Sean English hails from metro Detroit, Michigan. He formed his connection to Indiana when he decided to become an undergraduate at Purdue University, studying communications. He’s stayed in the state since and currently works to keep the community...
Mark Tarner was born in Warsaw, Indiana, but moved to South Bend when he was little. When he was younger, he had a paper route. He attended Clay High School and then went on to earn a master’s at Eastern Illinois University, which is where he also...
Donald A. Girouard was raised in southern Louisiana. His family’s spread out between there and Arkansas. His father was a truck driver, so he moved from place to place as a kid. He did wind up going to high school in Alexandria, joining the United...
Ashleigh Jett was born and raised in the small community of Lothian in Maryland. She came to Indiana after moving to Hammond around the time of her early teenage years. She graduated from Carmel High School near Indianapolis. She’s been a homemaker...
James Solarek and his wife have been heavily involved with foster care affairs since 2012. In 2019, they launched Michiana Family Center, a nonprofit dedicated to providing assistance and support to foster children and adoptive families. Solarek...
Undergoing radiation treatments for many is a difficult test of courage. For one woman in the Region, however, her treatments brought her closer to a stranger in an unexpected manner. Shelly Sunderland was sitting next to a patient prior to their...
Juanita Segura was born and raised right here in the Region, and she still resides in her hometown of East Chicago, Indiana. She’ll observe her cancerversary this November, as it’s been almost exactly 10 years since she was diagnosed with lung...
Laura Herrod resides in Chesterton today, yet she grew up on the South Side of Chicago. She is a middle school counselor working in the Region. Twice she has battled cancer and survived it. Her stories now serve as testaments of endurance to women...
Donald A. Heichel II was born, raised, and went to high school in the Region in La Porte, Indiana. He still resides there, yet when he goes into the office to work, he’s in Indianapolis, as he currently works for the Department of Defense as a...
