Archives: News Stories
ChicagoQuest is a four-week residential experience offered every summer for academically-motivated high school seniors and for incoming Trinity freshmen. Students live and study in the global city of Chicago and explore the many opportunities for learning, serving, and experiencing culture.
Students earn three college credits in either Art and World Religions or American and Western Civilization. Classroom learning is reinforced through visits to area museums and galleries, such as the Illinois Holocaust Museum and the Art Institute of Chicago.
Growing spiritually happened in this community as students shared devotions, prayed, worshipped, and served together. This year’s service project at the Greater Chicago Food Depository built camaraderie among the students as they worked alongside hundreds of others to prepare registration packs for participants in the local Hunger Walk.
Vice President for Student Development Ginny Carpenter serves as the program’s director. She and her husband Jeff, program coordinator, worked with this year’s resident assistant, Jess Timmermans ’14 of Palos Heights, Illinois, to ensure an exceptional residential experience for participants.
“The key to ChicagoQuest is the broad experience students get as individuals while at the same time sharing the experience,” said Carpenter. “Students are most surprised by the relationships they form and the realization of self-sufficiency.”
Students enjoyed the autonomy of choosing how they spent their free time, whether doing homework, hopping a train to Chinatown, hanging out at the beach, or simply gathering together in their common residence to talk.
Carpenter said that even students from Chicago and the surrounding suburbs get to know the city in a way they probably haven’t experienced.
Participant and incoming Trinity freshman Luke Martin of Chicago, said, “ChicagoQuest was a lot of fun. Living and learning in the city was a great way to start my college experience.”
For more information about the ChicagoQuest program, e-mail ginny.carpenter@trnty.edu or call 708.239.4703. To view the 2011 brochure, click here. The 2012 program information will be available soon.
The Trinity Christian College Jazz Band hosted its annual Christmas concert on December 2.
Concert goers gathered around the poinsettia tree in the beautifully decorated Grand Lobby to hear a variety of holiday jazz selections including “The First Noel,” “A Charlie Brown Christmas,” and “Winter Wonderland.”
The band is directed by Dr. Ken Austin, professor of music. Performers included:
Alto Saxophone
David Schurman ’12 of Demotte, Indiana
Emily Smas ’14 of Alsip, Illinois
Tenor Saxophone
Thomas Mullen ’14 of Midlothian, Illinois
Bari Saxophone
Kevin Hahn ’13 of Cedar Lake, Indiana
Trumpet
Ken Austin, professor of music
Eric Robbert ’13 of LaGrange, Illinois
Alexandra Otto ’15 of Brandon, Wisconsin
Courtney Rozeveld ’13 of Lake City, Michigan
Trombone
Andrew Hoekstra ’13 of Hull, Iowa
William Gesch ’12 of Cedar Grove, Wisconsin
Andrew Blok ’13 of Lynden, Washington
Bass Trombone
Matthew Mulder ’15 of Zeeland, Michigan
Bass Guitar
Tom Orth, Carl Sandburg High School
Percussion
Adam Perez ’12 of Racine, Wisconsin
Piano
Ian Fountain ’12 of South Holland, Illinois
“A deep warmth and a spontaneous smile come to me each time I think about this award,” said Dr. Michael Vander Weele ’73, professor of English at Trinity since 1986 and the 2011 Alumnus of the Year. “It is humbling considering the colleagues and students I have been able to work alongside.”
Vander Weele’s connection with Trinity began when his father Ed became a professor of education and dean of students in 1968. Vander Weele enrolled as a student the next year. His sisters and brother attended Trinity as did his late wife Albertena ’74, who served as director of the College’s Cooper Career Center from 2000-2006. Their daughter, Corenna Roozeboom, graduated in 2007.
Vander Weele, who earned his Ph.D. from the University of Iowa, finds great satisfaction as a professor in watching students discover their “deep joy” as they discover their talents and paths.
Teaching is his calling, but learning nurtures it. Vander Weele said he “loves nothing more than to be a student in the summer.” Summer “vacation” normally finds the professor and perpetual student attending education summits or conducting research. On a research grant this summer, Vander Weele studied Homer, Hesiod, and Rhetorical Aesthetics in the Ancient Mediterranean World, an offshoot of his work last summer at the Seminar on Hesiod and the Homeric Songs.
