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Trinity’s accounting graduates continued the College’s tradition of excelling on the certified public accounting (CPA) exam in 2019, leading the state of Illinois with both pass rates and average scores on the most recent test.

The Illinois Uniform CPA Examination consists of four sections, and candidates must pass all four sections in order to become a CPA: audit; business environmental concepts; financial accounting & reporting; and regulations.

Among the graduates from the 56 Illinois colleges and universities that took 16 or more sections of the 2019 CPA exam, Trinity graduates took 31 sections with a pass rate of 68%. That represents the highest pass rate in the state and well above the average pass rate of 53%. Trinity graduates also scored on average 79, which was the highest average score on the exam of any institution.

These scores are a testament to how Trinity prepares students for their vocations, according to Professor of Business and Department Chair Deborah Windes, Ph.D. “Our incredible accounting students leave Trinity prepared to succeed on the CPA exam and in their careers,” she said.

Trinity graduates are not only academically ready to succeed as accountants, according to Tammy DeVries ’01, senior manager at Topel Forman LLC, a mid-sized accounting firm located in Chicago, Ill., and Denver, Colo. The graduates are flexible and understand how to work with clients and colleagues, said DeVries who works with several Trinity alumni, as well as interviewing accounting students who are interested in an internship in public accounting. “Students from Trinity are very focused,” she said. “They have strong communication skills and are really well-rounded when transitioning to a professional role.”

The CPA exam is administered by the Illinois Board of Examiners, a state agency that evaluates academic credentials, approves candidates to sit for the Uniform CPA Examination, monitors CPA examination testing activity throughout the year, and issues the Certificate of CPA Exam Completion upon passing the exam.

Trinity’s Accountancy Program is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Business Schools and Programs (ACBSP).

In a recent podcast for the Humane Education Coalition, Associate Professor of Social Work and Department Chair Cini Bretzlaff-Holstein, DSW, discussed the interconnectedness of social justice, human rights issues, the natural living world, and animal rights, among other topics. “To truly create change, we need to recognize these interconnections and work to address them systemically,” she told podcast host Megan Moon, President and Founder of HEC.

Bretzlaff-Holstein, who serves as an advisor to HEC, also discussed the intersection of social work and humane education, offered helpful information for people interested in learning more about aligning the different disciplines, and talked about her current research. You can listen to the entire podcast, which is part of the HEC’s series called “Connected Roots: Educational Insights for a Better World,” here.

The mission of HEC is to advance the field of humane education through collaboration, education, empowerment, and inspiration. To learn more, visit their website at www.hecoalition.org/

Every year, the Office of Student Life recognizes the outstanding contributions of Trinity students who have made a difference in the lives of the Trinity community. This year’s honorees are:

Service Award, awarded by the Student Government Association

This award is given to a senior who has been serving Trinity in a variety of areas during their time at the College.

Nominees: Michaela Kohlmeier, Daniel Walters, Jeremiah Kruithof, Ashley Rogalske, and Breanna Toppen

Award Recipient: Michaela Kohlmeier

Catherine Yonker Award, awarded by The Campus Diversity and Unity Committee

This award is given to two students who have contributed to diversity efforts on campus, as well as cross-cultural understanding.

Award Recipients: Michaela Kohlmeier & Jasmine Elliott

Outstanding Student Leadership Award, awarded by Dean of Student Life Kara Van Marion and committee

This award recognizes two student leaders who have offered particularly exceptional leadership to the Trinity community.

Nominees: Jasmine Elliott, Erica Thomas, Derrieus Pendleton, Ross Barz, Machaela Whitlock, and Mahi Akele

Award Recipients: Mahi Akele & Ross Barz

Diversity Scholar of the Year Award, awarded by Director of Multicultural Engagement Nicole St. Victor

Trinity’s Diversity Scholars Team encompasses students who have demonstrated leadership in promoting diversity.

Nominees: Derrieus Pendleton and Erica Thomas

Award Recipient: Erica Thomas

To learn more about these outstanding student award winners, visit Trinity’s Instagram account and check out the highlights section. Congratulations to all the nominees and winners!

The students have voted, and the elected members of the Student Government Association for the 2020-’21 academic year have been announced.

“We are excited to serve the student body!” said President Ross Barz ’21.

