Archives: News Stories

Trinity Christian College was recently featured on Viewpoint with Dennis Quaid, which aired on PBS stations nationwide. The episode promoted awareness about how Trinity is providing pathways to debt-free education through its new, transformative economic model. In the interview with Viewpoint, President Aaron Kuecker shared the ways in which the College is pushing the boundaries of higher education by offering a well-rounded approach and emphasizing overall wellness for the whole person.

Kuecker stated, “Trinity’s mission is to provide a biblically informed liberal arts education in the Reformed tradition. We want to educate students in every single discipline to be ready to participate in the life-bringing work God is doing in our neighborhoods, in our cities, in our homes, congregations, and businesses.”

He shared how the College has focused on transformation through its latest initiatives, Tuition Transparency and Access, Wellbeing Wednesday, and the Earn, Network, and Learn program. He concluded, “At every turn, we are educating our students by giving them the skills and knowledge that they need to live in this world in a way that makes a significant difference.”

Click here to view the full episode.

Trinity Christian College is pleased to announce Dr. Mackenzi Huyser has agreed to serve as Vice President for Advancement. Huyser, a 1997 alum, began her career at Trinity in 2000 and was a key leader in launching the Social Work Department. She served in various academic leadership roles at the College before becoming executive director of Chicago Semester in 2014. Over the course of her leadership, she has overseen significant transformations in program, approach, location, and engagement with the city.

Huyser holds a B.A. from Trinity Christian College in Sociology, an MSW from Grand Valley State University, and a Ph.D. from Andrews University, focusing on curriculum and instruction. She has received countless honors and awards throughout her career, written several popular and peer-reviewed publications, and actively participated in many professional associations and committees.

She is passionate about the mission and vision of Trinity, a place where she sees God’s hand at work every single day. “I love the determined and resolute spirit that lies at the foundation of Trinity,” Huyser stated. “We get the opportunity every day to serve our students and create a place where all can thrive.”

When asked how she feels about her next season at Trinity, she stated, “I am excited and grateful for the opportunity to serve in this new leadership role at Trinity. The vision for the Transformative Colleges Initiative is incredibly compelling, and I was particularly drawn to the opportunity to work collaboratively with colleagues across campus and with off-campus partners and supporters to contribute to human flourishing on multiple system levels. I look forward to being part of this good and meaningful work for the benefit of our students and broader communities.”

President Aaron Kuecker shared, “Mackenzi has been an impactful leader for over two decades at Trinity and in our wider ecosystem. I am eager to see the way her gifts and experience – in collaboration with our excellent advancement team – contribute to the good of the College and the deepening of our mission.”

Originally from western Michigan, Huyser lives with her family in the south side of Chicago in the Hyde Park neighborhood. She enjoys spending time outdoors, visiting museums and neighborhood restaurants throughout the city, and attending LaSalle Street Church, where she and her family are members

Trinity Christian College Professor John Bakker was recently featured on a national broadcast of NBC Nightly News with Lester Holt. The feature, Faces of Chicago: Reframing a Story One Portrait at a Time, aired on January 17, 2024, and highlighted the story of the Roseland Portrait Project.

Since 2018, Bakker has hand-painted nearly 400 portraits of people from the Roseland community, including janitors, EMTs, schoolteachers, mechanics, cashiers, librarians, nurses, and others.

The Roseland Portrait Project began to tell the stories of the people who make up a real community. “There’s all kinds of good stuff that happens in communities, even communities that struggle with violence,” Bakker said. “500 years ago, the only people who got their portrait painted were kings – and each of us is worthy of that kind of attention.”

The project has been shared across communities, including at several locations in Roseland, Trinity’s Jennie Huizenga Memorial Library, and the Palos Heights (Ill.) Public Library.

Click here to view the whole story.

Hope Chicago, the new two-generation economic mobility program offering debt-free college and workforce opportunities to 4,000 Chicago Public School graduates and their parents, announced the expansion of its college and university partner network today, with the addition of six institutions, including Trinity Christian College.

Hope Scholars can attend partner institutions debt-free, and through these partnerships, students receive access to non-financial supports that are key in helping students succeed. The collaboration between Hope Chicago and its postsecondary partners expands higher education access for residents in some of Chicago’s most systemically disinvested neighborhoods. As a partner institution, Trinity will provide dedicated staff members on-campus to support attending Hope Scholars—helping them navigate the collegiate environment, encouraging placement in campus programs, and connecting them to academic, financial, and career advising.

