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Alumni Bios
Since graduating from Smithville Christian High School in 2000, I have been on a journey to live out what I believe is one of Jesus’ central messages: to love your neighbour as yourself. One of the strongest messages that has stayed with me since my time at SDCH has been to always think critically, not simply living life and accepting things as they are, but instead to hope and work toward a better future for everyone. After completing a bachelor’s degree in social work at Calvin College (Grand Rapids, MI) and a master’s degree in social work at the University of Toronto, I took up positions with a few non-profit organizations in Chicago. My role in this work was to achieve community-developed solutions to problems such as a lack of affordable housing and healthcare, homelessness, gang violence, and a lack of immigrant rights. Many of these problems are rooted in injustice. This work allowed me to work together with those being oppressed to create change at the community, city, and state levels. Another step on my journey took me to Cuernavaca (Mexico), where I had the opportunity to work at an ecumenical social justice retreat centre to teach Canadian & American university and high school students about injustices that are evident in Mexico – many of which are a result of actions by governments and corporations in the first world. The goals of the trip were to equip participants with a strengthened knowledge and faith as a result of their experiences on the trip with hope that they would take home and actively pursue change in their own communities and to aim for social transformation around the world. Finally, my journey has brought me to WoodGreen Community Services in Toronto (http://www.woodgreen.org), where I am now working with homeless adults facing unique struggles with mental health and addiction. I work to cultivate relationships based on empowerment and trust so that I can work together with my clients toward finding and maintaining a stable home for each person while also attaining the basic needs to survive. I have been convicted that the call of Christ is to live a life of active love, one that confronts injustice locally, nationally, and globally. For every person this call looks different but I believe it is a call for each one of us, nonetheless. Every day I see the pain of a broken world, a pain that would look radically different if we all tried to live the love of Christ in our lives now.
Ken Dam says his years at Smithville Christian High School prepared him for a career that successfully blends his faith with the gritty world of labour relations. The SDCH alumnus, who graduated in 1998, went on to study history and theology at Redeemer University College with “no idea” of what he wanted to do next. After four years at Redeemer, he spent a year teaching English in South Korea before returning to Canada to complete a two-year master’s degree in philosophy at Toronto’s Institute of Christian Studies, specializing in political theory. Since 2007, he’s been a union representative at the Christian Labour Association’s office in Mississauga, representing the rights of about 600 workers at 10 different workplaces. He lives in Hamilton with his wife, Claire. Dam says he didn’t realize it at the time but “SDCH prepared me. It was the beginning of a life-long journey of learning how to integrate faith and life together. SDCH prepared me to think critically about how we live in the world and how we engage the world. Dam says relations between workers and management can often be difficult, and that’s why it’s important to “bring the truth of the gospel to the labour relations scene. Even in labour relations, the Biblical principles of justice, integrity and respect apply.” Many of the bosses with whom he meets and the workers he represents are not Christians, but that is all the more reason for Dam to be Christ-like in his daily work. “The world of labour relations can be a very dirty world,” he said. “As a Christian, you have to navigate and interact with this world, and have integrity, and be honest, and show respect to people with whom you may have many differences.” Dam said the people he represents trust him. “They trust the professionalism of the CLAC and they trust we are doing the best for them.” Dam, who’s still a newlywed, said if he and Claire have children, he intends to send them to a Christian school. “Christian truths have meaning in every aspect of life.”
“The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands. Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they display knowledge. (Ps 19:1-2)” Being involved in the sciences, I’m struck by the number of my colleagues who readily acknowledge the beauty, order, and intricacies observed within our discipline, yet choose not to see a Creator behind it all. Having been trained in the sciences at both Smithville Christian High School and at Redeemer, I’ve always been encouraged to see the Creator amidst the scientific details and facts; to see the creation as one of the ways that God reveals his character to the world. The Psalmist David declares that the heavens and earth constantly proclaim the attributes of Creator God, describing him as awesome, consistent, faithful, and wise. I suppose that’s one of the reasons I love working in this field; every day offers a new opportunity to glimpse the character and majesty of God in the tiniest detail. A graduate of Redeemer University College, Julie Kikkert (’03) is currently pursuing a master’s degree at the University of Guelph, researching the movements of rare elements in plants and soils within the environment. She has recently been awarded the Alexander Graham Bell Canada Graduate Scholarship by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada. |
