Perhaps one of the longest-standing Valpo traditions is that of the Student ‘Kissing’ Bridge. The bridge dates back to the mid to late 1800s and served as a safe walkway for students, linking ‘old campus’ to student housing and connecting to a passageway leading to Sager’s Lake, a former recreational park. As the lore goes, couples would go to the bridge to ‘test their love.’ If the couple kissed as the Pennsylvania Railroad coal trains rolled by and were still kissing as it passed, it was said that their love would be everlasting.
The 144-foot wood bridge was condemned by the City of Valparaiso in 1967, but the 32-foot steel portion was rescued by local entrepreneur Bill Wellman, who moved it to his Bridge VU Theatre. He rebuilt the bridge on a smaller scale as a pathway over Salt Creek from his restaurant to the theatre. In 2003, the Valparaiso Undergraduate Alumni Leadership Team (VAULT) had been researching the bridge’s history and sought to bring it home to campus. They reached out to Wellman, who was agreeable to the plan, and he penned a letter to then University President Alan Harre, who gave the project the green light.
Bringing the Legacy Home
VAULT partnered with Valpo’s American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) to handle the critical planning and construction of the project. Led by Brett Iafigliola ‘04 and greatly assisted by Kristine Martin ‘04 Barnes, Rachel Husfeld ‘06 Calafell, Colin Simpson ‘07, and many others, the group of dedicated students determined the feasibility of moving the bridge, surveyed potential site locations, engineered the site layout and final appearance, procured donated materials, determined the appropriate construction phasing, and even helped to gather the funds to keep the project moving forward. Brett explains, “Now that I have been working in the construction industry for 20 years, I understand how big this project was for a bunch of students to undertake. At the time, we didn’t know anything about building bridges, we didn’t have any money to start, let alone finish, and we didn’t have the support of the Administration. What we did have was a relentless desire to put our engineering education into the real world and demonstrate how servant leaders can empower others to accomplish a goal.” He continues, “I had volunteered a lot with Habitat for Humanity, so I thought I had a pretty good idea of how to build things, but none of us knew anything about moving a bridge.”
Iafigliola and his classmates learned on their feet, gaining valuable experience along the way. He says, “To this day, I don’t know where all the gifts and donations came from. We just kept pushing forward.” He adds, “I was invited to an alumni event where I had the opportunity to speak about our project and ask for support, but only had a few minutes to speak. After I was done, I headed back to the bridge to keep working. Before I even arrived at the site, I received a call letting me know that someone had donated enough money to finish the project, to which I replied, ‘Good, because we never stopped.’”
Finishing the project is exactly what they did. Through countless hours of teamwork, determination, and creative solutions, the Student ‘Kissing’ Bridge project – a gift from the class of 2004 – was officially dedicated in October 2005, the class’s first Homecoming as alumni. The dedication ceremony was attended by many Valpo couples with fond memories of the bridge at its original location, as well as the team of students who helped bring the legacy back.
Special Connections
The Student ‘Kissing’ Bridge has continued to be the home of many memories for Valpo couples, with countless relationships, engagements, and family stories beginning there. In true Valpo fashion, Brett met his wife, Rachel Malmgren ‘04 Iafigliola, while studying civil engineering at the University and working on the bridge relocation project. The couple were engaged on the bridge and have been married since 2008. Visiting the site of the bridge has become a family tradition for the Iafigliolas, with many precious moments captured of them with their four children over the years. Brett says, “We enjoy coming back to campus and seeing everything. The kids don’t understand it yet, but they are a captive audience.”
The lifelong connections made at Valpo are what inspired the desire to bring the Student ‘Kissing’ Bridge home again. Relationships like these are what make the Valpo experience so special. Rachel explains, “It’s been 20 years, and I still think of the friendships I made at Valpo and the experiences with my professors. Everyone was always very caring.” She adds, “The community of people I met were always inviting me to go to the Chapel events where we could worship God together. That part of the community at Valpo meant so much to me.”
Editor’s note: While researching this article, we learned more about Mr. Bill Wellman’s impact on the Valparaiso community and the University. At age 82, Wellman penned a book and worked as the VP of Communications for Whiteco Industries until he was 91. In 2017, he received an honorary degree from Valparaiso University. He passed away in 2022, just days shy of his 98th birthday. To read more about Wellman’s incredible life, please click here.
