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Congratulations to Nicole Saint-Victor ‘12, Trinity’s Director of Multicultural Engagement, for being named a commissioner on the Council for Christian Colleges & Universities’ (CCCU) Commission on Diversity and Inclusion.
“We welcome your participation, your wise feedback and we look forward to collaborating with you in the months to come,” said CCCU President Shirley V. Hoogstra, in a letter announcing the appointment. “Thank you again for your willingness to share your time and your talents with us.”
Along with serving as Director of Multicultural Engagement, St. Victor is Director of Trinity’s Gospel Choir and is a member of the Music Performance Faculty.
Trinity is a proud member of CCCU, a higher education association of more than 180 Christian institutions around the world. The Commission on Diversity and Inclusion consists of a group of volunteer leaders in key administrative positions on member campuses that advises the CCCU, assists with planning content and securing speakers for conferences, and works to connect and serve as a resource for colleagues in peer positions at CCCU institutions across the country.
As I Corinthians 12 says, though a body is made up of many parts, and though all its parts are many, they form one body. In the same way, Trinity’s dedicated staff and faculty help form the Trinity community.
As part of our annual spring tradition, faculty and Staff were honored for their service, including milestone anniversaries.
Faculty and staff recognized for years of service include:
35 Years
Bob Boomsma ’77, Professor of Biology & Chair of Sciences
20 Years
Janet Kosmal ’78, Office Coordinator of Physical Plant
15 Years
–Kelly Lenarz ’99, Assistant Professor of Education & Director of Education Assessment, Innovation and Traditional Undergraduate Programs
–Mark Peters, Professor of Music & Department Chair
–Debby Vincent, Executive Assistant to the President
10 Years
–Sharon Boss ’14, Assistant Director of Financial Aid
–Dennis Connelly, Associate Professor of Criminal Justice, Criminal Justice Program Coordinator & Department Chair
–Don Coutts, Print Center Manager
–Erick Matherly ’09, IT Network Administrator
–Troy Schemper, Dean of Student Engagement
–Connie Van Groningen, Administrative Coordinator of Nursing Department
Along with milestones, other recognitions included:
Staff Member of the Year Award
Diana Pell, Administrative Assistant to Faculty
Catherine Yonker Award
Nicole St. Victor ’12, Director of Multicultural Engagement, Director of Gospel Choir & Music Performance Faculty
St. Victor was named the recipient of this year’s Catherine Yonker Award, which is given every year to two students and one faculty or staff member for contributions toward accomplishing Christian race relations, and cross-cultural understanding within the Trinity community.
Blueprints is a proud tradition at Trinity, where we welcome incoming freshmen and their families for orientation and registration weekends. At Blueprints, students get to meet other students, faculty, and staff. During our sessions, incoming freshmen discover more about campus life, register for classes, and begin friendships with other new students that will last a lifetime.
This year, we have adapted Blueprints to a virtual format, which takes place over three days. More than 260 new members of the Trinity community took part in Saturday’s session, “ Blueprints 101: Your New Home.” The first virtual Blueprints installment included a welcome by President Kurt Dykstra. Vice President for Student Life Becky Starkenburg provided an overview of the student experience, and current student Aubrey Weedman ’21 conducted a Q&A session. Provost Aaron Kuecker, Ph.D., discussed academics. Students also got to “visit” their dorms as part of a housing preview segment. Attendees had the opportunity to meet with a professor and future classmates in their major through academic breakout sessions.
“While there’s nothing quite like gathering on campus for Blueprints, it was a great day of bringing campus to our incoming students,” said Jeanine Mozie, Director of Admissions. “Whether it was President Dykstra tuning in from the middle of the Nursing renovations, or VP Starks hanging out in our favorite spot in the Student Life Loft, or a surprise visit from the Troll in the housing preview, students were able to catch glimpses of the life on campus that soon will be theirs. We’re excited to take an even deeper dive at Blueprints 102 on June 20, with another special guest ready to make an appearance and help students feel fully prepared for life at Trinity this fall.”
