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Troll athletes excel on and off the field, and the Athletics Department recently announced the winners of the annual awards that honor commitment, community, and caring.
Rich Kooy Award: Gerard Weik
The winner of the Rich Kooy Award for 2019-20 is Gerard Weik.
The Rich Kooy Award recognizes a member of the Trinity community who contributed to the development of the Athletics Department. It is named in honor of mathematics professor Rich Kooy, who gave 27 years of service to Trinity Christian College, was a founding member of the Trinity Athletics Committee, and served as the faculty athletics representative.
Weik is the assistant women’s volleyball coach, as well as assistant director of Physical Plant. He has dedicated much of his time to the Athletics Department, and has been instrumental during the transition of head coaches for the women’s volleyball team. He also helps to make sure all 14 varsity sports teams on campus have everything they need in order to compete at the highest level.
Women’s “T” Award: Claudia Pareja ’20
Claudia Pareja ’20 has been named the winner of the inaugural “T” Award for the women.
The “T” Award goes to a female student-athlete who exemplifies what it means to be a Troll. They show dedication, initiative, motivation, and positive attitude towards Trinity Athletics.
There were four finalists for the award: softball players Parejaand Makayla Otto, women’s soccer player Nicole Faulkner and women’s volleyball player Juliana Dykstra. After votes were calculated from Instagram, Twitter and Facebook, Pareja was announced as the winner.
Pareja has made a huge impact on the Trinity campus since she arrived. She always has a smile on her face and is in the stands to support all sports teams. She also works in the Marketing & Communications Office, helping to create video content for the College.
Men’s “T” Award: Sam Herzog ’20
Trinity Athletics has named Sam Herzog ’20 winner of the inaugural “T” Award for the men.
The “T” Award goes to a male student-athlete who exemplifies what it means to be a Troll. They show dedication, initiative, motivation and positive attitude towards Trinity Athletics.
There were four finalists for the award, including golfer Pete Vos, men’s basketball player Deantre DeYoung, baseball player Herzog and men’s soccer/baseball player Mike McIntyre. After votes were calculated from Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook, the winner of the award is baseball senior Herzog.
Herzog was a constant presence in the Trinity community. Not only was he a member of the baseball team, but he worked game staff, working many of the Trinity’s athletic events. Even when he wasn’t competing or working, he was always there to support his fellow Trolls.
Liz Metcalfe Award: Dani Van Laten ’20
Trinity Athletics has named Dani Van Laten ’20 the winner of the Liz Metcalfe Memorial Award for the 2019-20 academic year.
The Metcalfe Award is given to a graduating female student-athlete who exemplifies what it means to play as a Christian student-athlete. They have to encompass outstanding athletic ability, academic achievement, and community involvement.
Van Laten has accomplished all of those things during her time as a Troll. She was a member of the volleyball team for four seasons, serving as the starting setter for three of those seasons. She accumulated 4,271 assists and 1,581 digs across 560 sets for her career, which puts her in the top 10 in Trinity’s record books.
She helped her team to various accomplishments, including one CCAC regular season championship and three CCAC regular season co-championships. In 2019, they were the CCAC tournament champions as well, which was the first time since 2013 they won both within the conference. The team also competed in the NAIA national tournament in 2017, 2018, and 2019, and won the NCCAA National Championships in 2016.
For Van Laten, she also has numerous individual accolades. In 2019, she became the first Trinity volleyball player to earn NAIA All-American Second Team honors. She also earned CCAC Co-Player of the Year, Setter of the Year and All-Conference First Team honors. She was also the NCCAA Player of the Year, NCCAA/AVCA All-American First Team, North Central Region Player of the Year and North Central All-Region First Team.
She earned more accolades before last season, including CCAC Setter of the Year in 2018, CCAC All-Conference in 2017 and 2018, NCCAA All-American honors in 2018, and NCCAA North Central All-Region First Team in 2017 and 2018.
