Hello valpo students,staff, and alumni. My full name is Redrick Mckinley Taylor III. But Everyone calls me Red for short. I was born and raised on the South Side of Chicago, Illinois. I live with my mom and my little sister Angelica. They are the most important ladies in my life. Before I go on any further I would like to acknowledge my mom for doing an amazing job raising me. It is not easy to raise a black male in the city of Chicago to be strong, responsible, respectful and college bound, especially when his father is not involved in his life. She and many other people who looked out for me along the way are the reason for me being here today. I graduated from St. Ignatius College Prep. I am a Political Science and economics major. At this point i won't tell you my whole life story. That opportunity will present itself throughout the year. I'd rather use this first blog entry to explain how i ended up at Valparaiso University. I guest the best place to start would be September of last year when all the seniors began filling out applications for colleges. I had heard a number of wonderful things about Valpo. However, I wasn't sure if I wanted to apply. That was until I had the opportunity to meet Mr.Robert Zigmund or "Bob". Bob is the Admissions counselor for the Chicago area. After 5 minutes of conversation I realized that this might be good fit for me. Fastforward to february when Valpo invited us down for a visit and open house. The campus was absolutely beautiful and I loved how the Chapel seemed to be the center of Valpo's campus. I knew then that if i were accpeted, Valpo would definitely be a school i would strongly consider. Fastforward to late February, the time when high school seniors are anxiously awaiting acceptance letters. I was accepted to every school applied to. However when I recieved my aceptance letter from valpo, my familys" reaction was a bit different. We were much more excited about Valpo's letter than all the other schools.
Before I made my decision I had the opportunity to have another sitdown with Bob. We discussed a number of things but most importantly, I was able to really talk to him about my dream of being at a school where I could grow physically, mentally, and spiritually and being at a school where diversity was celebrated. We really had an understanding, and he is a huge part of the reason i am here . Bob became another member of my family, he even attended a an event that I participated in. Lets move to March. I narrowed my choice down to two schools, Marquette and Valparaiso. When I attended Preview, i quickly realized that Bob's approach to recruiting and his positive attitude was only a reflection of the Valpo community. I felt so welcome here. I loved how the Valpo community genuinely cared about the concerns and needs of every prospective student. I knew then that Valpo was the school I needed to be at for the next four years. Our next stop is June 18-19. I am officially in the Valpo class of 2010. Focus was an amazing experience. I met so many awesome people and the OA's made the experience even greater. My OA Amie Kilensmith was extraordinarily talented at being a leader. She made the group feel comfortable immediately. Kudos to Amie group 11 focus session I.
My summer was filled with adventure and excitement. I got to spend time in D.C with Sen. Barack Obama, I was responsible for 46, 9 year olds all day as a camp counselor and oh I was almost hit by a car twice. I was moving nonstop. This summer went by extremely fast. I'm sure I speak for a lot of the freshman when I say that it was very difficult to leave the friends we grew up with. But there is a little song that can help you move on. It goes "make new friends, but keep the old, one is silver and the other is gold". That simply means that while we our emotional about leaving old friends we can also be excited about making new ones. The two are both very valuable.
Saturday August 19th 2006 was the beginning of a new life, another chapter in our own personal books, a new level of freedom, and chance to spread our wings and fly on our own. We have only been here two days. Yet I can already see the unlimited potential that we the class of 2010 possess. There will be good days and bad, but if we always stay focused and driven and support each other inside the classroom and out, we will not only touch the sky but we will break the atmosphere.
Good Luck to everyone. One Love, Peace
Red
P.S Pictures are coming soon so don't worry
p.p.s Come visit me sometime in Lank room 524 I love meeting new people