The Trinity Perspective - Spring 2024 by Trinity University

SPRING 2024

Thrive, Your Way Interdisciplinary courses tackle real-world challenges

Trinity University’s well-rounded liberal arts and sciences curriculum promotes self-discovery and inspires students to question answers as they answer questions. Our hands-on, interdisciplinary academics provide students with the tools they need to thrive while tackling real-world challenges and pursuing their passions.

The Trinity Perspective magazine offers a glimpse into the many ways Trinity University prepares students to lead lives of meaning and purpose. Trinity is known for its stimulating, resourceful, and collaborative environment, filled with students who want an education that instills confidence, inspires curiosity, and ignites change. Flip through these pages to see for yourself!

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Have a question for a current student? Email your questions to students at AskATiger@trinity.edu. Have a question for an admissions officer, faculty member, or other staff member? Email us at admissions@trinity.edu and we’ll get it answered. THE OFFICE OF ADMISSIONS Trinity University One Trinity Place San Antonio, Texas 78212 admissions@trinity.edu www.trinity.edu/admissions 1-800-TRINITY

Trinity University is a private, residential, co-educational institution in the heart of vibrant, intercultural San Antonio. Trinity offers its 2,500 undergraduate students an education rooted in the liberal arts and sciences that prioritizes hands-on learning, emphasizes undergraduate research, and develops strong leadership skills.

Robert Furuya ’24 (center) explains his engineering project to a passerby at the 2023 Summer Undergraduate Research and Internship Symposium.

The Composer, the Engineer Music, STEM interests lay out unique path for Trinity senior by Jeremy Gerlach

Robert Furuya ’24 is just as masterful at composing new music on the keys of one of Trinity University’s 43 Steinway pianos as he is machining with a Haas Mini Mill CNC router in its Makerspace. Luckily, Robert doesn’t have to choose between them at Trinity: The University’s flexible liberal arts environment gives this music composition and engineering science double major a pathway to thrive in both passions. “What Trinity has allowed me to do with these two majors is a pretty

unique thing,” says Robert, who hails from Raleigh, North Carolina, has dual Canadian citizenship, and also finds time for a math minor. “I haven’t seen a lot of other schools where you can do both.” Robert plays piano, performs in solo recitals, writes music for various types of ensembles, and has even joined Trinity’s unique Handbell Ensemble. He’s now in the middle of preparing for a senior composition recital, but his musical influence has extended far beyond campus.

“In June 2023, I went to Italy for a premiere of my composition in the Alba Music Festival, which was actually funded in part by the Calvert Scholarship, and I attended a sound and music computing conference in Stockholm while across the pond,” Robert says. “Seeing your music brought to life by live performers is an amazing experience.” While Trinity’s Calvert Scholarship helps fund his music pursuits, Robert is supported in his engineering pursuits by the prestigious STEM-

What Trinity has allowed me to do with these two majors is a pretty unique thing. focused Semmes Scholarship, which provides not only full tuition but also a $5,000 stipend for research support, professional travel, materials, and supplies. “In Trinity’s engineering science curriculum, you get to explore multiple disciplines: electrical, chemical, and mechanical,” Robert says. “I think we also have one of the most open and caring engineering departments. Our faculty, you can just go in and talk to them.” Over his summers, Robert has had the chance to work on projects such as an autonomous planetary rover, where he helped hone the rocker-bogie suspension, researched worm gears, and began developing a new gearbox design for the drive wheels. Robert is now hard at work on his senior engineering design project. (At Trinity, engineers have a design element all four years.) “I’m pretty excited about this,” Robert says. “We’re working on this automatic desktop plastic injection molder that we’re aiming to put into a K-12 classroom as part of a curriculum about plastics.” As he pursues music and engineering, Robert appreciates the space that Trinity’s flexible, liberal arts education offers him to balance both. “In terms of scheduling, things have surprisingly not conflicted that much,” Robert says, laughing. “I’m very thankful to my professoradvisers for helping me find options and flexibility, which is a perk of going to a small school.”

A Well-Rounded Education Meet two Tigers who took advantage of Trinity’s versatile liberal arts and sciences curriculum to explore multiple disciplines while participating in the extracurriculars they love.

Aliya Jackson ’24 Accounting major and philosophy minor Aliya is thriving at Trinity. While making connections between disciplines, she runs track, stays involved with the Black Student Union, and helps lead her sorority.

Ruby Walker ’23 Recent alumna Ruby enjoyed life inside and outside the studio at Trinity. This art major from Austin, Texas, also loved science, poetry, anthropology, and painting. (She even painted 15 portraits of Spock in her junior year!)

The Trinity University Journey Video Series

Hear from Aliya, Ruby, and other Tigers who are thriving at Trinity.

Students and faculty in “The Natural Environment and Well-Being” course took a full-day field trip to the Guadalupe River State Park.

