Initiative Category: Business
Trinity business majors leave the College confident in what they believe and possess the skills and experience necessary to excel in their field for good, according to Colleges of Distinction. That is one reason that the organization has once again recognized Trinity’s top-ranked nursing program among several categories, including among Christian colleges and Illinois colleges. The organization has also recognized Trinity’s business and education programs and for career development.
Colleges of Distinction awards badges to institutions whose business degrees are multidisciplinary in nature and loaded with practical experiences for students to engage the wider world of business. Trinity’s business program was lauded for its real-world experience; industry connections; business ethics emphasis; collaborative learning; and dedicated advisors and counselors.
“The College of Distinction recognition underscores the spectacular work of Trinity faculty and the excellent engagement of Trinity students,” said Provost Aaron Kuecker, Ph.D. “The recognition of Trinity’s three largest academic departments highlights the breadth of Trinity’s academic excellence, while recognition in the career development category highlights the successful translation of that academic excellence into vocational preparation.”
In recognizing Trinity, Colleges of Distinction specifically highlighted the College’s student-to-faculty ratio and high percentage of graduates who quickly find employment or enroll in grad school. “Trinity students are prepared for life beyond college thanks to their liberal arts curriculum that is grounded in Christian faith,” noted the organization.
Among the other areas that set Trinity apart:
Nursing
The organization cited several factors that led to this ranking for the nursing program: stability and excellence; validation from a nursing-specific accreditation agency; practical experiences; high mastery rates; dedicated advising and counseling; liberal arts exposure; high-impact practices; and industry connections.
Education
Trinity’s education program excels in its commitment to nurturing and supporting future educators, Colleges of Distinction found. Among the aspects that set Trinity’s education program apart: stability; multidisciplinary exposure; practical experience; non-education specialization; dedicated advising and counseling; high-Impact practices; and industry connections.
Career Development
In the career development area, Colleges of Distinction recognizes Colleges that have demonstrated superior ability to think ahead about how their students will succeed after they graduate. “Our Career Development Colleges of Distinction does not just have a career services office on campus; they integrate future careers into the present curriculum,” the organization noted.
Since 2000, Colleges of Distinction has recognized colleges based on four key areas: engaged students; great teaching; vibrant communities; and successful outcomes.
When Taylor Boice ‘15 was recently named to Fortune magazine’s “Five Star Wealth Managers under 40,” he was surprised and honored. And he credits his time at Trinity for helping to pave the way for his professional career success.
Boice, who is currently director of financial planning at Capital & Risk Management Services (C&RMS), knew he had been nominated. “But I really didn’t think I would be selected. This is such a competitive field and I knew there were a lot of accomplished people who could be considered for the award,” he said. “When I got the email and subsequent phone call confirming I was going to be recognized in Fortune, I really couldn’t believe it. It became real when I got a copy of the February/March issue and found my name on the list.”
For Boice, who began working for C&RMS in downtown Chicago after graduating from Trinity, working with clients is one of the best parts of his job. “I’m very thankful to the people who helped me develop as a person and professionally and am especially thankful for the amazing clients I get to work with every day. I wouldn’t have chosen this career or found myself in this position without the help and guidance of my family, friends, and mentors along the way.”
Those mentors include people he met at Trinity, where he double majored in communication arts and finance and played baseball. They helped prepare him for his career in two ways. “The first is all the field-specific knowledge that is a vital foundation for me as a financial planner,” said Boice. “I use a lot of the technical skills I learned at Trinity as I work to give clients the best possible advice and ensure that I manage their money well. I am also constantly communicating with clients to ensure they understand and implement the advice I am giving them. The skills I learned in my communications classes have been vital in communicating effectively with clients.”
Trinity also helped prepare him by developing his ability to think critically and solve problems. “My job is constantly changing, and I am constantly meeting new clients with unique problems,” said Boice. “I need to think critically and creatively to provide solutions for the people I am working with.”
