Coming to TWU
Having emigrated from Colombia to Canada with her family, Isabella Alvarez grew up between two cultures. Despite the blessings that came with this, Isabella found her heart longing for a place to call home—for belonging. In Colombia, her family had heard about Trinity Western and was eager for her to attend, so her initial reason for registering at TWU was to please them. In fact, Isabella planned only to stay for a year or two, but she ended up staying for the entirety of her degree. “I was so surprised by the people that I met and the warmness of the community,” she explains, “I found a place that had values that I could really resonate with.”
Becoming equipped
While at TWU, Izzy (as her friends call her) took every opportunity she could to glean from various aspects of University life. “The community was super supportive and empowering,” Izzy recalls. She found herself in several leadership roles, including as a collegium host and being on student government. These positions and many others that she held in her time at TWU helped Isabella understand what it meant to be equipped for life.
While on the student government executive team, Isabella served as an advocate for students who were going through particularly challenging times in their lives. This vast spectrum of concerns and advocacy allowed Isabella the opportunity to be “that safe person for people” as she describes it, adding, “And that’s a role I carry into my career.”
From studies to career
Isabella’s love for human resources had already been established before beginning university, so her choice of major came easily—an honours degree in business, specializing in HR. Throughout her degree, Isabella found her TWU professors to be a great source of encouragement. In reminiscing on the support she and her classmates received from discussions with professors in the program, Izzy remembers, “. . . we would have conversations about faith, our life, prayer requests, and even things happening in the industry. They made such a holistic space for learning, where they really saw us as human beings.”
Now an HR professional, Isabella makes a point of explaining that “HR is more than hiring and firing.” She continues, “. . . it's about coaching and giving people the resources to succeed.” The intentionality of care she found in her TWU professors is something Isabella mirrors in her role in HR. She describes her position further, saying, “It's actually really about discipleship, and how I can empower others to become who God has created them to be. I deal with people walking through conflict and dark places, and I feel privileged to be a sort of comfort and light in situations that are difficult.”
A safe space
Looking back at those early days of being between cultures and at university, Isabella recalls the feeling of belonging that her heart longed for. In gratitude, she shares, “Trinity Western has always felt like a safe space,” and fondly adds that she’s “proud to call Trinity Western home.”
Also see: TWU alumnus Spencer Funk understands the value of collaboration—in science and in life
About Trinity Western University
Founded in 1962, Trinity Western University is a global Christian liberal arts university. We are dedicated to equipping students to discover meaningful connections between career, life, and the needs of the world. Drawing upon the riches of the Christian tradition, seeking to unite faith and reason through teaching and scholarship, Trinity Western University is a degree-granting research institution offering liberal arts and sciences as well as professional schools in business, nursing, education, human kinetics, graduate studies, and arts, media, and culture. It has locations in Canada: Langley, Richmond-Lansdowne, Richmond-Minoru, and Ottawa. Learn more at www.twu.ca or follow us on Instagram @trinitywestern, Twitter @TrinityWestern, on Facebook and LinkedIn. For media inquiries, please contact: media@twu.ca.