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In performances highlighting ballet, theater, spoken word, and music, Trinity students and faculty and Ballet 5:8 celebrated the arts last weekend.

The theme for this year’s  annual collaboration was “In the Between.” Performances took place on Friday and Saturday.

A highlight of this year’s event were the four Trinity students selected as winners of a poetry and spoken word contest, which was sponsored by the Music Department in collaboration with Under the Bridge, who read their works:

— Life is a ____ (Bridge) by Patrick Bray

— In the Between by Joshua Caceres

— Not Alone by Amber Mayer

— Ode to the Gray by Stephanie Rodriguez

Ballet 5:8 dancers performed several pieces, including 4501, conceived and choreographed by Julianna Rubio Slager, Ballet 5:8’s artistic director and resident choreographer. 4501 tells the story of a prison inmate, one of 2,298,300 men and women currently held in the U.S. prison system.

Music professors Paul Melidona and Candace Peters accompanied Ballet 5:8 on another piece, Adagio and Tarantella.

Trinity’s Gospel Choir, led by Nicole Saint-Victor, sang several pieces, and Theatre students performed a selection from the Spring 2019 play, The Old Man and the Old Moon.

Throughout February, Trinity will be celebrating Black History Month.

Upcoming events include:
Feb. 9 at 8:45 am – Church Visit to St. Luke Church of God in Christ
Feb.12 at 8 pm – Movie Night
Feb. 20 at 10 pm — BSU Led Outcry
Feb. 22 at 12 pm – Service Day at Symphony of Morgan Park Nursing Home
Feb. 26 at 5:30 pm – Celebration of Blackness Banquet

You can watch a video about what Black History Month means to members of the Trinity community here.

“Having a month dedicated to black history gives Trinity an opportunity to affirm our very diverse population and to celebrate with our black students who they are and who they are on this campus,” said Nicole St. Victor ’12, Director of Multicultural Engagement.

Trinity students don’t just experience the world beyond campus. Sometimes, opportunities come right to the classroom!

That is the case for Dr. Mike Chitavi’s Global Business class, which spent part of the fall semester developing international business plans for Sidekik, a soccer juggling tool. Sidekik was founded by Eli Dent, who began working on the company during high school and college.

Dent is looking to expand his business globally, and that is where Chitavi’s class became involved. As part of their coursework, the class met with Dent and developed business plans for Sidekik focused on opportunities in several different countries. The teams of students presented their plans in a “Shark Tank” style pitch at the end of the semester.

“One goal is to create a global sales strategy,” said Dent. “The students presented their plans, which include analyzing cultures and how business in done in different places. The class looked at everything from climate to history—everything.”

Since graduating from the College of Charleston in 2017, Dent has been expanding his business around the globe, while looking at new product lines. Dent began selling the Sidekik to one local store and has expanded from there. “Since 2017, we have doubled in revenue every year and have started doing a lot of more in terms of sales.”

He and the business moved to Chicago in 2018, where he became connected with Chitavi. “While I was playing soccer semi-professionally, David Kenga of Charleston Battery coached me. He connected me with Dr. Chitavi. We had a great conversation about business and soccer. Dr. Chitavi was really interested in how to make this part of his class.”

Sixteen Trinity students, along with Director of Theatre John Sebestyen, Ph.D., recently traveled to the Region 3 Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival (KCACTF) in Madison, Wis., to learn, compete, and share a scene from the College’s Spring 2019 play.

According to Sebestyen, this year represented the largest group of students to participate since Trinity first started attending KCACTF in 2015-16, in the largest variety of conference-related events. Region 3 of KCACTF includes college theatre programs within the states of Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Wisconsin, and parts of Ohio.

As part of the festival, KCACTF Region 3 representatives asked Trinity to bring a short excerpt of the play The Old Man and the Old Moon to perform at the festival. “We were the only school from Illinois asked to present an excerpt as part of the Celebration of Associate Productions!” said Sebestyen. “It was gratifying to have our students participate in such a public forum for such an appreciative audience, with about 800 people in the auditorium.”

