Clarence Beckwith Distinguished Alumni Award: Valerie Dell Huber

Valerie Dell Huber says that when she was taking courses at Lake Michigan College in comprehensive social science, she may have been daunted to think that 30 years later she would be working in Washington D.C. with Congress and the White House to draft legislation as the president of the DC-based National Abstinence Education Association (NAEA). But today the agency she co-founded provides advocacy for children and for the schools, health departments, and other organizations across the country that provide mentors and risk-avoidance education to youth. 

Valerie credits her time at LMC as part of the foundation for her accomplishments. LMC introduced her to the interplay between social policies and their very real impact on people. She went on to earn a bachelor’s degree in history with an emphasis in political science and a master’s degree in education at Cedarville University in Ohio.

After college, Valerie developed a new outlet for everything she had learned: she had four children. She was a very involved parent, and it became clear to her that her children’s friends and peers didn’t all have the same advantages as her own and other children. So as her children grew, she began to channel her energies into practical efforts that empower youth to make healthy decisions for themselves so they will flourish as adults.

The Clarence Beckwith Distinguished Alumni Award was presented to Valerie Dell Huber in 2014.