A native of Hudsonville, Mich., Boice said a number of factors attracted him to Trinity. He fell in love with the campus after visiting several times. He also wanted to play baseball during college and was excited to receive an athletic scholarship. Boice also liked the campus’s proximity to Chicago. “I really felt comfortable here and saw a lot of value in having small class sizes and having all the curriculum taught from a Christian perspective,” he said.
His favorite memories include living in the dorms, as well as later moving off campus with people who are still some of his closest friends. Boice also said the professors in the business and communication arts department had a strong impact. “What has stuck with me most is the life experiences they shared with us as students,” he said. Boice also has great memories playing on the baseball team. “Coach [Justin] Huisman always focused on doing things the right way, which led to a lot of victories on the field and has really helped me in my life to this day.”
He also married a Trinity alumna, Janna (Ottenhoff) Boice ‘14. They now make their home in Northwest Indiana with their 3-year-old daughter, Quinn, and 9-month old son, Ryne. He loves to spend time with his family, particularly enjoying outdoor activities when the weather is good.
He also likes to watch baseball and basketball. “I also enjoy playing golf and enjoy participating in the golf outings for Trinity and other local Christian schools throughout the summer,” he said. Boice is also looking forward to returning to campus, as more in-person events are planned. “I’m hopeful I can continue being connected with the Trinity community and help students as they are growing and shaping their future. We are best when we work together and combine our strengths. This is something I witnessed clearly through the Trinity community, both as student and as a graduate today,” he said.
Boice said he is thankful to everyone from Trinity who helped shape his experience and helped him get to where he is today. “I still talk to a lot of former professors and students and even have the privilege of working with many of them as clients. Trinity is a special place with a lot of special people,” he said.
Trinity’s Business program has been recognized by Colleges of Distinction based on four key areas: engaged students; great teaching; vibrant communities; and successful outcomes.
Along with the Business program, Colleges of Distinction recognized Trinity in multiple categories for the 2020-21 academic year, including among Christian colleges and Illinois colleges. Other areas recognized by the organization include:
—Nursing Programs
—Education Programs
—Career Development
“Trinity Christian College has been changing students’ lives since 1959,” Colleges of Distinction noted, citing the individualized attention students receive, along with our extensive network throughout Chicago and dedicated faculty. “Through a Biblically informed liberal arts education, the College community endeavors to provide an environment of Christian integrity and love, enhancing and supporting the entire learning experience.”
In honoring Trinity’s academic programs, the organization noted the stability, practical experience, and dedicated advising and counseling Trinity students receive.
Trinity’s career development work was also praised for its integrated career exploration and preparation; accessible programs and training; and career-centered staff.
Continuing a years – long tradition of excellence and recognition, Trinity Christian College has been named among the “Best Colleges” by U.S. News & World Report for 2021. Trinity was ranked 21st among Midwestern regional colleges in this year’s survey. Trinity was also named a “Best Value” college and a “Top Performer on Social Mobility.”
“At Trinity Christian College, our community is focused on providing a rigorous, life-changing education, and our graduates go on to find success in their careers and vocations,” said Trinity’s President Kurt D. Dykstra. “We are pleased that U.S. News & World Report has once again recognized how Trinity prepares our students to change the world.”
Said Provost Aaron J. Kuecker, Ph.D., “We are proud of the excellent academic programs that are supported by Trinity’s world class faculty. Rankings like these are a recognition of the top quality, whole-person vision of education that we pursue at Trinity.”
Trinity is frequently recognized for its high academic standards. The College’s honors include being named a “College of Distinction,” a “Best BSN Program in Illinois,” and a “National Strength and Conditioning Association Education Recognition Program,” among others. Trinity, which is a university partner with 1871, the world’s top university-affiliated startup incubator located in downtown Chicago, also has a world-class business department that recently led the State of Illinois with both the highest pass rates and average scores on the most recent certified public accounting (CPA) exam. The Trinity Athletics Department was also recently listed among the Champions of Character Five-Star institutions by the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA).