Along with the excerpt, students participated in competitions and workshops:

• Three Trinity students took part in the Stage Management Intensive: Megan Blok; Jacob McCleary; and Sydnie Tiemens. McCleary and Tiemens also participated on the stage management team for the NPP (National Playwriting Program).
• Aaron Alderden took part in the Devising program, where he worked with a group of students from other schools created a brand-new piece of theatre that was performed during the festival.
• Ryan Van Gilst participated in auditions for the Musical Theatre Intensive.
• Four pairs of actors participated in the first round of Irene Ryan acting scholarship auditions: Jon Fossell & Dani Daujatas; Ben Friesen & Ryan Howey; Jonah VanderNaald & Bethany Dadisman; and Kyli Ayers & Mateo Perez.
• Daujatas was cast for a staged reading of one of the new, student-written plays that was featured at the festival.
• Evie Dykhouse and Bethany VanderPloeg took part in workshops and meetings for the ITJA (Institute for Theatre Journalism and Advocacy).
• Daujatas and Dykhouse gave presentations about their hair and make-up design for Trinity’s production of Eurydice by Sarah Ruhl, as part of consideration for the National Allied Design & Technologies Award.
• Machaela Whitlock presented about her costume design for Eurydice, which was in consideration for the National Awards for Theatrical Design Excellence.
• Sebestyen received a Certificate of Merit in Directing for Eurydice.

“KCACTF is a great second classroom for our theatre students,” said Sebestyen. “Our students are encouraged when they present and see good work.”

For Professor of History David Brodnax, Sr., Ph.D., a recent publication took him into the world of hip hop. Brodnax has published an entry about the life of Antwan “Big Boi” Patton, the Grammy-award winning artist, songwriter, and record producer, and half of the groundbreaking duo OutKast in “The African American National Biography,” (New York; Oxford University Press, 2019).

“I wanted to do it as a labor of love,” said Brodnax, a long-time fan of OutKast, which recorded together from 1993-2006. Since OutKast’s last album, “Idlewild,” in 2006, Big Boi and his bandmate Andre “Andre 3000” Benjamin have recorded solo music and occasionally performed together.

For Brodnax, OutKast’s music was part of the soundtrack for a formative part of his life, as he was attending college at Illinois Wesleyan University; earning a J.D. at University of Iowa College of Law; getting an M.A. and Ph.D. at Northwestern University; and beginning his teaching career at Trinity.

So, when he saw a call for submissions for the publication, he submitted a proposal for an entry on Big Boi. Once it was accepted, his research included listening to all of Big Boi’s music in chronological order. “That included all of his solo and OutKast albums, which I already owned, and many other songs that I did not own but accessed on YouTube. It was a trip down memory lane,” he said. Brodnax became so involved in the project that his initial draft was far longer than the article’s requirements.

In addition to using this research in some of his courses, Brodnax also expects to submit a conference paper based on his work about Big Boi.

Among his other projects, Brodnax is continuing work on his book, “Breathing the Freedom’s Air: The African American Struggle for Equal Citizenship in Iowa, 1830-1900.”  He also recently participated in the Association for the Study of the Worldwide African Diaspora’s 10th Biennial Conference at the College of William & Mary. The conference’s theme focused on the 400th anniversary of the origins of slavery in what became the United States, with the arrival of approximately 20 Africans in modern-day Jamestown, Va., in August 1619. During his time in Williamsburg, Va., he explored several historical sites, which was a powerful experience. “It represented the beginning of the end for Native Americans, as they knew life,” he said. “And it was the beginning of black slavery.”

Brodnax is also working on a journal article on black identity in Iowa on for the “Middle West Review” and two projects for the annual meeting of the Midwestern History Conference in May: a paper on diasporic black consciousness as expressed in Iowa’s black press; and being part of a plenary panel on the current state of Midwestern history scholarship.

Through its Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Ipeka Foundation in Indonesia, Trinity continues to strengthen its ties around the world.

In a ceremony that took place on Jan. 7 in Jakarta, Indonesia, the College and Ipeka, a system of K-12 Christian schools, formally signed the MoU. Professor of Theology Dr. Yudha Thianto, Ph.D., represented Trinity at the ceremony.

“Through the MoU, graduates from Ipeka high schools can  study at Trinity, and Trinity will provide certain scholarships for these students,” said Thianto. “Teachers from Ipeka will also have the opportunity to be enrolled in Trinity’s graduate programs in education.”

In addition, Trinity’s faculty will also have the opportunity to work together with Ipeka’s teachers for professional development activities that will be beneficial for both institutions. This partnership also opens the possibility for Trinity’s education majors to do their student teaching at Ipeka, so that they can gain an international experience.

Ipeka Foundation was established in 1979 by the Synod of Gereja Kristus Yesus to serve in the education field and to develop the nation through preparing the younger generations with Christian education. It now encompasses a number of schools across several cities in Indonesia with more than 10.000 students from kindergarten to senior high school.

What does it mean that many companies are willing to match employee gifts?

When a donor gives a charitable gift to an organization, many companies will match the funds given, doubling the size of the original gift.

If ou desire to make a difference in the lives of Trinity students, check into your company policies today to see if they will match gifts given.

