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This year’s Commencement festivities had a unique feel as alumni from Trinity’s first graduating class returned to campus for the first-ever Heritage Class Reunion.
In October 1959, 37 students enrolled at Trinity; 30 attended for a year or more and became Trinity’s first alumni and the Class of 1961.
On May 14, the College was delighted to welcome 11 alumni to the reunion. Joining them and their guests were three of the founding faculty members, Drs. Derke Bergsma, Cal Seerveld, and Robert Vander Vennen.
The weekend began with a tour of campus provided by Vice President for Student Development Ginny Carpenter, followed by a dinner in the Vermeer Fireside Room, which served as the campus chapel when the Class of 1961 attended Trinity. The after-dinner program featured a campus update from President Steve Timmermans and stories of Trinity’s history by Dr. Dan Diephouse, professor of English emeritus. Alumni and professors also took time to share their memories of what campus was like 50 years ago, as well as how Trinity has impacted their lives and careers.
Marion Dykstra ’61 enjoyed the opportunity to take part in the festivities. “I came because it was a milestone for my class and the first for Trinity to host,” said Dykstra. “I love Trinity and the people I know who work there. It was a very memorable weekend and I wouldn’t have wanted to miss it.”
Reunion attendees also took part in Saturday morning’s Commencement ceremony and led the procession of the Class of 2011 into the auditorium. Dr. Seerveld delivered the Commencement address.
“Just two years after celebrating Trinity’s 50th anniversary in 2009, it was an honor to host these individuals and be a part of another historic moment in Trinity’s life. We look forward to hosting the 50th class in future years as well,” said Travis Bandstra ’06, director of alumni relations.
Carl Klompien ’61 came, most of all, to see his former classmates and professors and was also struck by God’s faithfulness to both his classmates and to Trinity. “To see God’s blessings on those of us who could come and to hear Professor Seerveld point us to the source of everything was an inspiration and brought back fond memories,” he said. “I was thankful I was able to come and would do it again. And thanks most to God who has so abundantly blessed Trinity through its brief 50-year history.”
View the photogallery here.
In recognition of their commitment to education and their contributions to Christian community, Dr. John Hoekstra and Dr. Randall Voorn ’71 have been granted emeriti faculty status and were honored during the Commencement ceremonies on May 14.
Hoekstra has been awarded the rank Associate Professor of Education Emeritus, and Voorn has been awarded the rank Professor of Business Emeritus.
Dr. John Hoekstra has dedicated 11 years of his life to enhancing Christian higher education at Trinity.
He served as the College’s first director of Adult Studies Education, taking the program from its infancy and directing its expansion to three satellite campuses, including Prairie State College in Chicago Heights, College of DuPage in Addison, and Daystar School in Chicago.
Before Trinity, Hoekstra served 36 years in the public schools in Blue Island, Illinois. His teaching in Trinity’s traditional and Adult Studies programs includes assisting over 1,400 graduates from 80 cohorts through the program and on to successful careers.
Dr. Randall Voorn, a 1971 Trinity graduate, has taught at Trinity for 23 years and has used his experiences abroad to bring a global perspective to the College’s business and marketing curriculum.
He has fostered the growth of the business department’s marketing program to maturity as a fully integrated program within Trinity’s commitment to Christian liberal arts education.
Voorn has led students to professional excellence and worked diligently to contribute to the broader community through supporting and advancing his students’ careers both during and after their time of study at Trinity.
He will be teaching part-time in Trinity’s Adult Studies business program for the next year.
The production of William Shakespeare’s “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” proved to be a huge success for the College’s theatre program, with two performances added to accommodate ticket sales.
Six total performances made this classic, comedic fairytale one of Trinity theatre’s most popular productions in recent years.
“Many people think that they won’t understand Shakespeare, but Shakespeare is meant to be performed,” said David Hoekman ’12 of Grand Rapids, Michigan, who played the mischievous fairy Puck. “‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’ demands a lot of energy and is a very physical play, and everyone loves physical comedy.”
Besides stellar acting from new and veteran student actors, the show’s success has also been attributed to the excellent direction of Dr. John Sebestyen, assistant professor of communication arts and director of theatre.
