Exit of a Legend, a New Chapter for the Journey that is Seth Nelson

Hi, I’m John Webster, a Junior Spanish and International Economics & Cultural Affairs (phew, wordy, I know) major at Valparaiso University. I work in the Office of Admissions here and I’ve known Seth well through the office and through his ties with current students. I’m here to write a tribute to Seth as he leaves us tomorrow to head to Dubuque, Iowa to begin classes at Wartburg Theological Seminary on his way to being a pastor.

Seth has been a strong and steady presence for me and many other students in my class. He’s a regular attendee of Morning Chapel, and being a very approachable person, many students including myself have found him to be a good resource for advice as well as learning about quirky differences of campus just four years ago. I’m very happy for Seth and his future at Wartburg Theological Seminary in Iowa with his wife Jen, but I’m going to miss Seth and his warm, friendly, good-natured, hilarious spirit.

Seth told me he’s going to miss the community of Valpo that he has grown to know as home over his six years here. He is definitely excited to return to school though, as he found a love of learning at Valpo. As we all find, what makes college a memorable experience is the funny experiences with friends. Freshman year, Seth took a trip up to Chicago on the South Shore Line to visit a friend. Upon returning however, he realized he had forgotten to arrange a ride between his stop and Valpo. Being cellphoneless during his freshman year, Seth realized he had to “hoof it,” and so he embarked on a four hour walk back to campus, after stopping at A&W in Chesterton. In the fall of his Sophomore year, Seth met the girl that would become his wife at ultimate frisbee practice. Later in his Sophomore year, Seth went roadtripping with friends in Cleveland, they arrived at midnight but in the spirit of travel they discussed the other places they could go and how close they were. They ended up seeing the sun rise over Niagara falls at 6:30AM that morning. Other favorite memories of Seth’s include studying abroad in Namibia in the fall of his Junior year, getting engaged to Jen during the following summer, sprinkling the Center for the Arts snow covered lawn with fruity pebbles shot from a large potato gun with his good friend John Unrath, and last but not least, roasting marshmallows on the torches at our campus entrance.

Seth came to the VU Admission office because he was passionate about bringing students to the school he loved so much. I attest that he enjoyed his work here thoroughly, he’s known for being the enthusiastic, jovial guy that visits everyone’s office. He definitely served the office with the levity that he brings to any situation. He told me most enjoyed travelling to college fairs, particularly when he went to Wisconsin with Michael Hansen, one of our newer Admission Counselors, to train him. Apparently Michael is hilarious, and I expect him to fill the office with levity when Seth’s presence is no more.

In closing, Seth had one simple but sincere thing to say, that I can already agree with: “I am a better person for having come to V

The Value of the Valpo Degree

Currently, many seniors are surveying FAFSA awards, checking scholarship amounts and figuring out how to afford college. Inevitably, these conversations lead to questions about the value of a college investment. Most everyone knows that employer standards in America require a college degree of some sort, but, when it comes to the question of salaries many will ask; will I earn the same, similar, or maybe even a better salary with a college degree from my cheapest school as with a degree from my most expensive school? How much debt is college really worth? Will there even be enough jobs available for college graduates when I graduate to make college worthwhile?
Questions concerning the value of investment are critical to the college decision process. At the end of the day a college education in America is expensive. Costs of tuition at public, private and community colleges and universities have been steadily rising at a rate that will not slow in the near future. The financial aid system expects most students to cover rising costs with increasing debt loads and has done little to keep tuition rates steady. Though scholarship and grant amounts have risen to help students out, they do not make college affordable for most students. In the end, college will cost money and it will cost a lot of money.
However, when you think about it, shouldn’t college cost a lot? When you consider major investments in life such as a car, a house, living expenses, vacations, etc, shouldn’t college be near the top of the list of things to invest in? A college education prepares students for a vast array of scenarios in the working world and, at excellent schools like Valpo, will give you skills to be a leader in the community, family and the world. These skills are hard to put a price on as their value is immeasurable, but I would say that they are worth a lot. If you do not agree then perhaps a college education is not for you. If, on the other hand, these skills are of great value, then I assure you college is worth the investment.
Furthermore, it is important to view your investment in a different light than paying for a car, an xbox, a vacation or whatever else you might want to spend money on. Unlike many major purchases, your college investment will likely yield greater earnings in return. When one buys a car and drives it for a couple of years, it can be resold but at a much lower rate than its initial price. The difference between what you spend for it and what you sell it for is money that is lost to you. Likewise, there are not many vacations that people will pay you to take. Typically vacation spots are very good at helping you part from your wallet. When paying for college you encounter a different story. Earning a simple bachelor’s degree you will average roughly $20,000 per year more than with a high school diploma (www.earnmydegree.com). As you invest in a college or university you invest in your future career and, unlike other major investments, you will earn more money in your future for the college investment you are making now.

