Archives: News Stories

Last week, NPR featured a podcast by Professor of Communication Arts Craig Mattson, Ph.D., as part of its “The Academic Minute” series.

In the podcast, “Better Feeling for a Better World,” Mattson discusses the messaging behind social entrepreneurship companies such as TOMS and Warby Parker.

As the podcast notes, Mattson is a rhetorician, and he studies how messages work, how they form relationships, how they create worlds, and how they open possibilities.

You can listen to the podcast here.

The Dean’s List is Trinity Christian College’s highest academic honor. Congratulations to all our traditional undergraduate students and adult programs students who met this distinction for the Fall 2018 semester.

Traditional undergraduate students who attend Trinity full-time and earned a 3.5 grade point average earn this honor:

This academic achievement is recognized for adult undergraduate students who achieve a semester GPA of 3.8 or better in 6 or more graded credits. 

Sarah Anderson

Sonia Andrade

Kesha Atkins

Vivian Avalos

Kaitlyn Baker

Abbygale Baldwin

Cassandra Boll

Gail Brockmann

Latasha Chatman

Belinda Contreras

Megan Corley

Austin Corradino

Michael Coulter

Quanquisha Dudley

Monica Emlund

Jeffrey Estopellan

Latasha Fields

Tyler Fortier

Ryne Foster

Paul Gardner

Cynthia Gary Sanders

Claudia Gonzalez

Martin Gonzalez

Valeria Gonzalez

Mathew Gorecki

Patricia Gorney

Alyssa Gunther

Joseph Gustin

Christine Haines

Kristina Huisenga

Kathleen Krull

Vincenzo Leone

Samantha Lullo

Rebecca MacFarlane

Maribel Martinez

Patryk Matuszewski

Michelle Maus

Daniel McCormick

Maura McNamara

Nicole Medina

Carol Mejia

Griselda Moore

Kimberly Mueller

Sheila Murphy

Jennifer Nagle

Jerrid Neal

Terry Nelson

Ashley Neven

Marisela Nguyen

Veronica Oganovich

Heather Paluch

Lisa Pesavento

Megan Piper

Jihad Ramadan

Patrick Rubien

Jennifer Ryan

Sara Saleh

Steven Schaaf

Eric Schmidt

Ladina Scott

Karina Sotelo

Laura Spizzirri

Mary Strelow

Lisa Strzempa

Alexa Van Beek

Amelia Van Ham

Erica Vates

Christina Villar

Joseph Wathen

Robert Young

Kirsten Zinzer

The College sends condolences to the family, friends, and former students of Dr. Bob Vander Vennen, who passed away on Dec. 14 at the age of 90.  Vander Vennen was the second faculty member to join the College in 1959, after Gerda Bos.

Vander Vennen was born in Grand Rapids, Mich., in 1928.  He graduated from Calvin College and received a Ph.D. in chemistry from Michigan State University. After marrying Mary Huissen in 1953, the couple moved to Washington, D.C., where he held a research position at the U.S. Naval Research Lab for two years. Vander Vennen  then taught at Belhaven College before joining the Trinity faculty as assistant professor chemistry. Along with teaching, Vander Vennen also served as Academic Dean at Trinity.

In 1974, the Vander Vennen family, which by then included children Mark, Paul, and Kathy, moved to Toronto, where he assumed an executive position with the Institute for Christian Studies until his retirement. Over the years, Vander Vennen played key roles in establishing King’s University in Edmonton, Alberta, and Redeemer University College in Hamilton, Ontario. After retirement, he served as part-time Executive Director of Global Scholars Canada.

Vander Vennen was a long-time member of the American Scientific Affiliation and spearheaded the establishment of its Canadian branch, the Canadian Scientific and Christian Affiliation. He was a lifelong member of the Christian Reformed Church.

According to his family, “Although in later years Alzheimer’s Disease robbed him of his memory and at last attacked his body, he never lost his kind, gracious, polite, encouraging spirit. As a family we praise God for Bob’s life and for God’s faithfulness in taking him home.”

Fourteen Trinity students, along with Associate Professor of Communication Arts and Director of Theatre John Sebestyen, Ph.D.,  are traveling to the Region 3 gathering of KCACTF (Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival) this week.

