Initiative Category: Psychology
Every year, Trinity accepts extraordinary students who are dedicated to making a difference in the world. And among each freshman class, the College welcomes two Founders’ Scholars, whose extraordinary spiritual, academic, and social leadership sets them apart. Trinity is pleased to announce our most recent Founders’ Scholars for the incoming class of 2025, Tyren Brown of Upper Marlboro, Md., and Kara Van Dyke of Fishers, Ind. As Founders’ Scholars, Brown and Van Dyke have both been awarded full-tuition scholarships to the College.
Van Dyke attends Fishers High School and is active in the Students in Action service club, volunteers as a children’s ministry teacher, and participates in dance. She actively volunteers to help victims of human trafficking and plans to major in psychology as a way to help those who need healing. Van Dyke represents the third generation of her family to be part of Troll Nation, since her father Leon Van Dyke ’86, is an alumnus and her grandfather Gerrit Van Dyke, Ph.D., is an emeritus professor in the biology program.
Brown, who attends Chesapeake Math and IT Public Charter South in Upper Marlboro, plans to major in biology and play basketball at the College. He is involved in National Honor Society and the Congressional Leadership Program. Brown has also taken part in the Spanish ministry at his church, offering translation services to those who do not speak English as a native language.
“We are thrilled to welcome Tyren and Kara into the Trinity community this fall,” said Jeanine Mozie, director of admissions. “From our largest, most competitive pool of Founders candidates yet, they emerged from the group not only as exceptionally gifted students academically, but also as students who have great potential to shape this campus through their thoughtful leadership. The interview committee found both Tyren and Kara to be dedicated, passionate, and impressive students whose enthusiasm for others and commitment to community will make a lasting impact on this place.”
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.
–By Christy Wolff ‘10
As the owner/operator of a Chick-fil-A franchise, Tyler DeKoekkoek ‘14 begins each day by reminding his team, “It doesn’t matter what you believe in. What’s important is how you add value to peoples’ lives around you.” And that’s exactly what Tyler does: He uses his leadership role to positively influence the people he works with and adds value to the restaurant — all tools he acquired during his time at Trinity.
Born in Michigan, Tyler grew up loving the game of basketball. When he was offered a basketball scholarship from Trinity, he enrolled. Entering his freshman year, Tyler decided to take an assortment of classes to determine what interested him the most. Challenged and intrigued by psychology, he quickly declared his major, with a minor in theology as a way to grow in his faith.
Both Dr. Michael DeVries and Dr. Derrick Hassert from the Psychology Department positively influenced him. “Both professors had experience in the field, so they had practical stories students could relate to, as opposed to just reading textbooks,” Tyler shares.
After graduation, Tyler coached the men’s basketball team for a semester before stepping back and allowing God to guide him in his career. This led Tyler to a job in the Virgin Islands, where he worked with A Christian Ministry in the National Parks — a student-led ministry that sends roughly 200 ministry team members into 75 locations in 25 national parks around the country.
Tyler distinctly remembers God telling him, “I can use you, Tyler. Be open to anything I have in store for you.”
After returning home and getting married, Tyler’s in-laws introduced him to a friend who was the owner/operator of a Chick-fil-A franchise. “I met with him hoping to receive career advice and walked away with a job overseeing the catering operations,” Tyler says.
During the years that followed, Tyler stepped into an operations role before being selected as the owner/operator at the location he still runs today, located near the Illinois/Iowa border.
“Oftentimes in the world of business, leaders get caught up in the data, analytics, and sales,” he says. “But I think what’s lost is connecting with the people you’re working with.” And that’s where Tyler’s psychology degree comes into play.
Managing 25 employees with 25 different personalities isn’t a one-size-fits-all situation. Tyler strives to build relationships and figure out how best to lead each employee. “I use my degree every day to figure out how to build a team from varying backgrounds,” Tyler shares.
Looking back on how God led him to where he is today, Tyler shares, “I’m so thankful that God helped me be open to what He had in store for me.”
When the psychology department at Trinity was first established, the practice of psychology was considered inclusive of professional counseling. In fact, Trinity’s psychology program has always trained students with a heavy emphasis on relational and interpersonal skill development.
Over the last few decades, counselors have established a unique professional identity separate from that of psychology. This has led to increasing distinction between the broad study of the psychological sciences and the more applied nature of counseling practice. Here at Trinity, we recognize the distinctiveness of the fields of counseling and psychology while also celebrating their interconnectedness.
