Mixing his writing skills with his culinary training…and some onions and tomatoes…visiting children’s author Aaron Reynolds had kids laughing—and even cooking—at Trinity’s annual Young Authors Festival.

Students from several area Christian grade schools visited campus on Tuesday, May 4, to celebrate their achievements and expand their passion for writing and reading.

The morning opened with a time of praise led by Trinity senior Vinnie Adams of Oostburg, Wisconsin. Afterwards, the children, accompanied by Trinity student volunteers, were divided into groups and participated in three sessions. Sessions included small group discussions, TrinProv performances, and the chance to hear from author Aaron Reynolds.

Reynolds is the author of numerous children’s books, including Joey Fly, Private Eye and his newest work, Buffalo Wings. After reading his comical picture book Chicks and Salsa to the kids, Reynolds invited a few students to help him actually make salsa, an entertaining exercise that illustrated his point that books inspire.

“Sometimes reading sets off this little explosion in your head or heart,” he told them. “Books inspire you to do something you’ve never done.”

The Young Authors Festival, in its 20th year, is organized by the combined efforts of Assistant Professor of Education Joy Meyer ’78 and other dedicated committee members.

More about the author
Aaron Reynolds is sought-after worldwide as a speaker and consultant in the area of children’s ministry. Previously, he served as a teacher and artistic director for the children’s ministry of Willow Creek Community Church. With a degree in theatre from Illinois Wesleyan University, the author led an exciting career life in acting, business, dancing, and culinary arts before settling on writing. He loves his opportunities to talk with children and hear their responses to his books. Feeding off their questions and comments, Reynolds often finds new ideas for stories. For more information, visit www.aaron-reynolds.com.

On April 16, six members of the Chicago Children’s Theatre put on four interactive sensory activities for 60 children from Elim Christian School’s ACE (Autism Comprehensive Education) Program in the Grand Lobby.

Trinity’s 55 special education majors and six nursing majors, as well as 60 Elim teachers and teacher assistants, participated. The event was part of the theatre’s Red Kite Project, which creates multi-sensory, interactive theatre programming tailored specifically to the needs and interests of children on the autism spectrum.

Together the groups simulated various “environments” for the children to experience. These included “rowing” in a large rubber raft and shaking blue fabric to simulate water; “hiking” and touching both the trees and puppet animals; and enjoying quiet activities such as sitting in a 1- to 3-man tent. The children also played interactive theatre games.

“We appreciated our time together, and everyone learned more about either living with autism or working with children with autism,” said Dr. Patti Powell, associate professor of education and director of Trinity’s Alexander De Jong Center for Special Education. Powell is a recent recipient of the Fulbright Award.

According to Powell, Autism Spectrum Disorder has three defining features, which will generally exhibit before age three:

1. A lack of social and emotional reciprocity
2. A delay or total absence of spoken language
3. Restrictive repetitive patterns of behavior

The combination of these challenges makes experiencing traditional theatre a distinct difficulty for children on the spectrum. Unlike more traditional theatre, Red Kite downplays the use of spoken language and emphasizes a series of sensory experiences rather than the progression of a plot.

The 4^th Annual Student Leadership Expo on Thursday, January 30, exposed Trinity students to a variety of leadership opportunities available on campus. Clubs and committees set up booths around the Grand Lobby to inform students about the many ways they could match their gifts and talents to campus leadership roles.

Troy Schemper, director of student programs, described the event as well-received. “The expo was initially started by a student who gained a position in Student Activities, but who wouldn’t have sought it out if it hadn’t come to her,” Schemper said. “She wanted to make leadership opportunities known to other students who might have been in the same position that she was.”

Walking around the ring of booths, students encountered opportunities such as The Courier – the student newspaper, the Multicultural Committee, Resident Life, and many more. Each one offered students the chance to get involved.

Andy Reidsma ’14, vice president of Student Association, said, “It’s really cool to see all the clubs come together in one place and to see the different ways people use the gifts God has given them.”

It’s really cool to see all the clubs
come together in one place and to
see the different ways people use
the gifts God has given them.

The accessibility of the event is what makes students like Reidsma so ready to attend. Events like this give all students the opportunity to practice the leadership skills they learn in the classroom.

The voices of Trinity’s Gospel Choir flooded the Ozinga Chapel Auditorium as they opened the 11th annual Gospel Fest on April 23.

