Senior Learning Programs

Gareth Blakesley, Director and Chief Naturalist
Lake Katherine Nature Center & Botanic Gardens
4/19 @ 10-11:30 a.m.
REGISTRATION DEADLINE: April 14

Description: Learn how you can use your local environment to orient and find your way. The stars in the sky, the direction trees bend, and the
direction satellite dishes point, can help navigate your way in the world. Gareth Blakesley will lead a talk on one of his pet interests, navigation, and will show simple ways that you can use natural and unnatural cues to figure out your location in the world.

Instructor Bio: Gareth Blakesley, Lake Katherine’s Director and Chief Naturalist, served as a field supervisor for a restoration ecology firm before coming to Lake Katherine. Prior to his field experience, Gareth spent nearly four years employed as a Biology Laboratory Supervisor and Aquatic Invertebrate Specialist at the Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum. Gareth received a Master’s Degree in Tourism and Conservation from the University of Kent in Canterbury, England and a Bachelor’s Degree in Zoology from the University of Wales in Aberystwyth, Wales.

Dr. Jessica Clevering, Professor of Psychology
5/11 @ 10-11:30 a.m.
REGISTRATION DEADLINE: May 5

Description: Genesis 2:18 tells us that when God made Adam he said, “It is not good that the man should be alone.” The only suitable solution was another human being. Feelings of loneliness are internal prompts that let us know this Biblical truth: human beings need each other. This course will highlight foundational psychological research on the consequences of loneliness.

Course participants will discuss the research using a Christian interpretative lens and share
methods for reducing social isolation and increasing a sense of belonging and connection.

Instructor Bio: Dr. Clevering graduated from Claremont Graduate University with a specialization in Social Psychology.  She has worked at Trinity for 10 years teaching a wide range of psychology courses from Christian Perspectives on Psychology to Statistical Reasoning.  Her current research focuses on predicting when people are most likely to challenge the status quo.  When not working she can be found crafting with her daughter.

Dr. Kyle Dieleman, Associate Professor of History
4/11 and 4/14 @ 10-11:30 a.m.
REGISTRATION DEADLINE: April 6

Description: This course will explore how Protestants in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries interpreted and applied the 10 Commandments regarding keeping the Sabbath and honoring one’s father and mother (i.e., 4th and 5th Commandments). In the first session, the class will examine the surprisingly varied and complex understandings of Sabbath rest Protestant theologians had as well as the ways in which Christians were or were not devoted to keeping the Sabbath. In the second class, we will explore the ways in which Protestants understood authority, expanding it beyond relationships between parents and children. The course will expose learners to a variety of primary and secondary sources.

Instructor Bio: Dr. Kyle Dieleman serves as Associate Professor of History and as Chair of the History Department at Trinity. Kyle has been at Trinity since 2017 prior to which he earned his Ph.D. in Religious Studies at the University of Iowa. His teaching and research interests are in the history of Christianity, particularly the Protestant Reformation. He has published a book on the Sabbath in the Dutch Reformation and written and presented on many aspects of the Protestant Reformations in the Netherlands and beyond.

William Boerman-Cornell & Christine Scholma
5/30 and 5/31  10-11:30 a.m.
REGISTRATION DEADLINE: May 25

Description: This is a discussion of how we engage with literature. Boerman-Cornell will pull from his latest publication on spirituality in literature and Scholma will bring her expertise on how a disability is represented in literature. The two sessions will engage participants through a combination of lecture, discussion, and active learning, using a young adult novel to guide your journey into the literature.

Books for Discussion

Session 1: Spirituality in Literature (Optional reading: Young Adult Literature and Spirituality). Book not included in course. Visit www.amazon.com to purchase the book, $32.25 Kindle/$35.00 Paperback

Session 2: Disability in Literature (Required reading: The War That Saved My Life) Book is not included in course. Visit www.amazon.com to purchase book, $9.99 Kindle or paperback.

Instructor Bio: Bill Boerman-Cornell was an English teacher for ten years before becoming a Professor of Education at Trinity Christian College.  He is the co-author of three books: Graphic Novels in High School and Middle School Classrooms, Using Graphic Novels in the English Language Arts Classroom, and Young Adult Literature and Spirituality. He loves to read.

Instructor Bio: Christine Scholma, an Assistant Professor of Special Education at Trinity Christian College, pulls on her experiences from teaching students with disabilities for 12 years to prepare preservice teachers to have an impact on the field. Scholma also serves as the Co-director of the Center for Special Education and as the Presentation Chair of the Dolly Gray Children’s Literature Award.

Instructor: Cleo Lampos, Educator and Storyteller
4/11, 4/18, 4/25 @ 10-11:15 a.m.
REGISTRATION DEADLINE: April 6

Description: In three sessions, the class will present how food was distributed during war time. SessionI focuses on North Platte, Nebraska, which fed the troop trains enroute to Europe and the Pacific. At the end of the war, six million GIs had been served by a town of 12,000 and without government support. Session II describes the home front’s efforts to produce vegetables and fruit for the troops as well as for the nation. Victory Gardens, the Land Army, and innovations in food preservation, facilitated feeding millions. Session III moves attention to England, the Netherlands, France and the Pacific who suffered from food shortages. The contribution of the Donut Dolly and two advances for the troops will be explained. Attendees will be engaged with bright images and inspiring messages of this era and musical presentations that
melt the heart. Could the United States and the world pull together like this again?

Instructor Bio: Cleo Lampos is a retired public school teacher who has taught adult education classes at St. Xavier University, Trinity College, and Morton College. She facilitated presentations at Mid-Week Moments during 2021-22. An author of historical fiction, Lampos speaks at book clubs and libraries. Her articles appear in magazines. She is a quilter and cans the produce from her husband’s urban garden.

Dr. Benjamin Ribbens, Professor of Theology
4/20, 4/27, 5/4 @ 10:45 a.m. – 12:15 p.m.
REGISTRATION DEADLINE: April 14

Description: The three sessions will discuss how to read the Book of Revelation, diving deeply into at least one text per session to illustrate the broader interpretive principle. Participants will learn about the big picture of Revelation and have tools for reading this seemingly confusing book of the Bible.

Instructor Bio: Dr. Ben Ribbens is in his tenth year of teaching at Trinity Christian College and specializes in New Testament. He teaches a course that covers the Book of Revelation and enjoys sharing this material with others.

Instructor: Bob Rice, Professor Emeritus History
5/10, 5/17, 5/24 @ 10-11:30 a.m.
REGISTRATION DEADLINE:  May 5

Description: The recent death of Elizabeth II has provoked discussion and debate about the place of the monarch in British history. As we consider the reigns of Victoria and Elizabeth II: What has been the importance of the British monarch? What has been the relationship between the Crown and the people? And how can we describe the engagement between the Queen and the changing culture of Britain? In addition, how does the monarchy fit into the contemporary commitments in British life? Will Charles III be the last British monarch?

Instructor Bio: Bob has taught European history and occasionally American studies at Trinity Christian College for over 40 years. When he retired in 2013, he continued to teach occasionally in the undergraduate program as well as in the SALT program, which connects Trinity to the larger community. He has learned so much from Trinity’s vision of Christian liberal arts education and continues to benefit from the SALT program, which opens us to mutual learning and friendships.