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Giving Tuesday Header
Nov 30, 2022

Each year, the world comes together to celebrate generosity on the Tuesday after Thanksgiving. Giving Tuesday 2022 brought the Trinity community together with generous gifts that support our students, helping them to achieve their goals here at Trinity.

In just 24 hours, more than 76 donors came together to raise $6,726!

These donations help students like Adriana and Amen, who shared their stories about what led them to pursue their dreams at Trinity Christian College.

“A huge, heartfelt thank you to all who contributed this Giving Tuesday,” said Marissa Kunkel, Director of Annual Giving at Trinity. “We remain deeply grateful for the entire Trinity community, who stepped up to answer the call this year.”

If you missed this year’s Giving Tuesday but would still like to give – click here to learn more.

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-Julia Oostema ’23

This fall, Trinity staff and students joined together to stage a haunting play titled By the Bog of Cats. The play followed Hester Swane, a woman who was abandoned by her mother at the age of 7 and has remained on the Bog ever since. At the time that the play takes place, Hester has a 7-year-old daughter of her own and is determined to be a good mother. Broken relationships and community tension make this resolution difficult, however, to the point that Hester’s and her daughter’s lives both hang in the balance.

Due to the mature content of this play, Trinity Theatre recommended the production for audience members aged 13 or older. Mental illness, abuse, assault, and more are all mentioned or portrayed, so viewers were advised to attend with caution, and various mental health resources were listed in the program.

Director Emma Schneider chose this play because of its themes of brokenness and reconciliation and the dangers of communal harm. As human beings living in a time of fierce division and disagreement, By the Bog of Cats speaks into our current situation and acts as a “tragic cautionary tale of what happens when we isolate and ostracize those around us.”

Throughout the play, we witness the rejection and mistreatment of Hester compounded by her own trauma and self-isolation. Especially in the second act, it becomes clear that personal healing needs to take place, but taking those steps is incredibly difficult without a loving community.

Although this play was at times difficult to watch, it invites us into an intense, heartbreaking story that prompts us to ask hard questions: “What causes our relationships to fracture? How can this lead to larger communal brokenness? What do we do when mending one relationship means further breaking another? And to where can we turn to truly mend the brokenness we see in our world?”

Despite the play’s serious tone, By the Bog of Cats is not all gloomy. Hester’s daughter is innocent and delightful; Mrs. Kilbride is spectacularly obnoxious; and Catwoman and Father Willow provide much-needed comic relief.

Overall, members of the cast and crew did a wonderful job putting the show together and bringing this story to life. It touched my heart, made me think, and left me wondering: What can I learn from the ending of this play? Who might be the Hesters in my own life? How can I better recognize and love people on the outskirts?

Many thanks to the cast, crew, designers, managers, technicians, and directors who made this production possible. It was truly a job well done.

For more information about upcoming performances and events in the Marg Kallemeyn Theatre click here to visit the Trinity Box Office.

Many higher learning institutions are trying to navigate changes about how the future of work is unfolding and the implications for students and employers. For campus career services, it is an opportunity to evolve continually and proactively for the better. “Dr. Dani,” Trinity Christian College’s newly hired Specialist for Vocation and Student Transitions within the office of The Cooper Center for Vocation and Career Development, is excited about what this may mean today.

With a background in strategic leadership, Dr. Dani understands it may mean doing more to expand career services beyond The Cooper Center to make professional development assistance equitable and accessible for all Trinity students. In recent years, Trinity’s new Foundations curriculum has evolved to include structured vocational exploration, discernment, and professional preparation for all undergraduate students.  Additionally, future opportunities for The Cooper Center include building more robust alumni networks inclusive of a “Pay It Backward” support system; an employer mentoring program; and supporting the college’s new Earn, Network, Learn initiative, which allows students to secure internships that provide professional experience, learning, and tuition grants to support their education.

Dr. Dani is eager to honor the vision of Marv and Joan Cooper, whose generous leadership gift made The Cooper Career Center possible as a resource to aid Trinity students and alumni in fulfilling their vocational callings.

Established in 1998, The Cooper Center has thoughtfully grown and developed to help students discern their vocation as a joyful response to God’s calling and prepare for the opportunities that await them.  Amidst rapidly changing generational, sociocultural, and technological trends impacting the future of work and society, The Cooper Center stands eager and ready to support Trinity students and Alumni with the next step of their vocational journey.

