Northern Indiana is full of people working hard every day to make their communities a better place. Since 2011, GreatNews.Life has been putting the spotlight on the people spreading this positivity in the Region with our Life in the Spotlight series. New articles are published every Wednesday, so be sure to check back often to learn more about the stories of great people doing great things in Northern Indiana.
The Region is known for hosting folks for what they think will be a season of their life, but they wind up staying a lifetime. The Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore, Valparaiso University, the steel mill industry, and large public education systems...
Family ties run strong for some Region families, with parents and grandparents laying down roots many decades ago. This holds true for Arman Sarkisian, longtime resident and associate at his family’s law firm, Sarkisian Sarkisian & Associates...
Dr. Stephen Schnurr got his first church job when he was still a student in high school in Louisville, Kentucky. Then he went on to complete his undergraduate studies at Duke University in North Carolina. His graduate work was done at Yale University...
After graduating from high school in 1972, Sue White became a preschool teacher. She got her first job working at First Christian Church in Valparaiso. In 1976, she met her husband, Seth, at Valparaiso Nazarene Church. They had three daughters...
The traditional path of pursuing a college degree to become a successful business owner has proved worthwhile for some, but longtime Region resident Micah Luce decided to take a different approach. Luce’s first year of college at Valparaiso...
Valpo residents have kept Addison “Addie”Hines busy this spring with their alteration needs from prom dresses to jeans. The Valpo native recently opened The Stitchery Studio and has been hard at work since. Hines graduated from Valparaiso High...
Deb Kucharyski grew up in the Midwest and met her husband after her college graduation. He took a job in Houston, Texas shortly thereafter, and then the couple moved there to live together and raise their children for 17 years. They also lived in...
John Kilavos has a big role with the ability to have a positive impact, as he’s the executive and family-ministry pastor at Heartland Christian Center in Valparaiso, Indiana, a church where community and faith cooperate. He took on his current role...
Amanda Bookholt grew up all over the United States. Her dad was an army officer, so she and her family moved around often. Her high-school years were spent in Grayslake, Illinois, a village not too distant from the Region. She’s been living and...
Drew Sarkisian, owner and operator of the Valparaiso-based erosion control and landscaping business Modern Edge LLC, is a driven individual who loves her family, her community, and her job. As the president of the Tri Kappa Iota social sorority...
