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Congratulations to Assistant Professor of Nursing Autumn Mels ‘12, who has been named a 2019 Illinois Nurse Educator Fellow. The fellowship, a program of the Illinois Board of Higher Education and the Illinois Nursing Workforce Center Advisory Board, is designed to promote excellence in nursing education.
“I feel completely honored to have been granted this opportunity to be a 2019 Illinois Nurse Educator Fellow,” said Mels. “I am looking forward to the variety of different learning opportunities that lie ahead and the impact it will make on myself, our faculty, students, and future patients.”
Mels said that Associate Professor of Nursing and Department Chair Tina Decker, D.N.P., encouraged her to apply for the fellowship and wrote a recommendation letter for the yearlong program.
“Over the next year, I will be spending time partaking in a variety of different opportunities that will improve my bedside nursing, my role as a professional nurse educator, and, in turn, our students,” said Mels. That could include attending several conferences, participating in continuing education courses, and work towards receiving her certification as a nurse educator.
“The conferences are geared towards two things that I have a passion for–nursing education and obstetric nursing,” she said. The first conference is the National Nurse Educators Summit, which will be held in Savannah, Ga., March 31-April 3. “This conference is put together by ATI, which is a program we utilize to a great extent in our nursing program here at Trinity,” said Mels. “At this conference, I will learn how to develop as a professional and explore different teaching strategies and evaluation methods, which will help to improve course/program outcomes at Trinity.”
The second conference is sponsored by the Association of Women’s Health & Neonatal Nursing and will take place in June in Atlanta. “As a member of this professional organization, an obstetric bedside nurse, and women’s health educator, this convention will help to inspire and improve education related to care of women and neonates,” she said.
As part of the fellowship, Mels will report back to the State of Illinois, as well as sharing her knowledge with colleagues in Trinity’s Nursing Department. “This fellowship truly has a domino effect, in that the knowledge I gain from these experiences will have an impact on the care I provide to my patients, the educational strategies I may then share with the nursing department, the educational and clinical experiences I provide my students with, and then the effects the students have on their future patients,” said Mels. “I firmly believe this opportunity will help me advance my knowledge and skills as a professional nurse educator, which will improve my abilities in educating our future nurses.”
Trinity’s Bachelor of Science in Nursing degree program, which has had a 100 percent first-time pass rate on the NCLEX-RN exam for three of the last four years, prepares graduates in all areas of clinical nursing with a Christian perspective.
Earlier this month, the Trinity community said goodbye to Dave Jousma, Coordinator of Audio Visual Services, who is retiring after 15 years of working for the College.
“I will certainly miss you all on a daily basis,” said Jousma in a note to the Trinity community.
Jousma offered his thanks and gratitude to the College’s audio visual technicians throughout the years, including Ben Bridgewater, Dirk Aardsma, Ian Adema, Levi Wondeyee, Jayson Veenstra, Aaron Visser, Josh Arnold, Sam Mahtani, Brian Boucek, Bobby Herrera, Leif Anderson, Kaleb Furmanek, Adam Perez, Brian Kuiper, Lyle Breems, Jason Korthuis, Ryan Brouwer, Daniel De Young, Daniel VandeBunte, Justin VanderWaal, Justin James, Selah Jabeen, Katie Oomkes, Eden Foreman, Annaliese Mrazek, Jonathan Hibma, Deborah Fry, Jonathan Reitveld, Eros Perez, and Larissa Brumlow, just to name a few. “Justin Vander Waal, Trinity’s A/V Lead Technician, is the Trinity A/V department of the future!” he said. “Best wishes to him and all the above mentioned in the New Year!”
Jousma also offered a quote from Satchel Paige, “Work like you don’t need the money, love like you have never been hurt, and dance like nobody’s watching.”
Along with working for Trinity, Jousma is the father of two alumni, Jett ’08, ’13 and Jordan ’17.
We congratulate him on his retirement and thank him for his service.
The College is pleased to announce that Evan Senti of Escondido, Calif., and Sophia Lang of Palmyra, Neb., have been named the 2019 Founders’ Scholars.
The Founders’ Scholarship is a renewable, full-tuition award available annually to two incoming freshmen.
Senti attends Calvin Christian High School and Escondido United Reformed Church. He has played football for four years as running back and linebacker and helped launched the school’s golf team. Senti also sings with the school choir, participates in musicals, and serves as senior class president.