Upcoming Blueprints sessions include:
BLUEPRINTS 102: YOUR NEW GROOVE
June 20, 2020 | 10am CDT
This virtual Blueprints session will dive deeper into what students will experience as a Trinity student. They will learn more about the first class all Trinity students take – called Thrive – and be able to meet one-on-one with a faculty advisor for class registration. We will also dig into the move-in process, getting a job on campus, athletics, and other important topics to help each student prepare to start this fall.
BLUEPRINTS 103: YOUR NEW PEOPLE
July 25, 2020 | 10am CDT
During our final Blueprints meeting, incoming Trolls will meet with students they will be connected to at Trinity. Now’s the chance to get to know campus!
Want to learn more about life as a Troll, Class of 2024? Click here to learn more and register: trnty.edu/blueprints
You can also check out highlights from Blueprints 101!
Building upon the personal reflection that President Dykstra offered to the Trinity community this past weekend, Trinity Christian College shares the following statement in solidarity with and in support of the entire Trinity community.
Over the last weeks, we have all seen with our own eyes, yet again, the ugly evil of racial injustice. We know that the actions that caused the death of George Floyd, while horrific and graphic, are only the latest in a long line of injustice inflicted upon African American citizens, including Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, Laquan McDonald, and so many others. While these acts of violence grieve us all, they hit close to home for many of us, particularly for the African American and other racial minority members of the Trinity family.
As Christians, and especially for us as a part of the distinctly Christian community here at Trinity, we affirm that the reconciling love of God – demonstrated most vividly though the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus – ultimately is our rock and our fortress, our shield and our salvation. We pray for the day when the words from Revelation 21 – “Behold, I am making all things new” – are fully recognized on this earth and in our land.
The Christian community is broad and diverse, spanning thousands of years and across nations and peoples. We who claim the Christian faith condemn, abhor, and work to eliminate violence and oppression, and particularly the violence and oppression that our black and brown brothers and sisters face in disproportionate ways.
Though this community physically is apart, today Trinity gathered together virtually in multiple ways and at various times to share scripture, prayers, lament, anger, encouragement, and hope. One day does not heal the wounds or assuage the pain – but it was another visible sign of our commitment, one to another, that we desire to live more fully into the life that God desires for all of his children, free from injustice and discrimination. We reaffirm our commitments to campus unity and diversity, particularly our “commitment to work toward greater diversity not only in regard to our racial, ethnic, and cultural demographic but also in regard to acceptance, appreciation, honor, and equality within our campus climate.” This is not a new commitment, but it must be a fresh one for this community and for this institution.
Yesterday was Pentecost Sunday, the day where God poured out the Holy Spirit upon the church. During these troubled times, may we echo the words of the old hymn, “Spirit of the living God, fall afresh on us” – on this campus, in our community, throughout our nation, and around the world.
Troll athletes excel on and off the field, and the Athletics Department recently announced the winners of the annual awards that honor commitment, community, and caring.
Rich Kooy Award: Gerard Weik
The winner of the Rich Kooy Award for 2019-20 is Gerard Weik.
The Rich Kooy Award recognizes a member of the Trinity community who contributed to the development of the Athletics Department. It is named in honor of mathematics professor Rich Kooy, who gave 27 years of service to Trinity Christian College, was a founding member of the Trinity Athletics Committee, and served as the faculty athletics representative.
Weik is the assistant women’s volleyball coach, as well as assistant director of Physical Plant. He has dedicated much of his time to the Athletics Department, and has been instrumental during the transition of head coaches for the women’s volleyball team. He also helps to make sure all 14 varsity sports teams on campus have everything they need in order to compete at the highest level.
Women’s “T” Award: Claudia Pareja ’20
Claudia Pareja ’20 has been named the winner of the inaugural “T” Award for the women.
The “T” Award goes to a female student-athlete who exemplifies what it means to be a Troll. They show dedication, initiative, motivation, and positive attitude towards Trinity Athletics.
There were four finalists for the award: softball players Parejaand Makayla Otto, women’s soccer player Nicole Faulkner and women’s volleyball player Juliana Dykstra. After votes were calculated from Instagram, Twitter and Facebook, Pareja was announced as the winner.
