After graduating from high school, Gideon Litherland ’12 knew he wanted to attend a smaller university. His high school was located in the western suburbs of Chicago and was very large, so a smaller university was very appealing. Gideon’s parents had both attended Valparaiso University, and he was familiar with the campus and many of his parents’ former professors. Valpo was a natural fit for his next chapter.
When he arrived at Valpo, Litherland quickly discovered that this was a time of transition, both personally and for the campus community. He says, “My freshman year, 2008, was really defined by this impetus to get involved and get engaged. It was a very politically charged time on campus, and a lot of change was occurring. There was a new university president, and a new student union was opening, so this was really a big time of change for me personally and on campus at Valpo.” This time of change and transition encouraged Gideon to get involved in programs like the Student Senate, the Office of Multicultural Programs (OMP), and Alliance – a group that supports, educates, and advocates for the LGBTQ+ community.
Litherland majored in psychology and minored in social justice studies. He says much of his time was spent in the OMP office when not in class. “My friend, Tia, and I advocated hard for Alliance to have office space in the new student union.” He adds, “Previously, the Alliance office was a small closet area without much room for students to come together. We knew it was important to have this safe space for queer students on campus.” He continues, “Between the academic work I got up to and the advocacy work, that really shaped a lot of my career trajectory going forward.”
Beyond championing for this much-needed space, Gideon also became a strong advocate for productive conversations around LGBTQ+ identities co-existing within the Lutheran spaces of the Valpo campus. He says, “There is this sort of mythology that being gay is a choice, which is not a welcome or helpful narrative to perpetuate. On the Valpo campus, advocating for folks in this way looked like having a lot of difficult conversations with students and campus leadership and challenging these narratives.”
As a member of the Alliance leadership while on campus, Litherland played a pivotal role in the organization, falling within the Office of Multicultural Programs. He explains, “The things we were talking about and experiencing in Alliance weren’t unique to us as LGBTQ+ folks. AAPIC and BSO were all having parallel conversations. And so, it made sense for us to be in partnership with them and in solidarity with them. These pushes are some that I’m most proud of within my leadership with Alliance. Getting Alliance into physical space, and then expanding Alliance’s budget within Student Senate, and linking Alliance to be under the OMP umbrella.” Litherland explains, “At the time, Alliance could only be a student-led organization. It couldn’t be administratively sponsored or hosted by a University office because that would have been perceived as condoning behavior. So, it took the better part of a year and a half or two years or so to get Alliance to be under that umbrella.”
Litherland’s advocacy work did not end at Valpo. After graduation, he pursued both his master’s and doctorate at Northwestern University. He says, “I knew I wanted to go on and do graduate school because I wanted to practice. I didn’t want to do research at the time. So, right after graduation, I went on to do my master’s degree in counseling psychology at Northwestern at the Family Institute. I was there for two years, completing my graduate work. And then spent a few years after that in community mental health doing full-time clinical work. At some point along the way, I had mentors lift me up and push me forward to go and pursue my doctorate degree.”
Litherland continues, “The systems thinker in me started to think through what my greater impact could be beyond just seeing 25 to 30 people within a week. How could I support other counselors or supervisors to do good work as well? And so, that really pushed me to go back and get my doctorate degree. I eventually ended up where I am now, teaching and working with folks all around the country.”
Shortly after earning his master’s degree, Gideon met his husband, and they relocated to Los Angeles in late 2020. Of his career in counseling, Litherland says,” I pursued a career in counseling because I believe in the human potential to change and heal. Professionally, now as a faculty member, I hope to continue to engage in scholarship and research that is both personally aligned with my values and brings in more of my master’s students into the process, as well.”
For Litherland, the Valpo experience helped him to discover his vocation and calling in life. He says, “Valpo really shaped me to better understand what my vocation is, right? And what’s my calling? I think, even though I wasn’t raised Lutheran growing up, I really do believe in that intersection of the social, academic, and spiritual, and figuring out what’s my vocation and how can all of those come together in a way that’s somewhat cohesive or congruent.”
Gideon Litherland’s impact on the lives of others epitomizes what it means to be a Beacon. His foundation of advocating for others began here at Valpo and continues on, even in the face of uncertainty, inspiring others to lead and illuminate the path toward a brighter, more compassionate world.