Senti said he knows students from his church and school who have gone to Trinity, but he became more familiar with the College when his older brother Michael ’20 began attending.
“My first impression was how well-knit the community is, and how students take classes seriously but also enjoy themselves,” he said. A second visit reinforced his first impressions. “I applied to a few state schools in California and a few other Christian colleges, but Trinity seemed the most like a community,” he said.
Senti plans to major in biology.
Lang is homeschooled and has taken classes from a local co-op, as well as dual-credit courses from several colleges. She and her family attend Cornerstone Baptist Church, where she has served in different capacities, including helping with music, Vacation Bible School, nursery, kitchen, and cleaning. She has also helped her father coach a track team for six year olds since she was 10. Over the summer, Lang spent a week serving at Royal Family Kids Camp, a camp for abused and neglected foster youth, and completed a mission trip to Mexico.
Lang learned about Trinity while she was researching Christian colleges that offer her intended majors of speech-language pathology and Spanish. “When I visited campus for the first time in the summer of 2018, I fell in love and began imagining myself there,” she said. She visited again during Founders’ Weekend. “I was able to watch and interact with the students on campus, which only increased my desire to attend Trinity. I had been praying that God would show me exactly where He wanted me to be for the next several years of my life; a place where I could use all the gifts He’s given me, both to grow myself and to encourage others, and I believe God has shown me that Trinity is the answer.”
Trinity is excited to welcome our Founders’ Scholars for the class of 2023!
On behalf of everyone at Trinity Christian College,
we wish you a Joyous Christmas, all the Blessings of the Season,
and our Very Best Wishes for a Wonderful New Year.
President Kurt and Mrs. Leah Dykstra
With pride and celebration, Trinity held its Fall Semester 2018 commencement ceremony on Dec. 15 in Ozinga Chapel Auditorium.
“Be more in the world than keeping your head down and doing your work,” urged commencement speaker Felecia Thompson, adjunct professor of formation at Northern Seminary. “You are called to bring peace where you are. You will become the hands and feet of Jesus. You will become the source of truth.”
She also encouraged graduates to stay connected to the College. “Don’t forget the folks at Trinity that taught you. Come back and visit. I do,” said Thompson, who has served the College in multiple capacities, including as a member of the board of trustees and director of the community partnership program.
The ceremony featured the presentation of diplomas to nearly 100 traditional and adult undergraduate program graduates, and those receiving Master of Arts in special education and counseling psychology.
Along with honoring graduates, Professor of Special Education Patricia Powell, Ph.D., received emeritus status.
The ceremony began with a greeting from President Kurt D. Dykstra. Powell provided the invocation. Provost Aaron Kuecker, Ph.D., gave the honors recognition and presented the graduates. Rev. Willis Van Groningen, Ph.D., Chaplain and Dean of Spiritual Formation, provided the benediction.
The Gospel Choir, led by Nicole St. Victor, Instructor of Music, offered the song of response, “Psalm 23 (I Am Not Alone).” Instructor of Music Minkyoo Shin, D.M., and Professor of Music Mark Peters, Ph.D., provided the processional and recessional.
The complete ceremony:
The Trinity community gathered on Thursday to honor the retirement of Sandy Aggen ’10 from her position as Adult Programs Manager, after 13 years of faithful service to the College.
As a graduate of the adult business program, she has helped counsel and advise students navigating the ups and downs of finishing their bachelor’s degrees. She has served as both recruiter and advisor, but also as a mentor and teacher throughout the entire student journey at Trinity.
Her kind, energetic spirit and invaluable knowledge of the adult programs were lauded at the gathering in the Vermeer Fireside Room. Kathy Davis, Operations Manager for the adult business program and a long time co-worker of Aggen’s, remarked on her amazing achievement in helping more than 1,800 students begin classes in the adult programs. Education Program Director Sharon Price, Provost Aaron Kuecker, and Executive Director of Admissions and Financial Aid Jeremy Klynn, also spoke about Aggen’s impact across the Trinity community throughout the last 13 years.
She will remain a part of the Trinity community, as she continues teaching as an adjunct faculty member for the Communication Arts department next semester.
We wish her the best with all the wonderful things that will come next for her and her family and thank her for her steadfast service to our adult programs students over the years.
The Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference Fall All-Academic Teams have been released and the list includes a total of 40 Trinity student-athletes. The academic honor is awarded to athletes on the women’s and men’s cross country, women’s and men’s soccer, and women’s volleyball teams who are at least of sophomore status academically, have been at their school for a minimum of one academic year, and have achieved no less than a 3.25 cumulative grade point average.
