Valpo alumni are doing amazing things across the country and around the world — in their professional and personal lives. They’re leading industries, contributing knowledge, and serving in a multitude of ways. These class notes offer a glimpse into their activities, accomplishments, and milestones. If you have news to share with your fellow Valpo alumni, please share it below.
Published Fall 2021
Jonathan Plan and Julie Flowers Plan
Jonathan ’09 and Julie Flowers ’09 Plant welcomed Jonathan Gerald Plant Jr. on Nov. 5, 2019. He joins sister Jenevieve Plant, age 4.
Valerie Kaufman
Valerie Kaufman ’09 CPA was promoted to the role of director of talent management and forecasting/senior manager at Chiampou Travis Besaw & Kershner LLP in August 2019.
Published Fall 2019
Kristopher Serra
Kristopher Serra ’09 joined the Secret Service a few days after graduation, where he served until 2012. He was a member of the presidential advance team for the 2012 election, on which he handled security aspects of many of President Barack Obama’s campaign visits. He then joined the FBI, starting in the cyber division as an analyst. In 2015, he was appointed as a special agent and transferred to San Diego. He currently works in the New York field office, investigating violent crimes against children. He and his wife, Michaela, live in Westfield, New Jersey, and have two sons: Kristopher, born October 2017, and Vincent, born May 2019.
Sean Hatfield
Sean Hatfield ’09 J.D. was appointed by former Kansas governor Jeff Colyer as a state district court judge in January 2019.
Published Winter 2019
Sandra Heyboer Hladik
Sandra Heyboer ’09 Hladik wrote an article titled “Hypoglycemia and chronic kidney disease,” which was published in the April 2018 issue of American Nurse Today. Sandra resides in Carol Stream, Illinois.
Kristoffer Grahnke
Kristoffer Grahnke ’09 died on July 24, 2017, three years after being diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. Kris earned his bachelor’s degree in education from Valpo in 2009 and his master’s degree in education from the University of Illinois at Chicago in 2013, specializing in behavior intervention. From 2014 to 2016, he taught special education at Whitman Post Elementary School in Rockton, Illinois. Kris wrote about his experience with ALS in his blog “Gronks Finding Grace” and became involved in ALS advocacy and fundraising. The ALS Association honored him with its Iron Horse Courage Award at the Iron Horse Ball in Chicago in the winter of 2016.