This year, the conference is being held in Madison, Wis.

The students include:

National KCACTF Award for Theatrical Design Excellence
Andrea Taylor will present her Costume Design from Trinity’s Spring 2018 production of Shakespeare’s The Comedy of Errors in consideration for this award.

National Playwriting Program
Stephanie Rodriguez will attend playwriting workshops and presentations.

Irene Ryan Acting Scholarship Auditions
Four Trinity student actors were nominated to participate in this scholarship audition, by representatives of KCACTF who visited Trinity to observe our productions of The Comedy of Errors (Spring 2018) and Seeds (Fall 2018).  Each of the nominees is required to prepare a monologue and two scenes, with student acting partners who are not also nominees themselves.

–Nominee Emma Darcy, with scene partner Mateo Perez

–Nominee Breanna Eissens, with scene partner Jonah VanderNaald

–Nominee Ben Friesen, with scene partner Alexandria Eggert

–Nominee Morgan Limback, with scene partner Bethany Dadisman

Stage Management Intensive
Four Trinity students have been selected to stage manage events that are a part of the KCACTF conference/festival in Madison: Kyli Ayers, Megan Blok, Hannah Rodgers, and Sydnie Tiemens.

Launched in 1969, the Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival (KCACTF) is a national theater program involving 20,000 students from colleges and universities nationwide annually. For 50 years, the organization has served as a catalyst in improving the quality of college theater in the United States. KCACTF has grown into a network of more than 700 academic institutions throughout the country.

Trinity  bids farewell to Dr. Patti Powell , Professor of Special Education and Director of the LBS I Graduate Program in Special Education, who retired in December and received emeritus status.

“Before coming to Trinity, I spent 15 years teaching at Elim Christian School, and before that I taught at the Arizona State School for the Deaf and the Blind in Tucson. When Trinity first decided to offer a special education degree, they asked me to teach the sign language course as an adjunct. Every semester, I would add another course until I was a full-time professor! That was 20 years ago.

“Then, six years ago, Trinity began offering graduate degrees in LBS I and then LBS II, which I wrote the programs for and got them approved by the State of Illinois. So I’ve had the opportunity to teach different types of students and different ages. Among the lessons I wanted my students to take away from their special education classes was the idea that everyone has something to offer. When we work with students with disabilities, our job is to help those students find their abilities. That was the thesis for my Ph.D., which I completed when I was 50. One of my most memorable experiences was serving as a Fulbright Scholar and teaching for a semester in Montego Bay, Jamaica.

“Now that I’m retiring, I plan to stay involved with several professional organizations, including the Division of International Special Education and Services–that hits my sweet spot of traveling internationally and special education work. I’ll also be spending time with my family and hoping to stay involved here at Trinity.”

Congratulations, and enjoy your retirement, Dr. Powell!

Every Christmas, New Moms, a family support organization run by Board of Trustees member Dr. Laura Zumdahl ’02, offers a holiday party where a professional photographer captures family portraits of mothers and their children.

This year, the Chicago Tribune stopped by the party to profile the work that New Moms is doing to make lasting changes to the lives of mothers and children.  “The reality is, interrupting poverty takes time, it takes getting education, skills and a lot of hard work. Our new moms have everything they need in them, they just need coaching, help and support to bring that out,” Zumdahl says in the article. “We really want to help them write their story — and their child’s story — in a different way.”

You can read the entire article here about the great work that Zumdahl and New Moms are doing!

The Athletics Department Honor Roll reflects the department’s commitment to excellence in the classroom as well as on the playing field.  For the 2018 fall semester a total of 113 student-athletes were named to that honor roll. This academic acknowledgement is given to athletes who earned a minimum grade point average (GPA) of 3.50 for the semester, with High Honors going to those with at least a 3.75 GPA.  A total of 16 student-athletes achieved a perfect 4.0 GPA for the semester.

“Our student-athletes continue to perform at high levels in the classroom,” said athletics director Mark Hanna. “This semester’s honor roll includes 46 percent of our athletes and each of our sports teams is represented. These student-athletes are to be commended for their outstanding work.”

In addition to those on the honor roll, an additional 46 athletes achieved at least a 3.0 GPA for the fall semester.  Overall, nearly 65 percent of all the student-athletes are at or above that 3.0 mark.  The overall combined fall semester grade point average for Trinity’s 245 athletes is 3.218.