Executive Team:

• President: Ross Barz
• Executive Vice President: Karen Jegadish
• Vice President of Administration: Ranita Luhur
• Vice President of Communication: Kayle Lindberg

Senior Representatives:

• Lexi VanRyn
• Hannah Blom
• Jacob McCleary
• Kristi Hendricks

Junior Representatives:

• Juliana VanGorp
• Matthew Rietveld
• Ariel Love
• Sophia Wind

Sophomore Representatives:

• Damon Pater
• Nathan Rogalske
• Nicole Wideman

Amidst a global pandemic, the Trinity community is still making a difference around the world! Recently Emily Bosscher, Director of First Year Experience, taught an online English class for students in Indonesia. The class was featured on CNN Indonesia.

The students attend one of Trinity’s international partner schools, Universitas Jenderal Soedirman (Unsoed), a large public university located in Purwokerto in Central Java. Bosscher had visited the school last summer at the invitation of Trinity Professor of Theology Yudha Thianto, Ph.D., a native of Indonesia.

“Yudha has been influential in starting the Department of English at Unsoed and helping them raise their standards of teaching,” said Bosscher. “During my time there last summer, I did some guest lecturing in their College of English, along with delivering several public lectures, visiting a couple of boarding and village schools, and meeting with various faculty to talk about teaching methods and Generation Z students in general.”

Bosscher has remained friends with several of the Unsoed professors, particularly Ibu Nisa Roisaya. When Unsoed moved to virtual learning as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, Roisaya reached out to Bosscher and asked her to consider teaching a virtual class as part of a creative writing course. “Nisa, who is also doing some certification work with this project, decided to bring in more global interaction. Along with myself, two guest lecturers from India participated as well,” said Bosscher, who focused her lesson on figurative language. “Since they are meeting virtually anyway, why not bring in voices from around the world?”

She said it was an amazing experience to teach the class and meet her fellow instructors virtually. “Since every single country, religion, and person is affected by this global pandemic, we have a wonderful opportunity to learn globally and be more creative in our teaching,” she said. “This is a great time for all professors to reach out to their international connections to collaborate in education, because we are all using platforms that are universal.”

At the 2019 Association for Theatre in Higher Education’s (ATHE) annual conference in Orlando, Dr. John Sebestyen, associate professor of communication arts and director of theatre, took part in two sessions: “Getting Physical: Encouraging Physicality in Young Actors” and “Never Forget: Teaching the Holocaust Through Theatre.”

For the panel on physicality, Sebestyen spoke about “Increasing Awareness of Our Own Physicalities: Coaching Newer Actors to More Fully Inhabit Their Own Bodies Onstage.”

The issue is a particularly interesting one at a smaller college like Trinity, where many participants in the theatre program are not necessarily also studying theatre in the traditional classroom.  “Focusing on acting strategies for how actors can more fully embody characters onstage is an important component in connecting with the humanity of these characters,” Sebestyen said.

For the panel on Holocaust theatre, Sebestyen spoke on “Alertness to Oppression: Directing and Teaching Holocaust Plays in an Interdisciplinary Liberal Arts Context.” His fellow panel members included Dr. Alvin Goldfarb, a nationally known theatre educator and administrator. Among other topics, Sebestyen talked about directing “Andorra” at Trinity in November 2015. The play, by Max Frisch, explores anti-Semitism in a European village 15 years after World War II.

The theme of the 2019 ATHE Conference was “Scene Changes: Performing, Teaching, and Working Through Transitions.” ATHE is a comprehensive non-profit professional membership organization. Founded in 1986, ATHE serves the interests of its diverse individual and organizational members, including college and university theatre departments and administrators, educators, graduate students, and theatre practitioners.

It was an OPUS like no other! While the Trinity community is learning remotely, the annual celebration of student scholarship took place online. Students from a variety of disciplines—from biology to history to psychology to communication arts—shared virtual presentations. Seniors earning BAs and BFAs in art and graphic design presented their thesis shows. Special Education students continued the tradition of poster presentations. And music students submitted the performances they recorded at home.

“When Trinity announced its move to online classes for the Spring Semester because of COVID-19, students began asking about continuing the OPUS tradition,” said Sarah Hoeksema ‘10, OPUS Co-Chair and Circulation & Access Librarian. “To honor the spirit of OPUS and embrace this request, we showcased student work in an online format. Sixty-three students took part and did a wonderful job adapting their presentations and sharing them with the entire Trinity community.”