Nature Runs This Course Interdisciplinary class places students outdoors to connect with the natural world by Jeremy Gerlach

It’s no secret that taking time to unplug from the modern world and get closer to nature can have a profound effect on your well-being. So, Trinity University has a course that gives class credit for immersing in the outdoors. “At Trinity, you learn by doing,” says education professor Laura Allen. “So, we wanted to start a class that takes students outside into natural spaces.” Welcome to “The Natural Environment and Well-Being” (ENVI/EDUC 3310), an awardwinning course and research project all in one. This course is led by an interdisciplinary team of education, sociology, and biology professors who

bring their respective fields together to examine nature’s effect on the wellbeing of college students. The 30-person class is three credit hours (with no prerequisites) and satisfies environmental studies, education, and two general education requirements. Students attend a three-hour block on Wednesday afternoons, with at least 50% of class time dedicated to nature on and off campus. This includes one full-day field trip, which this past fall was to the Guadalupe River State Park. “In this course, you’re going to be able to figure out how your connection with the outdoors and with nature can best benefit you,” says education

professor Courtney Crim ’93, M’94. “Whether we’re talking about selfregulation, stress management, or overall well-being, this course gives you skills that you can choose to take forward with you, whether you end up working on Wall Street or somewhere less hectic.” The class aims to include different disciplines: “engineers, computer scientists, people that normally wouldn’t take this type of a class,” Professor Crim says. Diverse beliefs, well-rounded experiences: Sounds like the draw of a university like Trinity, where converging viewpoints and perspectives are constantly

Students rest near a tree during their guided forest therapy walk at the Guadalupe River State Park.

creating new bridges between disciplines and academic interests. Where else are you going to find a course that brings together students from economics, like Jacob Munoz ’23; political science, like Aaliyah Jones ’26; or finance, like Sierra Vargas ’24. “I wasn’t really sure what to expect from this course,” says Jacob, a studentathlete from Cedar Park, Texas, who balanced school and football at Trinity before graduating in December 2023. “What surprised me was that this class wasn’t just about hanging out outside. You’re actually learning about the benefits of being in nature.” Aaliyah, an aspiring corporate lawyer from Houston on Trinity’s pre-law track, says the day trip isn’t what people may expect. “I think the best way to put it is that we’re figuring out our own relationships with nature.” “I was skeptical of this course,” says Sierra, a finance major from San Antonio who’s in the middle of searching for internships. “It seemed a little different compared to most courses here at Trinity, but

I thought it would be perfect for me because I have a lot of stress.” “I think, so far, the course has helped a little bit. I still feel anxiety and things like that,” Sierra adds. “But what’s actually surprising is how much I don’t think. I’ve always had my mind in a million different places all at once. But while I’m out there in nature, my mind is very at peace. It’s a time for my mind to settle down.” Aaliyah says the course has helped its students step forward toward healthier lives as she reflects on her own personal development: “I feel like ‘Aaliyah today’ is way more focused on growing herself,” she says. “I feel like I’ve taken steps in selfgrowth that were courageous, that I feel like ‘Aaliyah a few months ago’ would have been too afraid to take. That’s a big deal for me.”

middle A student stops for a closer look at a find from the therapy walk. bottom For students like Aaliyah Jones ’26, personal reflections are a crucial part of the class experience.

Experience the sights and sounds of the course yourself.

Communication professor Althea Delwiche gives a lecture to students in her course, “AI, Creativity and Communication.”

Demystifying AI A hands-on communication course explores the implications of AI by Emma Utzinger ’24

Communication professor Althea Delwiche is no stranger to exploring the complexities and implications of the digital world. From virtual world development to transmedia storytelling and mobile gaming, Professor Delwiche leads classes and research projects that engage with current technological advancements and their impacts on media and broader society. In her course, “AI, Creativity and Communication” (COMM 3325), Professor Delwiche examines the implications of artificial intelligence (AI) for the media we consume every day. “AI technologies are transforming our communication landscape, and specifically, we’re trying to find entry points into this emerging world where liberal arts students can still be engaged in a substantive way with the

decision-making that needs to be done regarding AI,” Professor Delwiche says. Through this course and her research, one of Professor Delwiche’s major goals is to demystify AI and explore its benefits. “Generative AI has shown exponential growth in the last year, where models like ChatGPT increased nearly a thousand times between November 2022 to March 2023,” says Cutter Canada ’24, who researched animal depictions and archetypes in AI-generated stories with Professor Delwiche in Summer 2023 before the creation of her AI course. “More and more people are integrating Canada generative AI

into their lives to accomplish all types of tasks,” he adds. Professor Delwiche wants everyone who participates in “AI, Creativity and Communication” to leave in the middle ground between engaging with AI as a tool and understanding its weaknesses, never just accepting it. As Professor Delwiche hoped, her course is changing the way students view AI. “Weekly assignments are meant to coach us on how AI works and the specific means of prompting it for results as close to our desired outcome as possible,” says Mylo Mittman ’26, an intended English and communication double major. “The lessons on AI bias and how AI ‘sees’ in more than 500 dimensions will stick with me for life.”

Check out the course.

COMM 3325:

AI, Creativity and Communication Class Days/Times Monday/Wednesday/Friday | 9:30-10:20 a.m.