If you have any questions, contact the Advancement Office at advancement@trnty.edu

Trinity Christian College is proud to host the NCCAA Men’s Volleyball National Invitational on Jan. 24 and 25. Eight teams will compete in this tournament in two separate pools before the championship is decided Saturday afternoon. The seeding is as follows:

1: Ottawa University
#2: Campbellsville University
#3: Geneva College
#4: Warner University
#5: Trinity Christian College
#6: Greenville University
#7: Judson University
#8: Maranatha Baptist University

Here are the pools for this event:

Pool A
Ottawa University
Warner University
Trinity Christian College
Maranatha Baptist University

Pool B
Campbellsville University
Geneva College
Greenville University
Judson University

Games will go right after the other as they are scheduled to begin every two hours. Here is the full schedule for the tournament:

Friday, Jan. 24

2 p.m.: Match 1 in the DeVos Gymnasium between Campbellsville and Judson
2 p.m.: Match 2 in the Mitchell Gymnasium between Geneva and Greenville
4 p.m.: Match 3 in the DeVos Gymnasium between Trinity and Warner
4 p.m.: Match 4 in the Mitchell Gymnasium between Ottawa and Maranatha
6 p.m.: Match 5 in the DeVos Gymnasium between Geneva and Judson
6 p.m.: Match 6 in the Mitchell Gymnasium between Campbellsville and Greenville
8 p.m.: Match 7 in the DeVos Gymnasium between Trinity and Ottawa
8 p.m.: Match 8 in the Mitchell Gymnasium between Warner and Maranatha

Saturday, Jan. 25

9 a.m.: Match 9 in the DeVos Gymnasium between Greenville and Judson
9 a.m.: Match 10 in the Mitchell Gymnasium between Campbellsville and Geneva
11 a.m.: Match 11 in the DeVos Gymnasium between Trinity and Maranatha
11 a.m.: Match 12 in the Mitchell Gymnasium between Ottawa and Warner
1 p.m.: Match for the fifth-place spot in the DeVos Gymnasium between Pool A’s and Pool B’s third place finishers
1 p.m.: Match for the seventh-place spot in the Mitchell Gymnasium between Pool A’s and Pool B’s fourth place finishers
3 p.m.: Match for the third-place spot in the Mitchell Gymnasium between Pool A’s and Pool B’s second place finishers
3 p.m.: Match for the championship in the DeVos Gymnasium between Pool A’s and Pool B’s first place finishers

Admission to the tournament is $10.00 for adults and $5.00 for students for a one day pass or $15.00 for adults and $7.00 for students for a two-day pass.  Trinity students, faculty, and staff members can present their school ID for free admission to the matches at the DeVos Center.

To watch the live stream through the NCCAA, please go to thenccaa.org/network.

To stream live stats from Trinity, please go to portal.stretchinternet.com/tcc.

For updates, stay tuned to Trinity’s Athletics website  and Athletics Twitter feed.

During the Christmas break, a group from Trinity had the opportunity to walk in Jesus’ footsteps during a visit to the Holy Land. The group, which included 21 students from Trinity and Provost Aaron Kuecker, along with 20 students from Cedarville University, toured from Dec. 26-Jan. 5.

The group began its journey at the Sea of Galilee and visited the Golan Heights, Capernaum, Caesarea Phillipi, and the Mount of Beatitudes. “We visited lots of other stops to talk about the miracles of Jesus feeding the 5,000 and walking on water,” said Madysen Zula ‘21.

The group also traveled to Nazareth, where they went to the Church of the Annunciation, shopped at the local market, and talked about the significance of the Jezreel Valley, along with visiting the ruins of the city of Tel Megiddo. Other stops included Tel Aviv and Joffa. The final stop was in Jerusalem. There, the group saw the City of David, Mount of Olives, the Temple Mount, and the Garden Tomb where Jesus is believed to have been crucified and buried. They also visited the Dead Sea and ruins of the city of Massada.

Several members of the group had a recommemoration of their baptism in the Jordan River.

For Zula, visiting the southern steps of the Temple Mount was particularly powerful. “While we were reflecting, it was the moment for me where I fully realized what I was experiencing,” she said. “I felt the power of the Holy Spirit and how special it is that I am experiencing Israel. It brought me to tears thinking about how good our God is.”

“Let’s Go Higher,” was the theme of this year’s annual celebration of the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., presented by Trinity’s Black Student Union.

Through song, dance, scripture, and spoken word, the Trinity community came together to reflect on the progress that has been made, and the work that remains to be done.

Visit our Facebook page to see more photos of this inspiring event.