The voices of Trinity’s Gospel Choir flooded the Ozinga Chapel Auditorium as they opened the 11th annual Gospel Fest on April 23.

Sponsored by the Organization of African American Unity (OAAU), the event featured musical performances by Trinity’s Gospel Choir, Royal Priesthood, and Sisters in Unity, as well as Chosen to Worship and Grace and Mercy Ministries, led by Minister Grace Hobson.

“The evening was filled with the Holy Spirit,” said Quinton Parker ’12 of Matteson, Illinois, vice president of the OAAU and member of the Royal Priesthood.

Trinity students, faculty, and friends gathered in the Chapel for a night of fellowship, worship, and praise as the performers witnessed through song and dance.

“It was a great time to come out and worship God in many different ways, whether it was with rap, singing, or dancing,” Parker said. A lot of planning went into organizing the event, he said, but seeing everyone come together to praise God was worth the time. Parker has hopes in future years to make Gospel Fest an even larger success.

“It was great seeing Trinity’s own talent and outside ministries come together to praise God through singing and dancing,” said Tatyana Smith ’11 of Chicago, secretary of the OAAU. “It was also great seeing support from Trinity’s students, faculty, staff, and visitors. I look forward to next year.”

The sun shined brightly on the giant blow-up Einstein and the happy faces of Trinity students and faculty members celebrating the 11th annual OPUS on April 27. OPUS is sponsored by Trinity’s Academic Initiative.

The celebration of student intellectual and artistic endeavor began with a parade though campus, led by the Troll, the traditional bagpiper, and special guests Abe Lincoln and Sinter Klaas. What followed was a day full of student presentations, musical performances, a gallery exhibit, a picnic, and a special Outcry worship service beneath the OPUS tent.

This was the first year that Academic Initiative Chair Christine Carter ’12 of Wheaton, Illinois, helped organize the event. “I have really fallen in love with what OPUS is—a celebration of student achievement, a massive social gathering, and fun,” she said. “To get the fullest experience possible, you have to talk with others. You have to share what you learned and learn from others. So, in ways, OPUS extends beyond a one day event. It generates great conversation on campus for days to come.”

“I think that OPUS is one of the best things we do for our students,” said Dr. Dick Cole, professor of psychology and chairperson of the OPUS committee. “I worked with a great committee this year, especially the students. They were so enthusiastic, committed, and helpful.”

Jon Vanderwoude ’10 of Palos Heights, this year’s Lincoln Laureate, pronounced the official opening of the day. Abby Christensen ’11 of Nampa, Idaho, designed the programs and t-shirts.

OPUS award winners
Tuition Remission Giveaways
Winners included:
$100—Julie Wiltjer, Nola Sawyer, Kelsey Mattson
$150—Ryan Kwaak, Brady Davidson
$250—Allison Stoub, Eric Tucker
$400—Jon Borr
$500—Justin James

OPUS 2010 Committee Members
Faculty
Dick Cole, Chairperson
Mark Jones
Aaron Kuecker
Rose Malinowski
Pete Post
Patti Powell
Laurel Quinn

Students
Kenyatta Bivens
Rita Bootsma
Christine Carter, Chair of Academic Initiative
Abby Christensen
Brady Davidson
Stephanie DeJong
Keli Ooms
Allison Wier

OPUS 2010 Award Winners

Art and Design

Best in Show
Abby Christensen

Design
1st – Brandie Richardson
2nd – Rick Lundskow
3rd – Jenae Van Engen
Honorable Mention – Jenae Van Engen

Painting and Drawing
1st – Abby Christensen
2nd – Melissa Peterson
3rd – Julie Vander Wey
Honorable Mention – Abby Christensen
Honorable Mention – MJ Hegemen

Photography and Printmaking
1st – Emily Vanhoff
2nd – Jenae Van Engen
3rd – MJ Hegemen
Honorable Mention – Erika Huizenga

Sculpture
1st – Emily Vanhoff
2nd – Bridget Earnshaw
3rd – Melissa Peterson
Honorable Mention – Emily Vanhoff
Honorable Mention – MJ Hegemen

Communication Arts

Original Oratory
1st – Lauren Haney, “Animals in the Temple and Coffeeshops in Churches”
2nd – Kenyatta Bivens, “Blindness & in This I Pray”