To more accurately reflect today’s practices and our program offerings, Trinity has updated the department name from Psychology to Counseling and Psychology. As the Department of Counseling and Psychology, Trinity continues to offer an undergraduate major in psychology serving traditional and adult students and a graduate program in counseling psychology that trains professional counselors. Our faculty is comprised of doctoral-level counselor educators and psychologists with a range of specialties.
“Our new name reflects our commitment to valuing the ways that these fields inform each other’s work, research, and practice,” said Director of the Graduate Program in Counseling Psychology; Associate Professor of Psychology; and Department Chair Kara Wolff, Ph.D. “Ultimately our new name is about inclusiveness. We want to acknowledge the distinctiveness of each of these fields while also working towards our common goal of educating students.”
Click here to learn more about Trinity’s Department of Counseling and Psychology.
When the psychology department at Trinity was first established, the practice of psychology was considered inclusive of professional counseling. In fact, Trinity’s psychology program has always trained students with a heavy emphasis on relational and interpersonal skill development.
Over the last few decades, counselors have established a unique professional identity separate from that of psychology. This has led to increasing distinction between the broad study of the psychological sciences and the more applied nature of counseling practice. Here at Trinity, we recognize the distinctiveness of the fields of counseling and psychology while also celebrating their interconnectedness.
To more accurately reflect today’s practices and our program offerings, Trinity has updated the department name from Psychology to Counseling and Psychology. As the Department of Counseling and Psychology, Trinity continues to offer an undergraduate major in psychology serving traditional and adult students and a graduate program in counseling psychology that trains professional counselors. Our faculty is comprised of doctoral-level counselor educators and psychologists with a range of specialties.
“Our new name reflects our commitment to valuing the ways that these fields inform each other’s work, research, and practice,” said Director of the Graduate Program in Counseling Psychology; Associate Professor of Psychology; and Department Chair Kara Wolff, Ph.D. “Ultimately our new name is about inclusiveness. We want to acknowledge the distinctiveness of each of these fields while also working towards our common goal of educating students.”
Click here to learn more about Trinity’s Department of Counseling and Psychology.
When the psychology department at Trinity was first established, the practice of psychology was considered inclusive of professional counseling. In fact, Trinity’s psychology program has always trained students with a heavy emphasis on relational and interpersonal skill development.
Over the last few decades, counselors have established a unique professional identity separate from that of psychology. This has led to increasing distinction between the broad study of the psychological sciences and the more applied nature of counseling practice. Here at Trinity, we recognize the distinctiveness of the fields of counseling and psychology while also celebrating their interconnectedness.
To more accurately reflect today’s practices and our program offerings, Trinity has updated the department name from Psychology to Counseling and Psychology. As the Department of Counseling and Psychology, Trinity continues to offer an undergraduate major in psychology serving traditional and adult students and a graduate program in counseling psychology that trains professional counselors. Our faculty is comprised of doctoral-level counselor educators and psychologists with a range of specialties.
“Our new name reflects our commitment to valuing the ways that these fields inform each other’s work, research, and practice,” said Director of the Graduate Program in Counseling Psychology; Associate Professor of Psychology; and Department Chair Kara Wolff, Ph.D. “Ultimately our new name is about inclusiveness. We want to acknowledge the distinctiveness of each of these fields while also working towards our common goal of educating students.”
Click here to learn more about Trinity’s Department of Counseling and Psychology.
Whether pursuing an undergraduate degree in a psychology-related program or earning a Master of Arts in counseling psychology, students at Trinity learn to blend a liberal arts based approach to psychological science with the art of understanding the self and relating to the contemporary world in all its complexity.
And now, students who are working towards their B.A. in Art Therapy, Psychology, or Speech-Language Pathology at Trinity can begin taking graduate-level courses in their junior or senior year.
That means students can earn a psychology-related B.A. and an M.A. from Trinity in five and a half years, instead of six.
“Undergraduate students who take graduate coursework at Trinity can seamlessly transfer those courses into the Master of Arts in Counseling Psychology program upon finishing their Bachelor of Arts degree,” said Dr. Kara E. Wolff, Ph.D., Director of the Graduate Program in Counseling Psychology and Associate Professor of Psychology.
“This new opportunity is also ideal for undergraduate students who are interested in graduate school and would like to experience graduate coursework prior to beginning a full graduate program,” said Wolff.
