A Beacon’s Reflection | Madison Lynn ’25

When I came to Valparaiso University in 2021, it was still during the COVID-19 pandemic.  I had to adjust from being on Zoom and being in high school to moving into a dorm at college and being around people again. My college experience didn’t have the best start as I hoped for. 

I ended up changing my major, and finding my friends was difficult. My fall semester freshman year made it really hard to adjust to college life here on campus. After that semester, the rest of the school year started looking up for me. I found a major that I love and found my real passion, which is teaching. Everyone in the program is so supportive and every elementary education professor has been there for me when I needed it. I am now a senior elementary education major with a social work minor as well. 

Even though my academics got better and I was succeeding, I still felt something was missing. My sophomore and junior year, I had a single room and while people believe having their own room is great, it felt really isolating. Finding a group of friends was a difficult task for me. I played on a intramural team here and there during freshman year, but it didn’t do much. When it came to my junior year, I decided I wanted something more myself and that was wanting to get more involved and finding where I belong on campus. 

I joined my sorority, Kappa Kappa Gamma, in the fall semester and I knew that this was my home away from home. I finally found what I was missing and what I wanted since I came to college. Being in a sorority has brought me my best friends, volunteering opportunities, being involved on campus whether its events or intramurals, and growing and becoming a leader. 

After that, my sorority pushed me to go for a leadership position in the elementary education department. I am the Class of 2025 representative for two years now and I also work as a [teaching assistant] (TA) for some of my old classes. While my journey at Valpo didn’t start off in the best way, I think my story shows that your college journey is in your hands – you decide what it’s going to be. Try to push yourself out of your comfort zone because you can find out that it can be the best thing you’ve ever experienced and I am happy to say I’ve found all that here at Valpo! Don’t take the big or small moments for granted because it goes by fast.