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This year’s Blueprints Weekend was held on Friday, June 16, and Saturday, June 17^th. This tradition at Trinity Christian College is a time for incoming freshmen and their families to gather on campus for a summer pre-orientation, with registration activities planned throughout. Students and families had the opportunity to get to know community members and meet others who are also taking the first step on the journey at Trinity and giving students a sneak peek of what life will look like in just a few short months.

“There’s so much anticipation leading up to Blueprints – both for our incoming first-year students and for staff and faculty already on campus. We wait all year for this moment where we see a new class of students come together and begin forming relationships within our community,” said Erin Nagelkirk, Director of Admissions Marketing and Campus Experience. “As students meet roommates and classmates, build their class schedules, receive their student IDs, and prepare for move-in day, we’re able to celebrate all these students have already accomplished and start preparing them for an exciting four years as Trolls.”

This year’s Blueprints weekend hosted 102 students and approximately 220 guests overall.  Students could attend multiple breakout sessions like Intercultural Engagement at Trinity, spend time in the Ozinga Chapel for praise and worship, meet one-on-one with a faculty advisor to begin building their schedule for the fall, and sleep overnight in the dorms.

Parents and family members had the chance to gather with other families and hear from Student Life about what their students could expect during that time at Trinity. During that session, the students gathered outside for the iconic We Are TrollNation session, a time of connection and fun for all new students to meet other first-time students and begin making lifelong friends.

On June 7th, two college presidents officially forged a long-standing partnership on Trinity’s campus. Interim President Dr. Aaron J. Kuecker of Trinity Christian College and President Sylvia Jenkins of Moraine Valley Community College signed the Guaranteed Admission Partnership (GAP), establishing a smoother transition for Moraine’s students as they enter Trinity. The GAP is primarily designed “to promote the utilization of…resources to offer students a range of educational opportunities [within] a collaborative partnership designed to facilitate successful transfer.”

A significant component of the GAP agreement is a renewable $1,000 scholarship which will be stackable on the students’ merit scholarships and other financial aid. This partnership was established on the heels of Trinity’s expansive reimaging of the collegiate pricing and scheduling structures – all to make private Christian education affordable and accessible. The GAP agreement also maintains that “guaranteed admission pertains to students who have met the stipulated admission requirements [for Trinity]: a cumulative grade point average of 2.5/4.0 from all previous colleges attended, and a successful completion rate of 67% of all college courses attempted.” Moreover, “Trinity prefers that Moraine Valley students transfer in with an associate degree with at least 60 transferable hours. Such students will have junior status conferred upon them at the start of their first semester at Trinity.” While these two institutions had once established a partnership a decade ago, known as the “T-MAC,” the GAP “is more comprehensive in scope and also expresses policies and initiatives that are more congruent with the future relationship between Moraine Valley and Trinity.” The GAP effectively replaces the T-MAC and forms the foundation for further agreements to develop and implement. Some of these include major-specific transfer partnerships, dual enrollment partnerships, as well as joint information sessions, pedagogical exchanges among faculty, and more robust recruiting opportunities for transfer admission counselors.

These are just small examples of how the GAP will effectively bridge the “gap” for transfer students seeking degree completion at Trinity, an institution that has been providing quality, Christian-based education since 1959. For President Jenkins, the signing ceremony served as her last official duty as Moraine’s President – while President Kuecker experienced his very first ceremony, with many more to come. In many ways, it was a passing of the torch for many significant partnerships to come between these two schools.

For more information on this and other partnerships at Trinity, click here.

About Trinity Christian College

Trinity Christian College, based in Palos Heights, Ill., is an accredited Christian liberal arts college offering more than 70 programs through bachelor’s, master’s, and adult degree completion courses. Founded in 1959, the College is a community of Christian scholarship committed to shaping lives and transforming culture. It is continually ranked in the top tier among Regional Colleges—Midwest by U.S. News & World Report. To learn more,

Money Magazine recently listed Trinity Christian College on their Top Colleges in America 2023 list, which evaluates colleges on their 5-star tier ranking system. Trinity received four-and-a-half stars and was named among eight other higher education institutions in the state of Illinois.

The Top Colleges in America list was started to help families make informed decisions about where to spend their tuition dollars, offering practical analysis and focusing on affordability and student outcomes.

Click here to read more about this story which received local media coverage by NBC 5 Chicago.