For her academics, she received NAIA, NCCAA and CCAC Scholar-Athlete recognition. She maintained above a 3.5 GPA as an elementary education major. In her community, she was heavily involved in service initiatives with her team, working with Feed My Starving Children and other local organizations. She also went on a service trip to New Mexico and helped coach at a local volleyball club.
Keith Albers Memorial Award: Brantley VanOverloop ’20
Trinity Athletics has named Brantley VanOverloop the recipient of the 2019-20 Keith Albers Memorial Award.
The Keith Albers Memorial Award goes to a graduating male student-athlete who exemplifies what it means to be a Christian student-athlete. They have to encompass outstanding athletic ability, academic achievement, and community involvement.
VanOverloop has excelled in all of these areas during his four years as a Troll. For the cross country team, he was one of their top three runners this year. He had his career-best time in an 8k race at the Fighting Bee Invitational on October 12. He also helped his team to a fourth-place finish at the CCAC Championships, which was their best finish during his four years on the team.
For track, he helped in various relays and in javelin. The outdoor season was cancelled for 2020 due to COVID-19, but he helped his team tremendously throughout his career. He is a CCAC All-Conference selection for both the indoor and outdoor seasons in 2019, and helped his team to fifth-place finishes in 2019 and 2020. He also served as a team captain for two and a half years.
In the classroom, VanOverloop earned CCAC, NCCAA, and NAIA Scholar-Athlete recognition. He maintained above a 3.5 GPA as a mathematics and middle grades education major.
He is heavily involved in his community. He is a member of ALPS and student government on campus. He also took a mission trip to Costa Rica.
Trinity Athletics thanks all of our award recipients for all they have given to the College and the community. To watch video presentations of each award winner, visit the Athletics Department Facebook page.
Trinity, Joliet Slammers Donate Meals to Palos First Responders
More than ever during these challenging times, we are grateful to our essential workers. And Trinity was thrilled to partner with the Joliet Slammers to recently donate meals to the Palos Heights Police and Fire Departments.
We thank all our local heroes for their courage and sacrifice!
The Joliet Slammers are a minor-league baseball team affiliated with the Frontier League of Professional Baseball.
Over the last months we have all experienced unique challenges and significant alterations to our daily lives. But for many Trinity students, the effects of COVID-19 are particularly difficult.
That is why we are working on plans to address these very real financial challenges for our students and their families due to this pandemic. More than 300 of our current students are eligible for Pell Grants, which means that their family incomes typically range between $20,000-$50,000. These students, even with their families’ support, are already making significant financial sacrifices to attend Trinity. As they look to next year, many will face tough choices on whether they can stay in school due to their difficult financial hardships.
To support our most vulnerable students, Trinity Christian College has established the “In It Together Fund” to help meet the greatest needs of our current students. We will provide tuition scholarships, living essentials, and emergency funding for books, food, and travel expenses. We do not want to lose even one student to this crisis because of this unexpected financial stress.
We believe that the world needs Trinity graduates now more than ever, and we will not let the economic burden brought on by this pandemic allow Trinity to compromise our vision to educate the next generation of prepared and passionate Christian leaders.
We have a small group of Trinity Partners from around the country that have committed to match up to $100,000 of gifts to this fund. Every dollar you give will be matched.
We are all In It Together! Will you join us in this effort to assist students most challenged by this crisis? To learn more and to donate, visit the Trinity In It Together page.
For the latest updates regarding Trinity and the COVID-19 pandemic, please visit trnty.edu/covid19.
Trinity’s Physical Education, Recreation, and Kinesiology (PERK) program builds future leaders who understand fitness, sports, leisure, and good stewardship of the human body. And the PERK program has once again been recognized as a National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA) Education Recognition Program (ERP), the premier group in the field.
According to Associate Professor and PERK Chair Shari L. Jurgens, Ph.D., Trinity first achieved this recognition three years ago, and its ERP status has now been renewed for three more years. The designation applies to NSCA’s Personal Training and Strength and Conditioning recognition.
“It is quite an honor to have our program be recognized by the leading association in personal training and strength and conditioning in the country,” she said.
