Alumni Achievement Award

The Alumni Achievement Award honors alumni who have demonstrated outstanding achievement in their chosen career or area of professional life.

John Draheim ’64 retired in 2003 from FLAG Telecom Limited in London, England, where he lived and worked as the company’s vice president for administration and communications since 2000.  Draheim first joined FLAG Telecom in 1999 as the managing director for FLAG Atlantic-1, a $1 billion high-capacity fiber optic trans-Atlantic cable, offering city-to-city connectivity from New York to London and Paris.  Previously, he worked in various positions at Bellcore, AT&T, The Ohio Bell Telephone Company, Ameritech and Ameritech International, where he was vice president of operations and managed the technical team which, together with Deutsche Telecom, prepared the winning bid for the privatization of MATAV, the Hungarian Telephone Company.  Draheim is a past member of the Chicago Council on Foreign Relations, a past vice president of the board of directors for the Summer Intern Program of Chicago, and has served on VU’s College of Engineering National Council.  He holds a bachelor of science degree in electrical engineering from Valparaiso University and a master’s degree in management from Pace University.

On receiving this award, Draheim says, “I have to admit that I was surprised to receive an Alumni Achievement Award.  I have always thrown all my energy into whatever I do, whether it involved my work and career, my home life, or my church life, with the belief that if I used all the skills that God gave me and did the best job that I could possibly do, then the satisfaction I received from that would be my reward.  As it turned out, I had many successes and am very satisfied with all I have achieved throughout my life.  This award is icing on the cake for me.”

Asked about his Valpo education, Draheim shares, “… my College of Engineering training provided me with all the technical tools and practical skills that I needed to successfully launch my career. … Throughout my career, I never found the education of any of my peers to have been better than the well-rounded one I received at Valpo.  That education plus hard work was the key to my becoming a successful engineer and executive.”