At Valpo, the college experience extends beyond your major. We see these formative years as a journey that helps our Beacons find their true calling in the world and make meaningful connections. This core value transcends academic programs, inviting students of all aspirations to take their time as a Valpo student to ground themselves in what brings them joy.
For Christ College Scholar Aimee Plachta ’26, her passion for ecology and the environment led her to pursue a major in biology, a minor in chemistry, and a second minor in wetland science. While Aimee plans to advance her current internship with the Indiana Environmental Management Department into a vibrant career dedicated to conservation and habitat restoration, her time as a Beacon has allowed her to explore many different interests that brought her lifelong memories – including her third minor in French and experience as president of Valpo’s French Club.
Aimee’s journey with the French language began back in high school. “I took French through all four years of high school and I really loved it. After graduating, I just really wanted to continue learning it, because being able to speak a second language is so nice. Most of the world knows how to speak three to four languages,” Aimee shares. “It’s been really nice to learn about another culture and have that humbling experience that there are other cultures besides my own.”
Valparaiso, Indiana, is over 4,000 miles away from France, but Aimee, her fellow French students, and faculty are dedicated to giving their cohort the most robust cultural experience possible — starting in Downtown Valpo with Bao’s Pastry. This unique sweet treat boutique offers a mouth-watering variety of authentic French pastries and traditional desserts baked to life by Chef Bao. “It’s a French club. We always have to cater Bao’s [Pastry]!,” Aimee laughs. “We definitely wanted to have a relationship with them.”
Very quickly, that relationship evolved from enjoying croissants at French Club meetings to baking cream puffs in Bao’s kitchen.
“Given that Valpo does not have a large French-speaking population, it can be a challenge to provide French students with opportunities to interact with native speakers of the language they are studying,” Professor of World Languages and Cultures Timothy Tomasik, Ph.D., explains. “When I learned that the owners of Bao’s Pastry were from Paris and were both French speakers, I thought it [would be] the perfect opportunity for my students to experience a key aspect of French culture – food – while talking about it in French.”
Professor Tomasik spoke with Bao and her husband, Hà, last summer to discuss the possibility of setting up a pastry workshop for Valpo’s French students, and was met with great enthusiasm. In the fall, students were behind the scenes speaking French and baking their own French pastries. Bao explained all the instructions to make choux à la crème (cream puffs) in French, then turned over some of the tasks to the students. Written instructions were provided in both French and English.
“The actual experience was really nice. It was different from any other cooking class I’ve taken before. Because the workshop was open to all students, regardless of their experience with the language, it was very cool to be able to put our language skills to the test.” Aimee says. Attendees attested to a workshop full of laughter, with plenty of comfort to come forward to ask questions and discuss different pastry techniques in French. “Bao and Hà were gracious, generous hosts and the French students absolutely loved the opportunity to use their French in a real-world situation. It certainly didn’t hurt that they were also able to take home the fruits of this joyful labor at the end of the workshop,” Professor Tomasik adds.
As for the relationship between Bao’s Pastry and Valparaiso University, Professor Tomasik is confident in a growing and thriving future. “For me, the workshop was a perfect pedagogical moment where students learned by doing, engaged thoughtfully with another culture, and did all of this while supporting a local Valpo business,” he explains. “These workshops are likely to become an annual event for Valpo French students and there is even talk about creating some sort of internship opportunity so that students could acquire pastry-making skills through actual work experience. A productive partnership is on the horizon.”
These unique learning opportunities – whether they’re right here in our own local community or far abroad – make up the definition of what sets Valpo apart. Our students are not simply defined by their future endeavors or their major of choice; they are people with diverse interests and loves. And here at Valpo, we are dedicated to making sure every student has the time and space to explore every offering that captures their interests.
“[With French], I get to go from my major and all of the work that happens there to a completely different group of people and activities. It activates a different part of my brain, and it’s been really rewarding to see myself make progress and be able to hold conversations,” Aimee says. Valparaiso University offers both an individualized French major and minor, an active French Club that hosts a vast array of on-campus events, and an ever-growing Department of World Languages and Cultures. Discover your future in language, culture, and joy at valpo.edu.
