If you asked Ricky Helmboldt ’26 to tell you about his first love, he’d likely start with swimming. “I started swimming when I was six years old,” he says. “My great uncle was the one who got me in the pool. And it’s stuck with me ever since.” So, coming from a family of student-athletes, being able to compete at the collegiate level was not only a dream come true, but also at the forefront of Ricky’s college decision.
It was through sports that he found Valparaiso University – a close-knit campus with a well-known athletics history and the distinct Midwest charm that Ricky was looking for in a college. When a spot on Valpo Swimming’s roster opened up, he didn’t hesitate to schedule a visit. “Head Coach Maggie Kroemer ’05, M.S., invited me to come to campus for an official visit, and I just loved it,” he shares. “I’ve always wanted to come to the Midwest – escape the heat of Tucson, Arizona – and I love that Valpo is super close to Chicago. The Dunes are right there… I love how small the campus is … It was a perfect fit.”
It was a done deal: With Ricky’s spot on the swim team locked in, he began to look at what academic programs Valpo had to offer – and was met with an exciting opportunity. “When I was in high school, I took an introductory engineering class because my dad is an engineer. So, I wanted to get into engineering. Then, my great uncle – the same who got me into swimming – talked to me and he was like, ‘business.’ … He knew I was analytical and liked working with numbers, like him, so he started leading me in that direction – maybe toward accounting or finance. So, I found a passion for both,” Ricky explains. “Engineering was always like my ‘I want to be just like my dad’ dream, but I felt like I could only choose one. So, I moved on to business.”
Enter Ricky’s second love: a pathway that didn’t require him to choose between his two professional interests as a first-year student. “I was originally going to focus on business only – if I had gone to any other school,” he says. “But when I picked up swimming at Valpo, I saw there was an integrated business and engineering major. It was really the first opportunity I saw to explore both things I have a passion for at the same time.
“If I tried one or the other and I didn’t like it, it wouldn’t be a big deal to transition into a full engineering program or a full business program,” Ricky continues. “Having the ability to focus on both and explore that – without having to choose one or the other out of the gate – was really appealing to me! And it’s been awesome.”
As Ricky’s studies with the College of Business and College of Engineering kicked off, he quickly learned that while engineering and business might seem like different worlds, the two fields – albeit surprisingly – are closely intertwined. “My first internship at Maverick Engineering in Midland, Texas, was more on the design side. My manager, though, would tell us about these meetings where he was basically trying to sell our services. It’s something you don’t really think about from an engineering perspective: you design stuff, but you have to get people to actually buy and fund it, too,” Ricky says. “With my major, I learned the language of engineering without necessarily doing the engineering. You end up as the main communicator between engineers and suppliers. You know what’s needed from an engineering standpoint, but also how to communicate with someone who’s not involved in engineering.”
In this middle ground between business and engineering, where do Ricky’s courses fall? He describes the integrated business and engineering program as being a purposeful 60-40 split: 60% business and 40% engineering. “You take a lot of base classes,” he says, referring to foundational classes in both fields – like general engineering, physics, accounting, and finance. “It lays the groundwork. Because in integrated business and engineering, you can choose two minors, too. Because you’re given room for 18 credits of electives on each side, you can further specialize in that way.” Ricky’s double minors are mechanical engineering and supply chain management – a combination that he says opened the door to his two internships and kickstarted the start of his postgraduation career with Raytheon.
“I interned with Raytheon the summer going into my senior year. My dad actually works there and found a department within Raytheon called supplier engineering – which, with my mechanical engineering minor and supply chain [management] minor, seemed like a great fit,” Ricky says. “I got my resume around and got an interview, and once I did that I realized that it was a touchdown. It was a great opportunity. I became the main communicator between the engineering teams. … I was up walking around and being around people, talking to people – not just sitting at my desk all day, which I really liked. I was able to combine my analytical engineering skills with my communication background from business.”
For incoming students who see themselves in Ricky’s shoes, this recent graduate has some exceptional advice: Make connections now. “As a senior in college, it’s been the best four years of my life. The people I’ve met, the experiences I’ve had here… It’s so integral to who I am. And I’m someone who – while grades are important – sees connections with people and experiences to be what college is all about,” Ricky shares. From day one, he received academic and professional support from College of Business Dean Matt Luth, Ph.D., and College of Engineering Dean Doug Tougaw, ’05 MBA, Ph.D., P.E., as well as professors like Professor of Economics Sara Gundersen, Ph.D., and Assistant Professor of Mechanical Engineering and Bioengineering Lauren Sestito, Ph.D. Even on campus – from simply walking to class and running into countless friends and classmates, to starting his journey in the first-year residence halls where everyone knows everybody – Ricky has found a welcoming community that has his back wherever he may go. “Yes, get that 4.0 GPA – but employers are going to be looking at who you are as a person, too,” Ricky goes on. “It’s very important to take the time to find who you are and grow as an individual.”
Ricky’s internship ended up going so well, that he received a return offer! After walking the Commencement stage in May, he returned to Raytheon full time. “It’s very exciting. I’ll be working at a company that works to protect those who protect us. It’s inspiring, knowing that I’ll be helping contribute to protecting people and I’ll be able to devote my time to that,” Ricky says. “Raytheon is also a massive company. I’ll be working with an organization that has a massive scope. It definitely makes the work that I do feel valued.”
One of Ricky’s greatest sources of companionship through his time at Valpo ties back to his long-standing history with his sport: the swim team. “They’re like family to me, everyone on the swim team,” Ricky reflects. “The day my parents moved me [into my residence hall] my freshman year has got to be my favorite memory. … I was emotional; it was like, ‘Hey, I’m a grown-up now.’ And not even five minutes after [my parents] left, one of my teammates texted me and asked if I wanted to hang out. I went over there and we just talked for hours. That was the moment I realized that this was going to be so fun. Yes, I was going to miss my family – but this experience of being with the people closest to me for the next four years… It wasn’t going to be as hard as I thought, because I was already making connections with people around me.”
Ricky’s connections and the people he met here helped him thrive during his years as a student at Valpo – from moving away from home and finding who he truly is, to excelling in his studies and securing a job at the nation’s most prominent aerospace and defense contractor. And we know they’ll be cheering him on through every chapter, with every turn of the page.
Follow Ricky’s path – explore Valpo’s integrated business and engineering program at valpo.edu/integrated-business-engineering.