The NSCA ERP recognizes and distinguishes schools with standardized, approved strength and conditioning or personal training curricula in undergraduate and graduate settings designed to prepare students for the NSCA-Certified Personal Trainer (NSCA-CPT) and NSCA Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist (CSCS) certifications. ”The NSCA Education Recognition Program (ERP) is the first step in laying the foundation to ensure excellence for students in the classroom, as well as a long-term professional success after graduation,” according to NSCA. “The ERP recognizes and distinguishes schools with strength and conditioning or personal training curricula that prepares students for NSCA certification exams.”
Trinity’s PERK program prepares graduates for success. For example, exercise science major Shanna Grigoletti’s ’05 has opened her own gym and uses it as an outreach to the community. Grigoletti is grateful for the ways God grew her faith during her college years. “Trinity showed me that you need to step out of your bubble, love those around you, and open your eyes to the immense amount of opportunity that’s outside your front door,” she said. You can read more about her story here.
Trinity is pleased to announce that our Nursing Program has once again been recognized among the best in the state!
According to RN to BSN, Illinois is a prime state to earn a Bachelor of Science in Nursing degree in and practice as a nursing professional, and Trinity was ranked second among all Illinois BSN programs.
The ranking noted the hands-on experience and simulation labs that Trinity nursing students have access to.
For four of the last five years, Trinity’s BSN graduates have scored a 100% first-time pass rate on the NCLEX-RN exam, the highest five-year NCLEX average of any BSN or ADN program in Illinois.
The baccalaureate degree in nursing at Trinity Christian College is accredited by the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education.
President Kurt Dykstra has announced Trinity’s plans for Fall 2020:
Dear Trinity Community,
I pray that you are safe and well as we “on campus” (so to speak) wrap up a most unusual school year and move into a summer that likely promises a “new normal” for us all. We continue to lean on the grace and peace of God and stand firm in the words of Romans 12:12 to be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.
It has been a few weeks since I have communicated directly with you, the broader Trinity Christian College community. Know that we think of you often and appreciate you greatly. As we conclude one school year, permit me a few paragraphs to bring you up to date with what Trinity is planning for the next academic year. In short:
Trinity is planning and expecting to welcome, in-person, our students to campus this fall and we will do so in a way that incorporates public health measures endorsed by governmental authorities and medical experts.
While we are very zealous to be back on campus and are working to make that happen, please understand that nothing is more important than the safety of those on our campus – consistently rated as one of the safest college campuses in Illinois. As the facts change, Trinity will adapt, too.
Late last week, Governor J.B. Pritzker released his Restore Illinois plan for re-opening this state. It provides useful guidance that will help inform our campus planning and preparation. Similarly, over the last weeks, I have participated in multiple conferences with the leaders of other institutions and organizations, ranging from higher education consortia in Washington and Springfield to athletic associations and conferences. All of these meetings are focused on safely getting college campuses back to delivering in-person, on-campus education.
After weeks of distance and quarantine, it is heartening to be attending to the efforts to get Trinity, and the broader marketplace, back and operating more normally.
As we eagerly anticipate the return in late August of our students, faculty, and staff we are seeing wonderful signs that this community, too, is eager to return to campus and eager to move Trinity forward in mission.
- Our summer enrollment is up by nearly 33% over last year.
- Our incoming freshmen class has trended more than 20% above last year nearly all year and we filled, in less than 48 hours, all available summer course offerings for incoming new students.
- We have very strong retention and registration numbers for our returning students and our returning student housing has strong demand.
- Our annual fund philanthropy is running at a record pace.
- We have started the refreshing of the Bootsma Bookstore Café and renovation and expansion of Trinity’s Department of Nursing.
At the same time, we know that COVID-19 will be a part of a new normal for the foreseeable future. In recognition of this reality, Trinity intends to deploy her advantages in this effort.
