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I chose to attend Trinity University as sunlight slipped away on an uncomfortably hot spring evening four years ago, when the beginning of spring break only promised an exciting vacation and not the start of a deadly pandemic. A quick break from an impromptu family road trip brought me here for the first time, a landscape then devoid of people but still full of life.
My mom and I sauntered onto campus as though we lived there all our lives, only to find ourselves lost within a matter of moments. Too proud to use my phone, we ran around in circles for an hour, claiming to know where we were, until we were given directions by a kindly older woman with a petite fluffy dog — not only to the parking lot where we had left my dad, but also to the path that would take me to Trinity two years later.
Small talk led to a discussion of her life, and the woman, a Trinity alumna, regaled me with tales of her collegiate odyssey as we walked through a tree-lined picturesque pathway with unparalleled beauty, stopping only to view her favorite corners of campus, such as the meditation garden outside Margarite B. Parker Chapel.
I listened with rapt attention; even the Trinicats, the beloved felines that call campus home, would not have been able to tear me away. After directing us through this labyrinth I have since come to love and understand, the woman bid us a hearty goodbye and told me she would pray for my acceptance into Trinity. Although I had barely begun to think about college, something about her energy and passion captivated me; no other alumni I had ever met spoke about their alma mater with such joie de vivre. In two years when I graduate, I know that I will echo that same exuberance when I speak of my alma mater.
Until I walk across the graduation stage graced with robes of black and glistening maroon stoles, I spend my time on campus trying to grow both academically and personally. The best piece of advice I have ever received is to find a mentor, someone who will advocate for you even when your back is turned — and Trinity provides these in spades. I can say with confidence that our faculty is like no other and can turn a classroom from a group of timid students into a boisterous group of unlikely friends.
For instance, one of my favorite classes — International Law taught by Rosa Aloisi — began with a classroom full of nervous sophomores and juniors and ended with a group of pirates learning about the law of the sea. While studying political science and business on campus, not only have I given 90-minute-long presentations, written 15-page papers and crammed an entire textbook into my brain for a three-hour-long test, but I have also placed bets, created (and destroyed) governments, argued with aliens and, of course, been a pirate.
Trinity has provided me with ample role models, while also helping me become one. I enjoyed my first-year seminar course so much that I returned as a peer tutor the following year. It was incredibly rewarding to retake the class — especially without having had to fail it first — with a new group of students who had their own interesting and unique perspectives.
Besides my academic pursuits, I am the president of Trinity University’s Rotaract Club, a branch of Rotary International, as a proud fourth-generation Rotarian. Focused on service and professional development, we aim to equip students with the tools necessary to explore their future careers by meeting with esteemed leaders in their respective fields, while also giving back to the community through volunteering and various engagement initiatives.
I would be remiss if I forgot to mention the activity that has, by far, had the biggest impact on my collegiate livelihood: The Trinitonian, Trinity’s independent and student-run newspaper. I work on staff as the opinion and special sections editor, prompting students I have never met to call me “Ms. Trinitonian.”
I spend so much time in the newsroom — located underneath Coates Student Center and affectionately known as “The Dungeon” due to its perpetual darkness and windowless ambiance — that I would consider it a second dorm room. I have certainly taken countless naps there.
Living at Trinity for these last two years has changed me into an entirely different and, dare I say, better person. And I want to put what I have learned to good use. Although encapsulating what Trinity has given to me seems impossible, I can certainly try. This summer, alongside working with the San Antonio Report as a business intern through Trinity’s ALE Program, I am serving as the editor-in-chief of Trinity Declassified, the first issue of the Trinitonian for the 2024-2025 academic year, which introduces campus to incoming first-years, transfer students and anyone interested in learning more about being a Trinity student.