Pareja has made a huge impact on the Trinity campus since she arrived. She always has a smile on her face and is in the stands to support all sports teams. She also works in the Marketing & Communications Office, helping to create video content for the College.
Men’s “T” Award: Sam Herzog ’20
Trinity Athletics has named Sam Herzog ’20 winner of the inaugural “T” Award for the men.
The “T” Award goes to a male student-athlete who exemplifies what it means to be a Troll. They show dedication, initiative, motivation and positive attitude towards Trinity Athletics.
There were four finalists for the award, including golfer Pete Vos, men’s basketball player Deantre DeYoung, baseball player Herzog and men’s soccer/baseball player Mike McIntyre. After votes were calculated from Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook, the winner of the award is baseball senior Herzog.
Herzog was a constant presence in the Trinity community. Not only was he a member of the baseball team, but he worked game staff, working many of the Trinity’s athletic events. Even when he wasn’t competing or working, he was always there to support his fellow Trolls.
Liz Metcalfe Award: Dani Van Laten ’20
Trinity Athletics has named Dani Van Laten ’20 the winner of the Liz Metcalfe Memorial Award for the 2019-20 academic year.
The Metcalfe Award is given to a graduating female student-athlete who exemplifies what it means to play as a Christian student-athlete. They have to encompass outstanding athletic ability, academic achievement, and community involvement.
Van Laten has accomplished all of those things during her time as a Troll. She was a member of the volleyball team for four seasons, serving as the starting setter for three of those seasons. She accumulated 4,271 assists and 1,581 digs across 560 sets for her career, which puts her in the top 10 in Trinity’s record books.
She helped her team to various accomplishments, including one CCAC regular season championship and three CCAC regular season co-championships. In 2019, they were the CCAC tournament champions as well, which was the first time since 2013 they won both within the conference. The team also competed in the NAIA national tournament in 2017, 2018, and 2019, and won the NCCAA National Championships in 2016.
For Van Laten, she also has numerous individual accolades. In 2019, she became the first Trinity volleyball player to earn NAIA All-American Second Team honors. She also earned CCAC Co-Player of the Year, Setter of the Year and All-Conference First Team honors. She was also the NCCAA Player of the Year, NCCAA/AVCA All-American First Team, North Central Region Player of the Year and North Central All-Region First Team.
She earned more accolades before last season, including CCAC Setter of the Year in 2018, CCAC All-Conference in 2017 and 2018, NCCAA All-American honors in 2018, and NCCAA North Central All-Region First Team in 2017 and 2018.
For her academics, she received NAIA, NCCAA and CCAC Scholar-Athlete recognition. She maintained above a 3.5 GPA as an elementary education major. In her community, she was heavily involved in service initiatives with her team, working with Feed My Starving Children and other local organizations. She also went on a service trip to New Mexico and helped coach at a local volleyball club.
Keith Albers Memorial Award: Brantley VanOverloop ’20
Trinity Athletics has named Brantley VanOverloop the recipient of the 2019-20 Keith Albers Memorial Award.
The Keith Albers Memorial Award goes to a graduating male student-athlete who exemplifies what it means to be a Christian student-athlete. They have to encompass outstanding athletic ability, academic achievement, and community involvement.
VanOverloop has excelled in all of these areas during his four years as a Troll. For the cross country team, he was one of their top three runners this year. He had his career-best time in an 8k race at the Fighting Bee Invitational on October 12. He also helped his team to a fourth-place finish at the CCAC Championships, which was their best finish during his four years on the team.
For track, he helped in various relays and in javelin. The outdoor season was cancelled for 2020 due to COVID-19, but he helped his team tremendously throughout his career. He is a CCAC All-Conference selection for both the indoor and outdoor seasons in 2019, and helped his team to fifth-place finishes in 2019 and 2020. He also served as a team captain for two and a half years.
In the classroom, VanOverloop earned CCAC, NCCAA, and NAIA Scholar-Athlete recognition. He maintained above a 3.5 GPA as a mathematics and middle grades education major.
He is heavily involved in his community. He is a member of ALPS and student government on campus. He also took a mission trip to Costa Rica.