“It is good to be on the other side of the classroom once in awhile,” he said.
Vander Weele was married in July to Mary McKinstry, a nurse practitioner at Edward Hines, Jr. VA Hospital.
From alumna Allison Backous ’07…
“Dr. Michael Vander Weele is truly one of the best men I have known. Having taken a class with him every semester I was at Trinity, while also serving as his teaching assistant, I came to understand that I was learning from someone whose mind and heart were not only sharp gifts for the kingdom, but true avenues of grace in my life. Dr. Vander Weele talks about Augustine and Marilynne Robinson, Dante and Simone Weil, with an ease that is both brilliant and familiar. He treats writers from across the ages like they are old friends at coffee hour, with a compassionate, endearing curiosity. His love for people, and the ways we read and talk with each other, has shaped me in indescribable ways, and I only hope that my own writing and teaching mirrors his own.”
Honorary alumni award recipients include:
Sandy Carra, former administrative assistant in Trinity’s student development office from 1996-2003, then part time in various departments until 2008. Read more…
Grace Huitsing, assistant, then associate, professor of English and education from 1968-1987. Read more…
Dean and Ruth Koldenhoven, friends of the College. Dean served as the mayor of Palos Heights from 1997-2001. Read more…
Sandy Carra, honorary alumna of the year
Sandy Carra started working for Trinity in 1996 as the administrative assistant for Ginny Carpenter, currently vice president for student development. After retiring in 2003, Carra returned part-time and substituted as an administrative assistant in various departments until 2008.
As a charter member of the College’s Staff Council, Carra served as chair, helping pass official bylaws, researching job positions and salaries of other institutions, and advocating for staff professional development.
“The experience of working at Trinity enriched my life in a spiritual sense,” said Carra. “I appreciated working with fellow Christians and people who live the Gospel, because it is so embedded in their everyday lives.”
Her contact with students through her position was what Carra most enjoyed, and she hopes to be remembered by alumni as a “listener,” someone who knew where students were from and what they hoped to achieve.
Carra has 12 grandchildren, and she and her husband John are members of Saint Elizabeth Seton in Orland Hills, Illinois.
From Ginny Carpenter, vice president for student development
“Sandy Carra became the assistant in the student development office during a time when there was much transition in the department. Besides her excellent organizational skills and attention to process, planning, and perfection, Sandy brought her deep care for others and an infectious sense of humor to an office that was seeking to be student-centered. Sandy was like a magnet—students stopped by just to say hi and in return received a hearty laugh and a heaping dose of encouragement. In looking back, I’m reminded of how instrumental Sandy was in fostering a friendly, caring community for Trinity students, staff, and faculty.”
Grace Huitsing, honorary alumna of the year
Grace Huitsing is called to teach.
She began at Illiana Christian High School soon after it opened and then taught at Grand Rapids Christian High School for 20 years. Sensing God leading her to switch to higher education, Huitsing began teaching at Trinity in 1968 as an assistant professor of English and education and retired as an associate professor in 1987.
One of her greatest joys while at Trinity was the time spent teaching and mentoring six students from Vietnam. One of those students, Hung Nguyen, a scientist at Raytheon Space and Airborne Systems, established the Violet and Hung Nguyen Mathematics Scholarship in 2008.
Of her time at Trinity, Huitsing said, “I give praise to God for the opportunity to help students on their way to serving further in the kingdom.”
After her retirement from Trinity, the consummate teacher spent the next 11 summers in China working with Chinese teachers of English through the English Language Institute/China (ELIC). Today she teaches English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) twice each week through Wheaton CRC and World Relief.
From alumna Yvette (Ho) Madany ’85
“When I think of Professor Huitsing, I think of her big, warm smile. She was never distant, always approachable. She represented Trinity’s friendly learning atmosphere. I am thankful that she was one of my English professors; she taught me well, and I have now written a book and edit scripts in English. Professor Huitsing also stood out because of her commitment to teach English in China. As a Chinese person, I was especially appreciative of her efforts. She exemplified Christian caring.”
