Listening for Purpose

In the eighth and final episode of Season 3, we spoke with Hope Johnson, senior Theology and Spanish major at Valparaiso University. Hope discussed Professor Jones, a theology professor who she’s been inspired by. Join us for more of Our Campus, Our Stories!

In the seventh episode of Season 3, we spoke with Reverend Kate Museus, University Pastor. She shared about Pastor Morgan Gordy, who mentored her during her time in seminary. Join us for more of Our Campus, Our Stories!

In this special episode, we talk to students going on the Northwest Indiana and Chicago Spring Break Service Trip about the trip and what they’re looking forward to! We also spoke with Kat Peters, one of the staff leaders of the trip and Assistant Director of the Institute for Leadership and Service, about how the trip came about.

In the fifth episode of Season 3, we spoke with Ryan Cole, Mark and Kathleen Helge Director of Student Philanthropy. He discussed how his daughter has taught him about connection and wonder. Join us for more of Our Campus, Our Stories!

In the fourth episode of Season 3, we spoke with Erin Brown, VU alumni and deaconess with the Lutheran Diaconal Association (LDA). She enlightened us about how the LDA has helped shape and form her during her journey of purpose. Join us for more of Our Campus, Our Stories!

In a very special episode, we spoke with nearly 30 students, staff, faculty, and friends of Valparaiso University to answer one question: who or what lights your path? Answers reflect campus involvement, faith, friends and family, and more! Join us for more of Our Campus, Our Stories!

In the second episode of Season 3, we talked to Stacy Hoult, chair of the World Languages and Cultures department, about her life-long discernment process. An early contributor to this process was her high school Spanish teacher. She also discusses the many paths she explored, and continues to explore. Join us for more of Our Campus, Our Stories!

In our first episode of Season 3, Ethan Palmisano, a sophomore Meteorology major, discusses the role his grandfather played in shaping the importance of family in his life. He also talks about how those around him have helped him discover his priorities. Join us for more of Our Campus, Our Stories!

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 podcast is also available at https://www.youtube.com/@ILASatValpo

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/@ILASatValpoLearn more about CAPS on our ⁠website⁠, and read about past CAPS Fellows' experiences on the ILAS ⁠blog⁠. Find updates on our Instagram at @ilasatvalpo.

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 the ILAS blog.

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 channel at @ILASatValpo.

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 the conclusion that we do not live in isolation. Though we live simultaneously in multiple different circles, the impacts of each percolate throughout our lives. Consequently, our singular personhood is a representation of the multitude of different groups of which we are a part. We talked about the impact this can have on our behaviors, and the importance of being able to show consistency throughout all facets of our lives, not only for the sake of an outward image, but also for our own personal equilibrium.

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 passions for education and fraternity and sorority life, her calling to live in the Midwest, and her desire to achieve were all traditions that were handed down to her by her parents. These traditions profoundly influence the choices that she makes every single day. One way they do so is through her calling to live her authentic life and encourage others to do the same. To me, this was the most salient theme throughout our episode today. This calling has shaped her career, her personal life, her interactions with students, and has quite literally become the standard by which she lives. I left our conversation wondering what the world would look like if everyone took the initiative to do the same.  Thank you for listening and we hope you enjoy this episode of Listening for Purpose.

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 about intersectionality in identities and about the difficulties of managing the transition from college to life after college. Essence emphasized the importance of passing down knowledge as one way of leaving college well and brought up the transition of expertise between old and new executive boards as one crucial example for that process. Thank you for listening and we hope you enjoy this episode of Listening for Purpose.

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 Tonics (HOT), the campus acapella group, and she is a regular attendee of the Candlelight evening service. She, like Sarah Martin, introduced me to a new conception of calling. Hailey discussed calling as something that you don’t understand until the calling has been fully realized. This is interesting, as it indicates that we know when we are called, but we don’t necessarily know until we get there. This feeds her initiative to try everything available to find what she is called to do. Thank you for listening and we hope you enjoy this episode of Listening for Purpose.

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, and he has sought to open up opportunities for those who may not have found their place on campus yet. Despite having accomplished all of these things, Adam claims that he is still looking for his place in college. We talked about many things from the importance of communication and community in leadership, to the difficulties of imposter syndrome, to a couple tips for finding one's place on campus, but throughout it all, the theme of searching was very present. No one’s life is complete in every way. We are all still seeking something, whether it be a group to fit in with, opportunities to grow in our career or major, or even just a friend to cry or celebrate with.  Thank you for listening and we hope you enjoy this episode of Listening for Purpose.

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 calling now, something is attracting us in this moment, however, purpose seems more eternal. It is the idea may be that we are predestined to work toward a goal or accomplish some task. This distinction is something that we might gloss over at somewhere like the Institute for leadership and service, but for many others, it can have huge implications on the way we think about our intentional activity in the world.

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 has been fortunate to have throughout her life, and how they have given her a sense of responsibility to devote her life to serving other people. She also emphasized that education does not only happen in the classroom. College is a time to grow and explore beyond what we are learning for our degrees. There are opportunities every day to have formational experiences that don’t just teach you content. She ends by encouraging us to think about the things we are grateful for, namely the amazing opportunity to be here at Valpo, our roles around campus, and the relationships and experiences we have been fortunate to have during out time on this campus.

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 things, in the daily tasks that we choose to do. She also emphasized the necessity of finding a solid support network of people who are driven the same way you are.

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 textbooks. These values not only center BSO in their mission and purpose as an organization, they also make its members into a bonafide family. These values are unified and expanded through the 3 Ps as Tekeidra emphasized during this recording: Pain, Pride, and Progress.

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 important things we discussed. Each of us comes to this university with a unique background, has a unique experience here, and leaves Valpo to lead a unique life afterward, but right now, right here, on this campus, all of our paths are crossed. For many, this intersectionality is a beautiful source of insight into the lives and cultures of those around them. Part of our goal at the institute is to foster spaces where these moments of realization can occur in order to promote flourishing and understanding across campus. Thank you for listening and we hope you enjoy this episode of Listening for Purpose.

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 podcast will focus primarily on the student experience, but we wanted to start by introducing ourselves, and our mission here at the institute.  A theme that carried throughout our conversation was that we all live in and react to a real, imperfect world where we have to make choices every day that may not have a correct answer. These choices can be daunting, but they are also what makes the human experience exciting. Regardless of your opinion on them, they are extremely characteristic of the college experience. At the institute, we thrive on helping students navigate these gray areas, and figure out where to go when there may be many correct answers. Our goal is to be reflective, relational, and responsive, so that we can help students explore tough situations and examine the world around them. I thoroughly enjoyed our conversation and I hope that you will as well.