Archives: Initiatives

A Bachelor’s Degree from Trinity Christian College prepares students to flourish in their careers and vocations. And our graduates are well-prepared. According to data from Trinity’s Cooper Center for Vocation and Career Development, 97.7 percent of the graduates in the Class of 2021 are employed or in graduate school. That far surpasses the nationwide average of 82.4 percent. 

Each year, Trinity seeks career outcome data from new alumni. For 2020-’21 degree conferrals, 82.1% of graduates are employed, 15.1% are enrolled in graduate school, and one is serving the United States in the military.  

“We are excited to see our students successfully launch into their life after Trinity and continue to make meaningful contributions in the world,” said Director of Vocation and Career Development Jeff Timmer. “This metric is just one way that Trinity demonstrates how it prepares students for positive engagement in their communities and for contributions to the Kingdom.” 

Companies that employ recent Trinity graduates include Amazon, BDO USA, Chicago Public Schools, La Rabida Children’s Hospital, Northwestern Memorial Hospital, and Topel Forman. 

The class of 2021 has a range of job titles, reflecting the diversity and depth of Trinity’s liberal arts education: medical surgical/oncological nurse; special education teacher; art therapist; communications coordinator; graphic designer; tax associate; internal events coordinator; pastor; business analyst; baseball coach; police officer; and occupational therapy technician, among others. 

Trinity graduates are also pursing further education at the graduate level at institutions such as Duke Divinity School, John Marshall Law School, Northwestern University, Rush University, and University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.  

Avery Johnson ’21, is currently attending Duke Divinity School in Durham, N.C., and she cited the support she received from Trinity in helping her on her journey.  “I couldn’t have gotten this far without the help of the Trinity’s staff and professors,” said Johnson, who double majored in Biblical Studies and Communication Arts at Trinity and plans to become an ordained minister. 

For more information about Trinity’s 98% placement rate, visit Trinity’s Cooper Center for Vocation & Career Development. 

A Bachelor’s Degree from Trinity Christian College prepares students to flourish in their careers and vocations. And our graduates are well-prepared. According to data from Trinity’s Cooper Center for Vocation and Career Development, 97.7 percent of the graduates in the Class of 2021 are employed or in graduate school. That far surpasses the nationwide average of 82.4 percent. 

Each year, Trinity seeks career outcome data from new alumni. For 2020-’21 degree conferrals, 82.1% of graduates are employed, 15.1% are enrolled in graduate school, and one is serving the United States in the military.  

“We are excited to see our students successfully launch into their life after Trinity and continue to make meaningful contributions in the world,” said Director of Vocation and Career Development Jeff Timmer. “This metric is just one way that Trinity demonstrates how it prepares students for positive engagement in their communities and for contributions to the Kingdom.” 

Companies that employ recent Trinity graduates include Amazon, BDO USA, Chicago Public Schools, La Rabida Children’s Hospital, Northwestern Memorial Hospital, and Topel Forman. 

The class of 2021 has a range of job titles, reflecting the diversity and depth of Trinity’s liberal arts education: medical surgical/oncological nurse; special education teacher; art therapist; communications coordinator; graphic designer; tax associate; internal events coordinator; pastor; business analyst; baseball coach; police officer; and occupational therapy technician, among others. 

Trinity graduates are also pursing further education at the graduate level at institutions such as Duke Divinity School, John Marshall Law School, Northwestern University, Rush University, and University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.  

Avery Johnson ’21, is currently attending Duke Divinity School in Durham, N.C., and she cited the support she received from Trinity in helping her on her journey.  “I couldn’t have gotten this far without the help of the Trinity’s staff and professors,” said Johnson, who double majored in Biblical Studies and Communication Arts at Trinity and plans to become an ordained minister. 

For more information about Trinity’s 98% placement rate, visit Trinity’s Cooper Center for Vocation & Career Development. 

A Bachelor’s Degree from Trinity Christian College prepares students to flourish in their careers and vocations. And our graduates are well-prepared. According to data from Trinity’s Cooper Center for Vocation and Career Development, 97.7 percent of the graduates in the Class of 2021 are employed or in graduate school. That far surpasses the nationwide average of 82.4 percent. 