For example, we are reactivating our COVID-19 Planning Group – a cross-disciplinary group at Trinity that reviews our campus preparedness from every angle from public health and hygiene, to campus operations, to student support. Similarly, we also are fortunate to be able to draw upon our experts within Trinity’s top-rated Illinois nursing program – the very profession that has been on the front lines of fighting this pandemic. Finally, we are leveraging Trinity’s smaller size and close-knit community of care and concern, which creates smaller classes instead of lecture halls with hundreds of students, more intimate gatherings for meals, and residence halls built at a human scale that are more amenable to social distancing.
This will be a moment where Trinity can demonstrate broadly how a decidedly Christian, in-person, residential campus community can live and learn together – and do so safely.
While we plan carefully for the fall, we realize that some students or faculty will have individual medical or health considerations that make in-person, on-campus attendance problematic. For those persons, we will offer high-quality alternate arrangements that still will permit those students to learn from Trinity’s stellar faculty and enjoy Trinity’s genuine community. Trinity’s size and entrepreneurial ethos provide our students with curated, customizable experiences that make achievement possible, even in a COVID-19 world.
Our faculty and staff are already preparing for multiple instructional scenarios on campus that will allow us to follow appropriate health protocols while enjoying Trinity’s strong faculty, staff, and student relationships. In this, we are building upon the benefits of our Student Success Coaching program – a program we designed and implemented this Spring to provide every Trinity student a coach who provided support and human interaction during this virtual semester. Trinity offers this kind of personalized support that many other institutions cannot, or will not, offer.
I will provide you with additional details on our planning as the summer months progress and as we get closer to August. You, however, can be certain of this: We are committed to implementing the best ways to keep our community healthy and to deliver an excellent, personalized, and intentionally Christian education.
Thank you for your continued partnership with us in these efforts. These are truly unprecedented times for our beloved College and for the cause of Christian higher education. We are grateful for your participation with us in this noble undertaking and invite you to continue to do so with us. The World Needs Trinity and the World Needs You, too.
Kurt D. Dykstra, President
Back to COVID-19 page
Trinity is pleased to announce that the 2020-21 Professor of the Year is Yudha Thianto, Ph.D., Professor of Theology.
“It’s an honor,” said Thianto. “Trinity is just a great place for teaching and learning. This award is about the community recognition of who we are at Trinity.”
Thianto’s nomination cited his deep caring for all his students, particularly his work with international students. “When Yudha teaches, he offers himself, his identity, and his scholarship to the students for the sake of their growth as scholars and their formation as followers of Christ,” according to the nomination.
As Professor of the Year, Thianto will offer the message at Trinity’s 62nd Annual Convocation this fall. He will also be honored on Dec. 19, when Trinity celebrates commencement for the Spring 2020 graduates.
Thianto said being named professor of the year came as a complete surprise. At the time he learned of the honor via a Microsoft Teams call with Provost Aaron Kuecker; Prof. Mark Jones, who chairs the Faculty Development Committee; and previous professor of the year honorees Kara Wolff and Clay Carlson, he was more focused on Trinity’s transition to online learning as part of the College’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Along with Trinity’s shift to online learning for the spring semester, Thianto said the pandemic has also changed his summer schedule. He planned to spend part of the summer in the Netherlands conducting research on one of his projects, the history of psalm singing in the Reformed tradition. He is also working on another project, writing an introductory book on John Calvin. Then, he planned to travel to his native Indonesia and continue work with Trinity’s partner institutions there.
Instead, Thianto is spending the summer researching and writing his book and looking forward to the return of fall classes. “Students bring joy to me,” he said.
Thianto has been on the faculty of Trinity for 19 years and his courses include History of Christianity and Calvinistic Tradition.
Recent Professor of the Year Award recipients:
2012: Bob Rice (History)
2013: Brad Breems (Sociology)
2014: Lynn White (Business)
2015: Dave Klanderman (Mathematics)
2016: John Sebestyen (Communication Arts)
2017: Michael Vander Weele (English)
2018: Clay Carlson (Biology)
2019: Kara Wolff (Counseling and Psychology)
Trinity has announced a partnership with Upkey, a Chicago startup, offering free online resources to help students with career-readiness, to offer over $1.5 million worth of academic credit to students participating in its virtual internship program. Since opening the application process in April, Upkey has had more than 5,000 students apply.