Click here to learn more about the Cooper Center for Vocation and Career Development.

Dr. Bill Boerman-Cornell, Professor of Education at Trinity Christian College, has recently released a new book titled Young Adult Literature and Spirituality:  How to Unlock Deeper Understanding with Class Discussion. The book was published by Rowman and Littlefield and written alongside three colleagues at various other higher education institutions.

The book explores an idea Boerman-Cornell had from a book by Trinity alum Josh Larsen called Movies are Prayers. In that book, Larsen breaks down various types of prayer that appear in the Bible, including prayers of lament, thanksgiving, anger, obedience, yearning, confession, joy, and others.  Since most Boerman-Cornell’s research focuses on using young adult literature in middle school and high school classrooms, he wondered if it might work to use that framework to think about specific young adult books.  “I talked with my co-authors, who I have been working with as part of a research group for about ten years, and we came up with a list of well-known, award-winning, or best-selling young adult fiction that each seemed to exemplify one of these types of prayer to focus on, said Boerman-Cornell,  these books include The Fault in our Stars, Internment, The Hate U Give, Speak, Long Way Down and Orbiting Jupiter along with others.

While listening to the podcast Harry Potter and the Sacred Text, in which two Harvard Divinity School graduates use a series of ancient, medieval, and modern discussion approaches that pastors, rabbis, and scholars have used to dig deeply into the themes in the Harry Potter books, they got the idea to pair those approaches with the books.  The result is a book they believe will be helpful to high school and middle school teachers, book club leaders, and pretty much anybody who reads books.

The book can be ordered from any independent bookstore, the publisher Rowman and Littlefield or Amazon.

To learn more about professor Boerman-Cornell and the education program at Trinity Christian College, click here.

The Ferrater Mora Oxford Centre for Animal Ethics, based in Oxford, England, is committed to putting ethical concerns for animals on the intellectual agenda. And as a fellow of the Centre, Professor of Social Work, and Director of the Online Adult BSW Program, Cini Bretzlaff-Holstein, DSW, LSW, has had the opportunity to continue her research and interest in integrating animals into social work practice and education.

Bretzlaff-Holstein was featured in a video highlighting her presentation at this year’s Summer School held at Merton College at Oxford University.  The topic at this year’s Summer School was Animals and Public Policy, held in partnership with The Brooks Institute for Animal Rights Law and Policy, The Kirkpatrick Foundation, Compassion in World Farming, and Susan and Dan Boggio.

Timothy S. Midura, the President and Executive Director of The Brooks Institute for Animal Rights Law and Policy, said, “The Summer School is truly a unique environment of high-quality thinkers, both new and legacy, a great diversity of perspectives the enhanced environment moving to Merton College just creates a wonderful environment.”

“Attending the Oxford Centre for Animal Ethics Summer School feels like coming home,” said Bretzlaff-Holstein. “It is a conference unlike any others I frequent and present at. It is an opportunity to engage in conversations and learn from like-minded academics, scholars, researchers, practitioners, and students from around the world whose work focuses on giving animals the attention and care they deserve as fellow creatures of God’s creation. This year’s 2022 summer school afforded me the chance to bring my discipline of the social work profession to the table in which I presented on Animals in Social Work Practice & Education: Moving Toward Inclusivity & Normalization versus Specialization. I am grateful to be a small part of this illustrious and vital organization as a fellow and contribute to the mission and vision of the Oxford Centre for Animal Ethics.”

Click here to view the video, which features Bretzlaff-Holstein, and learn more about the Ferrater Mora Oxford Centre for Animal Ethics.

While the fall weather in Chicagoland brought wind and rain, the spirit of fun and fellowship was alive and well on the campus of Trinity Christian College for Fall Fest, our annual Homecoming and Parents’ Weekend.

The weekend was packed with things to do for everyone in the family, kicking off Friday night with a Troll Nation tailgate on campus.  It was a seasonably warm evening, perfect for grilled hot dogs, a campfire, and a root beer keg!  “It was a great night; alumni showed up and represented, the night was fun, and we hope to keep this tradition each year,” said Jeremy Klyn, Director of Alumni and Family Engagement.

Saturday started with a 5K fun run, followed by a day filled with events, from the annual Troll Market – showing off the creativity of Troll Nation – Trin Talks with faculty members, the climbing wall was open for the family, and the ever popular, mini golf in the Huizenga library.  The evening was capped off with the long-standing tradition of Trollstock, which hosted 14 talented acts from current Trinity students.

