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Wednesday’s Convocation welcomed new students, delivered encouraging messages from Trinity’s new president, Kurt Dykstra, and Professor of the Year Dave Klanderman, started the semester on a worshipful note.

In his address “Strategies for Learning Optimization,” Professor of Mathematics Dave Klanderman, Ph.D., shared many inspiring stories of alumni who maximized their Trinity educations and are living out their callings in a variety of careers.

Read these inspiring stories and Klanderman’s five strategies for optimizing the college experience.

Following the faculty and staff procession, Prayer Ministry Leader Benjamin Hoekstra ’17 of Andover, Minnesota, gave the invocation. Dr. Craig Mattson, professor of communication arts, and Megan Hanafee-Major ’16 of New Richmond, Wisconsin, led the audience in the litany reading based on Psalm 50.

Prior to the benediction by Chaplain Willis Van Groningen, Ph.D., Interim Provost Sharon Robbert, Dean of Students Mark Hanna, and Student Association President Halie Wisse ’16 of Oostburg, Wisconsin, offered prayers.

By Dr. Dave Klanderman, Professor of Mathematics and Professor of the Year
2015-16 Convocation address

Thank you Provost Robbert for those kind words of introduction.

Fellow members of the Trinity community, it is my privilege to offer a few words that may serve as a frame of reference as we begin this academic year.

Although many of my faculty colleagues are equally deserving, I was honored to be named the Professor of the Year.  I view the award as an indicator of the excellent teaching that is done across the college.  In my own career at Trinity, I particularly value the opportunity to work closely with students in the learning process, to collaborate with students and faculty colleagues on a variety of research endeavors, and to join students and departmental colleagues in service opportunities such as the Trinity Math Triathlon.  It is with this mindset of my role at Trinity that I offer these remarks.

To set the context, I first ask each student to fast-forward in time to the day of your graduation.  For some of you, this may mean looking no further than December 12, while for others it means looking several years into the future.  As you picture yourself wearing one of these overly warm robes and unusually-shaped hats, ask yourself the following question:  Did I maximize the value of my learning experiences while at Trinity Christian College?  That is, did I take of advantage of opportunities to go beyond the minimum requirement, to dig a little deeper, to have a fuller academic and co-curricular experience?  Or, was I merely marking time and crossing out days on the calendar until my graduation day – or perhaps the day I begin my first “real” job?

I want to prompt you to live a little more deeply into your current calling as a college student and I do this by offering several strategies.  These strategies will allow you to optimize your overall learning experience.  With your faculty mentors assisting you, we can together fulfill an important aspect of Trinity’s mission; namely, “to graduate students who are well-equipped to bring the discipline of rigorous academic work into their chosen vocation and the practice of Christ-like service toward others into their personal and public lives.”

Mathematically-minded members of our audience may remember the topic of optimization as part of a calculus course.  For those desiring this more specific topic, there are still a few seats available in my Math 211 (Multivariable Calculus) course on MWF at 2:25pm in GR110.  For the rest of us, I now offer a series of strategies of a more general nature.  For each one, I will offer an example or two from students that I have taught during my 25 years at the college.  I will also connect the strategy to one or more of my Trinity faculty colleagues who also happen to be Trinity alumni.  My apologies in advance to nearly a dozen additional Trinity alumni who are my faculty colleagues but are not included in my remarks.

So, let’s begin…

Strategy #1:  Go further – Did you know that Trinity sponsors semester-long programs in both downtown Chicago and Seville, Spain? 

Spending an entire semester, or perhaps a portion of the summer, in one of these programs can expand your view of the world and your future vocational role within it.  Among my former students who have completed one of these programs, I briefly mention two.  Emily Ward completed the Chicago Semester prior to her graduation from Trinity in 2009.  As part of this experience, she completed an internship as part of an exhibits management team at the Field Museum of Natural History.  As sometimes happens with these internships, she was offered a full-time job at the Field Museum at the end of her Chicago semester experience.  Since graduating, Emily has worked as part of a creative team to design digital stories to accompany major exhibits at the museum including one entitled Mammoths and Mastodons.  Cara Tacoma Kuiper was a classmate of Emily and completed the Semester in Spain program while at Trinity.  She later taught middle school math at a charter school in Chicago in a context where fluency in multiple languages is an asset.  Both of these students chose to go a bit further and were rewarded with an incredible journey and a wider lens through which to view the world.  As a link to my Trinity faculty colleagues, I mention Dr. Mackenzie Huyser.  Dr. Huyser graduated from Trinity with a social work concentration and later return to the college to design the current social work major. She later served as both professor and chairperson of the social work department.  Her current role is the Director of the Chicago Semester program.  If you decide to pursue this semester program, then you will meet her at some point in the future.