Honor Roll for 2018 Fall Semester (min. 3.50 GPA)

Julia Belcher, Freshman–Women’s Volleyball

Nicole Belcher, Freshman–Women’s Volleyball

Jessica Bianchi, Senior–Women’s Soccer

Ben Boers, Sophomore–Men’s Soccer

Jim Bruinius, Sophompre–Men’s Track and Field

Jamie Budreau, Senior–Softball

Taylor Busker, Sophomore–Women’s Soccer

Jessica Eckberg, Freshman–Women’s Volleyball

Joey Davidson, Sophomore–Men’s Golf

Hope Fathman, Senior–Women’s Cross Country/Track

Brianna Figueroa, Sophomore–Women’s Volleyball

Alysia Folkersma, Senior–Women’s Volleyball

Moira Garvey, Sophomore–Women’s Basketball

Noah Groen, Freshman–Baseball

Brenna Groenewold, Freshman–Women’s Basketball

Val Guzman, Sophomore–Women’s Basketball

Nick Heidinger, Senior–Men’s Cross Country/Track and Field

Andrew Heun, Sophomore–Men’s Soccer

Brittany Hoekman, Senior–Women’s Cross Country/Track

Selah Hopkins, Freshman–Women’s Soccer

Vanessa Huizenga, Sophomore–Women’s Soccer

Kris Kirchhoff, Senior–Men’s Soccer

Danny Lawrence, Junior–Men’s Volleyball

Ryan Mathes, Freshman–Men’s Cross Country/Track and Field

Sean McLaughlin, Junior–Men’s Soccer

Mathis Muller, Sophomore–Men’s Soccer

Abbigal Nienhuis, Junior–Women’s Basketball

Jake Ostema, Freshman–Men’s Volleyball

Makayla Otto, Sophomore–Softball

Catherine Price, Junior–Softball

Rachel Rasmussen, Sophomore–Women’s Soccer/Basketball

Brandon Riemersma, Junior–Baseball

Frank Romano, Junior–Baseball

Lydia Smallwood, Freshman–Women’s Soccer

Nicole Syverson, Senior–Women’s Cross Country/Track

Lexxy Trujillo, Junior–Women’s Soccer

Brianna Uhl, Freshman–Women’s Soccer

Cassidy VandeKamp, Sophomore–Women’s Soccer

Bryan Vanderlee, Senior–Baseball

John VanderWall, Sophomore–Baseball

Brantley VanOverloop, Junior–Men’s Cross Country/Track and Field

High Honor Roll for 2018 Fall Semester (min. 3.75 GPA)

