God has a way of always surprising Melissa (Meyer) Mofikoya. A chemistry major at Viterbo, Mofikoya was convinced that she was going to be a doctor. In the fall of her senior year, she had a change of heart and decided to go to graduate school instead of medical school. At the University of North Dakota, she joined a research group focusing on environmental testing and analytical instrumentation.

The recent recipient of a new hip joint that makes him feel like a “rock star,” 74-year-old Fr. Conrad Targonski is still going strong as Viterbo University chaplain. A member of the Franciscan Friars of the Assumption, Iraq War veteran, and conversant speaker of four languages, Fr. Conrad was recently honored with the prestigious Iverson Freking Ecumenical Recognition Award.

If you ask Viterbo students or alumni why they chose to study at the university, chances are they’ll mention how the campus felt like home from the first visit and they felt like part of a family. For students whose parents attended Viterbo, that sense of home and family is often even greater. Four sets of students and their alumni parents shared their Viterbo connection stories with Strides magazine.

Growing up, Rose (Steinmetz) Bingham dreamed of becoming a teacher or a nurse. The empty corncrib on her grandparents’ farm often became a pretend hospital setting, with her dolls and unenthusiastic cats as patients.

The morning has flown by and as he brings the class to a close, Viterbo University Distinguished Professor of Servant Leadership Tom Thibodeau is going around the room asking his students to offer a word that sums up their experience that day. He turns his piercing blue eyes to each class member as their turn to speak comes, a gaze so intense it feels like he knows what you’re about to say but still can’t wait to hear you say it.

Matt Jurvelin is the assistant dean of student community, overseeing the areas of residence life, student orientation and engagement, and dining services. Jurvelin has spent more than 20 years in higher education in support of students and was excited to join the Viterbo family in July 2022.