Students, faculty cheer new school

EVERETT -- It may take some time for Trinity Lutheran College to settle in a new place, but the city's new neighbor officially moved in Saturday afternoon.

After the prayers were said and the ribbon was cut, students, professors and community leaders crowded the spacious commons area of the five-story building on the corner of Wetmore Avenue and California Street, the former home of downtown's Bon Marche until 1991.

At least 200 people attended the gathering.

The small, Bible-based school moved to Everett from Issaquah this year, seeking a more urban environment for its students.

Some guests went on an informal tour, stopping along the light-filled corridors to look at the pictures and portraits hanging on the walls. It wasn't hard to spot the Rev. Douglas Stensby on a black and white graduation photograph from 1972.

Stensby, who now serves a Lutheran church in Bothell, is one of many Trinity graduates who attended the ceremony.

"I am thrilled … about this campus being in the city," he said.

Stensby said he learned the basics about life and faith as a student at Trinity. "I keep thinking this might have been the most important part of my education."

Trinity is a liberal arts college founded in 1944 and accredited by the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities. It offers four-year degrees in a number of programs, including social work and communications.

The new, urban location of the campus offers numerous advantages, said alumna Aubrey Thonvold, 26. She said students who didn't have a car had a hard time getting around the largely residential Issaquah.

Here in Everett, they can serve the community from their own back yard.

"It's exciting to be a part of Everett. There are so many more opportunities to get engaged. Students can be as involved as they want," she said.

Thonvold, originally from Minnesota, said she had been happy at Trinity as a student and wanted to experience the college on a different level.

"The faculty was outstanding, and the friendships I made were so great, I wanted to come back," Thonvold said. She is the director of community life, overseeing student housing and helping with activities.

There are currently about 100 students at Trinity, Thonvold said.

Thonvold said people who surrounded her at Trinity genuinely cared about the kind of person she is. "I felt empowered," she said. "That's why I wanted to come back and work here."

Business professor Stuart Webber said the Everett area can provide plenty of internships and strong connections. "From a business perspective, there's a very rich community. We've really picked a great home," he said.

Amanda McDougall, 24, of Centralia, said Trinity definitely feels like home to her. "It's not an institution. It's our family, something we take very seriously."

She said the school's small class sizes -- four to five people on average -- and personal attention from the faculty make a difference.

"You are not a number. They care for us and know our stories, and we know theirs," she said of the school's professors.

Trinity has just begun learning Everett's stories, but McDougall said she hopes the school will soon become an integral part of the community.



Reporter Katya Yefimova: 425-339-3452 or kyefimova@heraldnet.com