Trinity Christian College was recently named to Phi Theta Kappa’s 2023 Transfer Honor Roll, which recognizes excellence in developing and supporting dynamic and innovative pathways for community college transfer students. Phi Theta Kappa is the premier honor society recognizing students’ academic achievement at associate degree-granting colleges.

Trinity was selected as being among the most transfer-friendly colleges in the nation, as determined by considering 40 key metrics related to the support and success of transfer students, including college cost and financial aid, campus life for transfer, admission practices, and bachelor’s degree completion.

The Honor Roll is chosen from among the top 25 percent of highest-rated colleges. Spotlighted at the 2022 American Council on Education (ACE) conference, the Transfer Honor Roll recognizes the importance of creating strong transfer pathways that lead to excellence and success among community college transfer students. This year’s winners had exceptional outcomes, and several of these included:

• Average percent of transfer in undergraduate population – 43%
• Average bachelor’s degree completion rate among transfers – 66%
• Average credit transferred toward a degree major and/or plan – 85%
• Average percent of transfer students receiving merit-based financial aid – 73%

“The goal of most students attending community college is a bachelor’s degree, but few do because of financial barriers and the complexities of the transfer process,” says Dr. Lynn Tincher-Ladner, President and CEO of Phi Theta Kappa. “We are proud to recognize the exceptional colleges and universities that go above and beyond to create accessible pathways to bachelor’s degree completion for community college transfer students.”

“I am incredibly grateful for the hard work of our transfer and partnerships team and their dedication to creating innovative pathways to Trinity for our community college students,” said Vice President for Enrollment, Jeanine Mozie. “When we meet our students where they are and support the good work happening in our local community colleges, our students are set up for success.”

Recently Trinity announced the first of many Guaranteed Admission Partnership (GAP) Agreements with various community colleges in the Chicagoland area. In these partnerships, both parties celebrate the unique qualities that a private higher education institution offers. These partnerships are designed to establish major-specific articulation agreements to make the transfer process smoother among academic programs, thus making the gap between the community college experience and a bachelor’s degree easier to navigate.

Click here to learn more about how Trinity is transforming higher education into greater education.

Every year, Trinity accepts extraordinary students dedicated to making a difference in the world. The College welcomes two transfer students whose extraordinary spiritual, academic, and social leadership sets them apart. Trinity is pleased to announce our most recent Transfer Academic Excellence Scholars, Kaitlyn Harland of Byron, Illinois, and Natalie Gomez of Frankfort, Illinois, have both been awarded full-tuition scholarships to the College.

Harland, who is transferring from the College of DuPage, plans to pursue her degree in English and is looking forward to getting involved with the campus ministry team and the honors program.  She currently works at her local church in the nursery and is active with student ministries and a local book club.

“I knew from the beginning that I wanted to transfer to a Christian school, and the first time I visited campus, it was clear that Trinity was built on a very strong Christian foundation. Plus, everyone on campus was so kind and welcoming, and I could so easily see myself feeling at home here,” said Harland.

Gomez, who is transferring from Joliet Junior College, plans to pursue her degree in Psychology and looks forward to getting involved with the praise team and psychology club.  She is currently involved with the worship team at her church and enjoys playing piano.

“I chose Trinity because of the welcoming environment I experienced the moment I stepped onto the campus. Trinity ensured I would have no barriers and guaranteed my accessibility within the college. Additionally, Trinity will allow me to get my bachelor’s in psychology and a master’s in clinical mental health counseling,” said Gomez.

“We are both honored and excited to welcome Natalie and Kate into the Trinity community this fall and celebrate them as our very first Transfer Academic Excellence full-ride scholarship recipients,” stated Cynthia Coffey, Director of Transfer, Adult, and Graduate Recruitment. “These remarkable scholars emerged from an extremely talented pool of students who sought to obtain this award. The interview committee found both Natalie and Kate to be profoundly passionate about their vocation and deeply committed to the well-being of all human beings, and we eagerly look to forward to the ways in which their gifts will be used in the ongoing, transformative work at Trinity and in the world!”

“I graduated on a Saturday and started working on a Monday,” recalled Randall Warners ’18, Database Developer at Trinity Christian College. Warners, who was recently announced as Trinity’s Staff Member of the Year for 2023, graduated in 2018 with a major in computer science and minors in math and accounting. As a student, he worked in IT for three and a half years before graduating, when he started officially working on staff at the College.

Warners’ role in the IT department at the College has given him the unique opportunity to work with nearly every department on campus, which he shared is one of his favorite parts of the job. “It gives me a way to connect with different people across the campus and really help people in many ways. It’s one of the things I love most about my job.”