Trinity Athletics thanks all of our award recipients for all they have given to the College and the community. To watch video presentations of each award winner, visit the Athletics Department Facebook page.
More than ever during these challenging times, we are grateful to our essential workers. And Trinity was thrilled to partner with the Joliet Slammers to recently donate meals to the Palos Heights Police and Fire Departments.
We thank all our local heroes for their courage and sacrifice!
The Joliet Slammers are a minor-league baseball team affiliated with the Frontier League of Professional Baseball.
Over the last months we have all experienced unique challenges and significant alterations to our daily lives. But for many Trinity students, the effects of COVID-19 are particularly difficult.
That is why we are working on plans to address these very real financial challenges for our students and their families due to this pandemic. More than 300 of our current students are eligible for Pell Grants, which means that their family incomes typically range between $20,000-$50,000. These students, even with their families’ support, are already making significant financial sacrifices to attend Trinity. As they look to next year, many will face tough choices on whether they can stay in school due to their difficult financial hardships.
To support our most vulnerable students, Trinity Christian College has established the “In It Together Fund” to help meet the greatest needs of our current students. We will provide tuition scholarships, living essentials, and emergency funding for books, food, and travel expenses. We do not want to lose even one student to this crisis because of this unexpected financial stress.
We believe that the world needs Trinity graduates now more than ever, and we will not let the economic burden brought on by this pandemic allow Trinity to compromise our vision to educate the next generation of prepared and passionate Christian leaders.
We have a small group of Trinity Partners from around the country that have committed to match up to $100,000 of gifts to this fund. Every dollar you give will be matched.
We are all In It Together! Will you join us in this effort to assist students most challenged by this crisis? To learn more and to donate, visit the Trinity In It Together page.
For the latest updates regarding Trinity and the COVID-19 pandemic, please visit trnty.edu/covid19.
Trinity’s Physical Education, Recreation, and Kinesiology (PERK) program builds future leaders who understand fitness, sports, leisure, and good stewardship of the human body. And the PERK program has once again been recognized as a National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA) Education Recognition Program (ERP), the premier group in the field.
According to Associate Professor and PERK Chair Shari L. Jurgens, Ph.D., Trinity first achieved this recognition three years ago, and its ERP status has now been renewed for three more years. The designation applies to NSCA’s Personal Training and Strength and Conditioning recognition.
“It is quite an honor to have our program be recognized by the leading association in personal training and strength and conditioning in the country,” she said.
The NSCA ERP recognizes and distinguishes schools with standardized, approved strength and conditioning or personal training curricula in undergraduate and graduate settings designed to prepare students for the NSCA-Certified Personal Trainer (NSCA-CPT) and NSCA Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist (CSCS) certifications. ”The NSCA Education Recognition Program (ERP) is the first step in laying the foundation to ensure excellence for students in the classroom, as well as a long-term professional success after graduation,” according to NSCA. “The ERP recognizes and distinguishes schools with strength and conditioning or personal training curricula that prepares students for NSCA certification exams.”
Trinity’s PERK program prepares graduates for success. For example, exercise science major Shanna Grigoletti’s ’05 has opened her own gym and uses it as an outreach to the community. Grigoletti is grateful for the ways God grew her faith during her college years. “Trinity showed me that you need to step out of your bubble, love those around you, and open your eyes to the immense amount of opportunity that’s outside your front door,” she said. You can read more about her story here.
Trinity is pleased to announce that our Nursing Program has once again been recognized among the best in the state!
According to RN to BSN, Illinois is a prime state to earn a Bachelor of Science in Nursing degree in and practice as a nursing professional, and Trinity was ranked second among all Illinois BSN programs.
The ranking noted the hands-on experience and simulation labs that Trinity nursing students have access to.
For four of the last five years, Trinity’s BSN graduates have scored a 100% first-time pass rate on the NCLEX-RN exam, the highest five-year NCLEX average of any BSN or ADN program in Illinois.
The baccalaureate degree in nursing at Trinity Christian College is accredited by the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education.
President Kurt Dykstra has announced Trinity’s plans for Fall 2020:
Dear Trinity Community,
I pray that you are safe and well as we “on campus” (so to speak) wrap up a most unusual school year and move into a summer that likely promises a “new normal” for us all. We continue to lean on the grace and peace of God and stand firm in the words of Romans 12:12 to be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.
