The impact of a Trinity Western University education is expressed most compellingly through the lives of its graduates.
As such, the University is delighted to announce the recipients of the 2025 Alumni Awards. The award recipients were announced and celebrated at a special dinner on Sept. 12 during Homecoming weekend.
Gathered to honour alumni achievements
TWU’s Homecoming brings alumni, faculty, staff, and supporters together to celebrate shared memories and to honour the significant work that graduates are accomplishing around the world. As in previous years, the achievements of three alumni were recognized under the categories of Think Truthfully, Act Justly, and Live Faithfully. These awards reflect the University's vision, "Every graduate is equipped to think truthfully, act justly, and live faithfully for the good of the world and the glory of God."
Nominations were collected from the TWU community over many months. A selection committee comprised of alumni, staff, and faculty thoughtfully reviewed every nomination before naming this year's recipients. Each award recipient was celebrated at the Alumni Awards Dinner on Sept. 12, in the presence of University leaders, faculty, staff, and friends who nominated and supported each graduate in their journeys.
"Tonight, we celebrate alumni whose lives remind us that true achievement is rarely seen in a single moment, but rather across a long arc of steady faithfulness.”
Global alumni, worldwide impact
Acknowledging that the most significant work is often not a single achievement, but the fruit of steady perseverance, President Todd F. Martin began his remarks: “Tonight, we celebrate alumni whose lives remind us that true achievement is rarely seen in a single moment, but rather across a long arc of steady faithfulness.”
Drawing on Ralph Waldo Emerson’s image that “a thousand forests begin with a single acorn,” President Martin highlighted how the 2025 Alumni Award recipients embody the legacy of more than 30,000 graduates who make up the Trinity Western University alumni community.
Echoing TWU’s Scriptural theme for this academic year, “The righteous shall live by faith” (Galatians 3:11), President Martin continued, “Their lives remind us of an enduring influence that is not measured in just a moment. While we're celebrating today, we also remember that true impact and influence takes time.”
President Martin went on to note that life and faith are not linear paths of constant progress, but journeys marked by ups and downs. It is only through perseverance across seasons of challenge and growth that the full influence of a life lived faithfully can be seen.
Hence, it is with deep gratitude that Trinity Western University honours and congratulates the 2025 Alumni Award recipients.
2025 Think Truthfully Award recipient, Alexandra Hudson
The Think Truthfully Award celebrates a graduate who embodies the integration of faith and reason, pursuing truth through scholarship, education, and creative expression. This year’s recipient, Alexandra Hudson (’14, BA History), has dedicated her career to bringing truth, beauty, and reconciliation into the public square.
As a Christian author and cultural commentator, Hudson has inspired thousands through her debut book, The Soul of Civility: Timeless Principles to Heal Society and Ourselves. Drawing from ancient wisdom, modern thinkers, and her own experience—including time spent working in the U.S. Department of Education—she makes a compelling case for the power of respect to mend divided communities. The book’s broad reach, amplified by a 50-city tour, reflects Hudson’s deep commitment to renewing minds and restoring dignity in a fractured world.
Hudson’s work extends beyond publishing. With a master’s degree from the London School of Economics, Hudson has taught at Indiana University’s Lilly Family School of Philanthropy, created the teaching series Storytelling and the Human Condition, and contributed to leading media outlets such as The Wall Street Journal, TIME Magazine, and PBS. Through each platform, she faithfully integrates her scholarship and her Christian convictions, pointing others toward truth and hope.
Hudson reflected that true civility is “deeper and richer” than surface politeness—it begins with seeing the Imago Dei—the image of God—in every person. To recognize another as made in God’s image, she explained, is to acknowledge their full dignity, worth, and personhood, and to offer them respect on that basis. She noted how her time at TWU, with its focus on liberal arts education, first introduced her to this vision through the study of Renaissance thinkers and leaders whose lives continue to inspire her.
