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On September 17, 1787, the Founding Fathers signed the most influential document in American history, the U.S. Constitution. And every year, Trinity commemorates that world-changing event by recognizing Constitution Day.
For this year’s observation, Trinity students read two speeches that were given at the ceremony marking the 20th Anniversary of the September 11th Attacks at the Flight 93 Memorial in rural Western Pennsylvania.
Boluwatife Jegede ’23 read a speech delivered by Vice President Kamala Harris. Caleb Rivera ’24 read remarks given former President George W. Bush.
The Constitution Day event was sponsored by the Department of History and the Historical Association of Students (HAS) — The History Club.
Join us for Stardust Jazz Night, with the Trinity Jazz Ensemble and the Trinity Jazz Collaborative! The concert will take place at 7 pm in Ozinga Chapel Auditorium on Sept. 24. The concert marks the first in a series of events planned by Trinity’s Music Department this semester.
After an opening from the Trinity Christian College Jazz Ensemble, the night will feature a professional performance from Trinity Faculty members Artie Black (sax), Chris Davis (trumpet), and Kevin Brown (guitar) with special guests Katie Ernst (bass and vocals), and Tim Mulvenna (drums). Don’t miss this beautiful evening of live jazz, right here on campus!
“We are very excited to return to live music after not being able to gather for concerts last year,” said Professor of Music and Department Chair Mark Peters. “Stardust Jazz this year features our student jazz ensemble opening for the Trinity Jazz Collective, a professional combo featuring three Trinity faculty.”
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – The National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) announced its Daktronics NAIA Scholar-Athletes and NAIA Scholar Teams as a part of its annual NAIA National Awards Day on Wednesday, Sept. 15. Trinity Christian College Athletics had 75 student-athletes receive the honor of Scholar-Athlete and 15 teams earn the distinction of Scholar-Team.
Trinity’s Daktronics NAIA Scholar-Athletes
Baseball: Zach Huisman, Dan Vos, Mike McIntyre, Josh Bakke, Michael Moralez , Jordan Rhodes, Nicolas Guitierrez
Men’s Soccer: Ben Boers, Wesley Trueblood, Emmanuel Iradukunda, Mike McIntyre, Karl Kosary, Chase Rozeveld, Marcos Shimizu, Matthew Tamminga, Alec Belcastro, Ben Morris
Men’s Track and Field: Ross Barz, Jim Bruinius, Caleb DeWeerd, Ryan Mathes, Kyle Graff, Tony Reppman, Chase Rozeveld Men’s
Volleyball: Jake Ostema
Men’s Cross Country: Jim Bruinius, Caleb DeWeerd, Ryan Mathes, Tony Reppmann
Men’s Golf: Nate Kamp, Dan Vos, Mark Schaaf, Mike Maher, Spencer Rice
Men’s Basketball: Noah Andringa, Oleksandr Dolishniy, Vince Overway
Women’s Cross Country: Grace Thelo, Valerie Wellman, Chloe Kikstra
Women’s Golf: Summer Cramer, Ashley Keen
Women’s Soccer: Allyson Kranstz, Drew McCarthy, Kaleigh VanElst, Autumn Bergemann, Selah Hopkins, Miranda Kortenhoeven, Brianna Uhl, Mia Salas, Anna Van Denend, Claire Darby
Softball: Audrey Ricker, Summer Cramer, Emily Montalvo, Alyssa Martin
Women’s Track and Field: Alexis VanRyn, Alyssa Horstman, Ava Kelly, Grace Thelo, Valerie Wellman, Chloe Kirkstra
Women’s Basketball: Summer Cramer, Alexis Marin, Alyssa Mulligan
Women’s Volleyball: Britta Heggeland, Anna Maatman, Danielle Zaner, Julia Belcher, Nicole Belcher, Sarah Hernandez, Madysen Zula, McKenzie Gibson, Brooke Veldman
Trinity’s Scholar Teams, including GPA:
Men’s Golf – 3.63
Women’s Volleyball – 3.57
Women’s Golf – 3.56
Men’s Cross Country – 3.50
Softball – 3.45
Women’s Cross Country – 3.42
Men’s Soccer – 3.41
Baseball – 3.34
Women’s Soccer – 3.31
Men’s Indoor Track and Field – 3.26
Men’s Outdoor Track and Field – 3.26
Women’s Indoor Track and Field – 3.25
Women’s Outdoor Track and Field – 3.25
Men’s Volleyball – 3.14
Women’s Basketball – 3.01
In order to be eligible for the Daktronics NAIA Scholar-Athlete program a student-athletes must be a juniors or seniors in academic standing with a 3.5 or higher cumulative GPA. A Scholar Team must have a minimum 3.0 GPA – calculated using the institutions normal GPA rules, include every varsity athlete certified during this academic year, and include fall and spring grades from the current year.