The U.S. News rankings are based on qualitative and quantitative information in several categories, including peer assessments, graduation rates, social mobility, and faculty information. The “Best Value” ranking is determined by a school’s academic quality and the net cost of attendance for a student who received the average level of need-based financial aid. The “Social Mobility” ranking is based on how successful a college is at advancing social mobility by enrolling and graduating large proportions of disadvantaged students awarded with Pell Grants.
Since Fusion 59 opened in 2018, many people across campus and from the Chicagoland area have benefited from Trinity’s innovation and co-working space. As Haley Heeg ’20 takes over as Fusion 59’s Entrepreneur in Residence (EIR), she is looking forward to continuing and expanding on that tradition.
“Students from all backgrounds, majors, and disciplines engage with Fusion 59 in some form while being on and off campus throughout the summer months and school year,” said Heeg. “Alumni will come back to Fusion 59 to speak, present, or do workshops about how they are innovating in their current field of business.”
Heeg said she is excited about serving as Trinity’s EIR. The role allows her to serve as on-campus director and mentor within Fusion 59, while managing her own career. She takes over from Fusion 59’s first-ever EIRs, Ryan Hesslau ’18 and Tom Iwema ’18.
Fusion 59 consists of four core components: community, events, student clubs, and Trinity’s Consulting Team, Heeg said. “My job will be to manage the space and all initiatives that flow from the space.” She said she is particularly looking forward to working with guest speakers for “Fusion Friday” events and advising the Consulting Team, which works with clients from within and outside the Trinity community to help with event management, web design, social media marketing, photography, team management, and other functions.
Since Trinity has moved to online classes for the fall in order to keep the community safe, all Fusion 59 activities will be offered virtually. “Innovation Club will be virtual,” said Heeg. “We will be having a ‘Fusion Friday’ at least once a month for the entire school year, where guest speakers will present on Zoom [See more information below]. This will be very interactional, and students will be able to ask questions.”
Trinity’s Consulting Team will also be primarily virtual. “We will be helping local businesses in the Palos Heights community grow their social media and marketing strategies.”
Like several other campus facilities, Fusion 59 will be open as a place where students who are on campus can work in socially distant groups. The space, located in the Jennie Huizenga Memorial Library, will have a capacity of 15 people.
Heeg has always been an entrepreneur, and her time at Trinity helped her to focus on that calling. “From a young age I was always coming up with creative ideas and ‘businesses,’” she said. “At age 7, I started making doll clothes and selling them to my classmates. At age 15, my sisters and I started our own jewelry company called Trendy Trio.”
A native of Oklahoma, Heeg knew she wanted to study business at Trinity but wasn’t sure what she wanted to do with her degree. “My business department advisor and I discussed many things about my interests and skills,” said Heeg. Along with her interest in business, Heeg has successfully participated in pageant competitions, including being named a semifinalist in the Miss Illinois pageant in 2019. “I mentioned to him that I was selling my old pageant wardrobe and was ‘flipping’ dresses I bought from consignment stores. He told me that I was meant to be an entrepreneur and I have a business that I need to be serious about!”
With that encouragement, Heeg expanded Rosebud Bloom Online Boutique. “Because of the encouragement I received from my professor and advisor, I was able to pay my way through college and save money that would help me after graduation.”
Along with her studies and running Rosebud Boutique, Heeg was actively involved in Fusion 59 as a Trinity student and served as team manager for the Consulting Team and as president of the Innovation Club. “My professors and classes at Trinity equipped me to launch and succeed in owning my own business while being a full-time student, the Innovation Club President, and an active student in the classroom,” said Heeg, who graduated in May with a marketing major. “Now that I have graduated, I am fully prepared to enter corporate America and make a positive impact in my community.”
Along with serving as EIR, Heeg has a job with Ozinga as a Dispatch and Customer Service Representative. As part of her EIR duties, Heeg is on campus several evenings a week.
