Cassie (VU '05), Melissa (VU '92), and Christopher Brown (VU '99)

"I'm fortunate to be in between two Valparaiso University family bookends. My sister attended before me and my mother graduated recently," Christopher Brown (VU '99) proudly explains."It's a great testament to the quality and breadth of opportunities of academics that Valpo provides that we each found it to be the best community for our chosen lives as a national leader in international development and diplomacy, a deaconess, and a social entrepreneur committed to lasting social change."

Chris observed his sister Melissa's (VU '92) enthusiasm for Valpo and visited her on campus. Later, as a prospective student, he appreciated that the school offered"courses and extra-curricular activities that matched larger universities, but at a scale that was not overwhelming and daunting for an 18-year-old from a small private high school in a different part of the country."

He adds,"Research revealed that Valpo was much more than a great school; it was a chance to apply my education in a global context."

And that he did. Upon his return from a semester abroad in Namibia, he worked with his advisor to create an individualized major and returned to Africa a second time. As a result, Chris claims to be the only Valpo graduate to fulfill the foreign language requirement in Zulu!

Chris credits his role as summer Orientation Assistant for FOCUS for elevating his consciousness as a leader in the future beyond Valpo. His post-graduate leadership achievements are impressive. Included are: acting as Service Leader at City Year Boston; co-founding Youth Action in Johannesburg, South Africa; serving as Program Director for the National Foundation for Teaching Entrepreneurship (NFTE) for New York City; and creating NFTE's first Social Entrepreneurship Incubator. In May 2008, Chris graduated from New York University as a Catherine Reynolds Graduate Fellow in Social Entrepreneurship.

Valpo's global emphasis also most certainly influenced French and Communication major Melissa. Now a senior policy analyst with the U.S. Agency for International Development, she chose Valpo for its personal touch, academic intimacy, and the means to continue exploring the role of leadership and growth intellectually, socially and spiritually.

"Professor Trost's riveting comparative politics and international relations lectures, a book by a Nigerian author read for a class, three theology courses, and an independent study in Washington D.C. were major influences," recalls Melissa.

She has, indeed, applied these Valpo influences and others to her life. Melissa went on to earn an M.S. in Foreign Service from Georgetown University and also served in Nigeria as a Foreign Service officer with the U.S. Agency for International Development. The ever-growing responsibilities of her career, which have included assignments with the U.S. Department of State, have taken her throughout Sub-Saharan Africa, Kosovo, Haiti, Europe, and Japan.

And then there's Mom-Cassie Brown (VU '05), who became aware of Valpo's Deaconess program when she was a Lutheran grade school student in Peoria, Illinois. It seemed a distant place, quite out of her reach, so she pursued a nursing career.

"I experienced a strong sense of calling to diaconal ministry," she reflects."While exploring programs available to a 'second career' adult, I found the Lutheran Deaconess Association's program was specifically designed for the long distance student. The strong sense of family connection to the university and their support were also important in choosing Valpo. Deaconess Cassie now serves St. Paul's Lutheran Church (ELCA) in Washington, D.C.

That leaves Dad, Douglas Brown, as the only non-Valpo graduate. So, just in case, a Valpo family bookend is always ready to move aside on the Brown family shelf.