It has been a few weeks since I have communicated directly with you, the broader Trinity Christian College community. Know that we think of you often and appreciate you greatly. As we conclude one school year, permit me a few paragraphs to bring you up to date with what Trinity is planning for the next academic year. In short:
Trinity is planning and expecting to welcome, in-person, our students to campus this fall and we will do so in a way that incorporates public health measures endorsed by governmental authorities and medical experts.
While we are very zealous to be back on campus and are working to make that happen, please understand that nothing is more important than the safety of those on our campus – consistently rated as one of the safest college campuses in Illinois. As the facts change, Trinity will adapt, too.
Late last week, Governor J.B. Pritzker released his Restore Illinois plan for re-opening this state. It provides useful guidance that will help inform our campus planning and preparation. Similarly, over the last weeks, I have participated in multiple conferences with the leaders of other institutions and organizations, ranging from higher education consortia in Washington and Springfield to athletic associations and conferences. All of these meetings are focused on safely getting college campuses back to delivering in-person, on-campus education.
After weeks of distance and quarantine, it is heartening to be attending to the efforts to get Trinity, and the broader marketplace, back and operating more normally.
As we eagerly anticipate the return in late August of our students, faculty, and staff we are seeing wonderful signs that this community, too, is eager to return to campus and eager to move Trinity forward in mission.
- Our summer enrollment is up by nearly 33% over last year.
- Our incoming freshmen class has trended more than 20% above last year nearly all year and we filled, in less than 48 hours, all available summer course offerings for incoming new students.
- We have very strong retention and registration numbers for our returning students and our returning student housing has strong demand.
- Our annual fund philanthropy is running at a record pace.
- We have started the refreshing of the Bootsma Bookstore Café and renovation and expansion of Trinity’s Department of Nursing.
At the same time, we know that COVID-19 will be a part of a new normal for the foreseeable future. In recognition of this reality, Trinity intends to deploy her advantages in this effort.
For example, we are reactivating our COVID-19 Planning Group – a cross-disciplinary group at Trinity that reviews our campus preparedness from every angle from public health and hygiene, to campus operations, to student support. Similarly, we also are fortunate to be able to draw upon our experts within Trinity’s top-rated Illinois nursing program – the very profession that has been on the front lines of fighting this pandemic. Finally, we are leveraging Trinity’s smaller size and close-knit community of care and concern, which creates smaller classes instead of lecture halls with hundreds of students, more intimate gatherings for meals, and residence halls built at a human scale that are more amenable to social distancing.
This will be a moment where Trinity can demonstrate broadly how a decidedly Christian, in-person, residential campus community can live and learn together – and do so safely.
While we plan carefully for the fall, we realize that some students or faculty will have individual medical or health considerations that make in-person, on-campus attendance problematic. For those persons, we will offer high-quality alternate arrangements that still will permit those students to learn from Trinity’s stellar faculty and enjoy Trinity’s genuine community. Trinity’s size and entrepreneurial ethos provide our students with curated, customizable experiences that make achievement possible, even in a COVID-19 world.
Our faculty and staff are already preparing for multiple instructional scenarios on campus that will allow us to follow appropriate health protocols while enjoying Trinity’s strong faculty, staff, and student relationships. In this, we are building upon the benefits of our Student Success Coaching program – a program we designed and implemented this Spring to provide every Trinity student a coach who provided support and human interaction during this virtual semester. Trinity offers this kind of personalized support that many other institutions cannot, or will not, offer.
I will provide you with additional details on our planning as the summer months progress and as we get closer to August. You, however, can be certain of this: We are committed to implementing the best ways to keep our community healthy and to deliver an excellent, personalized, and intentionally Christian education.
Thank you for your continued partnership with us in these efforts. These are truly unprecedented times for our beloved College and for the cause of Christian higher education. We are grateful for your participation with us in this noble undertaking and invite you to continue to do so with us. The World Needs Trinity and the World Needs You, too.
Kurt D. Dykstra, President
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