“Access to quality postsecondary education is not just a privilege; it’s a fundamental right that can transform the trajectory of low-income families and disadvantaged communities in Illinois. For South and West Side Chicago Public School Students, pursuing higher education isn’t merely about acquiring a degree; it’s about unlocking doors to opportunity and offering them a stake in a more prosperous and equitable future of our city and state,” said Dr. Janice Jackson, Hope Chicago CEO.

“We’re proud to be expanding our network of high-quality offerings to Hope Scholars here in Illinois—empowering them to find their best postsecondary fit. We are thankful to our new partners for joining us in this pursuit of a more prosperous future for Chicago and Illinois—fueled by postsecondary transformation,” she added.

With this expansion, Hope Chicago is now supported by a network of 29 Illinois-based higher education institutions offering a wealth of postsecondary and workforce options for Hope Scholars.

About Hope Chicago

Hope Chicago’s mission is to create pathways to success for multiple generations of Chicagoans through equitable access to debt-free higher education and the support to complete postsecondary journeys. In February of 2022, Hope Chicago promised every enrolled student and one parent/guardian of each student the opportunity to pursue a debt-free postsecondary education at five Chicago community high schools across the city’s South, Southwest, and West Sides – accounting for 4,000 families. Hope Chicago’s goal is to provide debt-free higher education to 30,000 CPS students and their parents over the next decade. hopechicago.org

-Mary (Honey) Mathieu ’27

Trinity is preparing future educators through its outstanding education programs. Zain Fakhoury, who is pursuing a degree in elementary education, is just one of the many students on this path. Zain states that her favorite part is the fieldwork, which allows her to “see all of the hard work she has dedicated to her studies come to fruition.” The faculty and staff in the education department go above and beyond in preparing students for their careers and beyond. Because of this real-world preparation, Zain feels confident teaching in a classroom and making a difference in the lives of her students. Fakhoury believes the College’s education program is unique from other colleges and universities because “professors care about each student’s success by offering support through office hours, recommendation letters, and research projects.” Every student being cared for as an individual ensures his or her ability to thrive throughout college and beyond as the relationships built with professors and colleagues create meaningful connections that improve one’s sense of belonging and purpose.

Being a part of the Trinity community is to be actively engaged in the classroom and other extracurricular and professional commitments. Zain holds a leadership role on campus as the International/TCK Club President. She is also involved in spiritual life at Trinity and works two jobs as a campus student worker. Fakhoury tries to maintain a healthy balance between school, work, and extracurriculars by planning and setting boundaries. Being able to not over-commit oneself is an essential aspect of thriving at the College since time management allows students the freedom to fit what they truly enjoy into their schedules while also recognizing the need for self-care. Trinity teaches students how to develop academically and personally through courses and campus activities. The whole person is prioritized, which is what makes the College stand out in its ability to help students thrive.

Just as professors at Trinity want to see their students succeed, Zain hopes that all of her future students succeed in all areas of their lives. She believes that “all children are capable of learning and of being kind; we just need to give them the opportunity and safe place for it.” Fakhoury recognizes that all her students can thrive by being a future support for her students. Having someone believe in you makes all the difference, and Zain was fortunate to have teachers here at Trinity who believed in her.

To learn more about the education program at Trinity Christian College, click here.

A winter storm warning is effect with a forecast of heavy snow and high winds during typical commute times. For this reason, and in order to tend to the safety of the campus community,
all classes and activities at Trinity are cancelled for Friday, January 12.

Campus Safety, Physical Plant, and the Dining Hall will remain active. All other campus offices will be closed. 

The annual edition of Trinity magazine is now available online.

Featured in this issue:

A conversation with President Aaron Kuecker.

Honoring faculty for their years of service to the College.

How Trinity drew national media attention.

The three unique initiatives launched this past year and how they are seeking the good of students and neighbors.

A student’s inspiring journey to hope and healing.

And many other stories about the excellent academic, services, and professional experiences of Trinity students, faculty and alumni.

