From community care to global outreach, students at TWU have demonstrated great initiative and leadership during 2021. As we look back over the year, here are just some of the ways in which TWU students have used their resources, time and talent to serve the society around them.
Joy of human connection shared globally
In the midst of a pandemic year, a group of TWU students redefined “missions.”
In some ways, their creativity was born of necessity. Faced with COVID-related travel restrictions, TWU’s Global Projects – a Student Life ministry that focuses on preparing and sending students on short-term service trips around the world – had to quickly re-model their plans.
Through prayer, reflection, research and collaborative effort, Trina Pinzon, Assistant Director of Global Projects, led a team of students to chart a new way of doing ministry.
One of their most significant projects was called Adopt a Country.
Combatting loneliness, building connections
As an international student who commuted to TWU for classes, Kevin Chai remembers that his first year at university felt lonely and isolating, without connections to others outside the classroom.
Chai wanted to make the experience better for others.
“This motivated me to reach out to the community in my second year through joining student leadership,” he said.
Chai became a chapter coordinator for TWU Access Chapters, a community-building initiative born out of a pandemic year. He also led activities for TWU Intercultural Programs, fostering connections among different cultural groups on campus.
Whether it was virtual karaoke or a watch party for the NBA live stream finals, Chai was constantly looking for creative ways to build connections among people at TWU.
As someone entering new frontiers, Lucy Zhang helped others who, like herself, were adapting to life in Canada while managing university studies and preparing for future careers.
She did it through volunteering.
Zhang recently graduated with a Master of Arts in Leadership degree, specializing in Business.
During her student days at TWU, Zhang had led a volunteer club at TWU Richmond and mobilized student volunteers to help the city.
One of their key community partners was Connections Community Services, a charitable organization serving children, youth and families in Richmond.
“Hundreds of students participated,” said Zhang, recalling the volunteer placements that she coordinated.
The goal of student volunteerism, said Zhang, was to connect TWU students with the city in positive ways, as well as to help students step into a variety of industries and find their future career.
App prototype to improve public education around climate change
Okewoma Okumo can help you calculate your personal carbon emissions, using an app that he created.
Okumo, a first year student and a computer science major at TWU, participated in the Township of Langley's Codathon: Coding Matters competition and won the second place prize ($1,000) for his project. It was Okumo's first time competing in a codathon.
Okumo's award-winning project was a GHG (greenhouse gas emissions) calculator and environmental informer — it allowed users to calculate their own personal carbon emissions that affect the climate. After discovering their emission output, users were further provided with environmental tips and connections to local companies, empowering users with information on how they can reduce their current emissions.
Okumo explained that his prototype aims to improve public education around climate change, and to help app users "make the world a better place for future generations."
Creative drive-thru grad banquet celebrates the class of 2021
For a second year in a row, Langley’s university students had their graduation season interrupted by COVID-19.
This time around, however, the graduates had a plan.
TWU’s student association, known as TWUSA, created an outdoor Drive Thru Graduation Banquet to honour the class of 2021.
Cindy Easterina, from Indonesia, was among the class of 2021 who registered to attend the outdoor celebration, which was open to graduates and those who wanted to celebrate with them.
“It means a lot to me, because my family’s not here,” said Cindy, who has achieved a degree in Psychology with a certificate in Human Services.
Sustainability week fosters environmental awareness
Led by a campus environmental club, TWEC, students at Trinity Western turned spring cleaning into an outdoor socially distanced used-goods swap exchange.
The result was less waste, more recycling, and funds raised for youth-led businesses and charitable causes.
“People throw away their junk all the time, [such as] clothing and other essentials, when someone might actually need those,” said Rea Klar, a first year Biology major at TWU and the media manager for TWEC.
The student-run “Swap + Shop” was part of a five-day sustainability week on campus, to encourage students to reuse items and reduce waste. Arranged in an outdoor parking lot on campus, student vendors sold used clothing, textbooks, re-usable items and handmade accessories.