Ben Andringa, Senior–Men’s Basketball

Ryan Bakke, Junior–Men’s Volleyball

Ross Barz, Sophomore–Track and Field

Allie Boss*, Freshman–Women’s Cross Country/Track

Jessica Boyd, Senior–Softball

Matthew Butnariu, Junior–Men’s Volleyball

Elly Brummel, Senior–Women’s Soccer

Dylan Busscher*, Junior–Men’s Soccer

Brevin DeBoer, Sophomore–Men’s Soccer

Kate DeKryger, Freshman–Women’s Cross Country/Track

Katlyn Demas, Freshman–Softball

Sarah DeVries, Sophomore–Women’s Track and Field

Caleb DeWeerd, Sophomore–Men’s Cross Country/Track and Field

Megan DeWeerd, Senior–Women’s Cross Country/Track

Andrew Dobrescu, Freshman–Men’s Cross Country/Track and Field

Juliana Dykstra, Junior–Women’s Volleyball

Alicia Enz, Junior–Women’s Soccer

Indira Escalante*, Junior–Women’s Golf

Alissa Gardenal*, Freshman–Softball

Ava Gomez, Sophomore–Women’s Soccer

Sarah Hernandez, Freshman–Women’s Volleyball

Sam Herzog, Junior–Baseball

Olivia Hoekstra, Sophomore–Women’s Track and Field

Valerie Hoekstra, Freshman–Women’s Track and Field

Zach Huisman, Sophomore–Baseball

Luke Jager, Freshman–Men’s Soccer

Nate Kamp, Sophomore–Men’s Golf

Sarah Kiwan, Freshman–Women’s Volleyball

Miranda Kortenhoeven, Freshman–Women’s Soccer

Allyson Kranstz, Sophomore–Women’s Soccer

Anna Maatman, Sophomore–Women’s Volleyball

Tyler Massa, Senior–Men’s Soccer

Steven Massey*, Senior–Men’s Golf

Mike McIntyre, Freshman–Men’s Soccer/Baseball

Dara Megyesi, Senior–Softball

Alyssa Mulligan, Sophomore–Women’s Basketball

Alex Nisle, Senior–Baseball

Josh Olson, Junior–Men’s Basketball

Amanda Ophoff, Freshman–Women’s Basketball

Jessica Owen, Senior–Women’s Soccer

Shaelyn Postmus, Junior–Women’s Soccer

Audrey Ricker, Sophomore–Softball

Paige Rogers*,Sophomore–Women’s Soccer

Tate Rozeveld, Sophomore–Men’s Soccer

Mark Schaaf*, Freshman–Men’s Golf

Bob Schaaf*, Junior–Men’s Golf

Sara Shea, Freshman–Women’s Soccer

Jared Smaga, Sophomore–Baseball

Gabriel Soler, Junior–Men’s Soccer

Colin Stravers*, Sophomore–Men’s Track and Field

Francesca Strolia*, Senior–Women’s Cross Country

Alexis Suwyn, Sophomore–Women’s Soccer

Leah Sweetman*, Sophomore–Softball

Breanna Toppen, Junior–Women’s Basketball

Lindsey Vanderlaan, Sophomore–Women’s Soccer

Bethany VanderPloeg, Sophomore–Women’s Track and Field

Mikayla VanLaan*, Junior–Women’s Cross Country/Track

Dani Van Laten*, Junior–Women’s Volleyball

Case VanWingerden, Junior–Men’s Soccer

Daisy Vazquez, Senior–Women’s Track and Field

Christa Veenstra, Senior–Women’s Volleyball

Dan Vos, Sophomore–Men’s Golf/Baseball

Jim Vos*, Senior–Men’s Golf

Pete Vos, Sophomore–Men’s Golf

Carissa Wisse, Sophomore–Women’s Track and Field

Noah Wolters*, Senior–Men’s Cross Country

Taylor Yanke, Senior–Women’s Track and Field

Josh York, Junior–Baseball

Sara York*, Freshman–Women’s Volleyball

Lexi Zambrano, Senior–Women’s Soccer

Danielle Zander, Sophomore–Women’s Volleyball

Madysen Zula, Sophomore–Women’s Volleyball

*indicates a 4.0 GPA

Congratulations to Assistant Professor of Nursing Autumn Mels ‘12, who has been named a 2019 Illinois Nurse Educator Fellow. The fellowship, a program of the Illinois Board of Higher Education and the Illinois Nursing Workforce Center Advisory Board, is designed to promote excellence in nursing education.

“I feel completely honored to have been granted this opportunity to be a 2019 Illinois Nurse Educator Fellow,” said Mels. “I am looking forward to the variety of different learning opportunities that lie ahead and the impact it will make on myself, our faculty, students, and future patients.”

Mels said that Associate Professor of Nursing and Department Chair Tina Decker, D.N.P., encouraged her to apply for the fellowship and wrote a recommendation letter for the yearlong program.

“Over the next year, I will be spending time partaking in a variety of different opportunities that will improve my bedside nursing, my role as a professional nurse educator, and, in turn, our students,” said Mels. That could include attending several conferences, participating in continuing education courses, and work towards receiving her certification as a nurse educator.

“The conferences are geared towards two things that I have a passion for–nursing education and obstetric nursing,” she said. The first conference is the National Nurse Educators Summit, which will be held in Savannah, Ga., March 31-April 3. “This conference is put together by ATI, which is a program we utilize to a great extent in our nursing program here at Trinity,” said Mels. “At this conference, I will learn how to develop as a professional and explore different teaching strategies and evaluation methods, which will help to improve course/program outcomes at Trinity.”

The second conference is sponsored by the Association of Women’s Health & Neonatal Nursing and will take place in June in Atlanta. “As a member of this professional organization, an obstetric bedside nurse, and women’s health educator, this convention will help to inspire and improve education related to care of women and neonates,” she said.

