Archives: News Stories

-Sky Michael Johnston, PhD

Like everyone in the Trinity Christian College community, Grace Merrill has been grappling with the college’s impending closure. Grace’s expression of her thoughts and feelings about Trinity, however, are decidedly unique. She choreographed a ballet.

That ballet, entitled “Of Grief and Grace,” was performed on March 21 and is now available to view here. Merrill, a first-year Business Major at Trinity and a Founders Scholar, choreographed the piece for the Emerging Artist Showcase presented by the Ballet 5:8 Studio Company. In May, Merrill graduated from Ballet 5:8’s pre-professional program and has been a member of the studio company since August of 2025. She earned her spot in the Emerging Artist Showcase through a competitive selection process in December of 2025. At that time, only a month after Trinity leadership announced the college’s closure, Merrill knew that she would process the news through art and dedicate her piece to the Trinity community.

A central question guided Merrill’s reflections: Why does God give us good gifts that He would take away? This was a nearly impossible question to answer, and that is part of the reason Merrill turned to art. She notes, “I knew that dance was a way to process really difficult questions that don’t have a straightforward answer.” Dance created a space where Merrill could bear to approach the difficult reality of losing Trinity. Merrill describes this experience poetically, “Art is beautiful, but it can let us sit with broken things.”

For Merrill, any insights or comfort that dance could bring to the situation was never just about herself. She had the Trinity community in mind throughout the whole process of creating her dance. She reflects, “At the time, I really wanted to see if I could use the opportunity… to use [it] to bless the Trinity community because I knew that art had an opportunity to connect with people where other things fall short.” Now, thanks to Merrill’s expertise in ballet, the Trinity community has a moving work of art that others can access as part of their own processes for grieving the loss of Trinity.

The roughly 11-minute piece has three movements which reflect Merrill’s experience at Trinity before and after learning the news of the college’s closure. The first movement is titled, “The Gift.” This movement is celebratory and reflects the good things Trinity’s community shared together. The second movement is “The Grief.” Here, umbrellas are a symbol of the denial stage of grief. In this movement, grief is portrayed as the “shadow of love,” a concept that Merrill gleaned from C.S. Lewis. The final movement, “The Giver,” approaches an answer to the original question behind the piece and posits that our affection should be for the Giver rather than the gift. In this movement, there are no props. Rather, as Merrill explains, “There is just pure unity.”

The piece offers a profound theological reflection on the difficult circumstances that have stirred everyone who cherishes Trinity Christian College over the last few months. Through dance, narrative, and deep wisdom, Merrill has created a treasure. Ultimately, the piece itself is a testament to the story it tells: Through the experience of loss, it is possible to gain even more than what was taken away.

Merrill describes the dance and her process in choreographing it in this video.

Trinity Christian College is pleased to announce that its own Dr. Aron Reppmann will serve as commencement speaker at the college’s final graduation ceremony. Dr. Reppmann is Trinity’s longest-serving non-emeriti faculty member.

A Trinity Troll for thirty-eight years, Dr. Reppmann is a Professor of Philosophy and Department Chair of the Philosophy Department at Trinity.  He is a Trinity alum, having graduated with a degree in philosophy in 1992. He went on to earn an MA (’95) and PhD (’06) in Philosophy from Loyola University.

Starting in 1998, Dr. Reppmann began teaching full-time at Trinity while he was still a graduate student. In the same year, he became the founding director of Trinity’s Honors Program. In the 1990s, he also served a six-year term on Trinity’s alumni board including stints as its president and vice-president. In 2022, he was name Trinity’s Professor of the Year.

Dr. Reppmann’s bond with the Trinity community rests on much more than longevity alone. His moment-by-moment investment in students and colleagues has brought Dr. Reppmann into meaningful contact with seemingly everyone who has called Trinity home.

Those ties were evident when Dr. Reppmann emerged as the consensus choice among students, alumni, faculty, and staff in a nomination process for this year’s commencement speaker. The following comments were among the sentiments shared by individuals who nominated Dr. Reppmann: “I nominate [Professor Reppmann] because he has always been such a kind, genuine, and heartwarming professor.” “Dr. Reppmann carries so much wisdom, humor, and heart in everything he says and does.” “When I think of Trinity, I think of Reppmann.”

