Freshman Students Tour Jelly Belly for Off-Campus Fun

This article was written for my Fall 2009 Writing  for the Media 1 course. The Trinity Digest staff liked it and published it as a guest entry on October 2, 2009. 


Freshman Trinity students  from Johnson Hall and Carlson Hall had a chance to feel like kids again, as they hopped aboard a small train and toured the Jelly Belly Candy Company Visitor Center on Saturday.

The students toured the Jelly Belly Visitor Center as a brother/sister floor activity. Upon entering the store each student was adorned with a Jelly Belly hat and given free jelly beans. Students then rode the "Jelly Belly Express" through a warehouse of 4.5 billion jelly beans. Through watching many short video  clips, students learned about the history of the company, and how Jelly Beans are made, a process which can take up to five days.

Students also observed the "Jelly Belly Art Gallery." The art gallery consisted of jelly bean mosaics of popular historical figures, including a 1980 mosaic of Ronald Reagan, whose favorite candy was the jelly bean. After the tour, students chose from over 50 flavors to sample or purchase. Many students were disappointed to find the "belly flops," irregularly shaped or mismatched jelly beans, out of stock.

"It was cool learning how the food scientists make the different flavors, especially the more difficult ones," said Resident Assistant Natalie Elzinga. To make a new jelly bean flavor, food scientists take the original substance containing the flavor they want, and compare it to their duplicate flavor until the two balance. This process can take up to six months.

"The purpose of brother/sister floor activities is so that one suite can interact with residents from a different suite in a non-intimidating way," said Resident Assistant Cora Looney. "We chose this activity because it was fun and low expense."

Brother/sister floor activities are organized by Resident Assistants, and are not school funded. Each resident pays their "suite dues," which help fund the activities. Resident Assistants try to plan a brother/sister floor activity for each month.

"I like off-campus brother/sister floor activities, because they really do help to get to know people better," said sophomore Kristy Sorenson.
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"TIU Student creates Christian Social Networking Site"

This article was written for the Trinity Digest, and published on February 26, 2010. 


Sophomore Kingsley Chinye has invited the Trinity community to support and join Kingdom Agents, a Christian social network site he designed and operates.

Chinye established Kingdom Agents as an alternative to Facebook or MySpace that is designed to connect believers from all over the world to fellowship together online. The mission of Kingdom Agents is further described on their website as desiring “to break through the four walls of the church to connect the body of Christ, and to minister to the needs of all people.” The Scriptural inspiration for Kingdom Agents’ mission came from Psalms 133:1 which says, “Behold how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity!” 

Chinye said that he brainstormed the idea for Kingdom Agents in September 2008. While surfing a music website, he saw an advertisement that said “Create your own social network.” He did not think much about it, and just clicked on it for fun. Chinye named the social network Kingdom Agents and invited a few friends to join. He created the name Kingdom Agents from a sermon his pastor in Miami, FL gave about becoming a kingdom seeker. 

Chinye said “Kingdom Agents” had become a part of him and was his slogan.
Chinye said that his girlfriend at the time was very excited about Kingdom Agents, but told him “the Lord has given you something better.” She encouraged him to drop the original website and her brother began to advise Chinye about the business.

Chinye did not think he would have the money or time to pursue developing Kingdom Agents because of his academic commitments. He decided to go on a seven day fast to make sure the idea was from God and said he received more guidance the longer he fasted. 

Chinye began to do web design research and found that the price of starting a social network was out of his range. It was not until he found a company named Heritage Web Solutions, now named Heritage Internet Technologies, that he found a cheaper price. The initial website design cost was $17,000, but after a phone conversation with the president of Heritage Web Solutions, he was put on a special payment plan and was able to afford it. According to Chinye, the president told him his ideas were “really revolutionary.”

“You have found favor in the sight of God. God has instructed me to help you out,” the president told him. 

Kingdom Agents has similar characteristics to other social networking sites, such as a Play List, where users can listen to clips of Christian music. It also has a “Prayer Bucket” where users can subscribe to and post prayer requests. According to Chinye, Kingdom Agents will soon introduce new software that will allow churches to access these prayer requests, as well as users. Kingdom Agents also advertises and represents Christian music artists on their website, including a biography of their featured artist. Chinye said his goal wasn’t just having users on the website, but getting them involved in the community. 