An education from Trinity Christian College doesn’t just change lives—our graduates go on to change the world. And the life-changing value of a Trinity education has once again been recognized by U.S. News and World Report, which named Trinity to several of its “best” lists for 2022, including among the Top 20 Regional Colleges Midwest and #15 for social mobility. And in U.S. News’ inaugural ranking, Trinity’s nursing program has been ranked among the top 300 of all undergraduate nursing programs in the United States.
U.S. News uses multiple criteria for its highly regarded rankings. To be named among the “Best Colleges,” Trinity was rated for its graduation and retention rates; social mobility; academic reputation; student selectivity; financial resources; alumni giving; and graduate debt, among other factors.
“I am confident that, under the tutelage of a talented and dedicated faculty, Trinity students work hard and learn well as they prepare for a lifetime of opportunity and service,” said President Kurt D. Dykstra. “While no one set of data can measure that kind of transformative experience in full, it is gratifying to, once again, be recognized by U.S. News & World Report as a top college in the Midwest.”
Trinity’s performance on social mobility deserved its own category, according to U.S. News, which looked at Trinity’s ability to enroll and graduate students from less-advantaged backgrounds. U.S. News also recognized Trinity’s undergraduate nursing program. (see “U.S. News Recognizes BSN Program among Best in Country”)
“We are honored and excited to be recognized as an institution that excels at making a college education possible for students from all backgrounds,” said Provost Aaron Kuecker, Ph.D. “This recognition is the result of the significant dedication of an excellent faculty and staff – but, most truly, it is a recognition of the hard work, dedication, and amazing gifts of Trinity’s students. It is such a privilege to serve the students who come to Trinity to learn, to be challenged, to be transformed, and to discover the joy of their vocation.”
Along with the U.S. News rankings, Trinity is frequently recognized by many organizations for preparing students for a world that needs them. The College’s honors include being named a “College of Distinction;” routinely ranked the best BSN programs in the state of Illinois; part of the “National Strength and Conditioning Association Education Recognition Program;” and a “best value” among special education programs.
Students who receive their Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) degrees from Trinity aren’t just graduating from the best nursing program in the state of Illinois. In its inaugural rankings, U.S. News & World Report has recognized Trinity’s program as among the best in the country, standing shoulder to shoulder with some of the largest universities in the United States.
U.S. News also named the College to several other prestigious lists, including among the Top 20 Regional Colleges Midwest and #15 for social mobility. (see “U.S. News Names Trinity a Top 20 School”)
In the latest U.S. News rankings, Trinity was named among the top 300 of all undergraduate nursing programs in the United States, taking its place among far larger colleges and universities.
“Trinity’s Department of Nursing is dedicated to preparing nurses who are both academically excellent, and also ready to face the demands of providing hands on patient care. Our commitment to training nurses to excel in both theory and clinical practice, makes our graduates stand out when they enter the workforce all over the world,” said Associate Professor of Nursing and Department Chair Dr. Tina Decker ’06. “We prepare great BSN nurses who are ready to provide Christ-like care to those in need. This recognition from U.S. News affirms that. It is an honor to have the hard work of the students, alumni, faculty, staff, and the broader Trinity community recognized in this way.”
The College’s program has set the bar for nursing programs in many ways. In 2020, Trinity nursing graduates achieved a perfect first-time pass rate on the NCLEX-RN exam for the fifth time in six years. This success for Trinity’s top-ranked program represents the highest six-year NCLEX average of any BSN or ADN program in Illinois.
Trinity’s Nursing program is also regularly ranked among the best BSN programs in Illinois, including by RegisteredNursing.org and RN to BSN.
For Amy Nagelkirk ’92, president of the Trinity Alumni Nursing Association (TANA), it is exciting to see Trinity’s nursing department recognized once again for its excellence. “It’s a tradition that I’ve always felt proud of while working in both Chicago and West Michigan.”
One of the great strengths of Trinity’s nursing program is the generosity of its dedicated nursing alumni, including TANA members who support the Department of Nursing through student-related activities and fundraising, and foster personal and professional relationships among alumni, she said. “At the height of the pandemic surge last November, we saw an increased number of nursing alumni volunteer to be part of our TANA mentoring program. Even as many were in the thick of it, struggling to get through their shifts and extra mandate shifts, they were still wanting to support students.”
TANA also provides endowed scholarships for nursing students. “This, year, TANA was able to award two $1,000 scholarships from that fund,” she said. “A program with that kind of support behind it is going to continue to thrive.”