From former Professor of Philosophy Dr. Calvin Seerveld
“Grace Huitsing was a gem of a colleague. Her ever-welcoming smile, always pitching in quietly on the committee work behind the scenes, and her gentle teaching style were exemplary for Trinity’s commitment to higher Christian education. And her dedicated work in China was going more than the extra mile of service. Grace lived up to her name: she was a steady blessing to all of us—students, teachers, and administrators at Trinity, a deep source of encouragement through good and through hard times. I think of her as the resourceful woman of Proverbs 31:10-31.”
Dean and Ruth Koldenhoven, honorary alumni of the year
Dean and Ruth Koldenhoven’s connection to Trinity began with Ruth’s uncle Dr. George DeJong, who was one of the original board members, while Dean walked door to door in the neighborhood collecting donations to start the College. Dean recalls one neighbor who retrieved a Koops Mustard jar from her cupboard that contained $8.76 that she had saved for Trinity from her social security checks.
Since those early days, Dean, who was the mayor of Palos Heights from 1997-2001 and worked in the bricklaying industry for 42 years, has maintained close ties with Trinity. Besides gifts to the College, the Koldenhovens attend events on campus, and Dean has spoken to students in communication arts, psychology, and sociology classes.
Dean is a recipient of the John F. Kennedy Profile in Courage Award and received a special recognition award from the Arab American League. He will be presenting “Religious Tolerance: The Mosque Controversy” on October 31 at 7 p.m. in the Ozinga Chapel as part of Trinity’s annual WorldView series.
Ruth worked as a job coach at Elim Christian Services for 15 years and has worked at their church library and with a church program for mentally disabled students. The Koldenhovens have been members of Palos Christian Reformed Church for 39 years.
Dean appreciates Trinity’s various levels of involvement with Palos Heights. “Trinity has done a great job of witnessing to the community,” he said.
From President Steve Timmermans, Ph.D.
“Dean and Ruth have been long-time friends of the College. Ruth’s work at Elim was a natural bridge to Trinity and our special education program. Dean’s association with the College has been multifaceted. One of the best memories I have of Dean is the time he was part of a Campus Compact grant award whereby Trinity students worked in partnership with the city of Robbins, Illinois, seeking to strengthen its infrastructure. Dean’s awareness of the political structures and his passion for helping people proved to be indispensible to the project.”
During the academic year, Dr. Helen Van Wyck serves as professor of music and director of choral activities at Trinity. But for three weeks every summer for the past 26 years, she has performed with the Oregon Bach Festival Chorus and Orchestra in Eugene, Oregon.
The Festival was founded in 1970, and the chorus and orchestra are conducted by German Bach scholar, Helmuth Rilling. For Van Wyck, performing at the Festival provides the opportunity to “wear a different hat and be a professional singer.” A change from her usual position in front of a choir or classroom, Van Wyck also becomes the student, learning from Rilling about conducting, teaching, rehearsal techniques, and music making.
At the Festival, members of the chorus present performances of major works with orchestra and soloists. They also participate in the “Discovery Series” afternoon concerts during which Rilling speaks to the audience about the music while interspersing musical examples. This summer, the chorus sang 11 different performances within an intense 16-day schedule.
“Being part of the Festival has been a treasure in my life, and it feeds my soul musically and personally,” she said. “I bring many ideas I glean from that work into my work with students and my perspective on music.”
Trinity’s music department serves a specific population of student majors and the general student population.
“We see music as a gift of God and the field of music as a calling, whether or not students pursue it as a career,” said Van Wyck. “Music is one of the most wonderful ways to honor God, worship him, and praise him. It is easy to think of that in terms of performing ensembles, but we consciously incorporate a Christian perspective into our classroom courses as well.”
Trinity’s music groups also serve the community through public performances on and off campus and concerts that enhance worship at local churches.
Van Wyck and her husband, Marv, are members of Hope Christian Reformed Church in Oak Forest, Illinois.
A favorite way for individuals and families to support Trinity in educating young Christians is by giving to the College through the Brick Program.
Alumni and commemorative bricks purchased through the program are engraved with the donor’s choice of name, phrase, or Bible verse and placed in the courtyard adjacent to the Ozinga Chapel.
More important, the total amount paid for each brick benefits students through the Trinity Fund.