Interim President Dr. Aaron J. Kuecker said in the announcement earlier this week, “If you have had the chance to work with Randall, you are a better person for it.”

“Randall plays an important role in the way our office processes work. He answers questions and responds to requests in a timely and thoughtful manner. He has automated critical processes so we can work more efficiently and does so in a kind way,” one submission stated. “His gentle soul and creative skills have allowed him to interconnect multiple databases on campus, making it possible for data to flow more seamlessly from one to the other. Today, we can do so much more with a click of a button than we could five years ago, thanks to the many hours of Randall’s efforts and good work.”

Warners was celebrated at the annual Faculty and Staff Awards Luncheon on Tuesday, May 9^th.

The Staff Member of the Year Award recognizes the achievements of a distinguished staff member.

Recent award recipients include:

2019: Laura Chávez-Dávalos, Director of the Office of Learning Services

2020: Diana Pell, Administrative Assistant to Faculty

2021: Kris Doorn ‘89, Human Resources Payroll Administrator

2022: Kathy Laning, Student Records Coordinator

Trinity Christian College graduates were honored in a commencement ceremony while joining family, friends, professors, and staff at Ozinga Field in Crestwood, IL, on May 5th. This year’s event included traditional undergraduate, adult undergraduate, and graduate students from Fall 2022 and Spring 2023, all celebrating together on a beautiful spring evening in Chicagoland.

During the ceremony, the community bid farewell to professors emeriti Dr. Bob Boomsma ’77, Professor of Biology, and Dr. Sharon Robbert, Professor of Mathematics. Dr. Robbert is retiring after 30 years at Trinity. She has been a Professor of Mathematics, Department Chair, Interim Provost (2014-2016), and Thrive Mentor. Dr. Boomsma graduated from Trinity in 1977 and returned to join the faculty in 1984 after receiving his Ph. D. He taught Anatomy and Physiology and served for years as the Chair of the Biology and the Natural Sciences Departments.

This year the traditional commencement speaker address was replaced with something more attuned to the practice of Trinity. Community-composed blessings for the graduates were read aloud one by one by professors emeriti Drs. Bob Boomsma, Sharon Robbert, and Vice President for Student Success, Dr. Leah Fulton. This compilation of the hopes, prayers, and voices offered goodness to the students as they move forward from their time at Trinity.

Several blessings and wisdom were shared; a few highlights included, “May you be an instrument of peace and lovingkindness as you share your gifts and talents with the whole creation that has been waiting for you. May God give you wisdom and contentment as you move to the next step, open doors for you, and bless all your days. And As you move on from Trinity, may the Lord bless you as you go on to your next adventure.”

Interim President Aaron J. Kuecker, Ph.D., said to the graduates, “What we are really celebrating today goes quite a bit deeper than that piece of paper that goes on your resume and opens doors for you. What we are celebrating is who you have become and who you are becoming because that is what education is. It is about transformation, and you’ve been on a journey of transformation that does not just end today, it continues throughout your life.”

During the ceremony, Kuecker honored Professor of the Year, Dr. Lenore Knight Johnson, Associate Professor of Sociology, Department Chair, and Director of the Honors Program.

Kuecker opened the commencement ceremony with a welcome, and Chair of the Board of Trustees, Cal Tameling ’72, provided the greeting. Trinity’s SGA President Karen Jegadish ’23 gave the invocation. Rev. Benjamin Snoek, the campus pastor, gave the benediction. The ceremony concluded with spectacular fireworks to cap off the first-ever evening commencement.

Check out photos from the event on Trinity’s Instagram page and view the live stream of the ceremony here. 

Since 2014, Associate Professor of Sociology and Department Chair Dr. Lenore Knight Johnson has been in the classroom at Trinity Christian College, diligently working alongside colleagues to raise the next generation of leaders and world changers.  Serving as Director of the Honors Program, she has an opportunity to know students more closely, calling her time with them both “inspiring and energizing.” Her students use words like kind and compassionate, sharing stories of how Dr. Knight Johnson cares about what is happening in the world around them.

“I want students to have a sociological understanding of the world, where they see their connectedness to others and, therefore, in their work, vocations, and faith. The things they do are not just for themselves but for the good of others, causing everyone to flourish,” said Knight Johnson.

Knight Johnson decided to pursue sociology academically and professionally after several valuable cross-cultural experiences. “Studying abroad as an undergraduate student opened my eyes to a much broader outlook on the world, a perspective that expanded significantly through my post-college work in refugee resettlement and immigrant advocacy,” she said.