As part of the fellowship, Mels will report back to the State of Illinois, as well as sharing her knowledge with colleagues in Trinity’s Nursing Department. “This fellowship truly has a domino effect, in that the knowledge I gain from these experiences will have an impact on the care I provide to my patients, the educational strategies I may then share with the nursing department, the educational and clinical experiences I provide my students with, and then the effects the students have on their future patients,” said Mels. “I firmly believe this opportunity will help me advance my knowledge and skills as a professional nurse educator, which will improve my abilities in educating our future nurses.”

Trinity’s Bachelor of Science in Nursing degree program, which has had a 100 percent first-time pass rate on the NCLEX-RN exam for three of the last four years, prepares graduates in all areas of clinical nursing with a Christian perspective.

Earlier this month, the Trinity community said goodbye to Dave Jousma, Coordinator of Audio Visual Services, who is retiring after 15 years of working for the College.

“I will certainly miss you all on a daily basis,” said Jousma in a note to the Trinity community.

Jousma offered his thanks and  gratitude to the  College’s audio visual technicians throughout the years, including Ben Bridgewater, Dirk Aardsma, Ian Adema, Levi Wondeyee, Jayson Veenstra, Aaron Visser, Josh Arnold, Sam Mahtani, Brian Boucek, Bobby Herrera,  Leif Anderson, Kaleb Furmanek, Adam Perez,  Brian Kuiper, Lyle Breems, Jason Korthuis, Ryan Brouwer, Daniel De Young, Daniel VandeBunte, Justin VanderWaal, Justin James, Selah Jabeen, Katie Oomkes, Eden Foreman, Annaliese Mrazek, Jonathan Hibma, Deborah Fry, Jonathan Reitveld, Eros Perez, and Larissa Brumlow,  just to name a few. “Justin Vander Waal, Trinity’s A/V Lead Technician, is the Trinity  A/V department of the future!” he said. “Best wishes to him and all the above mentioned in the New Year!”

Jousma also offered a quote from Satchel Paige, “Work like you don’t need the money, love like you have never been hurt, and dance like nobody’s watching.”

Along with working for Trinity, Jousma is the father of two alumni, Jett ’08, ’13 and Jordan ’17.

We congratulate him on his retirement and thank him for his service.

The College is pleased to announce that Evan Senti of Escondido, Calif., and Sophia Lang of Palmyra, Neb., have been named the 2019 Founders’ Scholars.

The Founders’ Scholarship is a renewable, full-tuition award available annually to two incoming freshmen.

Senti attends Calvin Christian High School and Escondido United Reformed Church. He has played football for four years as running back and linebacker and helped launched the school’s golf team. Senti also sings with the school choir, participates in musicals, and serves as senior class president.

Senti said he knows students from his church and school who have gone to Trinity, but he became more familiar with the College when his older brother Michael ’20 began attending.

“My first impression was how well-knit the community is, and how students take classes seriously but also enjoy themselves,” he said. A second visit reinforced his first impressions. “I applied to a few state schools in California and a few other Christian colleges, but Trinity seemed the most like a community,” he said.

Senti plans to major in biology.

Lang is homeschooled and has taken classes from a local co-op, as well as dual-credit courses from several colleges. She and her family attend Cornerstone Baptist Church, where she has served in different capacities, including helping with music, Vacation Bible School, nursery, kitchen, and cleaning. She has also helped her father coach a track team for six year olds since she was 10. Over the summer, Lang spent a week serving at Royal Family Kids Camp, a camp for abused and neglected foster youth, and completed a mission trip to Mexico.

Lang learned about Trinity while she was researching Christian colleges that offer her intended majors of speech-language pathology and Spanish. “When I visited campus for the first time in the summer of 2018, I fell in love and began imagining myself there,” she said. She visited again during Founders’ Weekend. “I was able to watch and interact with the students on campus, which only increased my desire to attend Trinity. I had been praying that God would show me exactly where He wanted me to be for the next several years of my life; a place where I could use all the gifts He’s given me, both to grow myself and to encourage others, and I believe God has shown me that Trinity is the answer.”

Trinity is excited to welcome our Founders’ Scholars for the class of 2023!