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.