On Saturday, Oct. 18, 2025, Trinity Western University’s Langley campus was filled with warmth and gratitude as donors, students, faculty, and friends gathered for our annual Legacy Luncheon. This event offered a sacred moment to reflect on God’s faithfulness and the impact of generosity in the lives of students and the broader TWU community.
A welcome rooted in gratitude
Guests were invited to reconnect with friends, former colleagues, and classmates, and to celebrate the community that continues to make Trinity Western such a meaningful place.
Most importantly, the luncheon provided an opportunity for Trinity Western University donors to meet and hear from student recipients—the remarkable young people whose lives are shaped by our donors’ generosity and kindness. Guests were also inspired as they listened to reflections from faculty, University leadership, and honoured guests.
Student voices of courage and calling
Morley Draper, a fourth-year BA student, shared how God used a faithful roommate and a season of camp ministry to kindle a calling to serve youth. Scholarships made space for practicum work with teens facing complex challenges, leadership on chapel worship teams, and an honours thesis exploring how teachings about the sanctity of the body shape women’s mental health. “Without the financial support graciously provided by donors like you, I would not have been able to come to Trinity,” she told the room.
Netanya Castillo, an MA in Biblical Studies and Christian Thought student, offered a testimony of direction and belonging. Her first visit to TWU chapel became a turning point that led to evening classes, faculty encouragement, and donor-funded awards that opened the door to graduate studies.
Arturo Lombardo, a third year BBA student, spoke about helping run his family’s business in Mexico, asking a cousin about the TWU experience, and waiting several years before he could finally arrive. He described how God provided a way forward, just as his earthly father had provided for him, and how scholarship support and the welcome he found at TWU turned hope into a path.
Honouring legacy makers
This year’s Legacy Distinction Award recognized Dr. Jack and Mrs. Alice Van Dyke for faithful service and generous support that has touched generations of students. Dr. Van Dyke, retired professor of chemistry and former Dean of Science, helped strengthen the sciences at TWU and championed the integration of Christian principles in the classroom. Together, Jack and Alice have supported students through named scholarships and awards that have opened doors for learning. Jack reflected on the joy of giving and the surprising way God blesses cheerful givers, encouraging others to invest in students who will carry that blessing forward.
A faculty perspective on generosity and formation
Dr. Kent Clarke, TWU’s New Testament Endowed Chair, offered a candid window into the impact of philanthropy on teaching, research, and service. A New Testament scholar who spends late nights with ancient biblical manuscripts, he described how the chair enables focused excellence in the classroom, sustained scholarship, and public engagement. He told of a former student who became the first in her extended family to attend university, “We often think that professors transform students,” and continued, “If you talk to any professor who has been here long enough, they will share that the students have transformed us.”
A president’s vision for legacy that touches eternity
President Martin spoke of legacy as something both practical and eternal, a faith that is handed from one generation to the next. Drawing from 2 Timothy, he reminded guests that inheritance reaches beyond what money can buy. When donors help make Christ-centered education accessible, they invest not only in today’s students but in their children and their children’s children. He invited the community to imagine a future where rooms like this are filled decades from now because of choices made today, and he shared a hope dear to his heart—to build a dedicated chapel that honours Jesus Christ and anchors worship at the centre of campus life. “You are not just donors,” he said. “You are co-labourers in the kingdom. You are legacy makers.”
Music that lifts the heart
The TWU Chamber Singers framed the day with beauty, offering sacred choral selections that turned attention to the Word, to gratitude, and to the God who gives.
A grateful sendoff
Guests were invited to capture a photo with student award recipients and encouraged to take home TWU’s annual Impact Report to share with friends and family. A closing prayer thanked God for stories of grace and transformation and asked for wisdom, unity, and courage for leaders, faculty, staff, and especially for students as they seek Christ and serve others.
Through named scholarships and awards, and by including Trinity Western University in their estate plans, donors make a direct and lasting impact on current and future students desiring to be equipped for life through a Christ-centred university experience. These students will go on to serve in churches, schools, clinics, laboratories, boardrooms, and communities around the world.
The generosity of our donors is transforming lives. Through their faithful support, barriers to education are being lifted, students are being formed as whole persons in Christ, and a legacy is being built—one that reaches beyond individual efforts and into the eternal purposes of God’s kingdom. Their impact is enduring, shaping a future that will outlast our lifetimes and echo into eternity.
In every gift, we see a reflection of God’s provision and a testimony to the power of faithful stewardship. These acts of generosity are not merely financial—they are spiritual investments in the lives of students, the mission and vision of the University, and the advancement of Christ’s kingdom.
We invite you to learn more at twu.ca/giving.
About Trinity Western University
Founded in 1962, Trinity Western University is a global Christian liberal arts university dedicated to equipping students for life. Uniting faith and reason through Christian teaching and scholarship, TWU is a research institution offering undergraduate and graduate degrees in the humanities and sciences as well as in several professional schools. With its main campus in Langley, B.C., TWU also has campus sites in Richmond, B.C., and Ottawa, Ont.
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.