Starting out at Valpo wasn’t my first choice. I was initially enrolled at Purdue West Lafayette for the 2025 fall semester. I had a rough decision to make, though, moving two hours away by myself or staying in my hometown and choosing Valpo. It was a difficult choice, but ultimately I am so happy I ended up choosing Valpo.
My name is Bryn Solmos ‘29, and I am a marketing major and a digital media arts minor at Valpo. Although I was born and raised in Valpo, I didn’t know many people going into Valpo. The only person I had really known was my partner. This made me nervous to find friends at school for sure. I had never really gone to a school not knowing anyone before.
FOCUS [orientation] week changed that, though. I got to meet new people who also didn’t know anyone coming in. I started meeting new people in my classes as well, forming friendships with many new people. I also got to know a lot of the faculty at Valpo. I have found that all of my professors are kind and supportive. Specifically, I have really enjoyed being in [Professor] Brooke Reiger’s VUE [(Valparaiso University Experience)] class. She allows students to express their writing creatively in the classroom and helps shape the writing process through her insightful suggestions. I also want to give a shout out to my drawing professor, Professor Sarah Jantzi. She has challenged my artwork in ways I haven’t thought about. Professor Jantzi is also a really fun person to talk about art history and specific drawing techniques.
One of the big reasons I chose Valpo was because of the business school. I have always wanted to go into marketing, and finding out that Valpo had a good business program pushed me to go. I have met many of the staff and they are all very kind and helpful. My advisor, Brett Calland, specifically helped me schedule my classes when I had made the change in enrollment from Purdue to Valpo, late in the summer. He made me feel reassured in my major, and helped me figure out my track for the year without any stress.
Outside of my academic time at Valpo, I work in the marketing and communications department as an intern [student marketing coordinator]. I was very surprised that I could intern so early in my college career, but I am very thankful since I can add this internship to my resume once I graduate. Everyone in the marketing department is very kind, and has taught me a lot about how the marketing world works.
As I am almost finished with my freshman year, I hope to look into joining more organizations like possibly a sorority or more clubs next semester. I am excited to continue my journey at Valpo and see what is in store for me these next three years.