Each year, Trinity seeks career outcome data from new alumni. For 2020-’21 degree conferrals, 82.1% of graduates are employed, 15.1% are enrolled in graduate school, and one is serving the United States in the military.  

“We are excited to see our students successfully launch into their life after Trinity and continue to make meaningful contributions in the world,” said Director of Vocation and Career Development Jeff Timmer. “This metric is just one way that Trinity demonstrates how it prepares students for positive engagement in their communities and for contributions to the Kingdom.” 

Companies that employ recent Trinity graduates include Amazon, BDO USA, Chicago Public Schools, La Rabida Children’s Hospital, Northwestern Memorial Hospital, and Topel Forman. 

The class of 2021 has a range of job titles, reflecting the diversity and depth of Trinity’s liberal arts education: medical surgical/oncological nurse; special education teacher; art therapist; communications coordinator; graphic designer; tax associate; internal events coordinator; pastor; business analyst; baseball coach; police officer; and occupational therapy technician, among others. 

Trinity graduates are also pursing further education at the graduate level at institutions such as Duke Divinity School, John Marshall Law School, Northwestern University, Rush University, and University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.  

Avery Johnson ’21, is currently attending Duke Divinity School in Durham, N.C., and she cited the support she received from Trinity in helping her on her journey.  “I couldn’t have gotten this far without the help of the Trinity’s staff and professors,” said Johnson, who double majored in Biblical Studies and Communication Arts at Trinity and plans to become an ordained minister. 

For more information about Trinity’s 98% placement rate, visit Trinity’s Cooper Center for Vocation & Career Development. 

A Bachelor’s Degree from Trinity Christian College prepares students to flourish in their careers and vocations. And our graduates are well-prepared. According to data from Trinity’s Cooper Center for Vocation and Career Development, 97.7 percent of the graduates in the Class of 2021 are employed or in graduate school. That far surpasses the nationwide average of 82.4 percent. 

Each year, Trinity seeks career outcome data from new alumni. For 2020-’21 degree conferrals, 82.1% of graduates are employed, 15.1% are enrolled in graduate school, and one is serving the United States in the military.  

“We are excited to see our students successfully launch into their life after Trinity and continue to make meaningful contributions in the world,” said Director of Vocation and Career Development Jeff Timmer. “This metric is just one way that Trinity demonstrates how it prepares students for positive engagement in their communities and for contributions to the Kingdom.” 

Companies that employ recent Trinity graduates include Amazon, BDO USA, Chicago Public Schools, La Rabida Children’s Hospital, Northwestern Memorial Hospital, and Topel Forman. 

The class of 2021 has a range of job titles, reflecting the diversity and depth of Trinity’s liberal arts education: medical surgical/oncological nurse; special education teacher; art therapist; communications coordinator; graphic designer; tax associate; internal events coordinator; pastor; business analyst; baseball coach; police officer; and occupational therapy technician, among others. 

Trinity graduates are also pursing further education at the graduate level at institutions such as Duke Divinity School, John Marshall Law School, Northwestern University, Rush University, and University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.  

Avery Johnson ’21, is currently attending Duke Divinity School in Durham, N.C., and she cited the support she received from Trinity in helping her on her journey.  “I couldn’t have gotten this far without the help of the Trinity’s staff and professors,” said Johnson, who double majored in Biblical Studies and Communication Arts at Trinity and plans to become an ordained minister. 

For more information about Trinity’s 98% placement rate, visit Trinity’s Cooper Center for Vocation & Career Development. 

A Bachelor’s Degree from Trinity Christian College prepares students to flourish in their careers and vocations. And our graduates are well-prepared. According to data from Trinity’s Cooper Center for Vocation and Career Development, 97.7 percent of the graduates in the Class of 2021 are employed or in graduate school. That far surpasses the nationwide average of 82.4 percent. 

Each year, Trinity seeks career outcome data from new alumni. For 2020-’21 degree conferrals, 82.1% of graduates are employed, 15.1% are enrolled in graduate school, and one is serving the United States in the military.  

