dodd – 2011 PA student & mad mingler

Daley Dodd was born and raised in the little ol’ town of Newton, IA. Growing up involved sports, dance, clubs and anything under the sun that could keep the family busy. This busy bee life flowed over into her college years at Northwest Missouri State University. She was a member of the Northwest Dance team, taught dance at a local studio, a member of Alpha Sigma Alpha Sorority and involved in Campus Crusade for Christ (CCC).

After college Daley journeyed on over to Europe and had the time of her life. While there she worked for CCC and got to experience new cultures, foods and people. After a year abroad her cravings for American food got the best of her and she came home. After living in Nebraska a year she decided to jump back on the school ship and came to DMU. She has loved her experience here so far and can’t wait for everything to come.