Participating in flood relief efforts in B.C.
Seeing the hardship that many B.C. families faced as a result of the recent flood disasters, Jeff Gamache, TWU Director of Athletics, put out a challenge to the student athletes on campus.
The idea was that each athletic team would take the initiative to organize a time when the team or most of the team could go and help a family in need. A member from the TWU community, whose family lived in Arnold, B.C., had five feet of water accumulate inside her family home. Her family, along with many neighbours, had to evacuate.
The TWU Spartans Men’s Soccer team rose to the challenge. Jackson Thomson, the team's discipleship leader, organized his teammates, and together, they drove out to the flood-hit rural community.
“They pulled garbage and large objects out of ditches. They cleaned out houses, whatever was needed,” Gamache shared.
Roundtable discussion on leadership
Given the context of today’s global challenges, Lila Wei, a student in the MBA program and head of the TWU Finance and Investment Club, saw that it was an ideal time to bring together a group of current and future leaders to discuss how servant leadership can help organizations face challenges and overcome crises.
She organized TWU students, faculty and staff to participate in a student-led Roundtable Leadership Conference in-person at the university’s Richmond-Minoru location and online.
“We gathered to explore why leadership is so important in today's complex business environment, and what qualities we expect business leaders to possess,” said Lila.
Lila says that the event was inspired by her peers in the Finance and Investment Club, and from what she was learning in her MBA courses, especially the discussions on business ethics and social responsibility.
“In my MBA courses, my professor repeatedly emphasized how to exert servant leadership in business, deal with business ethics issues, and to have the courage to make tough decisions,” she said.
Reflections on launching one’s career during a pandemic
Sarah Patterson-Cole, Naomi Lomavatu and Chanhee Park were the inaugural cohort of Trinity Fellows in 2020, part of the Trinity Fellows program under the Office of the President. They were mentored by TWU executive leaders to explore their gifts, passions, and opportunities for growth through the lens of renewal and mission in Christ.
Recently the three TWU graduates shared some of the best lessons learned from their first year after graduation, in an article for The Banner magazine.
"None of us pictured graduating in a pandemic, trying to navigate through an online world, or starting a career from home," they wrote. "As recent graduates, we felt discouraged and lost after a dramatic—yet painfully anti-climactic—ending to a critical season of our lives."
"The greatest lesson we have all learned is that when life does not go according to plan, the challenges can bring unique opportunities to grow if you approach them with a posture of curiosity," they concluded.
Race, difference, and fostering a ‘Beloved Community’ at TWU
A week prior to the official start of the Fall semester, TWU Student Life staff, together with about 280 student leaders, began the hard work of training and preparing to welcome students back to learning and university life.
Part of the student leaders' week-long training and preparation (also known as SLO week) was a series of group discussions on race, culture, diversity and inclusion. As a global Christian University, TWU welcomes students from over 70 nations. This engaging conversation between President Husbands and three student leaders was captured within a series called “Life Together in a Diverse Community."
The series, which discusses the idea of Beloved Community, borrowed from the vision of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., is a part of a new student leader curriculum. It was produced by TWU's Joshua Onwugbonu, Media and Communications Coordinator, and Nate Magnuson, a student leader in Prayer, Arts, and Worship.
About Student Leadership at TWU
Trinity Western seeks to provide leadership experiences that will allow students to learn about the challenges and rewards of leading others first-hand. Learn more about Student Leadership roles and opportunities.
About Trinity Western University
Founded in 1962, Trinity Western University is Canada’s premier Christian liberal arts university dedicated to equipping students to establish meaningful connections between career, life, and the needs of the world. It is a fully accredited 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 four campuses and locations: Langley, Richmond-Lansdowne, Richmond-Minoru, and Ottawa. TWU emphasizes academic excellence, research, and student engagement in a vital faith community committed to forming leaders to have a transformational impact on culture. Learn more at www.twu.ca or follow us on Twitter @TrinityWestern, on Facebook and LinkedIn.
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