Of the total of 335 student-athletes in the CCAC on the list from the 14 member schools, Trinity was one of three schools that had at least 40 recipients. The breakdown of athletes on the All-Academic Teams for the Trolls includes:
Women’s Cross Country (9) – Megan DeWeerd, Hope Fathman, Brittany Hoekman, Corrie Jacobi, Barb McAndrews, Francesca Strolia, Nicole Syverson, Mikayla VanLaan
Men’s Cross Country (4) – Caleb DeWeerd, Nick Heidinger, Brantley VanOverloop, Noah Wolters
Women’s Soccer (12) – Elly Brummel, Lindsey Dykema, Nicole Faulkner, Marissa Fields, Ava Gomez, Allyson Kranstz, Drew McCarthy, Jessica Owen Shaelyn Postmus, Paige Rogers, Kaleigh VanElst, Lexi Zambrano
Men’s Soccer (9) – Ben Boers, Dylan Busscher, Brevin DeBoer, Zach DeKock, Kris Kirchhoff, Tyler Massa, Tate Rozeveld, Gabriel Soler, Case Van Wingerden
Women’s Volleyball (6) – Alysia Folkersma, Britta Heggeland, Anna Maatman, Courtney Sullivan, Dani Van Laten, Danielle Zander
For a complete lists of the CCAC All-Academic Teams click here.
Recently, Trinity’s Diversity Scholar team visited the Chicago Semester campus, where Dr. Yudha Thianto, Professor of Theology, spoke. “With the theme of ShowUp, we entered into conversation about God’s story within our lives,” said Nicole St. Victor, Director of Multicultural Engagement.
Chicago Semester is an off-campus program of the College that allows students to live, study, and work in Chicago.
Trinity Assistant Professor of History Kyle Dieleman, Ph.D., is one of the inaugural recipients of the Calvin Institute of Christian Worship’s Teacher-Scholar Grants for 2019-2020, as part of its Vital Worship Grants Program from the Calvin Institute of Christian Worship, Grand Rapids, Michigan, with funds provided by Lilly Endowment Inc.
Dieleman intends to use the grant to continue to study the relationship between Sabbath observance and spiritual formation, offering historical insights and exploring contemporary adaptations. His previous research will be published in January with his book, “The Battle for the Sabbath in the Dutch Reformation: Devotion or Desecration?”
“The grant will provide for some course releases, a research assistant, travel funds, and a couple of seminars with church leaders and pastors,” said Dieleman.
This new stream of the Vital Worship Grants program recognizes that teacher-scholars in many disciplines have a unique role to play in strengthening and nurturing the life of Christian worshiping communities. These inaugural teacher-scholar grants will engage disciplines traditionally associated with worship such as theology and music, but also from philosophy, history, education, and African American Studies and women’s studies. Along with Dieleman, recipients include scholars at research universities, seminaries, and regional Christian colleges. They represent eight states, one Canadian province, and the District of Columbia.
Each grant will fund a research project beginning in 2019 that shows promise to serve worshiping communities by strengthening Christian public worship practices.
Trinity’s fall semester 2018 commencement ceremony will take place in Ozinga Chapel Auditorium at 10 am on Saturday, Dec. 15. The College is pleased to announce that Felecia Thompson will deliver the commencement address.
Felecia Thompson is an Adjunct Professor of Formation at Northern Seminary, staff member for Christ Church of Oak Brook (Ill.), and an outgoing member of the Board of Trustees at Trinity.
Thompson is a native of the South Side of Chicago, a mother of two grown daughters, and has been married for 41 years to Steve. She received her bachelor of arts in sociology/psychology from DePaul University, a master of science in human services administration from Spertus College, and is currently pursuing a doctor of ministry degree at Bakke Graduate University in Seattle. Her teaching gifts have led to instructional roles at Moody Bible Institute, Trinity Christian College, and now Northern Seminary. She has utilized her administrative and leadership gifts in executive roles with the DeVos Family Foundation’s Urban Leadership Initiative, Trinity Christian College, the Family Care Network, and most recently Resilient, a project begun via the efforts of Christ Church of Oak Brook.
For most of the past years, Thompson has directed community partnership programs for Trinity Christian College, and then for World Vision, where she served as Executive Director of its Chicagoland operations, and Domestic Mission Director for Christ Church of Oak Brook.