Calvin News

For Calvin University nursing students, some of the most important lessons in their education happen outside the classroom. 

Through their experiences at Trillium Living, students have the opportunity to work directly with older adults, practice foundational patient-care skills, and learn from experienced healthcare professionals. Sheila Vander Wal, BSN, simulation and lab coordinator at Calvin University, says those experiences can make an important difference as students prepare for more complex clinical settings. 

Vander Wal has seen firsthand how challenging it can be for students to approach patients when they are still developing confidence with basic skills. The warm, welcoming environment at Trillium/Holland Homes provides a bridge between the classroom and the hospital setting. 

Students can practice skills such as assisting patients with bathing, catheter care, and mobility in an environment where they can build confidence before taking those skills into more complex clinical settings. At the same time, the experience connects students with older adults and healthcare professionals, creating opportunities for continuous learning, meaningful community engagement, and a deeper understanding of vocation and what it means to use their careers in service to others. 

“It’s a great environment for our students to establish those foundational patient-care skills,” Vander Wal said. “When they move into a hospital setting, they have that confidence to build on.” 

The experience also gives students an opportunity to learn something that cannot easily be taught from a textbook: how to care for people with humility, compassion, and hospitality. 

As part of their clinical experience, students reflect on the virtues they observe in the professionals working with them. Vander Wal said Trillium’s staff provides strong examples of those qualities every day. 

One student, for example, described a Trillium clinical instructor and nurse manager as an example of “humble leadership.” 

“That’s really important,” Vander Wal said. “You don’t learn that in a book, not in the same way you learn it by watching someone who consistently demonstrates it.” 

Learning goes both ways. Trillium residents also become teachers for Calvin students, sharing their experiences and perspectives and helping students grow in confidence. 

Vander Wal recalled one Trillium resident who was a retired nurse and a relative of several Calvin graduates. When she learned the students were from Calvin, she immediately began sharing her knowledge and helping them navigate complex medical experiences. 

“There was this trust that was there without us having to establish a lot,” Vander Wal said. “She just took them in.” 

Those intergenerational connections are one of the reasons Vander Wal sees so much value in the relationship between Calvin and Trillium. 

The proximity of the two institutions, located across the street from one another, is an obvious benefit. But Vander Wal said the deeper connection comes from their shared commitment to serving others. 

“I think our missions and values align so closely,” she said. “To me, it’s very important. It makes so much sense to partner, learn and grow together."   

Students are now being introduced to foundational nursing experiences such as those at Trillium earlier in their education. Early exposure to clinical experiences can help students determine whether nursing is the right fit for them while simultaneously building the skills and confidence they will need as they progress into more advanced clinical experiences. 

“It’s really about helping students launch with more confidence,” Vander Wal said. 

That approach is consistent with Calvin’s broader educational mission: preparing students not simply to enter a profession, but to understand how their gifts, knowledge, and skills can be used to serve others. 

For Vander Wal, that is what makes the Calvin–Trillium relationship particularly meaningful. 

“I love geriatric care, and I love working with older adults,” she said. “But I also love helping students get to that level of confidence. Being able to give them that experience early in their education is incredibly valuable.” 

The partnership creates opportunities to build on that relationship, expanding hands-on learning, internships, and career pathways while bringing Calvin students into closer contact with professionals and older adults whose experiences can shape how they understand both their profession and their calling.