Strategy #2:  Education majors — Go further as you teach students – Did you know that you can elect to complete one of your student teaching placements in a location outside the Chicago area, perhaps outside of Illinois, or even in a different country?

Trinity education majors have access to a wonderful diversity of school settings in Chicago, the surrounding suburbs, and nearby rural communities. However, those who are willing to go further can apply to complete a student teaching placement in another state or even another country.  Among the May 2015 graduating class, I offer two examples from my department.  Kelly Ludwig worked with Navajo students at Rehoboth Christian School in New Mexico.  These experiences helped her secure her current teaching position at Trinity Christian High School in California.  Chad Westenbroek completed a placement at a missionary school in China.  He shared his blog of his incredible experiences with me and I could see how his life was enriched even as he helped his students learn.  He later received three different job offers before accepting a position teaching middle school mathematics at Redlands Christian School in California.  As a link to my Trinity faculty colleagues, although there are at least five Trinity alumni in the Education Department, I mention Dr. Joy Meyer who completed Trinity’s education program before teaching 6^th grade for a number of years.  In her current role, Dr. Meyer oversees these teaching placements outside the Chicago area and ultimately approves each teacher candidate for entry into the teaching profession.

Strategy #3:  Go deeper – Did you know that you have the opportunity to complete a research project with a faculty mentor, either as part of the Honors Program, or as part of the Vander Velde Junior Scholarship Program?

In the past decade or so, I have worked with several students in a research mentoring role.  Dr. Lee VanGroningen completed an honors project in Non-Euclidean geometry.  After graduation from Trinity, he completed a Ph.D. in mathematics from Michigan State University and is now a mathematics professor at Anderson University in Indiana.  Lauren Zylstra Ludwig and Jamie Blauw worked collaboratively with me to complete an honors project that used Geometer’s Sketchpad to develop a series of lessons for use at the high school or college level.  Lauren now teaches mathematics at Highland High School in Indiana.  Jamie initially taught at a missionary school in Bogota, Columbia where she had completed a student teaching placement and now works with Young Life.  The Trinity faculty link to the Honors Program is Trinity alumnus Dr. Aron Reppmann who designed the program and served as its first director.  He continues to teach Honors Philosophy, one of the required courses in that program.

The Vander Velde Junior Scholars program offers a scholarship to students who work as research colleagues with a faculty member.  Trinity faculty alumni Dr. Lou Sytsma of the Chemistry Department and Dr. Bob Boomsma of the Biology Department have sponsored numerous Vander Velde research projects over the past decades.  I recently had the privilege to work collaboratively with Dr. Bill Boerman-Cornell as we sponsored a project with Alexa Dokter Schut.  She researched links to higher dimensions in young adult fantasy literature including the Harry Potter novels, the Chronicles of Narnia, and other works.  Alexa recently began her graduate work in mathematics at the University of Wisconsin at Milwaukee, but we are continuing to work on multiple journal articles that build on a series of presentations made at local and regional conferences.

Strategy #4:  Go deeper and use your abilities in a group setting — Did you know that you can participate in multiple musical ensembles and/or one of Trinity’s varsity athletic teams?

Although the commitment to be both a scholar and an athlete or musician is substantial, I have seen numerous examples of former students and colleagues who have excelled in both endeavors.  In the process, their abilities to work in a team context have propelled them in their chosen vocations.  Michelle Schurman Wigboldy served as a co-captain of Trinity’s women’s volleyball team as she simultaneously completed a double major in elementary education and mathematics education.  Each spring, she returns to Trinity with her middle school math students from Crown Point Christian School in Indiana as they participate at the Trinity Math Triathlon.  Lynne DeYoung, an accounting and math double major, competed on the track and field team while at Trinity and now works as the Director of Finance and Administration at the Chicago Southland Convention and Visitors Bureau.  Logan Vos, an accounting major with a math minor, participated on the men’s golf time while at Trinity and now serves as an investment banker at Rabobank in New York City.  Among a number of Trinity faculty alumni who were also athletes, Nursing Professors Tina Decker and Janna Schemper played women’s soccer, Physical Education Professor Shari Jurgens played women’s basketball, and Dr. Mackenzi Huyser played women’s volleyball.  The common denominator of all of these Trinity alumni is a willingness to combine the teamwork of a varsity sport with their academic pursuits.  Each now works as a member of a larger team in their current vocation.

