Hello, Holyoke

Hello! My name is Jerel Domer, I’m from Grand Rapids, Michigan and I recently moved to Holyoke to take over for Andrew Turck as Editor of the Enterprise. I’m excited to be here and to serve your community in this role. 

Andrew is a talented journalist and is leaving behind big boots to fill, but thankfully I like a good challenge and will do my best to fill them. 

I’ve never been to Colorado before, unless you count a three-hour layover in Denver on my way to South Korea to teach English back in ‘16, which I don’t. I think layovers can qualify as visiting a place, but only if they’re long enough to leave the airport. That way I can count a 10-hour one I had in Abu Dhabi one time, and thus I can say I’ve been to the Middle East, which I like to be able to say.

Colorado is a beautiful state, from the awe-inspiring vastness of the eastern plains to the majestic mountains to the west, and I feel lucky to live here. 

I majored in history and minored in journalism at Calvin University in Grand Rapids. My favorite sport is soccer, and second favorite is tennis. I like both cats and dogs. I’m a fan of hiking, camping, and fishing. I enjoy learning musical instruments and have dabbled in songwriting. I love to read, particularly early 20th century literature. 

I also love to travel, and I’ve been fortunate to have seen many of the states in our country; all of the Midwestern ones, many on the East Coast, and I once took a train from Seattle to Chicago through the northern border states. That was a great trip; more stunning scenery than I knew what to do with. The only Western state I’ve been to apart from Colorado is Arizona. I hope to remedy this in the near future. 

I’m passionate about storytelling in all its forms. We humans live and die by our stories, both the true and the fictional; they define us on an individual and collective level. They tell us who we are, where we’ve been, and sometimes even where we’re going. 

In the few weeks I’ve been in Holyoke, I’ve been touched by the friendliness and generosity I’ve encountered here. I’m grateful to have the opportunity to participate in your community, to meet and get to know more of you, and to assist the Enterprise in telling your stories.