For the final episode of Season 2, Simeon Klepac takes a turn behind the microphone and discusses his personal journey discerning his purpose as a Park Raner for the National Park Service. He also discusses the book "Bird by Bird" by Anne Lamott and shares how it encouraged him to focus on excellence and beauty in small moments. Join us for more of Our Campus, Our Stories!
On this episode, Dr. Agnes Howard joins us to discuss the book “Gilead” by Marilynne Robinson. Howard shares the way that the book informed her understanding of vocation as inherently shaped by relationships and highlights how Robinson’s story exemplifies the need to be inspired by the mundane moments of beauty in our lives. Join us, for more of Our Campus, Our Stories! A video version of the podcast is also available at https://www.youtube.com/@ILASatValpo...
On this episode, Aubrey Kranz shares her experiences with the hit video game Overwatch and her journey within Valpo’s Esports community. We discuss the ways that good friends can challenge us to grow toward the greatness they see in us, and the ways that taking risks helps to build confidence and open us to new possibilities. Join us, for more of Our Campus, Our Stories! A video version of the podcast is also available at https://www.youtube.com/@ILASatValpo
How can we find strength when everything seems turned against us? Is there a way to be hopeful without shallow optimism? On today’s episode, Molly O’Rear shares the poem “Carry On!” by Robert William Service, and we discuss the ways that determination, faith, and community can support us through life’s greatest challenges. Join us, for more of Our Campus, Our Stories! A video version of the podcast is also available at https://www.youtube.com/@ILASatValpo
Dr. Severe has many passions here at Valpo, from student mentorship to horror fiction, but in this episode he discusses his lifelong passion for music. Dr. Severe shares how picking up the French Horn in 7th grade helped him to develop responsibility and excitement for his academic work, and the ways in which his mentors both challenged and supported him, inspiring him to serve Valpo’s students in their own journeys of growth. Join us for more of Our Campus, Our Stories! A video version of the p...
To close out the first half of season 2, Simeon sits down with Cam Haggett to unpack the book "Pastrix" by Lutheran Pastor Nadia Bolz-Weber. Cam shares about the way God has called them in ways that may be surprising, and Bolz-Weber's story shaped their vision of ministry and how we can serve our communities. Join us for more of Our Campus, Our Stories! A video version of the podcast is also available at https://www.youtube.com/@ILASatValpo Learn more about CAPS on our website , and read about...
How do we respond to the legacies our families leave us? Can students actually make a difference? In this week's episode of Listening for Purpose, Mya Amelse shares her journey in the world of local philanthropy and inspiration left to her by her grandmother. Join us for Our Campus, Our Stories! A video version of the podcast is also available at https://www.youtube.com/@ILASatValpo Learn more about CAPS on our website , and read about past CAPS Fellows' experiences on the ILAS blog ....
What is the cost of being excellent? Does education empower or hinder our ability to serve those who suffer? Valpo's own Dr. Martin Buinicki joins host Simeon Klepac to discuss these questions and more, We draw from the texts "Cyrano De Bergerac" by Edmund Rostand, and "Twenty Years at Hull House" to shape our conversation. A video version of the podcast is also available at https://www.youtube.com/@ILASatValpo Learn more about CAPS on our website , and read about past CAPS Fellows' experiences ...
On this week's episode, Raehlyn Bryce discusses three compelling songs that have shaped the way she thinks about change and growth in her life: "Vienna" by Billy Joel "I'm Here" by Cynthia Erivo and The Cast of the Color Purple Musical "Roots before Branches" by Room for Two Reflecting on this music, we delve more deeply into the tension of personal change--its necessary discomfort alongside its transformative potential. A video version of the interview is also available on Youtube, at our chann...
On the first episode of our new season, we chat with Aidan Obermueller about the hit TV series Ted Lasso, and discuss the ways that curiosity and positive masculinity have impacted his journey through life from Dubuque Iowa, to our Valpo campus, all the way to Costa Rica. Join us every Tuesday for more of our stories from our campus! Our interviews are also available at www.youtube.com/@ILASatValpo
Faith, Representation, Community, Organic-ness, and Genuine-ness . These are the themes that arose during my conversation today with Fox Wilmot. Fox’s campus experiences have led him to the intersection of faith and teaching in ways that speak simultaneously to the intentionality and spontaneity of our journeys in purpose. Fox has been a leader of SweetWine, Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia and Boxing Club, and participated in the CAPS fellowship among other things. Through these experiences he has come to...