Graphic novels and Comic-Con go together like Batman and Robin. And as the famed convention has expanded its online educational programming, helping teachers incorporate graphic novels into the classroom is one topic the Comic-Con Educational Series recently tackled. Trinity Professor of Education Bill Boerman-Cornell, Ph.D., who recently published Using Graphic Novels in the English Language Arts Classroom, appeared as a panelist to share strategies, resources, and lessons to improve methods of teaching with this highly effective medium.
As part of the panel, Boerman-Cornell discussed ways to help teachers incorporate the use of graphic novels into their classrooms, as well as talking about his own introduction to graphic novels. He fondly recalled the time as a young boy in the 1970s when his Aunt Agatha took him to a comic books store and gave him $20. “This was at a time when Marvel comics cost 35 cents—it was fantastic,” he said. “In those days, we were often told comic books weren’t serious, and you shouldn’t be spending time with that. But it led to loving to read.”
Fast forward several years, and Boerman-Cornell was teaching English at the high school level. “I’d spend 50 minutes trying to get students to have a serious discussion about Hamlet,” he said. But then one day, he was walking down the hall and heard two students passionately discussing something they were reading–Neil Gaiman’s “The Sandman #19,” a take on Shakespeare’s “A Midsummer Night’s Dream.”
“It turns out it was a comic book about Shakespeare. At that point, I was hooked,” he said. Boerman-Cornell went on to focus his dissertation on graphic novels.
He and the other panelists, which included high school teachers and college professors, also discussed their greatest surprises in teaching with graphic novels. Boerman-Cornell pointed to the ways that his students showed him new insights into the medium by realizing how imagery interacted with text.
He also encouraged teachers in fields other than English to consider how graphic novels could fit into their curriculum. “English is the rock star for using graphic novels, but we sometimes forget all other subjects can use them as well,” he said. “There are so many graphic novels out there for math, science, history, and even things like phys ed and the arts. There is a lot of room out there.”
Each fall, Convocation brings together the Trinity Christian College community like no other event on campus, where students, professors, staff, and administrators gather together to mark the beginning of the academic year. The 63rd Annual Convocation, which took place on Sept. 1, was a particularly meaningful one, as those who had been learning, teaching and working remotely during the pandemic came together once more in Ozinga Chapel Auditorium to pray, sing, and be in community.
President Kurt Dykstra welcomed the campus to the opening of another academic year. He reminded the campus that it was carrying on a six-decade tradition at the College and, in this gathering, was joining figuratively with all who have previously been a part of the Trinity community. Dykstra also reminded the community that it was undertaking the serious work of “calling forth the best of a tradition, pursuing truth, gathering knowledge, engaging reason, growing in wisdom, and nurturing a deep faith.”
Continuing another long-standing Trinity tradition, the college Professor of the Year, Dr. David Brodnax Sr., Ph.D., delivered the Convocation address. Brodnax, Professor of History, gave context to current events, from the pandemic to massive movements for social justice, a divisive presidential election, and the ravages of climate change.
He looked to the past, from the ancient Hebrews to today’s current climate, with a spoiler-filled description of the Marvel universe’s most recent movies and television shows. Like some of the Avengers, many today want to see the world remain the way it has always been—or how they perceive it to be, Brodnax said.
Brodnax urged everyone at Convocation to continue to make reforms around the world and on our own campus. “To everyone here today, Trinity is a place that can and should change you. Trinity is a place that can and should be changed by you. Trinity is a place that you can use to change the world…. We were meant to make all things new, to do justice, to love kindness, and to walk humbly with God.”
The first day of fall classes is always an exciting time, with campus dorms bursting with new friends and roommates, halls buzzing with students and professors, athletics teams launching into the new season, and a community gathered together in the pursuit of knowledge.
At Trinity, Aug. 30 marked a particularly special back-to-school occasion, after the challenges of the COVID pandemic. Students, professors, and staff reported a new appreciation for being together again.
“I just kept telling my students how good it was to see their real faces (even behind the masks!),” said Associate Professor of Physical Education, Recreation and Kinesiology (PERK) and Department Chair Shari L. Jurgens ‘92, Ph.D. “Being able to connect with their faces is so important for learning, and I am excited to be able to be in a classroom or gym with them again! Teaching PERK classes in the gym over Zoom was not fun or easy, but it was what we had to do and our students did great at adjusting and learning, despite the challenges. We are just glad to be back together, moving and learning together again!
Associate Professor of Chemistry Jon Vander Woude ’10, Ph.D., said it is wonderful to have students back in the classroom and laboratory full time this fall. “We all did our best when COVID forced us to turn online, but there is something lost when class is on a computer screen instead of in person, and I am looking forward to once again building meaningful relationships with my students as I get to know them face to face,” he said.