So Why Valpo?

Let me point out that Valpo is not the school for everyone. As a university we have an identity and a mission. If you do not find that you mesh well with the university’s identity or mission, then Valpo may not be your best choice of a university. Yet, Valpo appeals to several varied interests of students, alums, and faculty and appeals to them in good ways. Valpo has an excellent sense of community and academic challenge where members of the community challenge one another to be the best that they can be. We are not a place for students who wish to slack off and waste their educational experience on mediocrity. Valpo is a place for students to behold success, see what they need to do to achieve it and put forth sincere effort in rising to the occasion. Even better than that, students and faculty support one another in their pursuits in order that success not be achieved at the expense of others but, rather, through the aid of others. At Valpo you will see that genuine success involves the betterment of all.
As I think about my friends who walked across the stage with me at commencement I think of Fulbright scholars, PhD candidates, doctors, engineers, lawyers, politicians, global leaders and a vast array of interesting, capable, successful people. My peers at Valpo have gone on to big things because we all supported and challenged one another in big ways while students at Valpo. Our success has not been paved by large family estates or fortunes, big money offers from networks of employers, but rather from the hard earned ability to do things well. Real success is marked by the quality of one’s work and there is no short supply of quality on the campus of Valparaiso University…

Spring Break Experience

The following is what a current Valpo junior from Wasau, WI has to say about her spring break service trips. Enjoy!
Valparaiso University has a lot of different service options that students can participate in over Spring Break or the summer. As a sophomore on campus, I have had the privilege of going on two of these types of service oriented trips. Last year I went to Nicaragua with the Education Team to teach elementary school children English. Without being an education major, I was welcomed into the group and was able to broaden my horizons by travelling to a foreign country for two weeks. I was able to work on my Spanish since I had learned in Jr. High School and interact with students unable to speak English. I still receive emails from some of my students that I had there.
While that was an amazing experience, this year I decided to stay slightly closer to home. Through the Social Action Leadership Team on campus, I had the opportunity to travel to New Orleans for a week to work on hurricane relief efforts. It has been approximately five years since the devastation has occurred, but there is still plenty of work remaining. For a week I stayed in a church with eleven other students from Valpo. We had an energetic cook named Brenda that shared her experiences of being around during the storm.
Our work consisted of finishing up two houses a few miles down the road. Each had approximately seven feet of water damage from the levees breaking. The first day we were able to hear the stories of the homeowners; one of the men, a firefighter, explained how his division saved upwards of around 500 people from the flooding. Stories of alligators swimming in the water past houses and people breaking through their attics with axes were mind blowing. Now, every attic is equipped with an ax, and anyone that owns a boat must leave the key inside and have the gas tank full just in case it needs to be taken in the event of an emergency.
Physical labor on our end to restore the houses included sanding, mudding, texturing, priming, and painting. The work was at times monotonous, but the looks and gratitude from the homeowners made it entirely worth the blisters accumulated on our hands. It was humbling to know how we could help others so much with only a few hours of our time. On Thursday of the week, we changed up our scenery by air-boating into the marsh to replant hundreds of trees. With Ball Cypress trees in hand and a shovel type device, we covered the marsh with new baby trees for literally as far as the eye could see. The trees are supposed to help block the strong winds caused by hurricanes from reaching the inland areas with as great of an impact as they typically would.
All in all, my trip to New Orleans and my earlier trip to Nicaragua have given me a greater appreciation for what I have and a greater desire to help others. The university here really encourages students to take advantages outside of campus to learn and grow as an individual. I have learned so much from my service oriented experiences, and I can honestly say that they have impacted my life. If you decide to come to Valpo, try to fit in a time, even if it’s only a week, to commit yourself to service somewhere around the world. I guarantee you won’t regret it.