Driven by a commitment to provide unique educational opportunities that seek the public good, Trinity is offering three academic credits to students who successfully complete Upkey’s online internship and business education program. The program is open to 1,000 students with the application process closing May 17.
“While COVID-19 has brought many unpredictable and abrupt changes, it cannot shake us from our core mission of helping students flourish by providing accessible education,” said Trinity’s Provost Aaron Kuecker, Ph.D. “When we learned about Upkey’s digital summer internships and saw they had similar goals, we knew it only made sense to create additional value in the program by making it possible for students to have their educational experience transcripted for college credit.”
Upkey’s Virtual Internship Program is an eight-week educational experience, starting on June 1. Each week, participants will be learning from expert sources, conducting research, and completing interactive projects. The program will cover a broad range of topics developed with the support of faculty from leading universities and top business schools across the nation.
“We are so humbled with the volume of students who have reached out and thanked us for creating an opportunity for them,” said Amir Badr, Founder and CEO, Upkey. “Everyone at Upkey is gracious for Trinity’s help in providing real college credit to students who were impacted by COVID-19. These credits will help students both educationally and financially.”
Students looking to apply and organizations interested in discovering unique ways to give back can visit www.upkey.com.
Recent shelter-in-place requirements offer the opportunity to get to know our own backyards, according to Associate Professor of Biology Abbie Schrotenboer, Ph.D., in a recent interview with “Christianity Today.”
Schrotenboer was one of several national experts quoted in the article, “Can Staying Home Help Us Regain a Sense of Place?” As part of the article, she describes how her students explore natural areas at Trinity and in the surrounding neighborhoods.
She also describes how communing with creation allows her to draw closer to God. “The more I appreciate creation, the more I give glory to God as the Creator.”
You can read the entire article here.
At the May 2020 commencement, Trinity announced the retirement of two beloved, long-time professors, Professor of Education Liz Rudenga, Ph.D., and Professor of Music Helen Van Wyck, D.M.A. Both professors were awarded emeriti status by Trinity’s Board of Trustees.
Dr. Liz Rudenga
Rudenga taught her first Education Department course at Trinity in 1981. She went on to impact the College in countless ways as a professor, department chair, provost, interim president, mentor, and friend.
She joined Trinity after teaching high school and upper elementary level students, with a focus on special education. She started teaching part-time and in 1992 joined Trinity’s faculty full time. Rudenga quickly began taking on more administrative roles. “In 1992, Vice President Burt Rozema asked if I would chair the Education Department. I agreed to do it for one year. But then, I liked it, and ended up chairing the department for eight years,” she said. Rudenga became provost in a similar way, when that one-year assignment lasted for 14. Rudenga also spent a year as interim president in 2014-15 before returning to the classroom when Trinity’s current president, Kurt D. Dykstra, was named.
“Some of my best memories involve the relationships with students. Being an advisor was a joy,” she said.
Dr. Helen Van Wyck
Since 1987, Van Wyck has taught Trinity students how to make a joyful noise to the Lord through music classes, Christmastide, choral concerts, Honors Choir, and in so many other ways.
She came to Trinity after teaching at the K-12 level for 10 years. “It was kind of love at first sight—I got to Trinity and thought, this is what I want to do for the rest of my life.” When Van Wyck joined Trinity, she was the only full-time music department professor and one of the few female faculty members outside of the Nursing Department. Among her many accomplishments, she helped to launch the Honors Ensemble, created Christmastide, and impacted countless lives.
She said she has been blessed as well. “One reason I’ve been so happy over the years at Trinity is the caring atmosphere, a willingness to try things, an incredible ‘We’re pulling for each other’ attitude on campus,” she said. “It comes from the top, it’s true of our faculty and staff, and it’s true of our students.”