Features

Jim Atkinson grew up in a small town near Valparaiso and graduated from Boone Grove High School. He has a wife of 52 years, six children, and eight grandchildren. “I grew up on a small farm just south of Valparaiso where I milked three or four cows...

The features section on Portage.Life is one of the most popular, giving you insight into some of the most incredible happenings in the area, including #1StudentNWI articles, Life in the Spotlights, Survivor Series, Leadership Life, City in the...

The three words no one ever wants to hear – you have cancer. For Heather Almager, being 29 at the time, hearing those words left her stunned. Almager’s battle against breast cancer came out of left field. She and her husband had been trying to...

The last year and a half has been challenging at times for everyone, but especially so for Deborah Frahm. When Frahm learned that she tested positive for COVID-19, she was able to take a few weeks off from her job that she had just started...

Terry Dernik went into the army with the goal of becoming a helicopter pilot. Instead, he took on the title of a scout dog handler in the Vietnam War, a position he at first knew very little about but quickly saw to wear the title with a badge of...

In 2019, Rick Gosser received a diagnosis that changed his entire perspective on life. Gosser decided to visit the doctor that year when he noticed a mark that just wouldn’t heal.  “I had a sore on my left shoulder that would just not heal...

I’ve found five core things that determine if a leader will be successful long-term. I hope I demonstrate all five, the fact that I’m always working on it and never self-assured I’ve arrived is probably a good thing....

Healthcare, as well as IT, has been in an always-changing state for a long time – making my life (as the head of IT in a health system) always interesting and never settled.  I would argue that these days the world is changing rapidly, not...

Originally from Steger, Ill., but now a resident of Dyer, Ind., Carrie Gallegos’ life took a complete turn back in 2009 that sparked what has now been her craziest but most beautiful life journey. At the age of 24, Gallegos found herself driving...

I had this guy I used to work with probably a decade or so ago who used to say “make it a great day” all the time. It was even in the closing of his emails; it was something he did with great intention. I was curious about it, so I made...