Author Archive
Trinity Soccer Teams Up with North Chicago Youth
by Wendy Moore, assistant sports information director
North Chicago youth arrive on campus
On Saturday, May 4, Trinity International University Men’s and Women’s Soccer spent their final team activity of the year serving the local community and sharing their love of the game with youth from North Chicago.
Freshmen Nikki Post said that they spent time “teaching the kids about the NAIA Champions of Character Core Values, what those values look like in everyday life, and just letting them know they are loved.”
“I can’t think of a better way to end our year than serving the Lord by loving on these kids,” Post added.
Freshman Samantha Yasatan jukes the youth
The North Chicago community is about 15 miles from Trinity’s campus, but the two worlds could not be more different. Trinity is located in affluent Bannockburn, Illinois, surrounded by major business corporations, strong school districts, and upper class neighborhoods. A twenty-minutes drive north, however, reveals an under-resourced community that at one time was called a “food desert.” Many of the youth from North Chicago have faced difficulties beyond their years.
Trinity’s soccer players organized the day in its entirety—from games and activity stations to how they would greet the kids the minute they stepped off the bus. The five NAIA Core Values of Sportsmanship, Respect, Servant Leadership, Integrity, and Responsibility were integrated into the different activities throughout the day. One TIU Men’s Player and Women’s Player would be at each station to speak on a specific core value and interact with the youth on how they could apply it to their lives. The core values would also be strategically woven into the activity and then talked about after each game. The remaining soccer players who did not take part in this facilitation were divided into teams and each of them selected a few boys and girls that they would then be intentionally spending time with throughout the day.
Junior Greg Navitsky and Marson
“I hung with a kid named Marson all day,” Trinity Junior Greg Navitsky said. “We had so much fun! His joy and love for the atmosphere was electric. At each station we did a handshake that we came up with, and he also asked me to give him piggyback rides to all the stations. It reminded me of how the love of Jesus Christ loves to be present with us and how he never grows tired, weak, or weary.”
After two hours of fun, fellowship, and learning, the day came to a close with a pizza party.
Trinity Men’s and Women’s Soccer Head Coach Patrick Gilliam said that he is “extremely proud of both our small group leaders and our two teams for their planning in the weeks leading up to the event and their investment in the youth of North Chicago. As is often the case, I think we were the ones who were more blessed by what took place.”
TIU Athletics Spotlight: Welcome Coach Wartluft!
Trinity Athletics has announced the recent hire of Laurel Wartluft as the new head women’s basketball coach. Wartluft comes to Trinity with extensive experience as a collegiate basketball coach, having served at Kent State, Moody Bible Institute, and, most recently, at Walsh University, where she was the head women’s basketball coach and assistant athletics director.
“As a highly successful coach at previous institutions, Coach Wartluft has the background and experience necessary to develop a highly successful program at Trinity International University,” said TIU Director of Athletics Dr. Tony Ladd.
She has career coaching achievements that include consecutive trips to the NAIA National Basketball Tournament in 2010 and 2011, as well as a Final Four appearance in 2011. Coach Wartluft is replacing Summer Fine who resigned the position earlier this year.
Remembering Carl Henry: Evangelicalism Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow
Call for Papers
January 22, 2013, marked the centennial of the birth of the late Carl F. H. Henry. An architect of the modern evangelical movement in the U.S., Henry was involved in the inception of Fuller Seminary, Christianity Today, and the Evangelical Theological Society. He was also a professor, friend, and supporter of TEDS, leaving us both his single largest gift and his personal archives. This centennial moment offers a marvelous opportunity not only to commemorate and celebrate Carl Henry’s life of ministry and love of God, but also to rekindle the enduring significance of his theological vision for a new generation of evangelical scholarship, continuing the spirit of philosophical, theological, and social engagement that Henry envisioned.
Please consider sharing your research paper or project at this year’s Henry celebration (Oct. 11, 2013 at TEDS) and in the Spring 2014 edition of Trinity Journal. Some examples of potential research papers to be presented at the conference might include:
- Carl Henry’s Theology of Revelation and Scripture
- Evangelicalism and Social Engagement
- Carl Henry’s place in twentieth-century theology
- Carl Henry on Mercy and Justice
- Carl Henry’s Theological Interpretation of Scripture
- Evangelicalism and Theological Education
PROPOSALS
Proposals should include a title of no more than 100 characters and an abstract not to exceed 250 words. They should also include name, email address, and place of employment/study. The proposals are due by July 1, 2013, and should be submitted to Geoffrey Fulkerson: gfulkers@tiu.edu.