Help build Trinity. Buy a brick. Visit https://connect.trnty.edu/brick to order.
The first chapel of the year reminded students of the value of a liberal arts education and, in the spirit of that, provided a taste of philosophy, religion, and history.
As part of the history lesson, Dr. Steve Timmermans shared 12 snapshots of the development of liberal arts and the contributions from philosophers, theologians, researchers and others over the centuries. Timmermans framed the message, “Catching Up on Community and the Liberal Arts,” with verses from Galatians 6, explaining that the liberal arts allow people “to be best faithful to God’s call on [their] lives.”
Based on the verses, Timmermans expounded on four points from scripture that apply to the study of liberal arts:
1. Reach out, especially to the oppressed.
2. Carefully explore who you are.
3. Enter into community life with those who have trained you.
4. Be set free from stifling patterns.
Worship time was led by students; the scripture reading was given by a staff member; and the blessing was given by Chaplain Bill Van Groningen.
Parents, siblings, and friends of the College came to Trinity on October 26-28 to celebrate Family Weekend with a variety of events that highlighted campus life. Check out the photogallery for great pictures from one of those events!
The weekend began with a scholarship dinner on Friday night, where scholarship recipients and their families were able to meet and thank the donors who fund their respective scholarships.
Family Weekend also included several sporting events. “Troll Madness” introduced the men’s and women’s basketball teams in the DeVos Gymnasium before they began their season and included a 3-point competition and dunk contest. Other sporting events included the final regular season home games for the men’s and women’s soccer teams and the Powder Puff football tournament between the women’s residence halls.
Guests also heard music from vocal and instrumental groups with the Fall Choral Concert and Chamber Music Recital.
Alexis Warden ’14 of Pella, Iowa, enjoyed sharing her experience at Trinity with her parents.
“We had a great weekend visiting Chicago and finishing off the day with the beautiful music Trinity’s choirs have been working on this semester,” Warden said. “It was awesome to have my parents experience some of what I do every day.”
Trinity celebrated the Christmas season with holiday hymns and Christmas carols at its annual Christmastidecelebration on Saturday, December 1.
Students, family, and friends of the College gathered to listen and sing along with performances from the College’s Concert Choir, Honors Ensemble, Gospel Choir, Wind Ensemble, Strings Ensemble, and Brass Quintet.
Both the music and the readings at the concert focused on the theme “The Radiance of God’s Glory” based on Hebrews 1:3.
“The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven.”
Whether they remain on campus or travel overseas during Trinity’s two-week Interim, students get the chance to develop their knowledge of unique topics not typically covered in the college curriculum.
This year’s on-campus courses covered subjects such as Exploring Chicago Crime through Film, a study of the history of college pranks, and a writer’s workshop. Other classes focused on social justice issues like homelessness and the just production and distribution of healthy food. In nearby Harvey, Illinois, volunteers lived in the Tabitha House and Harvey House for two weeks while helping to minister to those living in spiritual and economic poverty.
In Costa Rica, Haiti, Cuba, and Ecuador, students discovered other cultures while lending themselves to be the hands and feet of Christ. Read blog posts from those who traveled outside of the United States.
Twelve students had the opportunity to study the culture and history of Italy. In this Interim course, led by Dr. Helen Van Wyck, professor of music, students journeyed through Venice, Florence, and Rome.
I was blessed during the trip by the people who I traveled with,
said Victoria VanHofwegen ’14.
“I was blessed during the trip by the people who I traveled with,” said Victoria VanHofwegen ’14, of Tolleson, Arizona. “Italy was a lot different than I expected, but I enjoyed the slow pace of life their culture holds. Seeing Michelangelo’s David, exploring the Coliseum in Rome, and having dinner on a Tuscany farm house were my favorite parts of the trip.”
Trinity Christian College celebrated the graduation of traditional and Adult Studies students during the Commencement ceremony on Saturday, December 15, 2012.
Families and friends of the graduates gathered in the Ozinga Chapel Auditorium to witness the presentation of the diplomas by Provost Liz Rudenga. The Commencement address was delivered by Dr. Bob Rice, professor of history who posed the question “What about Individuality?”
Rice was the recipient of the inaugural Professor of the Year Award in 2012 and will retire from Trinity in May.