My winter morning walk

Walking onto campus today I was struck by a subtle contrast. In front of me on my right lay our old union. This was the union building that I visited when I was in high school and utilized as a student. Filled with nostalgia, I remembered a time wrote a paper for my Greek drama class all night long in the 24 hour study lounge. As usual, I put off writing the paper until it was due and I committed the whole of my resting hours to write it well. I most remember the next morning as I walked back to my room. I stepped out of the lounge to the caress of the spring air chill on my fatigued face, the sun ascending over the horizon and the feeling of genuine accomplishment in my heart. That was a subtle moment of my college experience that I will always cherish.
I then thought about the many meetings during which I planned, discussed and deliberated over concerts to bring to campus, community events and a vast array of other activities. Yes, there have been an immeasurable amount of ideas exchanged in that old building that lies vacant now. There have also been many friendships started and nurtured in the old Jester's eating area. This was the main dining area in our old union where many friendly faces could be seen at any given time. When I was a student merely a few years ago, the old union was an active place for relationships to grow, papers to be written and the community to meet.
Then, on my walk this morning, I looked to the left and saw our new union that has been open now for just over a year. It is an impressive space that has added a great deal to our campus life. Though its opening has meant the closer of the union that I new as a student, it is a space that has already earned its stripes by providing good space for community. When I looked at it this morning, I was struck with contrast between it and the old union. The contrast that became apparent to me was not the difference between the spaces themselves. Rather, I was struck by the contrast of change. In that moment the new union was simply that; new. The old union was the reverse; old. The new is place for current students to have their own experiences of paper writing, late night lattes, stressful meetings and ever-welcome chance encounters with friends. It is a place for students to forge priceless memories that bring delight on their morning walks to work. The 'new' is entailed by change and means that everyone is able to have their own experiences. The 'old' is what we remember and the 'new' is what we experience. There is a lot of 'new' going on here. New class discussions, organizations formed, trips planned, games won, teams created, papers written, projects designed, friends made, etc.; are all part of the Valpo experience. Then, when these become 'old', they will stay with you and warm up your winter morning walks...

The Question

I published this post last year, but thought it may be helpful to those of you who are now in your senior year. Enjoy!

There are interesting times in life when people find it convenient to hound you with questions for which you have no convenient answers. Having recently planned my wedding, I found that the wedding planning process draws a great number of answerless questions. Having also recently graduated, I found several people asking me about job prospects when I had none. Worse than these moments of questioning, though, was my senior year of high school.
In a lot of ways senior year is the best year of high school that one could have. Students, underclassmen, faculty, administrators, parents, etc. treat seniors with much greater respect than freshman, sophomores, or juniors. The red carpet is metaphorically rolled out for the seniors as they enter the school for their final year in the fall. In the school, there are no older students to treat their ambitions and existences as inferior. Furthermore, the sheer excitement of one's ensuing graduation overtakes the whole of the senior class and envelopes it with an energy unparalleled by any other group of students in school. It is just fun to be senior. Well, most parts of the year are fun....
Along with the excitement comes the endless questions. I shouldn't really say the endless 'questions', but rather the question, which is repeated endlessly: "So, where you going to college next year?" This question seems to start at the very beginning of the year. Before you have even gotten your bearings for your final year (and sometimes even before your senior year starts) they ask "the question". At first you hear it just a little. For most, it seems odd that anyone would inquire about which college you prefer at this time of year. How should you know where you want to spend your next four years? You haven't even figured out how you want to spend this year, let alone how you want to spend the four most formative years of your life. Why are they asking about this now? But, most are able to shrug the question off at first with little consequence.
However, as the leaves change and the temperature drops (for those of us in the upper Midwest), the question starts to hit home a little more. The question does not get to you because your answer has changed. You still do not know where to go. How should you know which college is best for you? How could you ever know that? No, the question hits home because you are starting to ask it yourself. You say to yourself: "Wait a minute, where am I going to college?" Your future seems much closer as you become comfortable with your senior status and really begin to realize that you are on your way out. When you pose the question to yourself it seems more daunting and it seems more real than ever before.
And to make it worse, they keep asking you, as well. By they, of course, I mean your parents, teachers, friends, and random adults in the community who you barely know. The only thing that could make the question more appalling to you at this point in time is for them to ask it to you. Sure enough, they do and they don't stop. One person will ask it. Then another. Then another. Then someone who already asked you. Then another.... and so on. Your answer does not change but they ask the question anyway. This is the worst time for them to seek an answer to this answerless question. This is the worst time for your college confusion, as well. You hit a point when you have several schools on your list and no way of deciding between them. The future is looming over you, as well as people nagging you for a decision about which college you will choose.
Though this is a difficult time, my advice is to be patient. The question will sort itself out. It has an almost magical way of eventually finding its own answer. Though the endless questioning continues to bring frustration and confusion, the question of which college is right for you will find a clearer answer down the road. The answer as to which college is for you may not come with total certainty, but be patient and you will be able to see an answer with greater clarity. In time you will find the college that is right for you and, like me, you will reflect on your experience with ease... later on.