“Dr. Sebestyen works so hard to bring us together as a cast and highlight our specific talents,” said Alyssa Guerrin ’12 of Holland, Michigan, who played the role of Titania, Queen of the Fairies. “He picked an amazing show, and gave us the proper tools to make this show a success.”
“Dr. Sebestyen’s directing and vision of the play made it understandable and enjoyable, even to people who generally don’t like Shakespeare,” added Stephanie Avila ’12 of Chicago, Illinois, who played Hermia, one of the four lovers. “It was a great feeling to know that the community enjoyed the play so much.”
Learn more about Dr. Sebestyen.
As the end of the semester drew near, the students in Associate Professor Dr. Mary Lynn Colosimo’s psychology of gender class presented their final projects, some of which delved past traditional research work.
The types of projects students could choose ranged from a poetry anthology to a photographic display of gender-related topics.
Senior Bethany Verhage ’11 of Moses Lake, Washington, and sophomore Calob Lostutter ’13 of Tuscon, Arizona, both chose to exercise their writing abilities by creating an original poem and children’s book, respectively.
Verhage’s poem, titled “Your Strength Will Sustain Me,” was based on her insights from a solitude exercise, focusing on man’s identity in Christ.
Lostutter addressed a psychological quandary by writing a children’s book about a bear who wants to be a lion because of insecurity. In the book, the bear struggles with identity and knowing his role in society. To highlight the theme of forming community through our differences, Lostutter enrolled the help of his peers by asking them each to paint a page of the book.
“The issue of identity is one that presses upon every generation,” said Lostutter. “Although each page of the book has a certain quality that makes it stand out, it all comes together in the end to form one story, just as each unique person helps form one single, functioning body.”
He added, “To study psychology of gender is to wrestle with identity. This class provided an opportunity for self-reflection and a chance to consider if I am aligning my identity based on social standards or the roles set forth by God.”
Trinity students and faculty members celebrated the annual OPUS event in April. OPUS, sometimes described as “an intellectual circus,” is sponsored by Trinity’s Academic Initiative.
The celebration of student intellectual and artistic endeavor begins with a procession though campus, led by the Troll, the traditional bagpiper, and professors dressed as Abe Lincoln and Sinter Klaas. Following the parade is a day full of student presentations, musical performances, a gallery exhibit, a picnic, and a special Outcry worship service.
Many academic departments were represented by students from the major presenting original videos, capstone projects, and reports from Interim courses. Students enjoyed entertainment provided by Trinity music, dance, and comedy groups, including Playtimez Ova, In ConTroll, the Gospel Choir, and the Jazz Band.
J.R. Wydra ’11 of Tinley Park, Illinois, this year’s Lincoln Laureate, pronounced the official opening of the day.
Tuition Remission Winners
$100 Winners– Kaylyn Bossert, Abby Christensen, Brian Clark
$150 Winners–Courtney Jeltema and William “Luke” Monsma
$250 Winners– Lauren Mayers and Cassie Nelson
$400 Winner–Victoria Bruinsma
$500 Winner–Kylie Bond
OPUS 2010 Committee Members
Faculty
Dick Cole, Chairperson
Ken Austin
Patti Bowman
Dayton Castleman
Latishia Elliott, Residence Director
Mackenzi Huyser
Mark Jones
Pete Post
Bill Schepel
Trina Vallone
Students
Kaitlyn Fondryk, Chair of Academic Initiative
Abby Christensen
Stephanie DeJong
Jonathan Engbers
Amanda Evers
Keli Ooms
Allison Wier
OPUS 2011 Award Winners
Art Winners
Best of Show
Abby Christensen – Bloated Book
Graphic Design
1st – Emily Van Hoff – Chuckwagon
2nd – Jenae Van Engen – Dine with Sarah
3rd – Emily Van Hoff – Snowflake Pattern Book
Honorable mention: Emily Van Hoff – Bridgeport Map
Print and Photo
1st – Brady Davidson – Weird Light Stuff (3)
2nd – Emily Van Hoff – Ampersand after Ampersand
3rd – Leigh Twaragowski – Kids at Play
Honorable mention: Amanda Evers – Fall
Katie Milton – Leap
Alyssa Dichraaf – Untitled
Painting, Drawing and Mixed Media
1st – Hannah Snow – Sheltered
2nd – Bridge Earnshaw – French Press
3rd – Amanda Evers – The Happiest Place on Earth
Honorable mention: Abby Christensen – I Know You Like Maps, But Can You Read Them?