AWARD
Six essays will be accepted and announced by July 15. The selected essayists, in addition to having their travel expenses covered to the Remembering Carl Henry Conference (Oct. 11, 2013 at TEDS), will be given a $500 honorarium, and the selected essays will appear in the spring edition of Trinity Journal.
Trinity’s Online BA in Christian Ministries: Flexible, Global Training
Trinity International University is engaged in training leaders for global kingdom service. One of the many ways this happens is through our online undergraduate degree completion programs, in which students like Karen Edwards have the opportunity to complete their degree in formats that fit their lives.
Karen and her husband are full-time missionaries in Costa Rica. In the midst of training women through life-on-life discipleship, she has been completing an online BA in Christian Ministries (one of three online Bachelor’s completion programs Trinity offers). She also recently spent six months stateside to augment her program with REACH counseling courses on the Deerfield campus, which is where we recently caught up with her.
When asked about her experiences with our online programs, she said, “Overall, it’s been great. My husband and I travel a lot; I can do my work from South America or whatever country I’m in, so that’s awesome.” For Karen, Trinity’s flexibility in delivery and timing provide the perfect educational complement to her full-time vocational pursuits.
Karen is excited about the training she’s received. When asked about how her recent counseling courses will affect her discipleship ministries once she returns to Costa Rica, she laughed and said, “Well, I’m still processing.” She went on to speak about some of the challenges and opportunities facing some of the women she disciples; she is especially excited about how her ministry is beginning to raise up married couples who, after growing in discipleship alongside one another, feel called to become overseas missionaries in Muslim countries. Karen hopes to someday visit and strengthen some of these couples using some of the theological and practical skills gained through her program.
She isn’t sure about what new opportunities will come in the future, but the unique combination of gospel-centeredness and flexibility Karen found in Trinity’s online BA in Christian Ministries degree completion program has given her training that will shape her ministry for years to come.
Farewell Reception for Undergraduate Admissions Director Aaron Mahl
Stop by the Undergraduate Admissions Office on May 3, 2–3:30 p.m., to express gratitude and farewell wishes to Trinity’s Undergraduate Admissions Director Aaron Mahl. Aaron is joining Scannell & Kurz in Rochester, N.Y., as an enrollment management consultant. His last day at TIU is May 3.
According to Senior Vice President of Enrollment Roger Kieffer, during his time here, Aaron has built a strong and well-trained admissions team, bringing a high standard of professionalism to the undergraduate admissions office. “He championed a collaborative approach to student recruitment, raising campus-wide awareness of recruitment being everyone’s responsibility,” noted Kieffer. “Aaron’s vision and instincts for understanding today’s students has helped TIU move forward in the area of effective, well-timed communication to our prospective students.”
Jordan Bryant will be serving as interim director of undergraduate admissions. Jordan is a graduate of Trinity College (’10) and has been a member of the admissions team for almost three years. He has already been overseeing and managing the admission counselors.
“He brings great energy and a natural leadership ability to the position and looks forward to working with other members of the admissions leadership team to continue to recruit future graduates of TIU,” Mahl said.
New Faculty Spotlight: Welcome Ruby Owiny!
Trinity College and Trinity Graduate School welcome Ruby L. Owiny (PhD cand.), assistant professor of education, to TIU beginning fall 2013.
Professor Owiny taught in both Christian and public elementary schools after earning her Bachelor of Arts degree in Elementary Education at Asbury University. As she observed the diverse needs of students in her classrooms, she decided to return to Asbury for a Master’s degree with an emphasis in learning and behavior disorders. After earning her Master’s, Owiny was a special education teacher for six years. She currently is a PhD candidate at the University of Kentucky.
One of Professor Owiny’s passions is the inclusion of special needs students in the general education classroom. “General education teachers often do not have adequate training to feel prepared to work with students’ diverse needs,” she notes. Owiny is eager to equip Trinity’s teacher candidates with the knowledge, skills and dispositions to use appropriate methods to serve all students, including those with special needs, in the general education classroom. She is also excited about the opportunity to integrate faith and learning opening at Trinity. “As a graduate of a Christian university, I am deeply committed to provide the same integrated education to my students,” she writes.
In addition to her expertise in special education, Professor Owiny is interested in distance education and technologies. Her dissertation research combines these areas by examining the use of technology for distance coaching of teachers in effective teachers. Her research population is in Guatemala.
Professor Owiny and her family anticipate moving to the Chicago area during the summer.
Looking for a Summer Job?
Facility Services and Conference Services have summer jobs available to students with federal work study. If you are interested please apply at myTIU > Administrative Resources > Job Postings.
Don’t wait—they go fast!