Dear Trinity Community,

Merry Christmas! The work that we do at Trinity finds its roots in the birth of Jesus that we celebrate in this season. In the birth of Jesus, we see with clarity that the God who created the heavens and the earth is a God who is not far off. In this mysterious birth, we see God’s commitment to be in and with the world God has created – a world that is, all at the same time, beautiful, troubled, and good. In the mystery of Jesus’ birth, we see that God’s way of power is a way that surprises, that is gentle, and that is marked by the self-giving that characterizes Jesus’ entire life, ministry, and death. And, in the coming of Jesus, we are welcomed into a story in which sin and brokenness are swallowed up by mercy and in which death is overcome by resurrection life. This season of Christmas is a beautiful memorial of the relentless love of God.

At Trinity, our hope and prayer is that we could be a Christian learning community whose vision is oriented by God’s deep love for the world. We hope that, in every academic discipline, our teaching and learning testifies to the ways that the engagement of biologists, accountants, teachers, nurses, social workers, counselors (to name just a few!) can join with God’s work to bring life, hope, and light to our world. At Trinity, our commitment to serve every student as well as we can is rooted in the incredible dignity that God ascribes to each person and the love manifest for each person in the coming of Jesus. At Trinity, our desire is that our imagination for what it means to be a good neighbor, working on some of the most stubborn challenges in higher education – like the elimination of student loan debt or innovative approaches to student wellbeing – would be shaped by the contours of Jesus’ story.

In this Christmas season, we have the opportunity to see anew the ways that the work of a Christian college is rooted in the overwhelming love of God. The birth of Jesus both motivates our work and reminds us that we do not work alone. God is with us. My prayer for each of you is that, as you reflect on Christ’s holy birth, you too would feel the ways that God’s coming near shapes your life and invites you to joy, trust, and a sense of your belovedness before God. May you experience that kind of deep peace – the peace that calls us forward to lives that join God’s desire to seek the good of others and of this wider world.

Merry Christmas from Trinity Christian College! Thank you for your prayers on behalf of our campus community and our students. We are grateful!

–  President Aaron Kuecker

-Mary (Honey) Mathieu ’27

Trinity has a wealth of outstanding students across campus. Olivia Farwell, a senior who is a nursing major, is one of the many students who are excelling during their time in college. Throughout her years in the nursing program, she has thrived not only as a student but as a person. Farwell credits her thriving to the “second family that the nursing program provides, a family that supports and encourages each other.” A support network is vital to a college student’s well-being, no matter what academic program they are pursuing. However, nursing students must learn to balance many requirements within their major compared with their peers, such as exams and clinicals, often resulting in additional pressure and stress. Finding a way to meet such demands while maintaining one’s mental health can be challenging. Olivia, fortunately, found a time management method that works for her, helping her maintain a healthy school, life, and work balance. Farwell finds that “working ahead on the weeks she is less busy helps her stay ahead for the weeks she has clinicals and exams.”

Trinity offers many incredible degree programs for students to pursue, but what makes Trinity’s nursing program unique? Farwell stated that her favorite part of the nursing program is “the number of opportunities that Trinity provides for its students to grow and learn in safe and controlled environments so that they can be as knowledgeable as possible when they are placed in a hospital setting.” Such opportunities include simulation experiences and supportive professors who provide constructive feedback to help nursing students thrive at Trinity as the program prepares students for work in hospitals and clinics. Sarah Gouwens, Associate Professor of Nursing and Chair of the Nursing Department at Trinity, further emphasizes the importance of such learning opportunities by stating, “Students thrive in Trinity’s nursing program because they are supported by their peers, staff, and faculty. Students are given opportunities in the classroom, lab, and clinicals to have hands-on learning experiences preparing each student to enter into the nursing profession.” Overall, nursing students at Trinity are prepared to go out into the world upon graduating to help people through the vocation they feel called for.

Being an amazing nurse is no easy task, so having adequate training and mentoring is essential. Nursing students work hard to become the best nurses because they are passionate about helping others. When asked what she wants the world to know about nurses, Olivia stated, “She wants the world to be kind to nurses, trusting that they really have their patient’s best interests at heart because they have a calling and desire to care for people.”

Farwell is set to make a difference in this world as many other incredible nurses do daily. The Trinity community is grateful for all the graduates who have gone on to become amazing nurses and the students who are learning to become the best nurses they can be to help make the world a better place.