As our academic year concluded, Valpo students diligently prepared for end-of-year exams and papers, but also commemorated a year filled with unforgettable concerts, major athletic milestones, leadership forums, life-changing service projects, and artistic exhibits and performances.
It is this combination of exceptional experiences that makes Valpo a very special place.
By exploring the long history and unique ethos that have distinguished this University as a place that offers real and lasting value, we are able to look to the future with confidence, as we continue to prepare students for successful lives of leadership and service.
This issue of VALPO Magazine explores the rich value of a Valpo education, both past and present. Originally called the “Poor Man’s Harvard,” the University has always fostered a distinctive and extraordinary academic learning environment with a strong return on investment. This quality is no different today, as alumni look back on their strong academic curricula grounded in the liberal arts tradition and the wide array of extra- and co-curricular activities. And when they do so, they remember that Valpo provided them more than they could have possibly imagined when they first arrived.
Read about several alumni who are utilizing their Valpo education to lead and serve in their communities and throughout the world. Learn about a nursing alumna who launched a nonprofit for childhood cancer survivors inspired by her own experiences. Walk alongside a Valpo couple who is serving the greater good in Tanzania. Contemplate your own passions as you read about an alumna, an attorney who is also exploring her creative passion inspired by her Valpo experience.
As you immerse yourself in these stories, I hope you will reflect upon the ways that Valpo prepared you to successfully pursue your own career and vocation, and how the University continues to influence you to become women and men of uncommon character who pursue that place where passion meets purpose for the sake of the world. These are the marks of a Valpo graduate and part of what gives a Valparaiso University degree lifelong value.
Enjoy this issue of VALPO Magazine. Thank you for all you do to embody Valpo’s distinctive character and to support and sustain the significant value of the Valparaiso University education for this generation and for generations to come.
Blessings,
Mark A. Heckler, Ph.D.
President
Valparaiso University