Dr. Reppmann’s wife, Karen (Swieringa), is also a Trinity alum (’92). Together they have two children, Anthony (’23) and Zoe.

This year’s commencement will celebrate the graduates of Fall 2025 and Spring 2026 on May 8, 2026 from 7:00 to 9:00 PM. As in past years, the ceremony will be held off campus at Ozinga Field, 14011 Kenton Ave., Crestwood, IL 60445.

The Dean’s List is Trinity Christian College’s highest academic honor. Congratulations to all our traditional undergraduate students and adult programs students who met this distinction for the Fall 2025.

Traditional undergraduate students who attend Trinity full-time and earned a 3.5-grade point average in 12 or more credits with grade points earned this honor:

Ameen Abohamda

Andrea Acosta

Brandon Adorno

Ismael Aguero

Erick Aguirre

Aala AlGoare

Selina AlHalaseh

Ayed Alhijazin

Adolfo Alvarez

Rebeca Amador

Carvell Anderson

Mikayla Araiza

Alysia Arias

Lorena Arnett

Atsen Atsen

Vashti Baker

Cora Ballinger

Jaylee Banks

William Barris

Alexis Bartz

Seth Batz Guajardo

Trevor Behling

Coletin Berger

Desire Berrien

Sophia Biscan

Ali Bizati

Brooklyn Blanton

Lily Bobek

Kaidence Bolt

Madelyn Boogerd

Marco Bortolotto

Hannah Boundy

Micah Brockhouse

Michael Brouwer

Jacob Brouwer

Abigail Brumbaugh

Alana Buchanan

Delaney Bullington

Hailey Burke

Maddalynn Butler

Alyssa Buxton

Jessica Byrdak

Samuel Cain

Angelmarie Calderon

Aiden Callenius

Angelina Calvillo

Nikolas Campobasso

Murillo Campos Costa

Jorieliss Caraballo

Anya Carbajal

Moriah Carey

Beltran Carretero Rodriguez

Karen Carvajal

Filippo Ceolini

Alexa Chapman

Yiidum Charles Wiwa

Shayla Chavez

Sofiya Chavez

Madison Cheney

Clifford Ciesielczyk

Alyssa Cintron

Alexa Clark

Joanna Clausing

Holly Clevering

Kamyah Coffey

Selah Cohen

Cristian Contreras

Grace Contreras

Lainey Conway

Owen Corbly

Sean Crofton

Ryan Jacob Cubero

Grace Culver

Liam Curtin

Michael Czeszewski

Brittony Davis

Kuba Debowski

Mallory deGraaf

Adrianna DeLaRosa

Miah Delgado

Joshua DeYoung

Alyssa Dilella

Micah Dillon

Karina DiMambro

Magen Dinkha

Isabella Dirks

Nicholas Donelan

Mary Donohue

Kerwens Dorcine

Melissa Dornbos

Lamont Doyle

Zachary Drobitsch

Paige Eighner

Kaden Eirhart

Ivan Emde

Kevin Enriquez

Kaitlyn Evans

Andria Ewalt

Anthony Fabbre

Maite Farin

Jokebed Faugue

Adrienne Fernandez

Elisai Fernandez

Jaelyn Fleener

Jordyn Fleener

Brendan Fleming

Casey Folkerts

Nadia Foushi

Anna Galicia

Anahi Garcia

Guadalupe Garcia

Daniel García Cabrales

Gema Garibay

Natalia Garita Malm

Nerea Genc

Harmony Germain

Laila Gibson

Alyssa Gill

Jaidan Gilzene

Alexa Gliva

Tomás Gomes

Emerita Gomez – Majthoub

Vitor Gondim

Arizza Kassandra Gonzales

Reya Graham

Mia Graske

Garrett Greene

Lysa Guerrero

Emily Guevara

Aalyssa Gunn

Jose Guzman

Chase Hadley

Jayden Hamilton

Kera Hampton

Jackson Hannah

Riley Hansen

Anthony Hansen

Madison Harland

Alana Harlow

Matthew Harm

Jesse Harris

Mary Catherine Hauke

Emily Hawkins

Tristin Heidinger

Abigail Heneveld

Christopher Henthorn

Cameron Hermanson

David Hernandez Zamorano

Rebecca Herrera

Joseph Hidalgo