Dramatic Lit Interpretation
1st – Joshua Moore, “Not Poor Just Broke”
2nd – Julie Wiltjer, “Tomorrow’s Wish”
3rd – Graeme Scott, “Wait Until Dark”

Prose Lit Interpretation
1st – Alisha Riepma, “Black”
2nd – Alex Walsh, “A Conversation with My Father”

Poetry Interpretation
1st – Adam Perez & Jennifer Hill, “What Teachers Make”
2nd – Angela Robateau, “Allow Me to Reintroduce the Christ”
3rd – Ryan Kwaak, “The Farmer & the Lord”

English

Poetry
1st – Marissa De Haan, “Afraid of Non-Sequiturs”
2st – Deborah Swets, “Trapped in the Wrong Meter”
3rd – Brittani Moore, “Mother’s Song”
Honorable Mentions – Kristen Mancini, “Aristocracy in Denial”; and Rebecca Kischkel,
“A Pen, the Middle, and Beyond”

Fiction
1st – Corie Zylstra, “Whispers”
2nd – Marissa De Haan, “Silver Strand”
3rd – none

Non-fiction
1st – Sarah Hoeksema, “January”
2nd – Carrie Timmermans, “Worn Hope”
3rd (shared) – Natalia Wegrzyniak, “Natalia [squared]”; and Lauren Haney, Untitled
Honorable Mentions – Sarah Hoeksema, “Cattleherds”; and Stephanie DeJong,
“The Beauty of Knowledge”

Music

Piano/Organ
1st – HyoJin Moon
2nd – Libby Dykstra
3rd – Autumn Tauber

Vocal Solo
1st – Amy Dockendorf
2nd (tie) – Daniel Thayer and Willie Gesch

Vocal Ensemble
1st – Willie Gesch and Julie Wiltjer

Instrumental Solo
1st – Alexi Zeldenrust
2nd – Christian Busta

“You Be the Judge” Winners
The following presentations qualified for an award based upon audience vote. One presentation from each category was named the audience favorite.

Interim and Community Partnerships
Title: The Ireland Interim: The Land of Green Turned White
Presenters: Amber VanderLey, Kailyn Baum, Amanda Matthew, Giselle McComb, Joni Weidenaar, Erin
Nykamp, Naomi Hansum

Education and Special Education
Title: Sing a Song, Sign a Song
Presenters: Trinity’s Sign Language Club

Communication Arts and Music
Title: Film: The Fallen Wolf
Presenter: Vincent Deng

Theology and Student Groups
Title: Recognizing and Reconciling the Short Comings of Media Coverage during Rwanda Genocide
Presenters: Velvet Woods and Julie Wiltjer

Psychology, Social Work and Political Science
Title: The Christian Reformed Church in the City: What Does It Look Like?
Presenter: Kendra DeBoer

English, History and Philosophy
Title: Republicans and Christian Fundamentalists
Presenter: Matt Barre

Nursing, Biology and Math
Title: Pirates, Ninjas and Banditos: A Study of Howler Monkeys
Presenter: Jennifer Hill

Dr. Mike DeVries ’74, professor of psychology, and his wife Louella ’93, recently accepted an award for their daughter Lara DeVries ’07. Lara is living in Peru and overseeing her organization, the Light and Leadership Initiative (LLI), which she founded just one year after her graduation from Trinity. LLI is a non-profit offering education programs to women and children.

Lara, a graduate of Andrew High School in Tinley Park, Illinois, was chosen to be inducted into the District 230 Foundation Legacy Hall, which highlights graduates the district believes are leaving a legacy for current and future students. That legacy involves setting an example the school district believes to be worth following.

Lara was nominated by Ed Bara, a recently retired history teacher and football coach at Andrew, who teaches Interim and SALT classes at Trinity and has known Lara most of her life.

This year 15 people were inducted. The ceremony was held at Silver Lake Country Club in Palos Heights.

District 230 Foundation Legacy Hall was established to recognize and showcase graduates who exemplify the core mission of District 230: adults prepared to realize their life‐long potential in an ever‐changing world.

Read more about Lara’s work in Peru: https://tcc.trnty.edu/new/archive/110509b/

As an intern with Restoration Ministries in Harvey, Illinois, Brittany Lee ’10 recently melded her passion for soccer with her experience of working with youth.