Professor Althea Delwiche

Course Summary

Required Subscription

This course provides hands-on engagement with tools and concepts associated with artificial intelligence, machine learning, and multimedia production. Experimenting with a wide range of large language models, generative art platforms, and third-party AI-fueled tools, we will consider ways that these new technologies can enhance our research and creative processes. We will examine the implications of artificial intelligence for all aspects of the communication landscape, from media studies and journalism to advertising/PR, graphic design, game development, and film production. We will also explore ethical, cultural, and economic considerations surrounding artificial intelligence. By the end of the course, you will walk away with more confidence about how to navigate this rapidly changing landscape.

Midjourney, a text-to-AI art generator Sample Homework Assignment Design Your Dream AI Companion: A Business Pitch Document In this creative assignment, you will design and pitch an AI companion to venture capitalists. Your pitch document will serve as a comprehensive blueprint, detailing everything from the AI’s personality to its technical architecture and ethical considerations. This is a chance to blend your academic insights with real-world application.

Charting Your Course Trinity’s team of advisers help undeclared students plan their path to graduation With hundreds of courses to choose from, dozens of programs to major in, and a whole slew of new vocabulary to learn, the switch from high school to college academics can be dizzying. Enter Trinity University’s Office of Academic Advising. Led by the office’s director, Lapétra Bowman, the team of six dedicated academic advisers begin guiding new students through Trinity’s curriculum before they even set foot on campus. Trinity’s academic advisers serve as a touch point for incoming students and as a resource for students who are registering for classes or exploring and declaring their major. Once students declare their major, they transition from working with an academic adviser to receiving guidance from a faculty adviser in their academic area of interest. At the heart of Trinity’s advising work with students is the concept that picking a major is not the end of their academic journey, just a major milestone along the way. It’s an opportunity for students to choose a pathway that aligns their personal values with their academic or career interests. While each adviser has curricular specialties, it’s OK not to know what you want to study yet! The advisers are all well-versed in Trinity’s entire curriculum and can help guide you no matter where you are in your academic journey.

Meet Your Advising Team Lapétra Bowman

Director of Academic Advising

Michael Leach M’13

Areas of Advising: Liberal Arts, Health Professions, Humanities, and Social Sciences

Jennifer Reese

Areas of Advising: Engineering Science, Health Professions, Mathematics, Mathematical Finance, and programs in the Michael Neidorff School of Business

Regina Romero

Areas of Advising: Biology, Biochemistry, Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Chemistry, Computer Science, Health Professions, Neuroscience, and Physics

Catherine Terrace ’19

Areas of Advising: Biology, Biochemistry, Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Chemistry, Computer Science, Health Professions, Neuroscience, and Physics

Alexis von Biedenfeld

Areas of Advising: Liberal Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences

Katie Welch ’18

Areas of Advising: Engineering Science, Health Professions, Mathematics, Mathematical Finance, and programs in the Michael Neidorff School of Business

Experience Trinity University It’s important to take time to explore the college campuses you’re interested in—there’s no better way to get a true sense of what it’s like to be a student there. Trinity offers visit experiences for prospective and admitted students. Visit our campus in sunny San Antonio, or take a virtual campus tour online.

Explore all visit options at gotu.us/visit.

Prospective Students

Admitted Students TIGER FRIDAYS Admitted students are invited to campus for a Tiger Friday preview day, designed exclusively for future Tigers. You’ll meet fellow admitted students, get your questions answered by current Trinity students and faculty, and take a sample class for a preview of the academic experience.

TRINITY IN FOCUS OPEN HOUSE 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Saturday, June 29, 2024 Saturday, September 21, 2024 INFORMATION SESSIONS AND CAMPUS TOURS Trinity’s student-led campus tours and sessions with an admissions representative are available most weekdays and select Saturdays during the spring, including Spring Break, and most weekdays during the summer.

ADMISSIONS INTERVIEWS FOR JUNIORS This summer, get a head start on the application process by meeting one-on-one with an admissions representative virtually or in person in your hometown. Admissions interviews provide you with the opportunity to distinguish yourself in Trinity’s competitive applicant pool and learn more about the admissions and scholarship process. Interviews will be limited in the fall, so take advantage during the summer. Schedule your interview at gotu.us/interviews.

March 22, 2024 April 5, 2024 April 19, 2024

Registration closes the Tuesday prior to each event. Space is limited, so review the schedule of events and register early at gotu.us/AdmittedTigers, where you can also explore additional opportunities to visit most weeks, Monday through Saturday.

QUICK FACTS Private, undergraduate-focused, residential, co-educational Founded in 1869 6 minutes from San Antonio International Airport Located in America’s 7th largest city

2,581

undergraduates from 45 states and 41 countries A D M IT T ED S TUDENT P RO FILE Fall 2023 Entry Term

3.81

mean GPA core, unweighted 4.0 scale

30-34

mid 50% ACT mean: 32

9:1 student-to-faculty ratio acre campus located in 125 a residential neighborhood minutes from downtown 6 San Antonio

1350-1480

97% of faculty hold doctoral or terminal degrees

mid 50% SAT mean: 1413

11,425 applications

28%

admit rate

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