Trinity’s Student Government Association (SGA) is also excited to be back in-person and has planned many activities for the upcoming semester. “We will be aiming in encouraging more student voices on campus and their activeness to join clubs and organizations to make Trinity a place where students can feel belonging,” said RanitaLuhur’22, SGA president. “As a student and a member of SGA, the last 18 months have been interesting. We were able to innovate and look at things where we haven’t thought of before, such as having half virtual and half in-person SGA meetings. So, I’m excited to see what SGA can come up with more this year, I’m certain that this would be a great year for SGA as we return fully in person.”
President Kurt D. Dykstra also shared in greeting everyone back to campus. “This is the start of another year, one filled with great adventures,” he said in a message to students. “ God has brought us together in this time at this place for distinct purposes. Let us joyfully discover those purposes together, fully with one another.”
The world needs social workers, and Trinity is pleased to announce the Spring 2022 launch of a Bachelor of Social Work degree geared towards adult students and taking place entirely online. This new degree program, specifically designed for adults with some college credit who are aged 23 or older, offers greater accessibility to a BSW degree for individuals who may otherwise not be able to engage with social work education due to various barriers such as work and family responsibilities.
This new program, along with the College’s traditional undergraduate BSW program, answers the call for the growing need for social workers with a focus on liberal arts education that prepares Trinity’s graduates for a world that needs them. Data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics projects a 13% employment growth rate for all social workers from 2019-29. Students who earn their BSW degree at Trinity Christian College are eligible to earn their MSW degree in 1-year through the advanced standing placement enrollment option at other higher education institutions with a Council on Social Work Education (CSWE) Master of Social Work (MSW) degree program.
Said Associate Professor of Social Work; Director of Social Work Program; and Department Chair Cini Bretzlaff-Holstein, DSW, “This new degree completion program offers adult learners’ access to an exciting opportunity beyond the traditional face-to-face undergraduate program. More specifically, this new online program provides greater access to an accredited Bachelor of Social Work program in which the integration of faith and practice is central to its mission and identity.”
This new online option for adult learners amplifies Trinity’s current BSW program, according to Bretzlaff-Holstein. “Assisting students in the development and discernment of their vocational call to be Christ-like change agents through the social work profession is at the heart of Trinity’s social work program.”
The program will continue the history of excellence demonstrated by those who have earned their BSW degrees from Trinity, according to Amy Tiemersma, MSW, LCSW, clinical social worker at Trinity agency partner Bethshan Association. “Trinity offers an excellent on-campus Bachelor of Social Work program, and I am excited about the increased accessibility the online program will offer, with flexible timing and location for adults who may be working full time or who may not able to access Trinity’s campus due to geography,” said Tiemersma, who has served on the advisory committee for the Trinity social work department, taught social work classes as an adjunct faculty member, and supervised many Trinity BSW interns during their field placements.
Tiemersma said she is confident that the online program will maintain the excellence that allows Trinity’s social work program to stand apart from others. “I can attest first hand to the excellence of instruction overseen by the social work professors, the provision of valuable social work learning experiences for students, and the incorporation of a Christian world view for informing social work practice, and I really encourage adults considering a BSW to look into this new option at Trinity.”
Applications are currently being accepted for the Spring 2022 semester. To learn more about Trinity’s new Adult BSW program, visit our website.
The bonds between Trinity and the City of Palos Heights run deep—both founded in 1959, the College and the city have grown together and found many ways to benefit each other over the decades.
Some of those bonds were highlighted during a recent interview with Trinity’s Fusion59 co-directors Haley Heeg ’20 and Sundeep Vira, assistant professor of business and director of data analytics and strategic innovation, on Channel 4, the Palos Heights community access channel.
During the interview with Palos Heights Alderman Jeff Key, a member of the city’s business and economic advisory committee, Heeg and Vira talked about the partnerships that Fusion59 has formed with local businesses in the three years since its founding. That includes how members of Fusion59’s Consulting Team have worked with businesses in areas like social media, website design, and marketing.
According to Heeg, Trinity’s Consulting Team works with five clients over the course of A semester. “It’s been wonderful to see how we can grow local business’s social media presence, with web development, and conducting interviews with business owners.” Trinity students also get experience that they can use once they graduate. “It’s mutually beneficial,” she said.
Said Vira, “Fusion59 is in some ways a bridge between students who have resources and knowledge and information and community members who have business needs.”
Trinity’s relationship with the Palos Heights community dates back decades, of course. Key pointed to multiple initiatives, including the assistance that students in Trinity’s business classes offer the community, such as assisting with insights for the local Chamber of Commerce, as well as the “welcome back” events that Palos Heights businesses host for students each fall.
Trinity is part of what make Palos Heights unique, said Key. “It’s eye-opening to see what is going on around campus,” he said.