Abigail Hodge

Elizabeth Hodge

Phoebe Hodge

Alyssa Hoekema

Abigail Hogan

Benson Holleman

Nyla Huddleston

Samantha Huff

Jenna Hughes

Nathan Huizinga

Quinton Hunter

Julia Hupp

Kara Huttner

Ariana Ikis

Shazaib Jamal

Benjamin Jamrozik

Mario Jimenez

Ella Johnston

Hattie Johnston

Pedro Jorge

Ameera Judeh

Elise Kamphuis

Daniella Kamps

Nathan Karpiesz

Madison Kaufman

Taylor Keiran

Autumn Kendrick

Alejo Keticoglu Kieltyka

GunHa Kim

Hannah King

Jared Kinser

Malia Kits

Zoe Klaus

Jeremiah Klompien

Parker Knight

Taiki Kondo

Anthony Kowalski

Jacob Krefft

John Kveck

Christopher Lafin

Elizabeth Lagioia

Halie LaGrange

Joseph Lamantia

Paige Leatherwood

Julia Leidecker

Peyton Lenarz

Josiah Lenarz

Alexis Lenting

Jacqueline Licea

Mackenzie Ling

Madison Ling

Gustavo Lodetti

Ashley Lopez

Jasmine Lopez

Sophia Loza

Rocco Luciano

Leena Lugo

Francisco Luta

Emma Luther

Nathaniel Macias

Christopher Madrid

Josue Manishimwe

Robert Markey

Miliana Martens

Brandt Martin

Guillermo Mate Cabello

Aitor Mateo

Mary Mathieu

Jeremiah Matthews

Brodie Mayberry

Noah McFadzean

Naomi McIntosh

Reily McTeague

Joel Melidona

Hector Mendoza

Grace Merrill

Grace Michalski

Molly Miedema

Diego Millas

Madeline Miller

Taylor Moes

Victoria Monarrez

Caden Monen

Vanessa Mooncotch

Preston Moore

Edwin Moral

Mariana Morales

Daniel Moro

Emma Moro

Iritisen Muhammad

Karina Mulder

Caleb Munoz

Jayden Munoz

Wandy Munoz

Deniece Murrell

Mia Musick

Patricio Navarro

Samuel Negus

Sarah Neighbors

Minh Nguyen

Chloe Nonhof

Samuel Nonhof

Brynne Noordermeer

Kaimbria Noordermeer

Daniel OConnor

Ryley Oganovich

Jake Olkiewicz

Samirah Omosanya

Olivia Oostema

Ethan Oros

Wynter OSullivan

Raimey Owens

Ashley Pacheco

Lauryn Packard

Grace Painter

Alexander Parsley

Jocelyn Pelaez

JoaoPaulo PereiraSantana

Ivan Perez

Raul Perez

Ognjen Petkovic

Matteo Petrongelli

Joshua Pilgrim

Enzo Pimentel

Rachelle Pinto

Ashley Plapp

Jessica Pleckham

Brendy Pocasangre

Jesus Portilla

Caden Quigg

Daniel Rago

Katelina Rantisi

Leela Regalado

Jack Rein

Kylee Rempel

Zharick Retamozo

Faith Richardson

Emily Richter

Mackenzie Ritsema

Keila Rivera

Gianna Rizzone

Liliana Rodriguez

Matthew Rodriguez

Kennedy Rogers

Brooke Rohead

Luke Rotman

Brendan Rushton

Hailey Sabido Garcia

Demetrios Sacha

Andrea Salgado

Daniel Salgado

Genesis Salgado

Jude Sanchez

Viridiana Sanchez Sanchez

Tea Sandoval

Stephanie Sangabriel Rivera

Giacomo Santangelo

Daniel Santos

Kyli Santostefano

Vinicios Sartorello

Ella Schaafsma

Belle Schiermeyer

Fabian Schlechte

Ean Schultz

Zakary Scott

Abigail Scott

Jayla Seals

Aiden Sears

Patricia Serio

Ricardo Serpa

Madison Seymour

Hannah Sherman

Samuel Slana

Adeline Smerica

Ellie Smith

Jacob Spaulding

Silas Spaulding

Kylie Spencer

Tyler Spiecker

Daniel Staskunas

Regan Steenwyk

Paige Stefanek

Joseph Stewart

Samantha Stulga

Seth Summers

Marielle Sweeney

Norbert Szmul

Abigail Tabladillo

Sviatoslav Tarasov

Braden Tazelaar

Rylee Terpstra

Allison Tillema

Katie Timmer

Emily Timmer

Matthew Toledo

Simona Tomczak

Rafael Torres