“We are excited to see our students successfully launch into their life after Trinity and continue to make meaningful contributions in the world,” said Director of Vocation and Career Development Jeff Timmer. “This metric is just one way that Trinity demonstrates how it prepares students for positive engagement in their communities and for contributions to the Kingdom.” 

Companies that employ recent Trinity graduates include Amazon, BDO USA, Chicago Public Schools, La Rabida Children’s Hospital, Northwestern Memorial Hospital, and Topel Forman. 

The class of 2021 has a range of job titles, reflecting the diversity and depth of Trinity’s liberal arts education: medical surgical/oncological nurse; special education teacher; art therapist; communications coordinator; graphic designer; tax associate; internal events coordinator; pastor; business analyst; baseball coach; police officer; and occupational therapy technician, among others. 

Trinity graduates are also pursing further education at the graduate level at institutions such as Duke Divinity School, John Marshall Law School, Northwestern University, Rush University, and University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.  

Avery Johnson ’21, is currently attending Duke Divinity School in Durham, N.C., and she cited the support she received from Trinity in helping her on her journey.  “I couldn’t have gotten this far without the help of the Trinity’s staff and professors,” said Johnson, who double majored in Biblical Studies and Communication Arts at Trinity and plans to become an ordained minister. 

For more information about Trinity’s 98% placement rate, visit Trinity’s Cooper Center for Vocation & Career Development. 

As the first black woman CPA in America, Mary T. Washington Wylie blazed trails throughout the accounting profession. In her honor, the Illinois CPA Society has created an internship program to help the current generation of college students continue her legacy. Recently, accounting major Jason McGhee ‘24 had the opportunity to participate in the Mary T. Washington Wiley Internship Preparation Program, designed to launch African American and other racial and ethnic minority college students into the accounting profession with access to training, resources, and mentors. 

The internship program was held in early January, over the Christmas break. McGhee said he decided to apply after learning about it from Professor of Business and Department Chair Deborah L. Windes, Ph.D.  According to Assistant Professor of Accounting Kevin Schenke, McGhee was an excellent choice for the program. “Jason is an introspective and thoughtful accounting student. He approaches problem solving with a measured and relaxed approach which allows him to focus only on relevant information for decision making,” said Schenke. “This is critical for today’s accountants/CPAs.” 

The multiday program included numerous activities and opportunities. “I was able to connect with fellow participants and industry professionals,” said McGhee. There were also panel sessions led by professionals from Big 4 accounting firms and major corporations, as well as the opportunity to engage in mock interviews. McGhee said a workshop on creating resumes was particularly helpful. He and other participants also took part in interviews for upcoming internships with major accounting firms.  

McGhee said he knew from a young age that he either wanted to be an accountant or a math teacher, before choosing accounting. “I’ve always been passionate about numbers,” he said. A graduate of Carl Sandburg High School in Orland Park, Ill., he knew Trinity would help get him ready for that career. Along with having its excellent business program, he was also drawn to Trinity’s size and Christian orientation. “It was the fit that I was looking for,” he said.  

He said he has particularly enjoyed taking classes with Assistant Professor of Business Omar Sweiss and Associate Professor of Business and Finance Kelly Nyhoff. McGhee is also part of Trinity’s Fellows Program, which prepares business students to be innovative global leaders in the competitive world by combining rigorous classroom education and first-hand learning. 

After graduating from Trinity, McGhee plans to pursue a master’s degree and become a licensed CPA. 

He is the second Trinity student to take part in the prestigious internship program, after Indira Escalante ‘19. The program is named in honor of Washington Wylie (1906-2005), who earned a degree from Northwestern University’s business school in 1941 and became a CPA two years later. According to the Illinois CPA Society, at a time when virtually no firms would hire African Americans or females, let alone an African American female, she began her own accounting practice in a basement on the South Side of Chicago. She opened doors for future generations of African American accountants, and the downtown firm of Washington, Pittman & McKeever still bears her name.  