Throughout Knight Johnson’s nominations for Professor of the Year, common threads could be seen. “Trinity would not be the same without her…she embodies the values of her discipline, and her commitment to community-based research calls Trinity forward in directions that will only benefit us as an institution,” were just a few of the sentiments highlighted by colleagues and students.

One nomination stated, “She loves justice, understands how systems and structures impact individual lives, and offers a compassionate approach to sociological problems. Lenore is masterful in offering hospitality to all students in her classroom, regardless of their political leanings. She pursues collaborative learning with them and supports every student’s process along the way.”

Dr. Jerome Douglas, Vice President of Academic Affairs, added, “Dr. Knight Johnson loves justice, has a keen sense of the impact of systems and structures upon individuals and community, and offers an approach to sociological problems marked by compassion. In her roles as Director of the Honors Program and former Director of Chicago Connect courses, she has advanced Trinity’s vision for place-based learning.  Her commitment to community-based research calls Trinity forward in a way that benefits our students, the College, and the communities around us.  We are deeply grateful for her and the gifts that she shares with Trinity.”

Knight Johnson is grateful for her time so far at Trinity, sharing her love for the classroom, the students, and the community. She added, “This is a genuinely collaborative community, and I love having the chance to work with people. This is a community where people want to see others thrive. You are not just navigating this world by yourself – there is a whole network of others alongside you every step of the way.”

Knight Johnson will be honored at this year’s commencement ceremony on Friday, May 5^th, at Ozinga Field in Crestwood, Illinois.

Recent Professor of the Year Award recipients: 

2018: Clay Carlson (Biology) 

2019: Kara Wolff (Counseling and Psychology) 

2020: Yudha Thianto (Theology and Christian Ministry) 

2021: David Brodnax Sr. (History) 

2022: Aron Reppmann (Philosophy)

Twenty-three Trinity students and faculty drove five hours from campus to attend NCUR 2023, held at UW Eau Claire, Wisconsin from April 13^th – 15^th. The trip was led by Drs. Clay Carlson and Aron Reppmann, alongside colleagues Drs. Heng-Yu Chen and Ashley Roberts.

The National Conference on Undergraduate Research (NCUR) is dedicated to promoting undergraduate research, scholarship, and creative activity in all fields of study by sponsoring an annual conference for students. Unlike meetings of academic and professional organizations, this gathering of student scholars welcomes presenters from all institutions of higher learning and all disciplines. NCUR offers a unique environment for celebrating and promoting undergraduate student achievement; provides models of exemplary research, scholarship, and creative activity; and offers student career readiness development. The theme for this year’s conference was Research at the Confluence, which represented a bringing together of humanities, artistic endeavors, and the sciences.

The students invited to attend this year’s annual event were from diverse majors and backgrounds, representing research from Philosophy, Psychology, Biology, Chemistry, and Physics departments. “The conference was a really great opportunity, not only to share our research but also to learn about what students from other schools are working on,” said Kara VanDyke, ’23

Each student was able to represent their research and gain experience presenting at a national conference while discussing their research. Individuals who attended each of the student’s poster presentations were choosing which research projects they had an interest in, which means the students received targeted and specific questions that dove deeper into their research. Through this type of networking, students had the chance to see how their work fits into the broader field of research being done.

For the faculty in attendance, this is a chance to see the research project in action. “Attending NCUR is a blast and a hugely life-giving experience for the professors, who by this time in the semester can really use an interjection of energy, and NCUR is just that,” said Dr. Carlson.

“Throughout the conference, there were numerous opportunities to critically engage with material that we wouldn’t have otherwise had access to,” added VanDyke. “Even after we left the conference, we kept discussing the different presentations on the car ride back.”

Dr. Carlson concluded, “There is so much gratitude all around. Trinity enables and empowers the research to happen, and these students volunteer their time spending countless hours in the lab – the students pour themselves into these projects. Thanks to Trinity and donor funds, I’m grateful that this was made possible for our students again this year, and we hope to continue this tradition for years to come.”

Students who were in attendance: Melissa Ballesteros, Michael Bishop, Moriah Blan, Emily Briscoe, Jacob Contreras, Madison Eggert, Jenna Goss, Leah Lisowski, Danyelle Luckett, Damon Pater, Anthony Reppmann, Evan Senti, Martin Sheehan, Kimberly Swomen, Kara VanDyke, and Jaed Vanmaanen.