Life in the Spotlight

Peyton Walter grew up both in Hebron, IN, and Cedar Lake, IN, and currently, he attends Hebron High School.. Walter is a junior in high school and plans to continue his musician career after graduation next year.  Walter currently has a...

Jill Wadycki-Cruz was born and raised in Valparaiso, Ind. In 1997, Wadycki-Cruz graduated from Valparaiso High School and in 1998 decided to pursue a respiratory therapist degree at Ivy Tech Community College in Valpo. At the age of 19, Wadycki-Cruz...

Bailey Tymm is a committed small business owner to her company, Desert Rain Boutique. Tymm wanted to start her own business for a while before she actually started Desert Rain, having grown up in a large family which pushed her to want to find a...

Hailing from Crown Point but now residing in Gary, Madeline (Maddie) Raspe is a unique person with a huge heart. Her story is one that needs to be heard, as she has helped so many other people who have struggled through the same complications as her,...

Shana Robertson, the newly appointed Community Relations Director for Fair Haven Rape Crisis Center, grew up in Northwest Indiana and graduated from Purdue Northwest University in 2007. Robertson wanted to become a therapist when she graduated, but...

Joe Conboy is the proud owner of Conboy's Detail & Customz, a full-service interior and exterior shop, and has been since March of 2021. “Conboy’s Details & Customz started in my house and outgrew that too fast. I started making plans to...

Grace Bentkowski is no stranger to the world of news media. Bentkowski has been involved in journalism since her sophomore year of high school, and she has already established an impressive career in journalism as a sophomore in college. “I used to...

Betty Funkhouser is the Health and Physical Education teacher at Hobart Middle School. Funkhouser has been teaching health and PE for 43 years, and her passion for sports and teaching all started in college. “As I went on through college, I did...

Carolyn Budig-Lipowski relocated to Hobart less than year ago and has since found her passion in work and in a community that she loves. Budig-Lipowski, a teacher in the K2 room at Caring Heart, Open Arms Childcare and Development Ministry,...

Mia Reitz is the mother of four children and a dog, and she is the owner of Sweet Moon Macaron in Griffith. She was not originally on the path to owning a bakery, but she made the decision to follow her passions.  “I was a stay-at-home mom for...