Initiatives Archive

For every incoming class, our Founders’ Scholars stand apart even amongst their exceptional peers. Normally, Trinity designates two incoming freshmen to receive the prestigious, full-tuition Founders’ Scholarships. Yet thanks to the generosity of our donor community, Trinity has been able to designate five Founders for the Class of 2026.

These five students demonstrated outstanding spiritual, academic, and social leadership:

Carvel Anderson
Caitlin Haverdink
Mia Musick
Grace Steenwyk
Anika Wicker

Carvel Anderson, a native of Chicago, is a representative in his high school student government and a member of the Black Student Union. The future elementary education major also served as a Mikva Summer Fellow, where he interned with an elected official. Anderson has also been named a Diversity Scholar with Trinity.

A native of Hudsonville, Mich., Caitlin Haverdink plans to earn a Bachelor of Social Work degree from Trinity. She has been involved with golf, musical theater, and service projects. Haverdink also participates in the Spiritual Leadership Team at her school and with the praise team and nursey at her church.

Mia Musick, from Fisher, Ill., is considering majoring in psychology or social work. She is currently involved in student government and the National Honor Society at her high school and also plays the saxophone. One of five girls, she also competes in sports and serves as an FCA group leader. Musick is also a member of the gospel choir and preschool volunteer at her church.

Grace Steenwyk is from Zeeland, Mich., where she plays volleyball and soccer. She plans to continue her volleyball career as a Trinity Troll, as well as to participate in Trinity’s Honors Program. She is currently involved in the National Honor Society and student leadership. Steenwyk plans to major in psychology.

Anika Wicker grew up traveling the world with her parents, Lloyd ’97 and Heidi (Boeck) ’98, as her father serves as a Navy Chaplain. Wicker has participated in the Navy Junior Reserve Officers Training Corps (NJROTC) for four years and is currently a commanding officer. Wicker, who is planning to major in special education, plays piano and guitar and sings, and advocates against human trafficking through the Dressember Foundation.

Trinity is excited to welcome these newest Founders’ Scholars to campus this fall! Said Professor of Communication Arts and Co-Director of the Honors Program Craig Mattson, Ph.D., “Hearing about our new Founders is electric. I watched these people doing collaborative problem-solving in high-stakes conditions. They are extraordinary.”

Join us for the tenure lecture of Dr. Kara Wolff, Professor of Counseling, on Tuesday, April 5 at 3:55 pm in the Grand Lobby of Ozinga Chapel. Tenure lectures are a celebration of the mature Christian scholarship of our faculty colleagues. When we celebrate these moments, we mark and extend our commitment to our core identity and mission as a College – and we rejoice at the gifted teacher-scholars in our midst!

Wolff’s lecture is entitled “Christian Social Justice Pedagogy: A Shared Dwelling Place.” At the core of the human experience is a desire to belong and to be deeply known. Despite this longing we often find ourselves challenged to connect in deep and meaningful ways across our constructed barriers. This lecture explores how cultivating a learning environment that fosters love for each other and prioritizes pursuing justice and equity opens us up to transformational ways of being in the world.

Join us for the tenure lecture of Dr. Kara Wolff, Professor of Counseling, on Tuesday, April 5 at 3:55 pm in the Grand Lobby of Ozinga Chapel. Tenure lectures are a celebration of the mature Christian scholarship of our faculty colleagues. When we celebrate these moments, we mark and extend our commitment to our core identity and mission as a College – and we rejoice at the gifted teacher-scholars in our midst!

Wolff’s lecture is entitled “Christian Social Justice Pedagogy: A Shared Dwelling Place.” At the core of the human experience is a desire to belong and to be deeply known. Despite this longing we often find ourselves challenged to connect in deep and meaningful ways across our constructed barriers. This lecture explores how cultivating a learning environment that fosters love for each other and prioritizes pursuing justice and equity opens us up to transformational ways of being in the world.

Join us for the tenure lecture of Dr. Kara Wolff, Professor of Counseling, on Tuesday, April 5 at 3:55 pm in the Grand Lobby of Ozinga Chapel. Tenure lectures are a celebration of the mature Christian scholarship of our faculty colleagues. When we celebrate these moments, we mark and extend our commitment to our core identity and mission as a College – and we rejoice at the gifted teacher-scholars in our midst!

Wolff’s lecture is entitled “Christian Social Justice Pedagogy: A Shared Dwelling Place.” At the core of the human experience is a desire to belong and to be deeply known. Despite this longing we often find ourselves challenged to connect in deep and meaningful ways across our constructed barriers. This lecture explores how cultivating a learning environment that fosters love for each other and prioritizes pursuing justice and equity opens us up to transformational ways of being in the world.

Trinity Theatre Presents: The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane, adapted by Dwayne Hartford, from the novel by Kate DiCamillo. Performances will take place April 8, 9, 22 & 23 at 7:30 PM.

A play with music, The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane, adapted by Dwayne Hartford, from the novel by Kate DiCamillo, is the story of a china rabbit named Edward who goes on an incredible 20-year adventure across America. He meets many new people along the way, ultimately learning what it means to love, to lose, and to choose to love again.

The runtime for this show is 90 minutes without intermission.

To purchase tickets, visit the Trinity Box Office page.

Hotel Information:

Click here for information about area hotels.

Please join the Trinity Christian College community this April 23rd at 4 p.m. for All God’s Children. This new concert includes performances by student choral and instrumental ensembles and by music faculty, as well as the dancers from Ballet 5:8!

And join us afterward for cookies and drinks.

Tickets are available here

Hotel Information:

Click here for information about area hotels.

Trinity’s Counseling and Psychology and Social Work Departments are pleased to present the Ninth Annual Psychology Renewed Conference on Saturday, April 30 from 9:30 am to 12:30 pm.

Attendees to the conference will explore Conceptual Dialectical Behavior Therapy and how it can be used to treat emotional dysregulation.

Dr. Paul Holmes, a Senior Lecturer at Crown Family School of Social Work, Policy and Practice at the University of Chicago, will introduce the “Chronic Distress Model” as an explanation of emotional escalation. He will give an overview of the structure and processes that comprise C-DBT, an approach that emphasizes experiential encounters where participants decouple behaviors from emotions, thoughts, and memories and select responses based on context and valued ends. Participants can experience freedom from their past and create opportunities to organize their behavior in relation to a future they desire.

For more information and to register for the conference, click here.

Cost:
CEUs – $30 | Trinity Alums – $10 (CEUs are included in the alumni cost) | Current Students – Free with Registration