Fusion Friday Speakers
Throughout the academic year, Fusion 59 will be presenting a series of speakers who bring a variety of expertise and information. All Fusion Friday events will be accessible via Zoom. Scheduled speakers include:
Sept. 11 at 4 pm
Lawrence Weller, president of ECF Wealth, will be speaking and presenting on what being a business owner and working in finance has been like during a pandemic and offering advice for students who want to be entrepreneurs.
Visit here to learn more, including information about joining the Zoom meeting.
Oct. 9 at 4 pm
Anthony Ciccarone, coach and consultant with Amplify Chicago, will speak on career planning. Amplify Chicago addresses the racial wealth gap in the justice system by involving young people.
Nov. 6 at 4 pm
Rachel Holden, who is involved with recruiting and development at Northwestern Mutual, will be speaking about training, hiring, and recruiting, what companies are looking for during a pandemic and how students can be innovative in their approach.
With a Human Resource Management degree from Trinity, graduates not only learn how to manage HR from a strategic and organizational point of view—they learn to do so with an emphasis on human relationships.
And Trinity is pleased to announce that the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) has acknowledged that Trinity’s HR Management degree now aligns with SHRM’s HR Curriculum Guidebook and Templates.
“Achieving alignment certification with the Society of Human Resource Management (SHRM) gives our students the assurance that our Human Resource Management program is built to equip them to participate in testing for important professional certifications offered by SHRM,” said Professor of Business and Department Chair Deborah Windes, Ph.D. “SHRM certifications are the most prominently sought out by employers. Alignment certification also ensures that our program is equipping HR students for a strong start in their professional career in human resource management.
“With this achievement comes the opportunity to be listed in the SHRM directory of schools with aligned programs,” she said. “This is an excellent way for Trinity to reach more students seeking to work in human resources.”
The HR Curriculum Guidebook and Templates were developed by SHRM to define the minimum HR content areas that should be studied by HR students at the undergraduate and graduate levels. The guidelines are part of SHRM’s Academic Initiative to define HR education standards taught in business schools and help them develop degree programs that follow these standards.
With more than 300,000 HR and business executive members in 165 countries, SHRM impacts the lives of more than 115 million workers and families globally.
Trinity’s accounting graduates continued the College’s tradition of excelling on the certified public accounting (CPA) exam in 2019, leading the state of Illinois with both pass rates and average scores on the most recent test.
The Illinois Uniform CPA Examination consists of four sections, and candidates must pass all four sections in order to become a CPA: audit; business environmental concepts; financial accounting & reporting; and regulations.
Among the graduates from the 56 Illinois colleges and universities that took 16 or more sections of the 2019 CPA exam, Trinity graduates took 31 sections with a pass rate of 68%. That represents the highest pass rate in the state and well above the average pass rate of 53%. Trinity graduates also scored on average 79, which was the highest average score on the exam of any institution.
These scores are a testament to how Trinity prepares students for their vocations, according to Professor of Business and Department Chair Deborah Windes, Ph.D. “Our incredible accounting students leave Trinity prepared to succeed on the CPA exam and in their careers,” she said.
The CPA exam is administered by the Illinois Board of Examiners, a state agency that evaluates academic credentials, approves candidates to sit for the Uniform CPA Examination, monitors CPA examination testing activity throughout the year, and issues the Certificate of CPA Exam Completion upon passing the exam.
Trinity’s Accountancy Program is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Business Schools and Programs (ACBSP).
Trinity students don’t just experience the world beyond campus. Sometimes, opportunities come right to the classroom!
That is the case for Dr. Mike Chitavi’s Global Business class, which spent part of the fall semester developing international business plans for Sidekik, a soccer juggling tool. Sidekik was founded by Eli Dent, who began working on the company during high school and college.
Dent is looking to expand his business globally, and that is where Chitavi’s class became involved. As part of their coursework, the class met with Dent and developed business plans for Sidekik focused on opportunities in several different countries. The teams of students presented their plans in a “Shark Tank” style pitch at the end of the semester.
“One goal is to create a global sales strategy,” said Dent. “The students presented their plans, which include analyzing cultures and how business in done in different places. The class looked at everything from climate to history—everything.”