Sculpture
1st – Karl Gesch – Untitled
2nd – Karl Gesch – Barn To Go
3rd – Mike Evers – The Physical Impossibility of Life in the Mind of Something Dead
Honorable mention: Abby Christensen – 16 Casts of the Bottom of My Bucket
Communication Arts Winners
Original Oratory
1st – Joshua Moore, “The Arnold Project”
2nd – Kenyatta Bivens, “Blindness”
Dramatic Interpretation
1st – Gina Ciametti, Phantom Rep
2nd – Julie Wiltjer, A Midsummer Night’s Dream
3rd – Shannon Smith, A Doll’s House
Prose Interpretation
1st – Markey Ambrose, Love’s Handsome Warrior
2nd – Joshua Moore, Politically Correct Fairy Tales
Poetry Interpretation
1st – Joshua Moore, “Broke”
2nd – Markey Ambrose, “Too Many Daves”
3rd – TIE: Stephanie Avila, “Somebody Should Have Told Him” and Heather Hernandez, “The Highwayman”
Literature Winners
Poetry
1st – “Untitled” by Monica Brands
2nd – “Gino” by Erika Huizenga
3rd – “Nerve” by Teryn Leaper
Honorable Mention: “Airstream” by Erika Huizenga
“Coming from the Zoo” by Bethany Eizenga
“Anorexia” by Libby Dykstra
Non-fiction
1st – “Between Here and the Sun” by Kailyn Baum
2nd – “Singing for My Grandfather and the Monks” by Andrew Blok
3rd – Shared by “The Role of Violence in Much Ado About Nothing” by Stephanie DeJong
“Heathcliff, Vampires, and Pop Culture” by Courtney Randle
Honorable Mention: “What Kills” by Jason Gerringer
Fiction
1st – “The Damsel” by Jez Layman
Music Winners
Vocal Solo
1st – William Gesch
2nd – Samuel Heunink
3rd – Daniel Thayer
Vocal Ensemble
1st – In ConTroll – William Gesch, Dan Thayer, Samuel Huenink, and Adam Perez
2nd – William Gesch and Daniel Thayer
3rd – Samuel Huenink and William Gesch
Instrumental Solo
1st – Lydia Kijowski
2nd – Zachary VerHaar
3rd – Kelly VandenBerg
Instrumental Ensemble
1st – Flute Ensemble – Melissa Don, Christina Reardon, Victoria Penley, Joohee Kim
Keyboard
1st – Hyo Jin Moon
2nd – Brittany Homan
3rd – Carrie Hofland
“You Be the Judge” Winners
INTERIM
Title: You’ve Never Heard of the Language of the Dwarves? Probably Because It’s So Underground
Presenter: Jennie Hill and Eric Swanson
COMMUNICATION ARTS AND MUSIC
Title: Music and Theology in Christian Worship: Preliminary Considerations
Presenter: Adam Perez
POLITICAL SCIENCE AND CRIMINAL JUSTICE
Title: Operation L.I.N.K. (Liberty in North Korea): Helping to Save a Life
Presenters: Kenyatta Bivens, Kaitlyn Fondrk, Courtney Jeltema, and Ishael J. Tendero
THEOLOGY
Title: What I Learned from Worship Symposium
Presenters: Alberto La Rosa, Kelsey Nelson, and Kelly Zuiderveen
HISTORY
Title: Educational Reform During the Early Cold War
Presenter: Abby Suarez
PSYCHOLOGY
Title: Peru 2011
Presenters: Elizabeth and Sarah Jongetjes
CHEMISTRY AND MATH
Title: Markov Processes and Inflation Rate Modeling
Presenter: Peter Keep
ENGLISH AND SPANISH
Title: Oh, ya, you betcha! – The dialects of Fargo
Presenter: Jennie Hill
EDUCATION AND SPEC. ED.
Title: Disney Sign Along
Presenters: Trinity’s Sign Language Club
Approximately 75 students participated in community service projects as part of the College’s annual Love Palos event on April 30.