“Wow, what an incredible weekend we experienced at Fall Fest!” said President Aaron J. Kuecker. “It was special to welcome so many friends and family to our campus for a weekend gathering and celebrating.”

Want to relive some of the amazing Fall Fest memories?  Check out our Facebook and Instagram pages and our YouTube channel to view Trollstock 2022!

-Julia Oostema ’23

Trinity provides a wide variety of opportunities for students to study off-campus and abroad. Programs are offered in Chicago, Spain, Ecuador, China, Romania, the Netherlands, and more. Students who participate in these programs often return transformed, but they rarely have the chance to speak about their experiences with the larger community. Here, we seek to give students who have studied off-campus and abroad the opportunity to share their experiences and offer some words of wisdom for students considering these programs in the future.

Tyler French (’24) recently spent a semester in Spain. He knew that college would be the perfect time to see another part of the world and experience another culture. Tyler chose Spain to connect with his Spanish heritage and see where his ancestors lived.

One of the highlights of Tyler’s experience was the relaxed culture. Instead of assigning regular homework, his professors encouraged their students to practice their Spanish by going out to eat, finding a gym, or interacting with the locals. Additionally, most of the town where Tyler lived shut down every day from 2-5 p.m. so that people could go home, take a nap, or relax. “The culture of Spain reminded me that life isn’t all about work and being busy. It made me conscious that we should be enjoying life, our relationships, and all the little things,” said Tyler. In addition to enjoying the little things, a significant highlight for Tyler was proposing to his fiancé Becca in Plaza de España. It was the perfect end to an amazing experience, and he hopes everyone gets the chance to spend time studying or living abroad at some point in their life.

Kayli Radke (’23) is a speech-pathology major currently studying in Uganda. Kayli loves learning about other cultures and knew from the time she was in high school that she wanted to study abroad. When she arrived at Trinity, she spoke to her advisor about incorporating a semester abroad into her schedule.

The Uganda program was a perfect fit for Kayli because it is financially affordable and has a speech-pathology option. This allowed her to take classes — on topics ranging from the Luganda language and African literature to intersections of culture and faith — and work as a speech-pathology intern at a non-profit organization called Hope Speaks. As part of her internship, Kayli spends time at outreach and therapy clinics, where she observes and assists during sessions. Most children who visit these clinics have disabilities such as autism or cerebral palsy and need help communicating. Interacting with the children has been one of the highlights of Kayli’s experience. Overall, Kayli would highly recommend studying abroad. “I think the biggest thing is that it’s hard, but it pushes you out of your comfort zone, and you learn about culture, you recognize a lot about who we are and how we interact with the world,” said Kayli.

To learn more about off-campus and study abroad programs click here.

-Julia Oostema ’23

This semester, Trinity re-imagined the traditional five-day week and shifted to a four-day class schedule. The goal was to provide students with the freedom and space to pursue their interests, catch up on homework, and take a deep breath. After about eight weeks of this new schedule, it seemed time to explore student perspectives and highlight a few examples of how students are using their Trinity Wednesdays thus far.

Biology student Andrew DeBlecourt (’25) spends his Wednesdays working at Parkview Orthopedics in Mokena, Illinois. Andrew’s goal is to become a physical therapist, so working at Parkview is a great opportunity to gain experience and interact with patients before applying to graduate school. As a student-athlete on the track and cross-country teams, the new schedule is especially convenient because it makes juggling all these responsibilities more manageable. Overall, Andrew likes the new class schedule because “it eases stress on students and allows more flexibility and freedom.”

Abby Tillema (’23) uses Wednesdays to catch up on schoolwork and engage her creative side. As a psychology major with minors in writing and theater, she has a wide variety of interests that allow her to have fun and be productive simultaneously. Abby is currently taking a sculpture class and preparing for her role in the mainstage theater production, so she spends much of her time working in the ArCC and memorizing lines on Wednesdays. Although the new schedule means that Abby is in class later on other days, she does enjoy having “a little break in the week to catch up and get [her] life together.”

In addition to catching up on homework, Maggie Ortmeyer (’24) tries to prioritize rest and self-care on Wednesdays. As an English major, she has a fair amount of reading and writing to do, but in her spare time, she enjoys relaxing and spending time with friends: “Because all of us have busy schedules, it’s hard to spend time with everyone throughout the week. Therefore, we usually plan some get-togethers on Wednesdays, such as going out to lunch, going for a walk, shopping, having a movie night, or cooking dinner together.” If it’s a particularly light week, Maggie might also use Wednesdays to call her family or watch TV.