Evan VanderZee probably set a record for most appearances at a Christmastide event, including concert choir, honors ensemble, wind ensemble, brass ensemble, and I might be forgetting another ensemble.  In his spare time, he completed a double major in mathematics and computer science at Trinity, later completed a Ph.D. in a mathematical sub-specialty of computer science at the University of Illinois, and currently works as a programmer at Argonne National Laboratory.  Courtney Rozeveld, now a high school math teacher in Florida, achieved the rare combination of concert choir, wind ensemble, and the track and field team while a student at Trinity.  Among my new faculty colleagues who are also Trinity alumni, Professors Christine Scholma in Special Education and Jon VanderWoude in Chemistry both participated in concert choir and honors ensemble while students at Trinity.  In addition, Dr. Aron Reppmann not only participated in both concert choir and honors ensemble while a student at Trinity, he continues to sing in the bass section of the concert choir, now as a faculty member!  Dr. Helen Van Wyck, conductor of both the concert choir and the honors ensemble, told me last week that there is still room for a few more able and willing student voices in these vocal groups.  I would guess that similar statements could be made about the wind ensemble and the gospel choir.

And finally … Strategy #5:  Lean on God throughout the journey – especially when you choose whether or not to accept a job offer.

When I arrived on Trinity’s campus in August 1990, one of my very first students was Matt Hofman.  Matt graduated from Trinity in 1993 with a math education major and was offered a teaching position at a high school in California.  After much prayer and discussion with his wife and other family members, he made the difficult decision to turn down this job offer – without another offer to take its place.  For Matt, it was a priority to live closer to family in Wisconsin.  In God’s providence, Matt did get that additional offer, this one from Randolph Christian School – in Wisconsin.  During the past 22 years, Matt has taught middle school math and Bible at Randolph and later both middle school and high school math and science at his alma mater, Central Wisconsin Christian School in Waupun, Wisconsin.  He has served as a local host to several Wisconsin-based Trinity Math Triathlons, including ones attended by both of his children – who later enrolled as students at Trinity!  These 2^nd generation Trinity students serve as a reminder that I have been teaching at the college for a LONG time!  My link to a Trinity faculty alumnus in this category is Dr. Lou Sytsma.  Back in the 1970s, Lou was working as a research chemist when Trinity contacted him about an opening in the chemistry department.  Ultimately, Lou accepted the offer and has served at the college for the past 38 years.  During the most recent 25 of those years, he has served as a mentor to me in my work as a teacher and a scholar.

While these five strategies are not meant to be a comprehensive list of ways to optimize your learning experience at Trinity, they are meant to prompt further reflection.  They are a challenge to each of us to, in the words of Trinity’s Mission Statement, “view vocation as a divine calling,” “evaluate our lives in relationship to God, to others, and to creation,” and “be co-workers with Christ in subjecting all cultural activities to the reign of God.”

So, now is the time and this is the opportunity for all of us to lean on God and to choose to go a little further and dig a little deeper with the gifts that God has provided to us in this Christian learning community.

For the third year, the City of Palos Heights and community business people held a welcome event for Trinity students returning to campus on Move-in Day.

Extending that welcome into September and beyond, businesses are offering special discounts to Trinity students, faculty, and staff (with ID). The discount period runs through May 31, 2016, unless otherwise noted.

See the list of participating businesses.

The College thanks the wonderful community of Palos Heights and the city’s Business/Economic Advisory Committee for its partnership.

We love the excitement of Move-In Day and helping freshmen settle in to life at Trinity!

Today was a perfect mix of Troll-blue sky and breezy summer temps, as an awesome Move-In Crew wheeled shopping carts full of dorm life “necessities” from family vans to residence halls.

For the third year in a row, students were also greeted by organizations from the city of Palos Heights at the hospitality tents. This academic year, 62 local businesses are offering discounts to students.

