Top 10 Features Stories on NWIndianaLife in 2015

It's been a great year for positive, heart-warming and inspiring stories from Northwest Indiana. From inspirational community members to hard working students, some incredible people and their stories were covered in 2015.

Do you have any positive news related stories to share with us? Don't hesitate to send an email to share@nwindianalife.com and we'll be sure to look into it!

It gives us great pride to share with you the Top 10 Features Stories in Northwest Indiana for 2015!

A Northwest Indiana Life in the Spotlight: Joey Sparks
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It is hard to fathom just how much this week’s Life in the Spotlight, Hobart High School Senior, Joey Sparks, has done for Northwest Indiana in just a short time, or describe the impact his kindness has made on the community.

But ask Joey about all he has done for Northwest Indiana, and in particular, football, and he’ll, quite humbly, tell you about how much football and the community has done for him.

#1StudentNWI: Excellence in Sports and Academics at Whiting High School
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The Whiting Oiler football team proved to the state of Indiana how motivation can fulfill dreams.

“I hope that the team will realize that a group of people who share a common goal, a common dream and work together can make the goal a reality. This group came together at the right time and worked towards their goal and they should be proud of that accomplishment,” said Head Coach Jeff Cain.

The Thinking Man's Martial Art- Learning the Power and Passion Jiu Jitsu
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Anyone even passingly familiar with sports has no doubt heard of the Carlson Gracie Jiu Jitsu Team. With local affiliations in most states across America, as well as in South America, Europe and even Asia, the Carlson Gracie Team is one of the most widely-recognized MMA academies in the world.

A Northwest Indiana Life in the Spotlight: Shellie Dell
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Donor Relations and Marketing Manager Shellie Dell of Lake Area United Way has a smile like Christmas morning and a reputation for being positive, giving and energetic.

“I love working at United Way because they work with so many different organizations. I love people and connecting people with people. Networking is my favorite. It’s also a really interesting time to be there; United Way is evaluating how to best serve the community. We’re all like energizer bunnies. It’s electric!”

A Girl and a Girl: Navigating a High School Football Season
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Girls can aspire to be anything. Girls can break into whatever they want to. Girls can be a part of what men claim to be theirs. Football is no exception to those rules. When I was younger I never thought sports photography would be my “thing”. I didn’t play a single sport in school. I only watched games with some interest growing up - having memories of watching baseball with my dad and not truly understanding the love my grandfather and mom had for NASCAR (I’m still trying to figure that one out).

I knew the rules of football, sure, but it was never something I truly loved. I was more of a soccer person, if that. It wasn’t until I started taking pictures of high school football years ago that I truly understood the phenomena. Though I was looking through my lens at a game that has been a part of American culture for decades, I was also immersed in the community pride, the obsession, and the fascination football holds in Northwest Indiana. It’s hard to break away from that grip once I truly understood what it stands for, and what it can create.

A Northwest Indiana Life in the Spotlight: Michael Puente
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With the many changes taking place in the way news is reported, veteran reporters with a unique signature and natural talent for reporting are beginning to wane from the scenery. But a prominent figure still doing beat reporting is Michael Puente who works for WBEZ covering the NWI Indiana area.

Puente has two journalistic lives during his career - thirteen years in printed media and eleven years in broadcast media. He worked at the Post-Tribune of Northwest Indiana and the Daily Herald in Arlington Heights, Illinois, where he covered various political stories, the northwest suburban communities, and the Hispanic community. He also co-hosted the Latin Lingo show on WJOB 1230 AM in Hammond, Indiana in 2005.

A Northwest Indiana Life in the Spotlight: Bob Owen
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“Bullseye, back of the rim.”

That’s the mantra that Bob “The Bullseye Guy” Owen repeats before every shot he takes on the court while practicing. A mantra that has catapulted Owen to national fame as one of the country’s most prolific shooters in the nation; even today at the age of 70.

#1StudentNWI: Shining Staff and Students at Wirt Emerson High School
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This school year has begun with a BOOM giving high school students the college experience with the awesome Block Schedule System!

“I’ve been making these types of schedules for 18 years, and it was destined to be brought here to Wirt-Emerson. This schedule is built to prepare our students to be accustomed to a college-oriented learning environment.”

Looking Back on Six Years of LIFE
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I couldn't sleep this morning, thoughts racing in my head just like most every other morning I have known. Thinking about my kids and where they all are coming and going all over the country for spring break or their life's pursuit. About my wife and how much I am looking forward to some time alone with her, where neither of us are coming or going anywhere. About this creaky old body of mine that is coming up on 50; one that needs much more physical care and activity in the next 6 years than what Life has allowed in the last 6 years.

6 years of Life. What the heck were we thinking?

A Northwest Indiana Life in the Spotlight: Jerry Davich
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.Jerry Davich, writer, columnist, radio host and author of his latest book "Lost Gary: Rusted Landmarks of the Steel City" originally had little interest in the city of Gary, the city he grew up in. The city was crumbling, the buildings abandoned relics of a bygone era and its populace, an aging group of individuals whose best memories of the one-time “wonder city” are long gone.

This changed once he and his fiance and fellow radio show host Karen Walker took a walk through the different areas of Gary, getting a close look at the crumbling city that once was.