Hannah Torres

Sule Turkmen

Robert Turner

Michelle Urribarri

Summer Uysaloglu

Miranda Vail

Yaretzi Valencia

Danielle VanderSchaaf

Renee VanderTuig

Matthew Vanderveen

Hannah VanderVliet

Cooper Vandonselaar

Christina Varnas

Zoe Vaselakos

Hunter Vedder

Mallory Veenstra

Alexa Velazquez

Adriana Veliz

Ava Vlietstra

Grace Wallace

Blake Walters

Jonathan Ward

Allison Webb

Haley Wedster

Daniel Whaley

Evan Whaley

Andrew Wicker

Anika Wicker

Grace Wieneke

Logan Wiens

Deja Williams

Samantha Wind

Gordon Wineland

Tyler Wolterstorff

Lauryn Yonker

Audrey Yonkman

Ashley Yonkman

Benjamin Zawislak

Michael Zelko

Belen Zuno

Adult Studies students who have earned a 3.8 grade point average for the semester in 6 or more credits with grade points merit this distinction. Congratulations to the students who have achieved this status:

Widad Ahmad

Adam Alkilani

Jermaine Bulie

Araceli Correa

Christina Esparza

Joy Fink

Jake Fisher

Pearl Gonzalez

Karolina Grela

Nayeli Guzman

Cheryl Hajewski

Jennifer Hauser

Samuel Hernandez Manzanares

Samantha Hess

Nicole Hodges

Gina Kapusta

John Karlic

Cori Leal

Emilie Lesniak

Tatiana Lopez

Alejandra Martinez

Ashley McDonald

Brenda Medina

Vanessa Paramo

Yolunda Pearson

Nahsherah Pelt

Alexandra Prisco

Catalina Sanchez

Ana Sanchez Sosa

Nicole Siepak

Samantha Solis

Adrianna Valentino

On January 11, 2026, Professor Emerita of Nursing at Trinity Christian College, Dr. Lois A. Roelofs, passed away from pancreatic cancer in Sioux Falls, SD, at the age of 83. Before retirement, Dr. Roelofs served as Chair and Faculty in Trinity’s Nursing Program.

While Dr. Roelofs’ impact on the Nursing Program at Trinity was substantial, her individual care for students and colleagues lives on in the hearts she touched. Below, three tributes reflect on Dr. Roelofs as a teacher, a Nursing professional, and a friend.

Lorinda Lindemulder, MSN, RN

Associate Teaching Professor | Static Lab Coordinator Nursing, University of Colorado, Colorado Springs

I had the privilege of having Lois as one of my instructors at Trinity Christian College. My favorite memory of Lois was her teaching us Kegel’s exercises in class. She was not afraid to laugh in the classroom.

On a more serious note, she was not afraid to share some of her struggles. I truly valued her authenticity, and her desire to maintain high standards of nursing practice. I am thankful for her modeling those to her students. I am so thankful for her sharing her caring with all of us who were blessed to know her.

Becky (DeVries) Savola, RN, BSN 

Trinity Christian College Nursing Class of 1999

I had the privilege of having Dr. Roelofs as a professor for both psychiatric nursing and nursing research. What I remember most about her was her wit; she was genuinely funny, quick, and warm in a way that immediately put people at ease. During the time I was her student, she was navigating her husband’s prostate cancer diagnosis and subsequent surgery. Her willingness and ability to speak openly about that experience was incredibly impactful to me as a student nurse, modeling both vulnerability and strength.