The day was packed with activities, like parent sessions, a BBQ dinner, First Year Forum small groups, and a Back Bash.

The College will welcome transfer and returning students next week before the start of classes on Wednesday, August 26.

See what it’s like to move in!

The 2015 Trinity Athletics Club Golf Classic was blessed with good fellowship, friendly competition, and generous contributions as 112 golfers convened at Calumet Country Club in Homewood, Illinois on August 17.  The annual event brought together friends and alumni of the College and raised over $38,000 in scholarship for Trinity student-athletes.

“It was a wonderful day,” said Dennis Harms ‘89, the coordinator of the event and Trinity’s director of business and corporate giving. “We greatly appreciate all the sponsors and golfers for their continued support of the College and its athletics program.”

At the event, golfers were greeted on the course by members of the athletics and development staff as well some of the student-athletes.

On the course the participants had the opportunity to win prizes, including hole-in-one chances for a car, courtesy of Oak Lawn Toyota, and for $10,000, courtesy of Legacy Agency. Golfers also participated in a chipping contest, sponsored by Service Sanitation.

At the end of the round, the low foursome for the day included Steve Van Drunen ’86, Jim Lanting, Zach Kooiker, and Zach Lanting with a score of 60.

The athletics department would like to thank Ozinga Bros. and Providence Bank and Trust for their generous sponsorship of the event.

TIME Inc.’s MONEY has ranked Trinity Christian College as one of the top colleges for the money in the nation.

The colleges on MONEY’s list were measured on 21 factors in the categories of:

• quality of education
• affordability
• outcomes

Criteria within those categories included graduation rate and instructor quality, affordability for low- and moderate-income students, and graduate earnings and the market value of alumni skills.

Trinity’s small class sizes have long contributed to the quality of education. The student-faculty ratio of 11:1 allows for more one-on-one guidance from professors as well as substantive research opportunities.

In addition, career services for students and alumni were considered among other outcomes such as graduate earnings. Trinity alumni average an annual salary of $43,500 within five years. Learn more about the success of Trinity alumni.

Trinity welcomed guests from area schools to the Urban Christian Education Collaborative Conference July 30 and 31. The conference brought together leaders from urban Christian schools for networking, presentations, and facilitated discussions.

The Center for Christian Urban Educators (CCUE) is a collaborative effort of both Trinity and the Bright Promise Fund (BPF) for Urban Christian Education. BPF enriches Chicago and its neighborhoods through schools of character, conviction, and achievement by providing new and sustaining sources of revenue for affiliated Christian schools.

Following a welcome and general session address of encouragement, Becky Starkenburg, vice president for student life, represented Trinity in greeting conference guests.

Highlights of the event included presentations such as “Framing the Issues” and “What are your top three goals for the next 3-5 years?” Both were facilitated by Harriet Potoka, director of the CCUE. She also closed the conference with prayer.

On May 6, 2012, at age 16, Ryan Hesslau ’18 decided to take a stand against bullying.

As a high school student, Hesslau said he had struggled with a fear of rejection and a desire for acceptance. “I was a messy, broken, selfish high school student,” he said. “I fell into pressures and temptations that caused me to overlook who I was intended to be.”

Hesslau began reading stories about teen victims of bullying being driven to commit suicide. These stories moved him to show people in surrounding communities how to love themselves and how to love one another.

So he started a Facebook page called foreverU with a mission to give teens struggling with bullying a sense of hope and purpose. What began as a social media outreach is today a faith-based, nonprofit organization.

foreverU has transformed into a fast-growing, teen-led, pro-love movement, actively working to reduce the occurrences of bullying by providing teens with the opportunity to be part of something greater, while also equipping them with the confidence they need.

Hesslau speaks to students at schools and churches. “I become an entirely different person when I walk on stage on behalf of foreverU,” he said, “most likely as a result of my passion for showing the younger generation what it means to love and how to build someone up rather than break them down.”

Hesslau said he and his team hope to expand their outreach in the next 3-5 years. They plan various fundraising events throughout the year, such as the annual fall Walk of Revival. Recently, Hesslau accepted a check from representatives at Liberty Mutual Insurance as part of one of his fundraisers.

During his freshman year, Hesslau, an entrepreneurial management major, was one of two students selected to participate in the Future Founders Fellowship as part of Trinity’s new Founding Partner status with Future Founders Foundation. He was also a semifinalist in the first annual U.Pitch competition.

