Homecoming 2011 Attracts Hundreds: Photogallery

 

Homecoming 2011

A busy Homecoming weekend at Trinity welcomed 300 alumni to campus on October 8.

Athletics and Troll Trot

The 80-degree fall day got off to a competitive start with alumni men’s and women’s soccer matches and the 5K Troll Trot. Played against the current varsity teams on the new Route 83 soccer fields, both alumni teams walked away with a win. Later that day, both the men’s and women’s soccer teams faced off against Illinois Institute of Technology. The Lady Trolls were able to capture a 2-1 win, while the men fell 0-1 to the Scarlet Hawks.

The Troll Trot welcomed more than 80 participants, ranging from alumni to current students, faculty, staff, and a Student Association team. Joey Lerner ’10 took first place for the men, and Rebecca Vannette ’15 of Washington, Illinois, snatched the title for the women.

Special alumni gatherings

Also included in the day were opportunities within certain programs for alumni to reconnect. A business and accounting breakfast took place during the morning and featured a panel discussion titled “Maintaining a Distinctively Christian Identity in Business.” The education department, in celebration of its 40th anniversary, hosted an education alumni reception.

The afternoon featured a luncheon honoring the 2011 Alumni of the Year Award recipients: Dr. Michael Vander Weele ’73, professor of English; Sanda Carra, former staff member; Grace Huitsing, former professor of English; and Dean and Ruth Koldenhoven, friends of the College.

TARC and nursing lab open houses

Alumni enjoyed an open house for the new Trinity Athletics and Recreation Complex, completed at the end of this summer. Visitors were given the opportunity to view the De Vos gymnasium and other amenities offered by the new facility.

A dedication ceremony was held for the renovated nursing lab, named after former department chair Cynthia Sander. The modernized simulation lab “has given new life to the program with the ability to provide all students with the simulations experiences that support their nursing classes throughout the curriculum,” said Dr. Laurel Quinn, associate professor of nursing and department chair. “There is a high level of excitement with the opportunities to learn and grow into the role of the professional nurse.”

Class of 1971

Trinity also hosted a Class of 1971 reunion, celebrating the first class to graduate with four-year degrees after the College transitioned from a two-year program. The reunion welcomed more than 40 attendees.

“I enjoyed seeing the tremendous development that has taken place since then,” said Mark Dykstra ’71. “In our years at Trinity, we learned to read both sympathetically and critically, to think in a structured manner, and to write with clarity and conviction. Our professors helped us face Western history and learning with a confidence rooted in our Reformed Christian heritage. I will always be grateful to God for my excellent Trinity education.”

Seerveld’s Ecclesiastes

Homecoming came to a close with a sold-out performance of former Trinity professor Dr. Calvin Seerveld’s theatrical interpretation Ecclesiastes in the Marg Kallemeyn Theatre. The original and engaging dramatization is a dialogue among various, frequently opposing voices, accompanied by live music.