For Professor of Art & Design John Bakker, art is a catalyst to build stronger communities. His Roseland Portrait Project, which was recently on display in the Seerveld Gallery, represents the most recent iteration of that philosophy.

The more than 200 panels in the project represent friends, neighbors, and co-workers from the Roseland neighborhood on Chicago’s South Side. Regardless of the way society defines a person’s status, Bakker’s goal is to demonstrate the unique value and dignity of each individual, the intersecting networks that they inhabit, and their contribution to the Roseland neighborhood’s rich social fabric. Taken together, the portraits represent a community in a state of imperfect order, with each member helping to support the whole.

During an artist lecture on Feb. 3, Bakker discussed his process and calling as an artist. As he told the audience, the portraits represent how  everyone is made in God’s image. After all, it takes as much time to paint a portrait of a Chicago alderman as it does to paint a portrait of an indigent resident in that alderman’s ward.  “It’s a metaphor for how God pays attention to each of us individuals,” Bakker said. “We are all equal, and we all matter.”

The project is one of several initiatives for which Trinity received a grant from the Council for Christian Colleges & Universities (CCCU), which connects the College to the Roseland neighborhood.

The Roseland Portrait Project will next travel to the CCCU International Forum in Dallas, from Feb. 11-13. The forum represents the largest gathering of Christian higher education community.

About the Seerveld Gallery

The Seerveld Gallery, located in Trinity’s Art & Communication Center, exhibits a cross section of work and viewpoints from across the art world. The gallery presents shows by professional artists each year, from internationally known artists to Chicago artists.

—Patricia Yang ’25

Trinity’s Theatre Department is delighted to congratulate Adriana Klein ’24 and Jacob Contreras ’23 on making it to the semi-finals of the Irene Ryan Acting Competition, part of the Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival (KCACTF) in Region 3! The Irene Ryans is a scholarship competition where participants, nominated from different regions, come together to compete. From a number of participants, the judges narrow the competition down to 45 people in the semi-finals, and then 15 people as finalists.

“I am so proud of Jacob and Adriana for their success in the Irene Ryan Acting Scholarship Competition,” said Prof. Emma Schneider ’19, Trinity’s theatre program coordinator.  “This competition is challenging in general, and the fact that it was held virtually this year adds additional difficulty. Adri and Jacob both progressed to the Semi-Final round in the competition– the second and third Trinity students to do so since we began participating in KCACTF in 2016– and were therefore ranked among the 2022 Top 45 Collegiate Actors in the Midwest. This is a huge honor for the students and a fulfilling acknowledgement of our Theatre Program as a whole.” 

Schneider told theatre club  students about the Irene Ryans, said Klein, who was part of Trinity’s 16^th Annual One-Act Plays in the fall. “Usually, participants are nominated, but this year was a self-nomination year. I was able to nominate myself.”

Due to COVID, the competition was conducted entirely online through multiple Zoom calls and meetings. They did not judge too harshly on the audio and video production qualities, which Klein said she was thankful for.

It was a challenge for Klein, as she had to remain home for the whole competition. One round in particular involved acting with a partner. “Doing those scenes become a challenge when you can’t physically be there to interact with your scene partner,” Klein said. Contreras, who recently played the lead role in Trinity’s Fall Mainstage Production of “Macbeth,” was challenged with the time limit of each round’s submission. “You don’t want to leave too much time unused but also of course you can’t go over time,” said Contreras, “So hitting that middle zone was tricky, especially as there’s no internal cuts, so if a take was too long, it’d have to be scrapped.”

Klein and Contreras shared also some of the things they learned throughout the competition. “I often make facial expression and/or body movements that are subtler/smaller than I intend for them to be. I’ve had to focus on making my movements and expressions bigger so that they actually pick up for the audience,” said Contreras. And Klein shared, “I’ve learned that the material you pick can impact your energy and passion going into it. I’ve also learned that just because one person had a certain opinion, they are just one person. They shouldn’t dictate the way in which you approach the process in the future.“

Both participants thoroughly enjoyed the whole acting competition experience. “Moving onto round 2 was very memorable for me. I wasn’t aware that only one other student from Trinity had moved on before, and it was a huge honor that Jacob and I were able to be the second and third,” said Klein. As for Contreras: “rehearsing with friends and making it to the semi-finals!”

