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When Fusion 59 opened on Trinity’s campus in October, it introduced an innovation hub for the community to connect, collaborate, and create. To help leverage and enhance the vision of Fusion 59, Ryan Hesslau ’18 and Tom Iwema ’18 are serving as the Entrepreneurs in Residence (EIR).

“Participating in the EIR Program is our way of giving back to Trinity, and it allows us to keep the conversations and the momentum behind Fusion 59 going,” said Hesslau.

In their EIR roles, Hesslau and Iwema act as on-campus directors and mentors within Fusion 59, as well as managing their own businesses and organizations. Hesslau, who graduated with a degree in Entrepreneurial Management, is Founder & Executive Director of youth empowerment organization ForeverU and Founder of the tech company Above the Waves, which is empowering high schools and college campuses with the Waves App that shortens the distance between students and support services, allowing students to have access to the help they need, when they need it. Iwema, who has degrees in Entrepreneurial Management and Marketing, is the Owner & President of IKG Property Maintenance, Inc., which provides certified environmental remediation & painting contracting services to a wide range of clients from homeowners to brands like the Brookfield Zoo, iFly Indoor Skydiving Centers, and national hotel chains.

Demonstrating their entrepreneurial skills, Iwema and Hesslau got their EIR jobs by creating them. The two were among several Trinity students who had been working to launch Fusion 59 for several years, Iwema said. “Fusion 59 began to come together our senior year, and I toured several other colleges and universities with Prof. John Wightkin to see their innovation centers. We proposed the EIR program as part of it.”

Added Hesslau, “A lot of colleges have EIR programs, and it came together with the launch of Fusion 59. University EIR programs simply give recent graduates a safety net to get their businesses off the ground. They receive a place to live, a meal plan, access to resources like 1871 in Chicago, but also give back to their college by serving as on-campus mentors.”

As part of the EIR Program, Hesslau and Iwema each dedicate 15 hours a week to Fusion 59 and the different responsibilities that involve operating the space. Additionally, they are available certain evenings during the week to meet one on one with students for advising and consulting sessions. Along with administrative duties, the pair also serve as advisors for Trinity’s new Innovation Club, which hosts monthly networking events, empowerment workshops with guest speakers, and events on and off campus that take students deeper into the ecosystem of innovation, regardless of their major.

A Resource That is Open to All

Fusion 59 is a resource for all students at Trinity, no matter what degree they are pursuing. “We’ve been pleasantly surprised by the amount of non-business students who use this space, which was actually the objective all along,” said Hesslau. “We’ve come to understand that innovation is simply a mindset shift that allows us to look at problems, decisions, and opportunities within our careers from a different angle – it doesn’t have to be just about starting businesses.”

In just the last few months, they have helped students make traction with projects like developing a photography and videography business, starting a public speaking agency, launching a new ministry at a local church, creating a financial coaching business, and plenty more. They even helped create new framework for several programs offered right here at Trinity.

In the first month of Fusion 59’s opening, 1,200 people visited the space in the Jennie Huizenga Memorial Library – custom-designed by Hesslau and Iwema and built-out by Iwema’s company.

Tuesday evening classes at Trinity Christian College are cancelled due to weather. Please exercise caution on campus and on the roads.

The campus is not closing for the evening, and the men’s volleyball game will go forward as planned. We are most concerned about individuals travelling to and from campus during the next few hours, so please utilize the spaces such as the library, BBC, DeVos or ArCC on campus if you are currently on campus and want to wait out conditions. The dining hall will also be open for regular hours. Again, we advise you to exercise extreme caution as you move about campus and the surrounding community as conditions are icy.

Take advantage of internship opportunities and polish your communication skills. That is some of the advice that Kyle Ten Pas ’98, partner at KPMG, gave to accounting students in Assistant Professor of Accountancy Mike Chitavi’s classes during a recent videoconference.

Throughout the discussion, Ten Pas, who is now an audit partner in the Des Moines office of the global accounting firm, offered practical tips, answered questions, provided encouragement, and reflected on his days at Trinity.

Students from several classes, including Principles of Accounting; Intermediate Accounting; and Taxes I, had the opportunity to attend the videoconference and ask questions.

A native of Waupun, Wis., Ten Pas took an accounting class in high school and continued on that path at Trinity. “I never second-guessed my career, he said.” While a sophomore, he was offered a job at Ozinga, where he was able to gain experience in accounts payable, reconciling accounts, and other areas. “It was an incredible opportunity,” he said. “Take advantage of these types of opportunities,” he urged students. “And really work on your communication skills,” he added

Ten Pas said the courses he took at Trinity helped prepare him for his future career. “From an educational perspective, I was prepared for everything I needed in my skill set.”

Along with classes and internships, Ten Pas also talked about playing soccer for the College and being roommates with Josh Lenarz ’98, currently Trinity’s head women’s soccer coach.

Ten Pas married a fellow Trinity graduate, Gina, who is originally from Pella, Iowa. After working in Chicago for several years, they moved to Iowa to be closer to her family.  While he is based in Des Moines, he said he enjoys the opportunity to travel for work “At KPMG, I get to work with people around the world and the country,” he said.

Throughout his career, he has remained in the field of public accounting, with a particular focus on financial services companies. “I’m very passionate about public accounting,” he said.

The dream lives on.

To celebrate the life of Martin Luther King, Jr., the Black Student Union (BSU) welcomed the Trinity community to Ozinga Chapel Auditorium for our annual ceremony commemorating the life and legacy of the great civil rights leader.

Through songs, readings, speeches, and video, Trinity students, visitors, faculty, and staff reflected on the progress that has been made, and the work that must still be done.

“We must not let fear and intimidation discourage us,” said Ladarius Beale ’21, president of the BSU. “Whatever it takes, we must see the dream come to fruition.”

The celebration continued with soul food in the Dining Hall for lunch. The BSU is also planning several events to commemorate Black History Month in February, with more details to follow soon.

In an email to the Trinity community, Pres. Kurt Dykstra also encouraged everyone to follow the example of Dr King. “Being better requires people marked by fortitude, faith, and maturity,” he noted. “It requires a society and culture led and influenced by such people.  In this, Dr. King’s words and witness offer a marked contrast to the ugliness we so often experience today and something radically different to the greater ugliness he experienced in his life.”

Trinity is proud to participate in the Chicago Research Summit, a new organization created to foster greater collaboration between Chicago’s educational and cultural institutions. And the College is also proud to announce that the summit’s new logo has been designed by Mariah Nelesen ’20, a graphic design and Spanish double major.

Nelesen’s logo was chosen from nearly 20 submissions. Members of the steering committee described her winning design as clean, crisp, and very professional and noted that the design integrates the blue and red colors used in the city’s flag.

Nelesen said her design was inspired by the Chicago Research Summit’s focus on the sharing of ideas and practices between staff and faculty from colleges and universities in the area. “This is what I wanted to reflect in the logo,” she said. “I was thinking about both the coming together of people and ideas, as well as the expanding/moving forward of people and ideas. I wanted the logo to have the feeling of movement and fluidity while being grounded.”

The Chicago Research Summit is being organized by the librarians at Trinity, DePaul University, Columbia College, North Park University, and North Central College. Its goal is to bring together educators and community partners to discuss how we can connect students to the rich array of cultural resources in Chicago and introduce them to a research agenda based on the complex issues that emerge in contemporary urban spaces. The first summit is scheduled for Oct. 18 at North Park University.