According to Chinye, Kingdom Agents will offer scholarships and mission involvement to bring users out of the online focus, along with free concerts and events for anyone to attend. Kingdom Agents’ next event will be at the F.A.T. worship service in the A.T.O. Chapel on April 8 at 9:30 p.m., where merchandise will be available to purchase.

“It’s an awesome ministry that God has blessed me with. I’m humbled to see what God wants to do with it. God is the founder, I’m just the caretaker,” Chinye said.

The current Kingdom Agents staff consists of Executive Administrator Alex Peterson, Event Coordinator Jonathan Reynolds, Public Relations Assistant Garrett Kling, and President and Chief Executive Officer Kingsley Chinye. Chinye said his father is very supportive of the business and is acting as chief advisor and accountant from Miami, FL., where Kingdom Agent’s only office is located. According to Chinye, they hope to open one in Deerfield soon. 

“I hope it becomes something that Christians can go to get encouragement, to have fellowship with other believers, and grow with the Lord,” Kling said. 


There are currently 84 Kingdom Agents users. Students can sign up for Kingdom Agents at www.KingdomAgents.org. 

"President Williford Brings New Changes"

This article was written for the Trinity Digest and published on March 19, 2010.


Trinity International University (TIU) inaugurated Dr. Craig Williford as the University’s 14th President on Wednesday at the Inauguration ceremony held in the A.T.O. Chapel.

Williford expressed embarrassment about the inauguration at last Friday’s chapel when he addressed Trinity College students, and also on the blog he and his wife Carolyn write together. Williford said he and his wife really prefer the attention to be on God, but they also understand that inaugurations are an age-old tradition, and also an important time of worship. Williford’s hope and prayer for the event was that as those at the event who do not know Jesus Christ saw the worshipping community of Trinity, the message of Jesus Christ would be so attractive that they would come to Christ.

Williford also incorporated the concept of humility into his chapel message last week, encouraging students to have a “posture of humility.” Williford was confronted in college about being arrogant and rebellious, and advised students to keep in mind that there is always the possibility of being wrong. 

“We can be confident, we can be certain, but with respect and humility,” Williford told students. 

Interim Dean of Trinity College Dr. Steven Pointer said he believes Williford is the right president for this time in Trinity’s history because of his past experience as a president, his decisive decision making, and his commitment to growth. Pointer said Williford knows how to be a president given his drive and desire for change. According to Pointer, Williford has brought several visible changes to Trinity, one being his encouragement of the completion of the Waybright Center, as well as other changes that are not so visible. 

“He has a vision of growth for TIU, and he hasn’t been bashful about that,” Pointer said. 

According to Pointer, Williford hopes to increase the number of TIU students from 3,000 to 5,000. 

Pointer said he believes TIU will have to fully utilize the resources and strengths that come from being a university to pursue this vision of growth. Trinity offers multiple Dual Degree Programs that give students the opportunity to earn a Bachelor’s degree and a Master’s degree in five to six years, a unique opportunity that may attract more students. 

Vice President of Communications and Marketing Gary Cantwell said that Williford has changed TIU with his spirit of faithful optimism, open communication, and new project initiatives. According to Cantwell, Williford has given the audience a chance to ask questions at all of his public speaking events, even inviting the audience to “tweet” their questions to him at the State of the University address. Cantwell said the clear openness that Williford expresses is a valuable trait for a leader to have in challenging times. 

“He will listen to you, consider your comments seriously, and respond with honesty. You can't ask for much more than that from a leader,” Cantwell said. 

Cantwell said Williford’s vision for TIU is increased enrollment, innovation, and diversity. Innovation may mean increasing the number of Dual Degree programs offered, and increasing the number of degree programs offered for non-traditional students. According to Cantwell, the new athletic teams being offered this fall, the Digital Design minor, and facility improvements are all practical changes that will help bring about Williford’s vision for TIU.

Williford’s communication style has been evident to students as well. 

“Students have had opportunities to communicate their perceptions of the school. He’s patient, he knows ultimately that the school belongs to God,” said junior Lindsey Goewey.