To say that the path that brought me to where I am now was not straightforward would be an understatement. I graduated from Miami University with majors in social justice studies and film studies, which seems like an odd combination, but was a result of chasing two very different passions. I changed my mind about what I wanted to do with my life multiple times throughout my undergraduate education, which meant that by the time I graduated, I didn’t quite have enough experience in either of these fields to find a job. Through film studies, though, I’d learned that I was really interested in sports photography and video production. I found myself applying for jobs doing anything and everything that would let me break into the sports creative industry, and got rejection after rejection. After about 100 of these, my parents and I sat down and decided together that graduate school was the way to go. Valparaiso University offered one of the only master’s degrees in the country that combined digital media and sports administration in its sports media program – I don’t think I even applied to another university before deciding on Valpo. The total time between when I applied, when I visited for the first time (after I had already been accepted and enrolled), and when I packed up my whole life and moved couldn’t have been more than six months.
Through the sports media program I was introduced to many people on campus, including the athletics department, the marketing department, and a professor in the communications and visual arts department, [Professor] Paul Oren [‘02, ‘09 M.S.]. Through these connections, I quickly got an internship in video production with the athletics department, and then with the men’s basketball team directly, while also working with graduate studies. I was building skills and making connections and was on the path to a successful career in sports media. Which is, of course, when the COVID-19 pandemic hit. No one was hiring. I moved back home and was back on the job search. I’d been through two years of a graduate program, racked up a bunch of student loans, and suddenly I was back at square one. Things felt pretty hopeless.
But, of course, no one with a Valpo connection is ever down for long. As things started to open back up toward the end of 2020, a connection at the then-Graduate School reached out and encouraged me to apply to a marketing position they were hiring for. I was hired almost on the spot, packed up my things again and, with a slight feeling of déjà vu, off I went to Valpo. After about a year in that position, I moved over to the marketing department, where I’ve been ever since.
During an event I was covering in 2024, I ran into [Professor] Caroline Ban[, MSW,] with the social work department, who excitedly told me that they were starting up a master of social work program. I immediately thought of my social justice studies major in undergrad, and something about this program felt like a calling. I had one conversation with my parents, a couple with Caroline, and applied to the program. In a mirror of my first degree from Valpo, the time between when I learned about the program, applied, and started was no more than six months. These seem like such short time spans to make a pretty huge life decision, but when you know, you know.
I considered using this reflection to touch on one or two people that really impacted my time here, but the truth is that every person I’ve met at Valpo has shaped my life in some way. From my mentors to my students, from my professors to my coworkers, each one has had an impact, big or small, on the direction of my life. I am inspired by the students I supervise as I watch them chase their own dreams, and I am supported by the greatest team of coworkers who are cheering me on in mine. In another mirror of my first degree with Valpo, in the spring of 2026, I will start my first internship with the Office of Multicultural Programs here on campus, forged by the connections I was able to make with the office, and particularly Sonia Morales[, M.A.,] through my work around campus.
I am forever blessed to be part of the Valparaiso University community, and to have friends, coworkers, and mentors that are as excited for my future as I am.