Today I had the absolute pleasure of talking with Dr. Carolyn Whittier, the assistant vice president for student life. Over the last 12 years, Carrie’s vision and direction have helped to reform what it means to be a student at Valpo. Our conversation was incredibly rich and touched on just about every element of calling and purpose you could think of. Though we talked about many things, there were a few threads that were constant through it all. The first one that came up was family. Carrie’s p...
Today we talked with Essence Roberson about youth service week, the upcoming series of events hosted by Alpha Psi Omega, the mens and womens service fraternity. Essence has been the president of APO for the last two years, and has also been heavily involved on the E-Board of BSO, the Black Student Organization during that time, in fact, she was one of our guests during our episode with BSO from February. Our conversation mostly revolved around the upcoming Youth Service Week, but we also talked ...
Today we talked with Hailey Morse who is a freshman Meteorology major in the sustainability scholars program. This program is one branch of the Uplift Valpo initiative, and it aims to help students to think about the world through an environmental lens regardless of their field of study. In her short time at Valpo, Hailey has already become involved across varied areas of campus. She was the Co-Chair of choreography for the Christ College first year production, she is a member of Hooked on Tonic...
Today I talked to Adam Monnette who is the first person who comes to mind when I think about a campus leader. He is the president of the University Programming Council (UPC), Lambda Chi Alpha fraternity, and the Honor Council, but his leadership extends far beyond his formal roles. Adam has participated in a service trip each spring during his tenure here at Valpo, this past summer, he spent over 500 hours with the red cross as a fellow for the Calling and Purpose in Society fellowship, or CAPS,...
Sarah Martin is a first year Christ College student at Valpo who is exploring what it means to pursue calling and purpose in a collegiate space. We talked primarily about getting involved and getting out of one’s comfort zone, but we also talked about the distinction between calling and purpose. Sarah struck on a key idea that I wish we would have explored more, namely that there is a difference between the implications of calling and those of purpose. Calling is present oriented. We feel a call...
Today we are joined by Abbie Valicevic who is the president of Omicron Delta Kappa (the leadership honor society at Valpo), former president of Valpo's chapter of the Pi Beta Phi sorority, and an aspiring oncologist. Abbie shared some of the some of the things the she believes to be central to her experience here at Valpo and essential to her as a person. She emphasized elements of servant leadership and education and tied it all together with gratitude. Abbie talked about the opportunities she ...
Today, we talked with Sophia Ullery who is the president of AAPIC (the Asian American Pacific Islander Coalition) and the Vice President of the Pre-law society here on campus. Our conversation took us many places, but throughout it all, Sophia emphasized that our collective calling is pursuing a deep seated sense of happiness. Because of this, calling isn’t necessarily some huge project that you learned how to do through a revelation from God. Calling and purpose can be found in the little thing...
For today’s episode, I was joined by Chris Gatlin, Essence Roberson, Tekeidra Masters, and Elijah Morris: some of the members of the 2023 executive board for the Black Student Organization. Recurrent themes in our conversation were community, healing, vulnerability, and service. Service, especially, seemed connected to everything that this E-Board does from planning to open free or reduced cost healthcare clinics for those in need to helping out BSO members when they couldn’t pay for their textb...
This is the second part of our first episode introducing the director and assistant director for the Institute for leadership and Service: Dr. Anna Stewart and Kat Peters. In part one, we discussed different conceptions of calling and purpose, and how they arrived at theirs. This episode was recorded about a week after that one and covers some of the same topics but leans into the purpose and mission of the Institute. The multifaceted nature of our society struck me as one one of the most import...
This is the first episode of a podcast where we hope to reflect with members of the Valparaiso University community on who they are and how they show up in the world. Through this, we can start to understand the complex web of interactions, institutions, and relationships that make Valpo Valpo. This podcast is hosted by the Institute for Leadership and Service, where Kat Peters, and Dr. Anna Stewart recently joined the team as Assistant director and Director respectively. Most episodes of this p...