After graduation he plans to build a career in motivational speaking, write a book, start other organizations, and become a pastor. “Every day is a new opportunity to keep living your story and continue on this journey that’s actively shaping us into the person we are intended to become.”

Faith has accompanied Hesslau on the journey that began on May 6. “God has walked beside me ever since,” Hesslau said. “This is His movement, and I’m just along for the ride. There’s no way we’d be able to create what we have without the work of the Holy Spirit.”

To guide Trinity students and alumni in the direction of their chosen careers and callings, the College’s Cooper Center for Career Development offers a new and expanded variety of services for students, alumni, faculty, and employers seeking to hire.

The Cooper Center’s new website puts all of these incredible resources at their fingertips.

The new website features a career road map that suggests a four-year plan for students. The website also provides access to job and internship listings, digital networking sites, and graduate school resources.

This year, the Cooper Center will also offer NACELINK, a one-stop online resource that connects students with recruiters, provides a more comprehensive resume builder, and integrates self-assessment into career portfolios.

On campus events hosted by the Cooper Center give students the opportunity for in-person, hands-on experience and include Interview Day, Career Fest, etiquette dinners, LinkedIn photo booths, and career and vocation-oriented workshops.

The Cooper Center is led by John Baldauff, who is passionate about serving students as they discover God’s direction in their educational and professional lives. Office Manager Robin Linhart assists students with resumes, answers questions regarding career information, and connects students with resources and career opportunities.

Each summer, Trinity gives students from Chicago area high schools a valuable opportunity to participate in a college experience. The Associated Colleges of Illinois (ACI) Summer Academy  prepares students for the next step after high school graduation.

Trinity’s nine-year partnership with ACI focuses on college preparation, as Trinity hosts students for one week in July. The summer academy at Trinity is a residential program available to high school juniors enrolled in a Noble Street Charter School Network.

Mark Hanna, dean of students, and Tabitha Matthews, director of community engagement and diversity programs, operate as directors of the program, overseeing the administration, budget and the continued partnership development with Noble Street.

“Many of the students that participate will be first generation college students in a few years,” said Matthews. “Our hope is that they are encouraged from this week of mentorship and college instruction, and that they continue to see Trinity and college overall as a viable option.”

This year, 45 juniors representing several high schools chose between classes in physical science, taught by Dr. Michael Bosscher, assistant professor of chemistry; math, taught by Susan Donovan, adjunct professor; and graphic design, taught by Ellen Browning, associate professor of art and design.

The rigorous residential experience provides mentoring in areas such as goal setting, the college search, college application completion, and college essay writing. Students are instructed by college coaches John Baldauff, Andrea Walters ’14, Tippi Price, and Cynthia Coffey.

College life also includes a recreational aspect. Students enjoy a variety of evening program activities facilitated by the Residence Life staff under the direction of Residence Director Latishia Elliott and resident assistants Amy James ’17, Fred Walls ’16, and Kylla Pate ’17.

 “Theater is meant to mimic life,” said Cait Williams ’15, likening the adage to her liberal arts education and her exposure to not only her major but to biology, theology, and art history.

“Art provided background for stage design, and organizational behavior helped me recognize management techniques in my internship,” said Williams.

And in her spring internship at the Chicago Opera Theater, Williams said she could relate every class she had taken to her work.

Williams served as a public relations and marketing intern for the innovative, nationally recognized opera company, which features new and rarely performed works. She said she had the amazing opportunity to work with Chicago professionals including Chicagoan of the Year Andreas Mitisek and marketing for the widely popular mezzo-soprano Frederica von Stade.

One of the many benefits of Trinity internships is the potential for continued employment. Recently, Williams was hired by the company as a part-time marketing assistant while she completes her final semester at Trinity this fall.

The internship melded her studies in both business communication and theater and integrated a passion for the stage that began as a child. Birthdays for Williams meant a visit to the theater with her mother, who hoped to instill a love of the arts in her daughter.

Williams has played out that passion on the stage of her community theater in Western Springs, Illinois, and on Trinity’s Marg Kallemeyn Theatre. This summer she is also using her marketing skills to promote the Alumni Theatre’s production of The Odd Couple, August 28-29, and will play the role of Rita.