Love Palos takes place each year during the final weeks of the academic year. Students and Trinity staff dedicate one Saturday morning to service projects in the Palos Heights community and on campus. The event is sponsored by the College’s Office of Community Partnerships and Service Learning.
“The goal of Love Palos is to give students an opportunity to give back to their community through service,” said Office of Community Partnerships and Service Learning student worker Paola Dolores ’12 of Villa Park, Illinois. “Through this day of service, we hope students are led to continue volunteering and participating in other projects.
The service projects vary each year, ranging from picking up trash around neighborhoods to spreading mulch in recreation areas. This year, students were able to choose between working with the Navajo Hills Homeowners Association, picking up trash in Navajo Creek, which runs along the east-side of campus, working at the Route 83 athletics fields, or helping with projects at the Lake Katherine Nature Center and Botanic Gardens.
“The value of participating in Love Palos is that students have an appreciation for the town we share and live in,” said Dolores. “Students also receive the opportunity to demonstrate Christ-like service to our neighbors.”
“Love Palos is really fun because it allows us to do work with other people,” said English education student Andrew Blok ’13 of Lynden, Washington. “It’s a nice change for students, since so much of the work we do daily is individual.”
“My favorite part of Love Palos is the fellowship that happens while we serve,” said business major David Schurman ’12 of Demotte, Indiana. “Love Palos is a great way for us to spend time bonding and working alongside the people we already know and getting to know the people we don’t.”
While attendees of the April 27 Trinity Business Network (TBN) event enjoyed sweet tea and lemonade compliments of international restaurant chain Chick-fil-A, and the famous Eat Mor Chikin cows made friends with the Troll, Chick-fil-A President and COO Dan Cathy prepared to present “Business Leadership Ethics” to hundreds of local business people, friends of the College, and students.
Chick-fil-A, an Atlanta-based, quick-service chicken restaurant chain, was founded by Cathy’s father, S. Truett Cathy, and is one of the nation’s largest family-owned businesses.
Some of the Cathy family values of faith in God and service to others took root in the days when Truett was a child and learned Bible verses from his mother, Cathy told the crowd. Those Bible verses and others have been the foundation of many business decisions, one of the primary being to “go the extra mile” for customers.
This service component started with Matthew 5:41, which speaks to the first mile involving doing what is required but the second mile going beyond what is required—to “do the unexpected,” said Cathy.
The family’s faith is inextricably woven into their lives and into their business, as evidenced in Chick-fil-A’s corporate purpose statement: “To glorify God by being a faithful steward of all that is entrusted to us. To have a positive influence on all who come in contact with Chick-fil-A.”
Joining Cathy for the event was Kevin Bulmann, owner operator of Chick-Fil-A in Orland Park, Illinois. Every visitor received a coupon for a complimentary chicken sandwich.
“This was a wonderful opportunity for Trinity Christian College and the Trinity Business Network to make some incredible connections with our local business people,” said Larryl Humme, vice president for development. “Mr. Cathy’s presentation was inspiring, relevant, challenging, and uplifting all rolled together. I can’t wait to invite him (and the cows) back to campus.”
After the presentation, Cathy answered questions submitted by members of the audience and signed copies of Eat Mor Chikin: Inspire More People, a book written by his father. He also gave this advice to soon-to-be Trinity graduates:
“Find a mentor,” said Cathy. “There is somebody already living your dream. Developing a mentoring relationship can compress the learning curve.”
Following the event, special guests enjoyed a Chick-fil-A dinner with Cathy in the Grand Lobby.
Ashley Veurink ’11 of Corsica, South Dakota, and editor in chief of Trinity’s College newspaper The Courier, attended with her business ethics class and Assistant Professor Deborah Windes.
“Mr. Cathy’s presentation was genuinely inspiring in both the business and religious aspects,” said Veurink. “The way he has woven his faith in Christ with his desires to serve and practice business is a testimony that many Trinity students – not just those studying business – can aspire to.”
The mission of the Trinity Business Network is to provide Christ-centered learning and service opportunities for Trinity alumni and friends.
A special thank you to our TBN partners:
Dreyer, Ooms & Van Drunen, Ltd.
Evenhouse & Co., P.C.
PACMOORE
Service Sanitation, Inc.