With this new program, students may take up to three courses at the graduate level during their undergraduate experience, allowing for up to nine credits of graduate coursework that can be counted towards both an undergraduate and graduate degree.
Trinity is also welcoming our alumni back to their campus home for graduate school. Alumni who enter the Counseling Psychology graduate program for the fall of 2019 will receive a $250 tuition discount. The College is also offering a $500 scholarship, in the form of a tuition discount, for Trinity alumni who graduated with a 3.5 GPA or higher.
There are several requirements for undergraduate students looking to start graduate level coursework:
–3.0 cumulative GPA, junior or senior standing, previously completed four psychology courses with grades of B or higher: PSYC 121, 122, and two other psychology courses.
–Successful completion of an interview with the graduate program director.
Students interested in enrolling in the M.A. program after completing their Trinity bachelor’s degree will have their application fee waived. They will need to complete the following elements of the graduate application process:
- Submit an application ($50 application fee is waived)
- Submit two letters of recommendation through the online application portal
- Complete an interview with program faculty
- If accepted into the program, pay the non-refundable enrollment deposit of $250 and attend orientation
Learn more about Trinity’s B.A. psychology-related majors here. Click here to learn more about Trinity’s M.A. in Counseling Psychology. Download the program flyer.
Prof. Kara E. Wolff, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Psychology, Department Chair, and Director of the Graduate Program in Counseling Psychology, has been named Trinity’s 2019-20 Professor of the Year.
“I was pretty shocked, and it’s very exciting,” said Wolff. “I work with so many really fantastic faculty members, and I’ve learned so much from them.”
As 2019-20 Professor of the Year, Wolff will be honored at the May 4 commencement and offer the message at Trinity’s 61st Annual Convocation this fall.
Among those who nominated her, Wolff was lauded for her teaching, scholarship, and mentorship. Several nominators cited her exceptional ability to address often-challenging topics such as race, gender, and sexuality in a hospitable, Christian way.
Wolff said her work is part of a collaborative effort, for which she is grateful. “I don’t do this by myself. We succeed together. And I’m grateful for my students, who are willing to take on topics that are difficult and messy,” she said.
Wolff joined Trinity in 2012 and teaches undergraduate and graduate level courses in psychology and counseling psychology. Her research interests include race and racism, issues of gender and sexuality, clinical supervision, colorblind ideology, and identity.
Prof. Kara E. Wolff, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Psychology, Department Chair, and Director of the Graduate Program in Counseling Psychology, has been named Trinity’s 2019-20 Professor of the Year.
“I was pretty shocked, and it’s very exciting,” said Wolff. “I work with so many really fantastic faculty members, and I’ve learned so much from them.”
As 2019-20 Professor of the Year, Wolff will be honored at the May 4 commencement and offer the message at Trinity’s 61st Annual Convocation this fall.
Among those who nominated her, Wolff was lauded for her teaching, scholarship, and mentorship. Several nominators cited her exceptional ability to address often-challenging topics such as race, gender, and sexuality in a hospitable, Christian way.
Wolff said her work is part of a collaborative effort, for which she is grateful. “I don’t do this by myself. We succeed together. And I’m grateful for my students, who are willing to take on topics that are difficult and messy,” she said.
Wolff joined Trinity in 2012 and teaches undergraduate and graduate level courses in psychology and counseling psychology. Her research interests include race and racism, issues of gender and sexuality, clinical supervision, colorblind ideology, and identity.
Prof. Kara E. Wolff, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Psychology, Department Chair, and Director of the Graduate Program in Counseling Psychology, has been named Trinity’s 2019-20 Professor of the Year.
“I was pretty shocked, and it’s very exciting,” said Wolff. “I work with so many really fantastic faculty members, and I’ve learned so much from them.”
As 2019-20 Professor of the Year, Wolff will be honored at the May 4 commencement and offer the message at Trinity’s 61st Annual Convocation this fall.
Among those who nominated her, Wolff was lauded for her teaching, scholarship, and mentorship. Several nominators cited her exceptional ability to address often-challenging topics such as race, gender, and sexuality in a hospitable, Christian way.
Wolff said her work is part of a collaborative effort, for which she is grateful. “I don’t do this by myself. We succeed together. And I’m grateful for my students, who are willing to take on topics that are difficult and messy,” she said.
Wolff joined Trinity in 2012 and teaches undergraduate and graduate level courses in psychology and counseling psychology. Her research interests include race and racism, issues of gender and sexuality, clinical supervision, colorblind ideology, and identity.