We bonded early on after discovering that we had both grown up in the same small suburb of Grand Rapids, a place I returned to after graduating from Trinity. Every few years, Dr. Roelofs would reach out with a familiar message: “I’m going to be in town. Can we meet for lunch or coffee?” One of those visits happened to coincide with my book club, which was made up mostly of nurses. Dr. Roelofs graciously offered to join us and answer questions about her book, Caring Lessons. It remains such a sweet and meaningful memory.

Another special time was when I hosted a dinner at my home with several fellow 1999 TCC nursing friends and Dr. Roelofs. The evening was filled with fellowship, laughter, and stories—everything she embodied. I am deeply grateful for her mentorship, her humor, and the lasting connection she maintained with her students long after graduation. I’m thankful for her and will miss her! She was a gift to me!

Dr. Patsy Ruchala

Dean and Professor of Nursing Emerita Orvis School of Nursing, University of Nevada, Reno and Former Assistant Professor of Nursing, Trinity Christian College

In the fall of 1984 when I began teaching part-time as an instructor at a local community college, I very quickly became aware of an instructor that had previously taught there and had left to teach in a new BSN program. A few weeks later around 8 pm in the evening my phone rang. The person calling introduced herself as Lois Roelofs who was the Interim Director of the BSN program at Trinity Christian College. She had heard that I was teaching at her “old” school and that I had just the background they needed to fill a full-time position in Maternity Nursing. That phone call lasted for about two hours, and it was the beginning of a warm, fun friendship.

In 1985, when I began as a full-time faculty member at Trinity, the space for the Nursing Program was pretty sparse. After a full-time Director was hired and Lois went back to her faculty role, the College offered some space on the second floor of the building for an office that would house two people. Lois immediately and emphatically said, “Patsy and I will share it” and then started to laugh because that was the first I had heard about this office. As soon as we moved into the office, Lois decided that we would never get any work done unless we arranged the furniture so our backs were to each other. Her rationale was that if we could see each other, we would have too much fun, spend the day laughing away and never get any work done! So with our backs to each other for five years, we got a lot of work done, but more memorable to me were the times we turned our chairs face to face for serious conversations about our lives, our children and our faith; to support each other in so many ways…like studying for our GREs to enroll in doctoral programs and Lois making very funny applications for words we might encounter on the GRE-Verbal section of the exam; for many days of having so much fun and laughing so hard about the most trivial things that tears were streaming down our faces; and for developing a friendship that would last for four decades. That’s Lois to me, the take-charge person; the person grounded in her faith; the most fun person you could ever meet, and the friend that was always there.

Pictured above: Trinity Students Madison Ling (L) and Lorena Arnett (R) at NCUR. Photo by Clayton Carlson.

The National Conference on Undergraduate Research (NCUR) will take place on April 13-15 in Richmond, VA, and once again a cohort of students will represent Trinity Christian College at the prestigious event. Dr. Clayton Carlson, Professor of Biology and Chair of Sciences, started taking Trinity students to NCUR in 2014. This year, nine students were accepted to the conference from a variety of academic disciplines.

For several Trinity students, this will not be their first time at NCUR, and they are looking forward to returning. Lorena Arnett values the combination of research and social elements at the conference, “A highlight from NCUR would be meeting new people from schools all across the country and learning how their research process works. I also enjoyed spending time with other students from Trinity.” Since NCUR is held in different locations annually, travel and visiting cities outside of Chicago are part of the experience. Laila Gibson is looking forward to seeing Richmond. She also enjoys how the conference brings people together, especially other young researchers who are working on her own area of study: breast cancer. She notes, “My highlight from NCUR was being able to talk with students from around the country, working on projects similar to mine.  Three different students were working with the same breast cancer cell line as me! It was interesting seeing what other ideas people are researching.” Madison Ling is thinking past graduation with her involvement at the conference, “NCUR has had a meaningful impact on my long-term plans. It strengthened my ability to clearly and effectively communicate research findings. As I plan to attend medical school, the experience also demonstrated my sustained involvement in research and further strengthened my resume.” The 2026 returning and first-time presenters at NCUR are poised for another amazing experience.

For his part, Dr. Carlson expects that this year’s participants will make him proud, as Trinity’s students usually do at NCUR. “It is a reminder that we do good work. Walking through the poster session, I can see what research looks like across the nation, and Trinity does well.”

