At the beginning of the CAPS Fellows process, I had no idea where I’d end up. I’m leaving for a year abroad in Germany in late August, so spending the summer closer to home was somewhat important to me. Besides joining an organization whose values matched my own and a group that I felt passionate about, being near Valpo was my only criteria. I came in for an interview and met Kris Pate, the Executive Director of the United Way of LaPorte County. Fast forward a couple months. I’m just about done with my first 4 weeks at the United Way of LaPorte County. I’ve been at Valpo for 3 years now and I’ve been involved in numerous organizations. Yet I am still surprised every single day by what goes on in our Northwest Indiana community. I work in Michigan City and am astounded by the number of people whose only […]

“What is that you said you are studying? Global Service? Is that a major? I’ve never heard of it before. And an engineering minor you say? I always get these questions when I share my career as a student at Valparaiso University. I almost dread the questions, because I always have to explain my entire life-plan for it to really make sense. Whenever I get these questions, I think about how there is a huge opportunity to use engineering in the field of development. But not only to build things, there is a need for people concerned with efficiency and sustainability, people with the mind of an engineer, in this field. I think about how there is a need for people who can draw on their technical knowledge to make practical plans, people who can communicate and research, and who tend to look from every angle to creatively develop solutions […]