Joe Velderman ‘04

–By Christy Wolff ’10

Joe Velderman ‘04 has always thrived in the world of technology. From the time he was 10 years old, he involved himself in his church by helping with computer-related needs during the worship service. When it came time to choose a college, he wanted to branch outside of his hometown of Holland, Mich. and decided to visit Trinity. “I felt at home within 10 minutes of being on campus,” Joe recalls.

Right away during his freshman year, Joe signed up for courses focused on computer science and information services. After breezing through a few classes, he knew this was the right fit.

Four years later, he graduated from Trinity with a major in business administration, with a heavy concentration in information systems. Joe found work in the computer services department on campus when he was a student. In addition to helping answer day-to-day technology-related questions, Joe assisted in taking student portfolios and digitizing them into a webpage as a tool for prospective employers after graduation.

Since graduation, Joe has dedicated himself to furthering businesses’ missions through tech support. For the past two years, he has been trying to solve a problem related to the 72 million Baby Boomers in the United States: the lack of caregivers. Considering Gen X is comprised of about 40 million people, there’s a growing concern over who will care for the older generation. Joe has a vision to make the last 10-15 years of an adult’s life the best it can be. So, he is developing technology solutions that will help efficiently monitor older adults as they age in their homes. Using smart home technology–such as smart speakers, smart light switches, smart showers, and smart thermostats–he’s working toward creating a smart home package to help in the aging process, with the goal to bring something to market by October 2019.

“The good Lord has gifted me as a strategic thinker, looking into the future and figuring out what challenges exist and how to solve those,” he says. Joe attributes these skills to the training he received at Trinity. A lot of his strategic skills weren’t necessarily learned in the classroom. Rather, his entire college experience played into the businessman he is today.

Currently living in Indiana with his wife and 3-year-old son, Joe advocates for Trinity as much as he can. “I’ve often told people who ask about Trinity that it’s a very special place where great community and authentic Kingdom-building work happens.” And that’s just what Joe is doing: helping build the Kingdom of God here on earth.