STRAIGHT NORTH
In a struggling economy, soon-to-be college graduates wonder if they will find work. When they do land that job, they may then wonder if their college education has prepared them adequately for a career.
Recently, Dr. Lynn White, professor of accounting in the business department at Trinity, shared some numbers that had nothing to do with balance sheets but did testify to the strength of the accounting program and the preparation of accounting majors who go on to take their CPA exams.
Results tracked by the Illinois Board of Examiners revealed that in 2010 exam candidates from Trinity had the highest average score among candidates from schools of the same size as Trinity or larger. In 2009, Trinity candidates had the second highest average score.
“Accounting at Trinity is a difficult major, but it needs to be,” said White. “We’re doing what we’re doing to prepare our students.”
To learn more about Trinity’s accounting program, visit: https://tcc.trnty.edu/depts/business/
Learn more about Dr. Lynn White.
Four students were recently elected by their peers to represent the student body as members of the 2011-12 Student Association Executive Committee.
Sam Lankah ’13 of Warrenville, Illinois, will lead the Student Association as president. Lankah, who served on the Association this past year as a class representative, is a biology major and member of the men’s soccer team. He also takes part in various clubs on campus, including Academic Initiative, Service Committee, Asian American Alliance (AAA), and Men’s Ministry.
Future vice president DaMaris King ’14 is from Detroit, Michigan, and served as a 2010-11 Association class representative. A psychology major with minors in communication arts and music, King has also been involved as a chapel music leader and member of Psychology Club.
Kaitlyn Fondrk ’13, from Belvidere, Illinois, will apply her accounting major as the Association’s 2011-12 treasurer. Fondrk has served as the chair and treasurer of Academic Initiative, and has been involved in the General Education Committee, Law and Politics Society, the OPUS Committee, and the Overarching Unity Task Force.
Dan Thayer ’12 of Holland, Michigan, a music major and communication arts-theatre minor, will serve the Executive Committee as secretary. Thayer currently serves as president of the Theatre Club, and has also been a part of South Hall Council, Social Justice Chapter, and has served as a 2010-11 Association member.
Lankah is excited about leading the student body’s government.
“I have high hopes for what my peers and I can accomplish, and I am prepared to encourage this new team to cultivate a deeper and broader imagination for what God has planned for our school,” said Lankah. “Being president of Student Association requires service, and I hope that students also find in me a friend.”
Student Association
The Student Association is Trinity’s student body government. It is composed of 24 representatives, some being elected by the general student body and others chosen by Student Association members.
Each class elects four student representatives and the entire student population elects individuals to serve on the Executive Committee. These elected representatives’ main function is to act as an advocate for students, voicing their concerns and working alongside Trinity’s administration to affect constructive change on campus.
This May, two students will be the first to graduate with a physics minor, a program added to Trinity’s liberal arts curricula in 2009.
Jonathan Borr of Holland, Michigan, a chemistry major, and Andrew Boersma of Clive, Iowa, a business major, added the physics minor to their programs of study when it was offered for the Fall 2009 semester.
“The physics minor is a great opportunity for chemistry majors,” said Borr. “Since chemistry is the study of the interactions between atoms, it’s only natural to study the way they move in physics.”
Dr. Thomas R. Roose, associate professor of physics and science education, proposed the minor with the intent to provide opportunities for students to develop reasoning and critical thinking abilities consistent with a strong liberal arts education and to further strengthen the science program.
According to Roose’s initial proposal, the courses comprised within the physics minor will stimulate increased breadth and depth in the sciences, improve analysis and reasoning abilities, connect science to life experiences and observations, and require synthesis of new insights with preconceived ideas.
“Dr. Roose is a great professor,” said Borr. “Because of the small class size, it’s easy to go over more difficult concepts with him more thoroughly.”
Borr said he especially enjoys the Optics course and the lab component of the class in which students use a laser to study how light behaves in various optical situations.
After graduation, Boersma plans to attend the University of Kansas for mechanical engineering. “Without Dr. Roose’s commitment to the program or to helping students, I would not have been able to achieve this dream. As I go on to Kansas, I will take with me the valuable knowledge and experience that Dr. Roose and the physics program have given me,” he said.
The physics minor will require the completion of five courses and a minimum of 19 credit hours.
Learn more about Professor Thomas Roose.