2025 Act Justly Award recipient, David Punnamannil
The Act Justly Award honours a graduate who exemplifies Christlike compassion by advancing justice and care for the marginalized. This year’s recipient, David Punnamannil (’17, BA International Studies), has dedicated his life to transforming pain into purpose and adversity into advocacy. As founder and executive director of Lighthouse Voyage, Punnamannil leads an internationally recognized nonprofit committed to ending exploitation and empowering survivors. What began with a single act of compassion during a mission trip in India has grown into a movement of redemption that has rescued and rehabilitated more than 933 individuals, built safe homes, launched a nursing school, and is now expanding into medical care.
Punnamannil’s mission was profoundly shaped during his years at TWU, where he found healing and calling after seasons of depression and displacement. Supported by professors, peers, and the wider community, he embraced a vision of justice rooted in faith and service. His leadership journey included frontline work with the Calgary Dream Centre and The Mustard Seed, where he walked alongside people overcoming addiction and homelessness. At TWU, he was an active student leader in social justice and outreach initiatives and received the TWU Citizenship Award in 2017. Today, through Lighthouse Voyage and new initiatives in education, healthcare, and human rights, Punnamannil continues to reflect the heart of God’s justice and embody TWU’s mission to serve and transform the world.
Upon accepting the Act Justly Award, Punnamannil reflected that true courage does not mean the absence of fear, but the willingness to act faithfully in the midst of it. He shared that his work through Lighthouse Voyage embodies both fear and courage, a tension and balance he has come to embrace and continually practice. “I’ve learned that courage is built each time we face fear,” he said, noting that his own courage is rooted in Christ, a foundation nurtured during his time at TWU.
2025 Live Faithfully Award recipient, Mary Wakutz
The Live Faithfully Award honours a graduate who embodies TWU’s mission to live out the Great Commission by faithfully advancing God’s kingdom in their communities and beyond. This year’s recipient, Mary Wakutz (’14 BSN, ’21 MSN), has built her life on the foundation of faith, compassion, and the call to serve. As a registered nurse and global medical volunteer, she has brought healing and hope to vulnerable communities both locally and around the world, responding with humility and courage wherever God leads.
From serving in pediatric and maternal care at Vernon Jubilee Hospital to deploying with Samaritan’s Purse during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic in Italy, Wakutz has demonstrated extraordinary resilience and devotion. Her global service has taken her to Haiti, Uganda, and South Sudan, where she led medical teams, strengthened local health systems, and trained workers in infection control and public health. Even while completing her graduate studies at TWU, she developed a nursing education toolkit for Canadian professionals working with structurally vulnerable women during pregnancy—reflecting her integration of academic excellence with Christ-centred compassion. Today, as she raises a young family, Wakutz continues to live out her faith with quiet strength, inspiring others through her steadfast devotion to Christ and His mission in the world.
Wakutz emphasized that living faithfully does not always appear bold or extraordinary—it often looks like saying “yes” to God in the ordinary rhythms of daily life. Whether serving overseas in crisis zones or spending quiet days at home with her family, she reflected, true faithfulness is found in the small, consistent choices to trust and obey. “It’s those days put together one by one—where we're seeking God, we're trying to say yes in the little moments—those lead up to a beautiful life lived in faith and lived faithfully,” she shared, hoping her journey would inspire others to embrace courage and faithfulness in their own everyday lives.
Wakutz’s words captured the essence of this year’s Alumni Awards: that a faithful life is rarely measured in one extraordinary moment, but in a long arc of steady commitment. Whether through scholarship, justice, or service, the 2025 award recipients inspire the TWU community towards daily faithfulness, living with courage and grace across seasons of both the ordinary and the extraordinary.
About TWU Alumni
We invite our alumni community to continue to participate in the life of the University. Our desire is to nurture an engaged and flourishing global community of alumni by cultivating meaningful relationships and creating engaging alumni experiences. Learn more at TWU Alumni.
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. It has campuses in Canada in Langley, Richmond, 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.