Along with the acting awards, senior Evie Dykhouse also advanced to the final round of allied design at KCACTF for her makeup design that was featured in “Macbeth.”

Discover more about Trinity’s Theatre Department and the events they participate in on their Instagram page or contact Schneider at Emma.Schneider@trnty.edu

—Patricia Yang ’25

We congratulate Evie Dykhouse ’22 for advancing to the final round of KCACTF’s Region 3 “Allied Design and Technology Expo” competition! Her submission and presentation of Trinity’s Fall Mainstage Production of “Macbeth” makeup and design, which she co-designed with Dani Daujatas, has progressed far into the competition, much to her surprise and delight. Her submission included makeup and design for the Weird Sisters, Banquo’s ghost, and the subtle changes of Lady Macbeth’s makeup.

KCACTF stands for the Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival. The purpose of this festival is to gather theatre students and practitioners from all around and present them the opportunity to share their work. Design, acting, production showcases, and journalism are but a few of the events and competitions KCACTF hosts. Region 3 includes Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Wisconsin, and Western Ohio.

“I participated in the festival in person in January of 2020, and I wanted to go back,” Dykhouse shared. “I had such a fun and great experience last time, and I wanted to make sure that I had the chance to participate again before I graduate this semester.” She also mentioned that a respondent had come to Trinity’s “Macbeth” production, which Dykhouse herself also acted in as one of the three Weird Sisters. “She was super appreciative of the design and told me that I should really consider entering it into the competition.”

Dykhouse put together a presentation complete with overarching motifs, hair and makeup inspiration photos, process documentation, and pictures of the final result. “I focused heavily on the design for the Witches. I knew that the three-dimensional aspect of this part of the design would appeal to the respondents,” said Dykhouse. “However, I also had slides dedicated to the hair and makeup for Banquo’s ghost, the hair and makeup that differentiated characters who were double-cast, and the hair and makeup that represented psychological changes that characters went through,” such as Lady Macbeth.

The most challenging part for Dykhouse was trying to be prepared for any questions the respondents would ask. She shared, “Many of the schools that Trinity competes against have complete departments dedicated to theatre. Their budgets are much higher, so they are able to spend more money for elaborate designs. Since it is a competition, Trinity has to stack up with the schools known for their theatre programs. This was a challenge, but it also made it more of a delight to advance to the final round.”

The most memorable experience was listening to the other presentations from the student designers, said Dykhouse. “I learned a lot and it was super interesting to see the creativity of the other presenters.” Another fond memory for her was when she found out that her design was moving onto the final round. “The celebration with my family and Trinity theatre friends from a distance was a very memorable moment in my experience of the festival this year.”

“Even though I ended up not being able to return to campus for KCACTF this year, I was still incredibly thankful for the chance to present the ‘Macbeth’ hair and makeup design at the festival. It was an absolute blast, and I would do it again in a heartbeat,” said Dykhouse. “A part of me was feeling unmotivated that the hair and makeup design for ‘Macbeth’ was not worth entering because it would not be able to stack up against the others in the virtual festival. But now I am feeling so incredibly grateful and blessed to have had the chance to present Dani and my work and receive recognition for it in the festival.”

Trinity Theatre is blessed to have such talented designers and production artists, Prof. Emma Schneider ’19, Trinity’s theatre program coordinator, said. “Evie’s presentation of the Hair and Makeup design, which she and Dani co-designed for ‘Macbeth,’ was truly stunning. I am so proud of Evie for the poise, professionalism, and attention to detail with which she approached the Allied Design Competition, and I am thrilled that the judges recognized and appreciated the hard work that she and Dani put into their design.”

Along with Dykhouse’s award, Adriana Klein ’24 and Jacob Contreras ’23 advanced to the semi-finals of the KCACTF Irene Ryan Acting Competition!

Find out more about Trinity’s theatre department by following @trinitychristiantheatre on Instagram, or email Schneider at Emma.Schneider@trnty.edu.