Rice began with encouraging graduates to consider the Commencement event as a connection to “a long-enduring faith in American individuality.”
“What does this mean? In our culture, we rest in the certainty that society is comprised of capable individuals like you who act, achieve, react, and seek loftier goals. To ensure the continued vitality of this American culture, we struggle to liberate individuals from real or imagined restraints that obstruct the paths before us. …
“Through the curriculum and through every aspect of broader student development, we commit ourselves to make individuals whole. In colleges and universities across America, educators promise to guide in this transition so that their graduates will be fully prepared to participate in and to represent American culture.”
The invocation was delivered by Dr. Mary Webster Moore, associate professor of education; the song of response and the song of prayer were sung by the Trinity Gospel Choir; and the Commencement litany was led by Robin Clevenger ’12. Alumni greetings were offered by Travis Bandstra ’06 director of alumni relations, and the benediction was given by Chaplain Willis Van Groningen, Ph. D.
Commencement Address by Bob Rice, December 15, 2012
What about Individuality?
Provost Rudenga, President Timmermans, members of the Board of Trustees, faculty and staff, family and friends of graduates, and particularly the graduates of 2012: We come to celebrate this significant accomplishment of the graduates of December 2012. Each graduate has earned a particular bachelor’s degree, and each has a major or particular area of study. All have begun and have continued to take prescribed courses that surround and frame their majors with what we call “liberal arts education.” Altogether, you’ve taken up the call to scholarship and to engage the world in which you live. And although this ceremony is the culminating episode of your undergraduate experience, we could also consider this graduation event to be connected to a long-enduring faith in American individuality.
What does this mean? In our culture, we rest in the certainty that society is comprised of capable individuals like yourselves who act, achieve, react, and seek loftier goals. To ensure the continued vitality of this American culture, we struggle to liberate individuals from real or imagined restraints that obstruct the paths before us. We assert the separateness of the individual and the autonomy of the individual; we guard the privacy of the individual; and we even praise the public virtue of the individual as well.
Through the curriculum and through every aspect of broader student development, we commit ourselves to make individuals whole. In colleges and universities across America, educators promise to guide in this transition so that their graduates will be fully prepared to participate in and to represent American culture.
What makes this faith in American individuality even stronger is that it has been nurtured throughout generations of American history. Alexis De Tocqueville noticed the prominence of individuality when he toured America on his visit during the early 1830s. His observations and reflections became an American classic entitled Democracy in America. He wrote that when he landed in America, he immediately noticed the busyness, the noise, and the activities of Americans. Across the country he found the pervasive expression of individual freedom that led toward democracy. Individuals participated in society – a society that was leveled by common education, that was accessible through the common law, and that exchanged common ideas that were the discourse of the land.
He said that in America, all were sovereign, all had rights, and all participated in this individualized democracy. De Tocqueville also pointed to the deep, unresolved problems that he thought must be solved. He noticed the inequities that persisted. But his hope was in the presence of individualized democracy.
Sociologists have continued to write about the changes in American individuality and the impact that individuality has upon our culture. But if we look closely as a Christian community can, we can discover two surprises about American individuality. These surprises give me hope because they reveal the unfolding interconnectedness of community.
What are these two surprises? First, the achievements of these graduates – and their accomplishments are significant – rest in social institutions. Their achievements are embedded in social institutions which are God’s gifts to us and which we are to use to shape and renew society. Graduates’ achievements rest in the shaping and supportive work of their families. These achievements rest in different church traditions that provide larger frameworks as graduates take up their work in the world. Trinity’s educational vision has centered these achievements as responses to God’s ways and God’s longings for His people. Your majors give current description of the development of academic disciplines such as art, biology, business, education, psychology, and theology, among many others. These academic disciplines are themselves institutions by which you have taken up your work and by which you declare that you wish to make things new.
The second surprise is that our individual achievements are faithful responses to God’s call to love God and love neighbor and to seek justice, peace, stewardship, equity, and shalom. Even though our culture offers us an alternative individualized orientation, we are not disconnected after all. We do not take up our work alone. We do not so much carry our tasks but respond through them in faithfulness to God. May we continue to take this work up together.