| Hello Students, Alums, Parents, and Friends of CC,
Greetings from Mueller Hall. We have had a semester full of celebrations in CC. A few weeks ago we participated in the week-long celebrations for the Inauguration of President Padilla. I was especially happy to introduce our own former National Council member the Honorary Rebecca Pallmeyer who gave one of the Notable Alumni Lectures.
Shortly thereafter we celebrated CC day —a day full of food, fun, and giving thanks for the gifts of our CC community. It was great to see the Commons full of students warming up with food and beverage, chatting and watching A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving, and voting for the “the most CC” Hand Turkey. It is a good time to be at Mueller Hall these days. In fact, last week we were treated to the 49th annual CC First-Year Production entitled Moralitianic—Bermuda Triangle’s Got Nothin’ On This. Thanks to alums Isaac Schoepp, Jake Just, and Allison Grischow for their energy and expertise in guiding the first-year students through this formative experience.
This issue of the “Compliments of the Dean” is dedicated to our alumni—through a call to reconnect via LinkedIn, as well as some stories about the amazing things CC alumni are up to these days. Please spread the word! Share this email or the links with your friends from CC.
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(Re)connecting
—with your classmates and other alums
One of my goals this year is to find a way to connect our alum and current students. To that end, in the Dean’s office we have been working hard to get the Christ College LinkedIn page up and running again. In addition, to rebooting our page, we have added two groups. The “Christ College Job Board” creates a space for those searching for a job or career change and those who are hiring. The “Christ College Alumni Connections” aims to be a space where you can reconnect or share your news with each other, the wider CC community, and us. Be sure to also connect with me! If you have other suggestions or want to help me develop our page please contact me. Thanks for your patience as I learn how to use it well.
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(Re)connecting
—with CC
We are trying to gather more alum stories and accounts of how CC shaped your decision to come to Valpo, your time at Valpo, and your time after Valpo. There are three ways to help us understand the value of CC and promote it. If it helps motivate you, I can make it due on Saturday at noon for nostalgia’s sake (of course, it is due Friday at 5 if you graduated before 1995)!
1) This short survey asks for ways that CC was important to your time on campus and beyond (10 minutes, unless you really write an essay. P.S. I won’t grade it.)
2) Do you have a recent success, achievement, or life change that you would like to share with us? Please add it to this short google form.
3) Do you want to give back to CC with your time or talents? Email us with your skills and expertise and we will look for ways to engage with you. We can really use familiarity with LinkedIn or WordPress. christ.college@valpo.edu
In any of these ways, I would love to hear from you!
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Alum Stories-
At homecoming this year six CC alum received awards from the Alumni Association (representing awardees from 2020 and 2021, due to the cancelling of Homecoming events in 2020).
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2021 Alumni Awards
Alumni Service Award
Isaac’s technical theatre expertise is renowned through the Chicago theatre scene. From 2009–2015, he worked on various productions as a freelance technical director and served as master carpenter for Lookingglass Theatre Company from 2013–2017. Isaac joined The Actor’s Gymnasium as a rigging specialist in 2013 and founded his own rigging design company, Rigability Inc., in 2018. Isaac won a Joseph Jefferson (“Jeff”) Award for Artistic Specialization in Rigging Design in 2015 for his work on Lookingglass Theatre’s “Moby Dick.” Since 2011, Isaac has served as coordinator for the Christ College First-Year Production, assisting with casting, leading rehearsals, and advising 80+ first-year honors students in writing and performing an original work of musical theatre that incorporates themes from the Texts and Contexts coursework. In the 2020–2021 academic year, Isaac helped the Christ College First-Year Production move to an online space. This year we are thrilled to be back in person!
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Claire Rueffer Schoepp 2008
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Alumni Service Award
At Valpo, Claire studied abroad in Cambridge and was involved throughout campus as a volunteer for the Chapel and as a member of Soul Purpose, Lumina, and the Valparaiso University Chorale. She became a consecrated deaconess in 2010 and completed her master’s degree in theology at Loyola University Chicago in 2013. After her time at Valpo, Claire served as a community worker, urban mission developer, and interim youth director for Concordia Evangelical, First Immanuel, and St. Matthew and St. James Lutheran churches. Claire recently began a new position at Holy Trinity Lutheran Church in Lakeview where she serves as director of operations for communication, technology and community. Claire is the project manager for the Antiracism Curriculum Project and a contributor to “Sundays & Seasons.” Claire sat on the board of the Lutheran Deaconess Conference from 2015–2019 and has served as a dedicated student mentor for the Lutheran Diaconal Association since graduation.
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Alumni Service Award
Jill completed her juris doctor at the University of Michigan Law School in 2002, where she served as associate editor of the Michigan Journal of International Law. Jill began her legal career in San Francisco at Thelen LLP, where she managed financing and asset transactions related to energy infrastructure, including representing a private equity company in an acquisition, debt, and tax-equity financing of 15 landfill gas-to-energy projects. Jill currently serves as assistant general counsel at Calpine Corporation, where she started as senior counsel in 2010. At Calpine, the country’s largest electricity generator from natural gas and geothermal resources, Jill is responsible for leading an in-house team of legal and land professionals and managing all external legal teams to support Calpine’s financial market and merger and acquisition transactions. Jill is a founding member of Calpine’s diversity & inclusion counsel. Despite the major responsibilities of a robust legal career, Jill served as a loyal volunteer on the Valparaiso University Alumni Association Board of Directors for nine years, serving as secretary from 2013–2015 and again from 2017–2019.
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2020 Alumni Awardees
Outstanding Young Alum Award
Sarah Benczik 2007
First Decade Achievement Award
Andrew Robinson 2010
Alumni Service Award
Lisa Boehm Rice 1998
Partners in Service Award
Eric Funke 2004 and Linda Davis Funke 2007
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Jennifer Prough, Ph.D.
Interim Dean, Christ College
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