Professors and staff joined in as well to make OPUS 2020 a success, she added.

If you missed any of the OPUS presentations, you can view each one here.

At Trinity, OPUS is one of the biggest events of the year. And nothing can stop OPUS and the opportunity to celebrate student scholarship!

While Trinity has moved to online learning for the remainder of the Spring 2020 semester in light of the COVID-19 situation, OPUS will go on — in digital form. On Tuesday, April 14, the Trinity community will come together virtually to see photos of student work and pre-recorded, short videos of student presentations. Please visit our OPUS 2020 page for more information and to take part in our celebration of student scholarship next Tuesday.

Trinity Trolls have been taking part in OPUS for decades. And while OPUS has evolved over the years, it remains true to its origins and allows everyone to see more and think bigger than any single major or minor. This year is no exception! 

For Jesse VanMaanen ’12, a surgery resident at the University of South Dakota, the coronavirus pandemic isn’t just a workplace issue—he is currently in isolation after having contracted the illness during a rotation at Chicago’s John H. Stroger, Jr. Hospital of Cook County.

VanMaanen shared his story recently on “Troll Talks,” a podcast series of conversations with alumni, parents, faculty, and friends of Trinity Christian College, hosted by Director of Alumni and Family Engagement Jeremy Klyn.

During his conversation with Klyn, VanMaanen offered advice for dealing with the current pandemic situation, discussed his personal story, and talked about how his Trinity professors help prepare him for medical school.

A graduate of Pella Christian High School in Pella, Iowa, VanMaanen is already recovering at his home in Sioux Falls, S.D.

While the current situation has been challenging for everyone, VanMaanen stressed that we can’t let ourselves live in fear. “It’s not healthy, and it’s not productive. But people need to be smart. We serve a God that is bigger than this—but that doesn’t mean we can decide that God’s got this, and we can go get together with all our friends. We also have to act appropriately and responsibly,” he said.

He credits Trinity with helping to shape his worldview and vocation. After graduating in 2012 with a major in biology and minor in chemistry, VanMaanen attended the University of Iowa’s Carver College of Medicine. After graduating from medical school, he next decided to pursue general surgery training at the University of South Dakota, where he is currently in the fourth year of the five-year program. Part of his surgical training included rotations in Chicago.

“My wife and son came along for my Chicago rotation, and they stayed at her parents’ house in the suburbs,” he said. “I stayed at the hospital in a dorm, and somehow, while I was there, I must have had an exposure.” For safety’s sake, VanMaanen chose to return home, while his wife and son stayed in the Chicago area. “I knew I was going to be exposed, and I really wanted to keep them out of harms’ way as best I could. They are going to stay there until my quarantine period is up, my symptoms are gone, and I’m cleared to go back to work.”

For VanMaanen, who has suffered from headaches, muscle aches, cough, loss of taste and smell, and other COVID-19 symptoms, being away from his family has been hard. “But it’s temporary, and that’s something everyone should remember—this is temporary. But it’s also important to do the right thing during that time.”

That includes social distancing. “By time you get symptoms of coronavirus, you will probably infect two to three people on average. And then those three infect another three, and those people each infect three more. So, you can see how it can sweep through a small area really quickly. You can break that chain link with just one person. By the time you get symptoms, the damage is already done.”

He cautions people to not be overly concerned on an individual level, but to think about improving society as a whole. “It’s going to run its course, and it’s going to be over,” he said. “But the question mark, and the big thing that drives a lot of the fear, is when that will be. And no one knows.”

VanMaanen stressed the importance of supporting the people who are continuing to work on the front lines. “It’s not just nurses and doctors. We need to be supporting small businesses. We have teachers at home making videos for kids to do online learning, which is amazingly valiant. Garbage needs to be picked up, things still need to be repaired. Places still need to be cleaned, and food still needs to be made. Everyone is taking a hit.”

In his conversation with Klyn, VanMaanen reflected on his deep beliefs in both faith and science—which he credits Trinity for helping him to develop. “At Trinity, you get an education that weaves faith and science together. One of biggest things I enjoyed at Trinity was the professors who really worked to say, these are both wonderful things and we really need to embrace how they work together, not how they work apart. If anyone is thinking of pursuing a science major and a Christian education, Trinity is wonderful place to be.”

“Troll Talks” features members of our Trinity community who want to make a difference in the lives of current, former and prospective students. Check out more episodes here.