Since graduating from the College of Charleston in 2017, Dent has been expanding his business around the globe, while looking at new product lines. Dent began selling the Sidekik to one local store and has expanded from there. “Since 2017, we have doubled in revenue every year and have started doing a lot of more in terms of sales.”
He and the business moved to Chicago in 2018, where he became connected with Chitavi. “While I was playing soccer semi-professionally, David Kenga of Charleston Battery coached me. He connected me with Dr. Chitavi. We had a great conversation about business and soccer. Dr. Chitavi was really interested in how to make this part of his class.”
Trinity’s Business program has been recognized as a 2019-20 “College of Distinction.” The program was honored for its exemplary commitment to the four distinctions identified by the Colleges of Distinction organization: engaged students; great teaching; vibrant community; and successful outcomes.
Along with the Business program, Trinity overall was named a College of Distinction. Trinity was also recognized in several other areas, including: a Christian College of Distinction; Education College of Distinction; and Nursing College of Distinction.
Colleges of Distinction was founded on the premise that there are hundreds of remarkable colleges across the United States, each with a unique strength to offer the next generation of college-bound students.
Trinity is pleased to announce that Indira Escalante ’20 has been named Trinity’s Lincoln Laureate. Escalante was honored at the Lincoln Academy Student Laureate Convocation Ceremony on Nov. 16 in Springfield, Ill.
The annual Lincoln Academy Student Laureate Ceremony recognizes excellence in curricular and extracurricular activities by seniors from each of the state’s four-year, degree-granting colleges and universities, and one student from the community colleges in Illinois.
An accounting major and theology minor from Hoffman Estates, Ill., Trinity’s selection committee lauded Escalante for her leadership roles at the College, including as an intercollegiate student-athlete in golf, a member of the multicultural student leadership team, a founding member of a campus club called Women Empowered, vice president of administration of the Student Government Association, a student representative on the Campus Diversity and Unity Committee, and as a student mentor for incoming transfer students in Trinity’s Foundations 111 class. “She possesses a rare combination of gifts that span excellence in the field of accountancy, a complex understanding of social justice, a commitment to public service, and diverse contributions to the communities she serves,” the committee noted. “She has demonstrated a commitment to the public good for all people in ways that have garnered the respect of her peers, faculty, and staff in every context in which she serves. This is a remarkable gift to the Trinity Christian College community.”
Escalante, who was joined in Springfield by Becky Starkenburg, Vice President for Student Life, and her parents Lesly and Jose, said she was surprised and honored to be named Lincoln Laureate. “My first reaction was that I don’t deserve it,” she said. “There are so many students here at Trinity to choose from.”
After graduation, Escalante plans to sit for the CPA exam and go to work as an accountant with a major firm.
Trinity Christian College Lincoln Laureates
2018 – Mallory Boyce
2017 – R. Josiah Rosario
2016 – Courtney Kalous
2015 – Hallie Wisse
2014 – David (Woody) Lucas
2013 – Megan Anderson
2012 – Adam Perez
2011 – Alberto LaRosa
2010 – Joseph Wydra
2009 – Jon Vander Woude
2008 – Caitlin Fillmore
2007 – Elizabeth VanderSpek
2006 – Allison Backous
2005 – Erin Marshalek
2004 – Rachel Van Oort
2003 – Yvana Hansen
2002 – Evan VanderZee
2001 – Nate Bosch
2000 – Laurie Johnson
1999 – Hanna Vancer Zee
1998 – Kristen Devine
1997 – Heidi Boeck
1996 – Julie Tinklenberg
1995 – Keri Dyksterhouse
1994 – Mark Mulder
1993 – Kristen Hart
1992 – Sarah Ver Velde
1991 – Aron Reppmann
1990 – Nathan Van Der Male
1989 – Drew Sweetman
1988 – Erik Hoekstra
1987 – Kimberly Dykema
1986 – Edward Wiener, Jr.