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Each fall, students and community members alike enjoy an evening of dressing up, going out with friends, and listening to great music at Trinity’s annual jazz night. This year’s event on September 25 featured a new “stardust” theme and opened with a pre-concert reception.

The Kevin Brown Quartet was the featured performer, and Trinity’s Jazz Ensemble added to the incredible line up of music.

Brown, an adjunct professor at Trinity, has performed at the Chicago Jazz Festival, the Iowa City Jazz Festival, and at some of Chicago’s top jazz venues. He also performs freelance in classical, flamenco, and jazz, and has released three albums of original jazz with the Chicago group Mosaik. At Trinity, he teaches composition, orchestration and composition lessons.

The reception in the Grand Lobby included delicious treats from the local Doughs Guys Bakery, refreshments, and a photo booth.

Stardust Jazz Night was free and open to the public, providing another excellent music event that brought together students, faculty and staff, and the community.

Upcoming music events in October

• Fall Instrumental Concert—Friday, October 23, 7 p.m., Ozinga Chapel
• Fall Choral Concert—Saturday, October 24, 7:30 p.m., Ozinga Chapel

The events are free and open to the public. Call 708.597.3000 for more information.

Moving up four spots from the previous year, Trinity Christian College has been ranked 24^th among Regional Colleges—Midwest by U.S.News & World Report in “Best Colleges” for 2016. A total of 363 colleges are ranked in the entire Regional category.

In addition, the College was ranked 17^th among Regional Colleges—Midwest in the category of “Best Colleges for Veterans.” This category includes the top-ranked schools that offer benefits that help make a college education more affordable for veterans. Trinity was also included in the 11 Regional Colleges designated as “A+ Schools for B Students,” a category for institutions providing an environment in which determined and hard-working students can thrive.

“We are honored to be recognized as a college that excels in academics and offers an exceptional learning experience for a diverse student body,” said President Kurt Dykstra. “We at Trinity look forward to an outstanding year that lives up to and, quite frankly, exceeds these respected rankings.”

The U.S. News rankings are based on several criteria, including peer assessment, graduation and freshmen retention rates, faculty resources, student selectivity, financial resources, and alumni giving.

Trinity stands among other institutions in the Regional Colleges category that offer a wide range of degree programs in the liberal arts and in fields such as business, education, and nursing. This fall, the college added a number of new majors, including Bioinformatics, Digital Design, Environmental Science, and Music Production.

Other recent rankings

Trinity Ranked One of the Top Colleges for the Money

Trinity Named One of the Top 25 Christian Colleges for Social Work

For the first time in the program’s five year history, the men’s golf team will be participating in the NCCAA National Championship. The team earned honor with a first place finish in the NCCAA North Central Region Tournament at Big Run Golf Club in Lockport, Illinois.  The Trolls came out on top with a team score of 638, beating out the second place team by 14 strokes. The national tournament will be held in Panama City Beach, Florida, on October 19-21.

After the first day of competition the Trolls were in a good position as they came in with the lowest team score. They posted a 323 and were three strokes ahead of Bethel College at 326 and eight strokes ahead of Judson University at 331. The team came back even stronger for the second 18 holes and pulled away for the victory.

Overall the Trolls ended with four golfers in the top six in the field of 16 competitors.  Jonathan Zandstra and Steven Massey ended with a 158 total and tied for 3rd place.  After the first day they were both in group tied in 5th place, but they improved their position on day two.  Massey shot an 80 and a 78 and Zandstra shot s 82 and a 76.

Evan Eissens was just one stroke back with a 159 total and in 5th place overall.  With a 78 on day one he was in a tie for second, but followed with an 81 to fall a couple of spots.

Alek Svabek showed an improvement from the first 18 to the second. He had an 83 on Friday and an 80 on Saturday for a 163 and 6th place.

The final golfer for the team was Cody Tiesman who ended with a 172 and in 14th place.

The Trolls have one regular season match left on their fall schedule. They will host the Troll Classic on October 5.

The S.A.L.T. program hosted an adventurous two-week Alaskan trip at the beginning of September. Led by Johannes and Lynda Witte of Witte Travel, a total of 41 alumni, staff, faculty and friends of the college were in attendance.

The trip began in Vancouver, Canada, where the group boarded a cruise ship that took them through the inner passage of the Pacific coastline. Throughout this part of the voyage, they enjoyed magnificent scenery, charming towns and a lot of American history.

“It was such a blessing to share God’s magnificent, unspoiled creation with Trinity travelers,” Salt Director Ruth De Bruyn said.

Once in Alaska, the ship cruised through beautiful sights of Glacier Bay National Park and College Fjord. On land, a Direct-to-the-Wilderness train took the group to Talkeetna, where they stayed at a nearby lodge. From there, they visited Denali National Park, enjoyed the sight of Mount McKinley, and took a riverboat cruise in Fairbanks.

Local cuisine, native wildlife, rich history and majestic landscape made the trip one to remember.

“Everyone, including S.A.L.T. students, board members, professors and friends of the college were drawn closer to God and all His glory as a result of this once-in-a-lifetime experience,” Ruth De Bruyn said. “We are thankful for great weather and safe travels.”

Poet and alumnus John Terpstra ’73 of Hamilton, Ontario, visited campus from September 16 to 18 for a series of readings.

Over the three days, members of the Trinity community enjoyed hearing Terpstra read from his memoir, The Boys: or, Waiting for the Electrician’s Daughter and his recent book The House with the Parapet Wall. On Friday, Terpstra read several poems, accompanied by Dr. Mark Jones, professor of English, playing jazz on the piano.

