Spring Break

I don’t know what your destiny will be. … But I know one thing: The only ones among you who will be really happy are those who have sought and found how to serve.”

– Albert Schweitzer, The Meaning of Ideals in Life

Dear Students and Colleagues:

Each year, we take a moment at the midpoint of the spring semester to pause, to contemplate, to explore, to have fun, to recharge. As this week comes to a close and you travel to destinations from the exotic to the familiar, I hope that you’ll find some time to give generously of your time and your talents.

You are an important part of this Lutheran community of learning. As such, you understand that we are free to fearlessly pursue knowledge and truth wherever they may lead. Yet with that freedom comes responsibility, so we understand as a community that our freedom is to be used not only to benefit ourselves, but also to serve others and build a better world.

This year, many Valpo students are using this break as an opportunity to build – relationships, communities, support systems, businesses, health services, hope.

Students at the College of Nursing will head off on an inaugural service-learning trip to India in addition to their annual trips to Thailand, Costa Rica, Nicaragua and Chile.

The Social Action Leadership Team (SALT) coupled with the Union’s volunteer programs are sponsoring service-learning trips to Harvey, Ill., Pine Ridge, S.D., New Jersey (for post-Hurricane Sandy relief), New Orleans and Detroit. You can follow them on Twitter at #ValpoSB.

There will be a special blessing for all of those traveling on the service trips at Friday’s Morning Prayer Service in the Chapel. I encourage you to attend this special send-off service.

Whether you are participating in a sponsored trip to build and rebuild communities or you’re simply taking the break as a time to recharge, I hope your lives are transformed as well by the incredible relationships that you will soon make with our neighbors domestically and around the world. And I pray that you’ll return to campus safely readied to continue your pursuit of truth.

Godspeed,

Mark A. Heckler, Ph.D.

President