Candace Kilpinen, Valparaiso University School of Law

Kilpinin is dedicated to a number of organizations including the Valparaiso University Alumni Association and University Guild, the Women's Leadership Institute, and Life Journey Ministries. She is also a wife and a mother of two with a background in education admissions. Kilpinen strongly believes in helping others in all aspects of daily life, both on a professional and a personal level. She credits her parents with teaching her the value of assisting others through a commitment to variety of churches and organizations. Kilpinin also spent two years in Tehran during her childhood, which presented her with the opportunity to recognize the worth of learning from different experiences and ideas.

Valparaiso University School of Law's philosophy states that law is a calling. This is fitting for Kilpinen who says that she is particularly inspired by the expanse of law and its capacity to provide assistance to those in need. In her legal studies, she enjoys burrowing into the connections between government and nonprofit groups, as well as the relationships that enable charitable work to bloom.


''I'm interested in taking all sorts of classes to get a diverse experience, but it's all about the service mentality and finding ways I can have an impact on people's lives. I'm guided from my nonprofit experience and am looking forward to what doors may open,'' said Kilpinen, who has not yet decided which area of law she will pursue following graduation.

During her law school career, Kilpinen has participated in a summer externship with a Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals judge, an externship with the US Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Indiana, and assisted in the spring 2010 Law Day celebration at Hanover Central Middle School. The Law Day celebration involved working with eighth graders to help them gain a better understanding of the court system. Lake Superior Court Judge Jeffery J. Dywan turned the classroom into a courtroom by assigning real legal cases to groups of students. The students were then asked to make a decision on the matter and defend their reasoning.