By Ken Hansard

Every good school starts with a strong culture.  Culture is guided by administration, coaches, and teachers, who must garner buy-in from the students.  But the backbone of the culture is the community, and community means families.  Duncan High School has built just such a culture, and one of its staunchest supporters is Della Aker, which is why she is one of VYPE’s Moms of the Month.  Della is the proud mother of seven beautiful children.  Five of them graduated from DHS. Della is self-employed, and says, “It’s the only job that allowed me to be 100 percent present in my children’s lives. They are my why!  Being a single mom, I never wanted them to look in the stands and see me not there, so I have made it a goal in my life to always be present.  I spend most of my free time at the lake camping and boating or at sporting events spending time with my kids, and I also volunteer with One True Light – a summer meal program that helps mentor and feed children for families in need.”  Della’s other “free time” is also spent serving others.  She is very involved with booster clubs and picks up the wrestling team breakfast for out-of-town tournaments. She packs snack totes when they travel and sets up and operates the hospitality room at home events for wrestling. She has also chaired different events like the ice cream social and senior night for football and helps with Duncan’s 12th Man hospitality room. Oh, yeah.  She is also secretary of the Duncan wrestling booster club and assists with PTO at Woodrow Wilson Elementary.

When asked what the toughest part of being a sports mom is for her, one would expect Della to answer, “Time and energy.”  However, her answer, like her attitude toward her volunteer time, reflected her concern for others, “The hardest part is when they start doubting what they are capable of. Sometimes, there are tough losses, and they can be pretty devastated. I just encourage them to try harder and put in the work.” When asked about what she loves most about Duncan Schools, Della named pretty much everyone.  “I love the administration we have.  They are all great.  I love our coaches, and teachers, and our office staff.  Everyone is great.  They treat our kids like family.  Duncan Public schools have been so good to us.”