As Trinity Christian College prepares for NCUR, the enthusiasm of our students shines through. This year’s conference will celebrate research and collaboration, highlighting the impressive work at Trinity and beyond.

Trinity Student Laila Gibson at NCUR. Photo by Clayton Carlson. 

 

The spring 2026 semester is shaping up to continue important recent successes at Trinity. One of these is the Cooperative Learning Internship Program (co-op) which offers students a way to Earn, Network, & Learn during their time at Trinity. Co-ops connect students to companies and organizations for work-based professional development opportunities. Participating students are enrolled in an online co-op class to complement their hands-on learning through reflection and development of skills. Support for co-ops have come from across campus in a collective effort led by Business Professor Sundeep Vira and Associate Director of Earn, Network, & Learn Kara Van Marion.

The growth of the co-op program has been fast and steady. Participation has doubled almost every year since the program was piloted in 2022. In each of the last two semesters (Spring and Fall 2025), over 40 students participated in a co-op earning over $100,000 in total grants. For the last two years, students have interned at over ten different host partners each semester. Trinity’s final semester in spring of 2026 is on-pace for similar numbers as students continue to sign up for spring co-ops.

The benefits gained by co-op students are multifaceted. Andrea Salgado explains, “Through my co-op experience at Grove Coffee as a marketing intern, I grew most in resilience, time management, and professional communication by learning to recognize my strengths and limitations, develop effective organizational habits, and communicate clearly and purposefully—skills that I continue to carry with me and apply in my everyday life and future career.”

Kevin Enriquez also foresees long-term advantages from his co-op, “My co-op experience with The Bridge Teen Center played a significant role in shaping my understanding of vocation by showing me how creativity, service, and business can work together in meaningful ways. Professionally, I developed my ability to oversee social media strategy, produce meaningful content, and quickly adjust in a busy real-world setting. My confidence, time-management abilities, and sense of responsibility all improved as a result of the experience, which also made it possible for me to observe the actual impact of my work on customer engagement and the development of the café. “

Due to the weather forecast, Trinity will modify operations for Friday, January 23, 2026.

• All classes, co-curricular activities, and athletics will be cancelled through Friday evening.
• Dining services will remain active and open.
• The last day to add/drop classes will extend to Monday, January 26.

All offices will move to remote operations. Staff and faculty should work with supervisors for what this means for their work on Friday to ensure that all vital services – particularly as relating to students – are covered.

Students should follow guidance from their departments and/or supervisors regarding placements, co-ops, or internships.

Please note that a nationwide Microsoft outage is impacting the College’s ability to communicate via email. Trinity students, faculty, and staff will receive a text message with updates.

Be safe, and stay warm!

The annual Mathematics Triathlon at Trinity Christian College has become a storied tradition. In the spring of 2025, the campus community celebrated 30 years of hosting the triathlon. Now, the competition which features three different kinds of math events will carry on at Illiana Christian High School in Dyer, Indiana. This spring’s triathlon will take place on April 9, 2026 from 9:30 to 1:30 with teams of seventh and eighth graders.

There is strong continuity between the triathlon’s past at Trinity and future at Illiana Christian. Three math teachers at Illiana Christian who are now organizing the triathlon, Kelly Aardsma, Dave Bosman, and Jill Rozendal, are Trinity alumni. They are joined by Dr. Dave Klanderman, one of the founders of the triathlon who is now a professor at Calvin University. He notes, “By continuing the tradition of the Trinity Mathematics Triathlon, local Christian schools will be able to continue the promotion of mathematics at the middle school.” The service that the triathlon offers to area middle schools will endure: a fun day that teaches teamwork and gives students a tangible experience with the joy of mathematics.

Over the decades, this leadership team’s ties to the triathlon have multiplied. Aardsma adds, “My daughter, who is currently a freshmen, participated in the math triathlon at Trinity.  She enjoyed it so much that I wanted to make sure the tradition continued for current middle school students for years to come.” The triathlon has brought people together including the Trinity students who have helped lead the competitions, the faculty members who organize it, the students who participated, and their families.