Students had the opportunity to discuss poetry and life as a poet on Wednesday when Terpstra visited Dr. Mike Vander Weele’s poetry and drama class. Students especially interested in the art of poetry also received feedback on their own work in a master’s class led by Terpstra.

“I was able to see my poems from the perspective of an accomplished poet, who picked up on the nuances I was trying to convey and showed me what could be changed to improve them,” said Adam Krestan ’18 of Ozawkie, Kansas. “It was just plain fun to talk to him about poetry.”

Terpstra has received regional and national recognition for his work, including a poem in the 20^th anniversary edition of Image magazine. His repertoire includes nine books of poetry, four books of creative nonfiction, and one CD.

Nursing alumni, faculty, and students gathered on September 14 for the annual Commitment to Caring Ceremony to recognize and pray for junior nursing students beginning their clinical rotations in area hospitals.

Following the opening prayer by Nurses Student Organization (NSO) Vice President Azel Dizon ’15 of Oak Forest, Illinois, Nursing Department Chair Tina Decker ’06 introduced nursing faculty and staff.

Guest speaker Lauren (Bultema) Janchenko ’12, a pediatric ICU nurse at Advocate Children’s Hospital, openly discussed the challenges faced by both nursing students and nursing professionals; but she emphasized the rewards of the “amazing career” awaiting future Trinity nursing graduates.

Sharing some of the most dramatic moments in her career thus far, Janchenko passionately ended her talk with this encouragement: “You will save people, and you will show Christ through your work. You will have that one patient who makes you say, ‘This is why I do this. This is why God called me to be a nurse.’”

After Janchenko’s presentation, NSO President Brittany Miller ’15 of Waukegan, Illinois, offered words of encouragement from the perspective of a senior nursing student.

Completing the ceremony, Chaplain Bill Van Groningen, Ph.D., offered a blessing as those gathered formed a large circle around the junior students, praying for them and the work they are about to undertake.

Learn more about Trinity’s top-notch nursing program.

Jordan Ghiglia is a double major in marketing and communications, with a focus in media. He is the former Editor in Chief of the student newspaper and a partner in the Trinfo.co team. After graduation Ghiglia would like to move back to the Pacific Northwest and work in media and marketing.

“I want to lead because I know that there is work to be done and nothing has ever been achieved by sitting on the sidelines and watching. I would love to see the students get more involved at Trinity and get the most out of their education.”

The women’s soccer team victory over Marygrove College (Detroit, Michigan) on September 11 was a milestone win for head coach Josh Lenarz.  The Trolls’ 12-0 win marked the 200th career coaching victory for Lenarz, who ranks in the top 12 of winningest active women’s soccer coaches in the NAIA.

Lenarz is in his 14th season as the head coach for the Trolls and has spent his entire college coaching career at Trinity.  Since he took over in 2002, he turned a program that was 19-79-2 in its first six seasons to one that is nationally recognized and a consistent conference contender.  With this most current victory he now has a 200-85-21 overall record.

During his tenure at Trinity, Lenarz has led his teams to the NAIA National Championships three times in the past seven seasons. He has also directed the Trolls to the NCCAA National Championships five times, earning a national title in 2005. Under his leadership, the teams have earned conference regular season and conference tournament titles and he has been named CCAC Coach of the Year three times.

The volleyball team took time out of their busy preseason training to spend an afternoon helping out at Providence Christian Healthcare & Rehab Center of Palos Heights.  The team members interacted with the residents as well served the staff by assisting in a few cleaning and organizing projects.

“The team had a great time serving at Providence,” said Coach Bill Schepel. “It reminded us how blessed we are. We were impacted on how grateful the residents were and we felt very appreciated by the Providence staff.”

The day started with a brief introduction and history of the facility and then the team members were divided into groups for various tasks which included preparing promotional brochures, organizing books and movies, washing walls, tables, and floors in the kitchen, cleaning wheelchairs, and assisting a few residents with individual projects.

When the work tasks were completed the team members were able to interact with the residents as they gathered in the dining hall for a game of BINGO. During the social time, the team assisted the residents with their cards and markers and visited with them.

“The experience at Providence allowed us to give back to the community,” commented Karliegh Krchmery ’16 from Merrionette Park, Illinois. “It also provided us with a time of team bonding and we had fun.”

The team plans to continue their relationship with Providence and has committed to spend another afternoon volunteering in the future.

Service is a big part of the Trinity experience, and students started the new academic year off by volunteering in the community.

First Year Forum (FYF) leaders, including 21 mentors, student directors, and First Year Experience Director Emily Bosscher, spent time during their training week to work at Restoration Ministries in Harvey, Illinois.

The group helped decorate classroom bulletin boards with inspiration messages in preparation for the beginning of the after-school program sessions. In addition, Restoration Ministries leaders provided the Trinity volunteers with a more in-depth overview of the ministry.

Another project during the first week of classes involved 15 FYF mentors and 13 faculty mentors working alongside about 200 incoming freshmen at the Children’s Hunger Fund.

Volunteers wrapped gifts, packaged food, and learned more about the organization’s mission to deliver food—and hope—to children in the United States and around the world.

“It was exciting to see these new members of Trinity’s community so joyfully and actively participating in service, and many of them afterwards expressed interest in serving more,” said FYF Student Co-Director Ben Hoeskstra ’17 of Andover, Minnesota. “This interest is encouraging in the first few weeks of the semester, as service is an important component of First Year Forum and each student’s broader experience at Trinity.”