Andrew, Abby, and Maggie are lovely examples of the wide variety of ways that students spend their days off, but they are not representative of the entire Trinity community. In addition to their responsibilities and commitments, staff and student leaders try to make Wednesdays more engaging and interactive for students by organizing community events. Every Wednesday, an email is sent out detailing events that students can participate in if they desire. Freshmen and transfer students, for example, are invited to the West Hall basement to enjoy pancakes, fellowship, and a designated study time after their morning foundations courses. Other options include a weekly book club, hammock rentals from SGA, multicultural music events, and local farmer’s market trips.

Having free Wednesdays gives students the opportunity to spend their time in a way that makes sense for them. Whether that means preparing for the future, working on projects, or setting aside time to rest, these days are an essential and much-needed step toward greater student engagement and well-being.

To learn more about how Trinity has transformed the traditional week with Trinity Wednesdays click here.

Trinity is excited to announce that President Aaron Kuecker, Ph.D., and Trinity colleagues are coming to California to connect with alumni and friends of the College. Join us to see why the life-changing value of a Trinity education has once again been recognized by U.S. News and World Report, which named Trinity to several of its “best” lists for 2023, including among the Top 15 Regional Colleges Midwest, #3 for Social Mobility, and a Top Value in the Midwest. Trinity continues to be a higher education leader and prepares our students for vocational and spiritual achievement.

We invite you to join us for one of our evenings of fellowship and engagement. To register, click on the links listed below.

Dr. Kuecker will share a short program detailing the initiatives at Trinity that positively impact students’ lives and prepare them to create powerful and transformational educational and social pathways for excellent work in God’s world. There will be time for conversation and questions during the event.

To confirm your attendance, RSVP no later than October 26th by clicking on the city name you want to attend or emailing bruce.smith@trnty.edu. If you have any questions, you may reach Bruce at 708-239-4819 or the email above.

We look forward to seeing you!

With all the news surrounding the Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) revolution over the past few years, universities large and small have been working to navigate uncharted territory within collegiate athletics. Trinity has been no exception, and this past fall the Trolls took a big step into becoming one of the leaders in this new era.

In August, Trinity Christian Athletics agreed to a partnership with Opendorse, the leading NIL marketplace for collegiate student-athletes, to create a platform for student-athletes to develop partnerships with brands, supporters, and local businesses.

Trinity becomes the first non-NCAA Division I program in the Chicagoland area to develop a NIL partnership with Opendorse, and the Trolls are the only Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference (CCAC) program to partner with the company.

“We’re extremely excited to be on the forefront of the changing NIL landscape in college athletics, and Opendorse has been a leader in that arena since the beginning,” said Wendy Reid, Director of Athletics. “Through our partnership, Trinity student-athletes will have the ability to grow their individual brands while having a company like Opendorse come alongside and offer their support and expertise.”

Opendorse will provide Trinity student-athletes the ability to connect with supporters for NIL deals while remaining compliant with NAIA guidelines. As part of the agreement, Opendorse will provide Trinity student-athletes with educational resources, generate the necessary tax documents, and provide a social media audit. Trinity athletes also gain access to the Opendorse marketplace, where businesses and supporters can offer partnership opportunities and complete payments.

Within weeks, Trinity student-athletes have seen benefits from the partnership, as student-athletes from six of Trinity’s ten athletic programs had found NIL agreements catered to their interests. “Opendorse has given me great, easily-accessible opportunities to work with brands that are important to me and have helped me while being a student-athlete,” said Trinity Women’s Soccer senior Selah Hopkins.

Cecilia Zuniga, a junior on the women’s volleyball team agrees. “Opendorse is a great opportunity for student-athletes to get their name out there and make connections with companies for potential career paths. It’s an opportunity to show that we are more than just athletes.”

“Opendorse has been a great help in helping promote me as an athlete. Trinity has created a great opportunity for us to get our names out to people we never may have been able to reach,” added Caitlyn Bergsma, a member of the Trinity Women’s Soccer team.

Trinity’s student-athletes and their supporters can begin joining the marketplace immediately through the Opendorse app, or at Opendorse.com.

 

To learn more about Trinity Christian College Athletics, click here.