While the closing of Trinity at the end of this academic year necessitated the move to a new home for the triathlon, it will endure. The story of the triathlon’s preservation at Illiana Christian in the hands of Trinity alumni highlights that the college’s community expands beyond the confines of campus. Through events such as the Mathematics Triathlon, that community will continue much of the good work started at Trinity.

On November 19, 2025, the Trinity Christian College History Department hosted an event titled, “History for Community Organizing.” The event was born out of one of the pillars of Trinity’s Transformative Colleges Initiative (TCI): Partnership with neighbors for mutual good. The gathering served as a forum for exploring heightened collaboration between the historical profession and civic leaders with lived experience in local communities.

The program featured remarks from Acting President Jeanine Mozie and Associate Vice President for Academic Affairs, Dean of Faculty, and Professor of History John Fry; a spoken word performance by Trinity alum Pastor CJ Gidron-Gee (’25); and a panel conversation moderated by Assistant Professor Sky Michael Johnston between Professor of History David Brodnax Sr., Rosemoor Community Association President LoLita Canady, and Learning Tree Founder De’Amon Harges. The event was attended by a mix of students, current and emeriti faculty, and local faith and community leaders who participated in a Q&A session to close the gathering. Two local reporters also covered the event and wrote the following articles for the Chicago Tribune and SRP Local News.

The event built upon previous work carried out at Trinity in partnership with others. Panelist De’Amon Harges brought his expertise in neighborhood leadership to Trinity where he came on staff to help strengthen the college’s neighborhood partnerships. LoLita Canady has hosted students at the Rosemoor Community Association via Trinity’s Cooperative Program which provides a paid internship, course credits, and experiential learning to students. Dr. Sky Michael Johnston led a visit to Rosemoor, a community on the Far South Side of Chicago, to introduce students to the history of the neighborhood. Dr. David Brodnax has taught the history of Chicago at Trinity for years.

The event was not merely a culmination of relationships that have been forged at Trinity, it also highlighted future work that has been planned as a grant application to the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH). The grant project proposal is for a two-year program in which a panel of historians from across the country would work with civic leaders and community organizers in Chicago to design a curriculum that would be publicly accessible to colleges and universities. The guiding idea behind the project is that examining history together is the best way for historians and neighborhood leaders to understand the significance of the past for our communities today. That promise of that collaboration was on display at the November 19 event.

The scholarship of Trinity Christian College Professor Ryan Thompson was featured on This American Life. The October 24, 2025 episode, The Thing about Things, contains a story that show producers discovered in Thompson’s book, Bad Luck, Hot Rocks: Conscience Letters & Photographs from the Petrified Forest. It is easy to see how Thompson’s book helped inspire the episode, which tells three stories about the unique hold that physical objects can have over a person. The book displays letters written by folks who returned stolen rocks from Petrified Forest National Park in Arizona. These letters express a conviction, or at least a concern, that their original act of taking a rock has cursed them with bad luck.

Thompson explains that he happened upon these letters during a trip to Arizona. “My wife and I wound up with a spare day of travel before heading north to visit the Grand Canyon. We used that day to visit Meteor Crater and Petrified Forest National Park—two places I’d never been. In the Rainbow Forest Museum at Petrified Forest National Park at the time there was a small display with a couple conscience letters. That was my first introduction to the conscience letters.”

The letters and the stories behind them are certainly entertaining. But for the producers of This American Life and for Thompson himself, the whole situation has greater meaning as well. The episode offers a fuller view of one letter writer who stands by his belief that while the forbidden rock was in his possession, he was cursed—and that his fortunes reversed upon returning it. It is a striking tale of the importance that people can place on material objects, the theme of the episode. For Thompson, the interactions between the preserved rocks and their handlers are a metaphor for human interactions with the natural world more broadly during the Anthropocene. He notes, “humans have terraformed the earth in ways that will be visible in the fossil records for millennia to come.”

Ryan Thompson is a Professor of Art & Design and Department Chair at Trinity. He has written a second book with even more conscience letters entitled, AH AH: Conscience Letters and Photographs from the Haleakalā and Hawai’i Volcanoes National Parks. This American Life is a beloved weekly public radio program and podcast from WBEZ Chicago.