University of Indianapolis Vice President for Student and Campus Affairs and Dean of Students Kory Vitangeli shared her life journey in the Schwitzer Student Center Trustees Dining Room on Monday, Feb. 27, at noon.
This Sharing My Story event focused on angels and realizing what God’s calling on her life has been, while emphasizing the important role her family has played in her life. She shared photos at certain points in the presentation.
Vitangeli began her presentation by playing the Amy Grant video “Angels” for the audience. She talked about how her college roommate had introduced her to the artist with whom, Vitangeli said, she later became a little obsessed. This song really struck a chord with her and led Vitangeli to continue to find meaning in the song today.
“So when I was thinking about my story of God’s calling in my life and where I am today, the Amy Grant song ‘Angels Watching Over Me’ just popped into my head,” Vitangeli said. “I really believe that people here on Earth, and those that have passed before us, really are guiding us and our lives. I rely so much on those voices and people that I know are guiding me and leading me in my life.”
Vitangeli was born in Fort Smith, Va., on a naval base. Her family grew up Catholic, and God and religion were an integral part of her life growing up as well. Vitangeli’s grandparents came from Italy, and she said that her grandmother was a huge role model in her life.
When Vitangeli was two-and-a-half years old, she was no longer the only child, and around this time, her family decided to move to Dayton, Ohio.
“When I was two-and-a-half my brother Nick was born.… My dad grew up in Canton, Ohio, my mom grew up in Cincinnati, Ohio, and they were trying to figure out where they wanted to live. And they decided to be somewhere between the two families,” Vitangeli said. “They settled in Dayton, Ohio. My parents still live in the same house that I grew up in.”
After sharing her family background and the important role her family has played, Vitangeli considered what the angel analogy has meant to her.
“I thought about this angel analogy as kind of God’s calling in my life. Part of it really is about listening to those voices and listening to signs. When God gives you a nudge, listen and pray, and what God has for you is for you,” Vitangeli said. “So again, we all have to decide whether we accept that or not accept that. But I do believe we are on a path of life that God wants us to be on. I’ve tried to think of lessons I’ve learned that are based on the angel’s kind of the presentation concept.”
During the presentation, Vitangeli broke down what each letter of the word angel has meant to her throughout her life. She associated A with acceptance, N with the need for others, G with guidance, E with enthusiasm for life, L with love and S with selflessness.
Vitangeli shared the struggles she faced trying to find her place in the world as she was growing up over the course of middle school and throughout college. She said she was struggling to find something that she could take ownership of and make a difference.
Her journey to find her purpose and God’s calling in her life extended through her search for a college. Instead of following in the footsteps of most in her family by attending Ohio State University, she decided to attend a small college where her mother used to work at summer camps.
“I got accepted to Wilmington College, which is a small private college of about 1,000 students, and it is affiliated with the Quaker church,” Vitangeli said. “I really enjoyed my visit, and I decided to go there. I really can say that going to Wilmington College really saved my life, changed my life, [and] put me on a career path where I knew my junior year what I wanted to do for the rest of my life.”
Moving to Indianapolis was Vitangeli’s way of getting closer to her family, and being offered a position at UIndy really felt like her destiny.
“I really do feel like UIndy was the place [where] I was supposed to be, still is the place [where] I am supposed to be. And it just has been a great fit for me, for the people, and just the experience,” Vitangeli said. “So I really truly love my job here at UIndy.”
Vitangeli wrapped up the event by sharing pictures of her family.