Lee, of Lookout Mountain, Georgia, is a psychology major and member of the women’s soccer team.

With the help of the men’s soccer team, Lee conducted a soccer clinic on Saturday, April 24, for the kids she works with at Restoration Ministries. On campus, the group of nearly 30 children was divided into small groups, each led by a member of the men’s team.

“The kids had a great time and our guys did such a fantastic job,” Lee said.

Trolls players taught the kids basic shooting, passing, and dribbling skills along with fun drills in specific areas of the field.

“This clinic was a chance for the men’s soccer team to connect with a group of less fortunate kids, setting examples of strong character and possibly leading them to Christ through soccer,” said Taylor Conrad ’11 of Colorado Spring, Colorado.

Lunch break gave Trinity students a time to connect with the kids individually.

“Each of our guys reached out to a couple of the kids, showing them attention and love.” said Osvaldo Montelongo ’11 of Omaha, Nebraska.

Conrad, who has also volunteered to work with the kids at Restoration Ministries, said that in addition to providing another way to help the children, the experience also enabled each player to grow as a person as well as a team. “It’s a great feeling to know I can be counted on and make a difference playing the sport I love,” he said.

Concluding the afternoon, the enthusiastic group of children watched the men’s soccer team scrimmage against Prairie State College. They seemed encouraged by the time, love, and attention the Trinity students had shown to them.

Junior Eric Jensema of Oostburg, Wisconsin, gave credit and expressed gratitude to Lee for the work she’s done through her internship and for taking the initiative to organize the event.

Trinity celebrated its diverse culture at the fourth annual Celebration of Asia on Tuesday, April 20. The event, hosted by the Asian American Alliance club, is designed to honor and acknowledge the different Asian cultures on campus.

Students, faculty, and their family members were served food representing various Asian countries including Japan, China, India, and Korea. The meal consisted of stir fry, kimchi, rice, curry chicken, General Tso’s chicken, and almond cookies.

Guests enjoyed performances by John Sianghio, professor of political science; Dr. Yudha Thianto, professor of theology; and HyoJin Moon ’10 of Dong Jak-gu, Korea, who offered a variety of Asian musical arrangements. Guest also participated in a number of Asian games, trivia questions, and the Filipino dance, Tinikling.

“Overall, the event went really well and the guests seemed to enjoy their time,” said Sharon Chun ’11 of Northbrook, Illinois, chair of the Multicultural Committee.

The goal and vision of the Asian American Alliance is to raise more awareness of the Asian culture on Trinity’s campus and promote diversity and acceptance, according to Nicole Ferreria ’13 of Willowbrook, Illinois.

In an effort to develop academic and cultural interchange in the areas of education, research, and other activities, Trinity Christian College has begun working with Chongshin University, a Korean institution sharing a similar Reformed commitment.

Representatives from Chongshin, including President IlUng Chung, recently visited Trinity’s campus and met with President Steven Timmermans and others to identify ways the colleges might be able to partner.

Possible programs could include an exchange of faculty and students as well as joint research projects and academic programs. Efforts toward collaboration are expected to continue throughout the 2010-11 academic year.

Trinity students, under the direction of Dr. John Sebestyen, assistant professor of communication arts, gave the final performance of She Stoops to Conquer, a comedy by Oliver Goldsmith, on Saturday, April 24.

Continuing his theme of a comedy for the spring play, Sebestyen chose She Stoops to Conquer for the hilarious subplots and ‘larger-than-life’ characters. The 17th century comedy tells the story of Mr. Marlow who sets out to meet the woman he is to court. Being tricked by her step-brother into believing she is only an innkeeper’s daughter, the subplots and errors begin.

Trinity students, faculty, family, and community members filled a brightly colored theatre at each performance, enjoying the crowd-pleasing characters.

“The audience also seemed to like the constant set changes by the servants and the dramatic set which is painted in pink and purple with gaudy furniture,” said Julie Wiltjer ’12 of Worth, Illinois, assistant director. “The set embodies the silliness and melodrama of the show.”

Junior Bethany Verhage of Moses Lake, Washington, who attended the show opening weekend, said the servants were her favorite characters. “They were hilarious with their own unique little quirks and their scampering and scurrying about stage,” she said.

“It’s nice to hear laughter in the audience,” Wiltjer said. “The cast truly feeds off of the energy of the audience, and it makes the show all the better.”