January 16, 2026 Local Stories in and Around St. Joseph, Illinois

10 things you don’t know about me with Whitney Setterdahl

My favorite childhood memory is when my youngest brother Jack was born. My brother Ben and I were eating an ice cream sundae at Perkins when our parents called and said Jack was going to be born soon. We ditched our sundaes and ran through the parking lot to the hospital!

I think it’s important to get involved in community service because it teaches you to be empathetic. I always try to keep in mind that others in my community have had different struggles and experiences than I have, and getting involved with their service efforts teaches you to understand the people around you a bit better, and the world a bit better too. My experience with cancer was heartbreaking in so many ways and not always easy to share, but I think spreading the word about your experiences is really important and gives you a sense of control over something you feel like you have no control over sometimes.

The last book I read was “When Genius Failed” by Roger Lowenstein.

The Office is a show I can watch over and over! I’ve probably seen every episode at least 5 times.

I think what I’ll remember most about 2020 is the cheering I would hear from my apartment in Chicago every night during the first few months of the pandemic. I lived near a hospital and when the nurses would get off their shifts and walk home, everyone cheered to show their appreciation!

I’m most looking forward to hopefully getting to take a trip somewhere again in 2021. Between starting my job after graduation and the pandemic, I’m really missing relaxing at the beach.

It’s so hard to pick my favorite part of the holidays because I love the entire season so much. If I had to pick one thing, I’d say the time with my family. My brother goes to college out of state and since I’ve moved out from home, my siblings and i see each other less frequently so I really love catching up and being under one roof again.

My favorite place I’ve traveled to is Verbier, Switzerland. I got to back in March of 2019 for my job, it was so beautiful and I hope to go back one day!

I always carry chapstick, hand sanitizer, and a hair tie.

My first pet was a cat I named Grazy.

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