SPRING 2019
Breathe It All In Trinity’s choir headlines prestigious music festival in Austria
150 Years of Experiential Learning For 150 years, Trinity University has been redefining the liberal arts, giving students the opportunity for hands-on learning inside—and outside—of the classroom. Tigers jump headfirst into real-world experiences, such as taking on internships that shake up the status quo and diving into entrepreneurial pursuits that create new products and services. In the late 1800s, college teaching mainly consisted of memorization and recitation. But one Trinity professor strayed from the norm: William Hudson, who emphasized the importance of adaptability and innovation in the classroom. His penmanship students practiced writing and drawing, while his botany students tended to a garden and his science students dissected animals, fossils, and minerals. Hudson even pioneered collaborative learning experiences between students and faculty, forming an exploration society where he and students traveled through nearby counties collecting plants and animals for the University’s museum. That spirit of collaboration has remained rooted in Trinity’s culture for more than a century. Today, students and professors still work closely together, performing research typically unheard of at the undergraduate level and exploring the world through faculty-led trips. These experiences cultivate a community of lifelong learners with ambition and empathy, driven by a sense of duty to themselves and to the world.
The Trinity Perspective magazine is produced quarterly. Through these pages, explore the many facets of life at Trinity University and get to know the students, faculty, and staff that call Trinity home. With the vibrant city of San Antonio as a backdrop, discover the many benefits and opportunities our community has to offer. We invite you to read these pages to explore some of the many ways we make a great education possible, then visit our 125-acre campus to see it firsthand.
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ABOUT TRINITY Trinity University is a private, residential, co-educational institution with an undergraduate focus. So, what does that mean? It means that we focus on YOU—connecting you with the best possible resources, caring faculty members, committed staff members, and other world-class students destined to have a positive impact in our community.
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Houston? No problem. Trinity senior named NASA’s most outstanding intern By Jeremy Gerlach
Daniel Henkes ’19 has been launching rockets since he was a teenager. Now, as NASA’s most outstanding intern, he’s looking to launch a career. Henkes is an engineering science major from San Antonio, and when he graduates in fall 2019, he won’t just be capping off his academic journey at Trinity or a varsity cross country career: He’ll be completing a full stint in NASA’s prestigious Pathways Intern Employment Program (IEP), where he was awarded most outstanding intern in 2018. “I’ve been going back and forth, spending pretty much every other semester working at the Johnson Space Center in Houston, then coming back to San Antonio,” Henkes says. “This might be labeled as entry-level work, but you’re doing things that don’t feel like entry-level.”
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Getting a career at NASA is a notoriously competitive process, but being in the IEP is the best way for ambitious college students to get their foot in the door, Henkes says. As part of the IEP, Henkes has worked for both of Houston’s major NASA directorates: flight operations and engineering. At flight ops, Henkes managed a mock-up facility designed to replicate the International Space Station, and learned to direct extravehicular activity. “At NASA, we do more than just put people into space,” Henkes laughs. “Flight ops…I fell in love with it.” According to Henkes’ supervisors, his NASA coworkers have been continually impressed with his drive, noting that “all of (his tasks) were completed with a level of professionalism and skill of an experienced task team member, not a first tour intern.” Henkes has been on this career trajectory seemingly his whole life. Originally a teenage rocketry whiz at Alamo Heights High School, he built and launched rockets on the White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico. But while college can sidetrack such passions, Henkes came to Trinity because the University offered him a way to pursue both an engineering degree and a fast-track NASA career. “At Trinity, I’ve had a lot of help coordinating everything, especially with my academic advisers,” Henkes says. “Being a part of the IEP is something you typically only see with co-op programs at
bigger universities, like Texas A&M or UT–Austin.” Henkes has even been able to juggle his NASA internship and his studies with a successful running career at Trinity. He’s not just a mainstay on the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference academic honor roll, but he’s also a three-time allconference performer in cross country and the steeplechase. And speaking of jumping over hurdles: Henkes’ biggest challenge has been finding enough time for all of these passions. But thanks to Trinity’s flexible approach to engineering science and 9:1 student-faculty ratio, it’s only taking Henkes one additional semester to graduate. “I’ve known Daniel since before he was a firstyear, because I remembered him from his very first tour of our facility as a high school student,” says engineering science professor Jack Leifer. “And that mattered when we were trying to figure out how Daniel would be able to pull this off.” With faculty allies in your corner, Leifer says, Trinity students can have the best of both worlds:
big-school resources and connections, paired with small-school faculty relationships. “Because we know our students, our faculty can be flexible,” Leifer says. And Henkes says his semesters at Trinity never put a drag on the skyrocketing trajectory of his internship career. If anything, Trinity’s unique approach to engineering science actually gave Henkes a boost each time he returned into NASA’s orbit. At Trinity, unlike many other engineering programs, students are challenged with a design element all four years of study— not just as seniors—and also incorporate elements of electrical, chemical, and mechanical engineering into the curriculum, instead of just specializing in one field. “When I went back to work, having that knowledge of chemical engineering, while also doing mechanical engineering, has been very helpful,” Henkes says. “Having to work on eight design projects at Trinity, that’s teamoriented work, and that’s beneficial. And NASA’s flight operations? It doesn’t get more teamoriented than that.” Whether he ends up in a control room or with his hands on a massive ion thruster, Henkes is thrilled to see which part of the NASA team he’s invited to join next. “All this work for the internship, timewise, has been a big commitment. But at the end of the day,” Henkes adds, “you get the job.”
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Breathe It All In In Austria, Trinity’s choir brings a fresh voice to classical masterpieces
By Jeremy Gerlach
Standing in Joseph Haydn’s footsteps, Nicholas Champion ’21 had to remind himself to breathe. On a sweltering August day in Eisenstadt, Austria, Champion was standing in the gilded, majestic Haydnsaal at the Schloss Esterházy Palace. This is the opulent, baroque setting where Haydn, a titan of classical music, wrote and premiered his choral and orchestral works hundreds of years ago. But Champion scarcely had time to marvel at the breathtaking locale. As one of 40 Trinity choir members invited to perform at the prestigious international Classical Musical Festival in Austria, Champion needed to catch his breath. It was time to sing.
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You’re in this palace, you’re surrounded by this old, old beauty, and there’s this new beauty being made right in front of you. N IC HOL A S C HA MPION ’ 21
“You’re in this palace, you’re surrounded by this old, old beauty, and there’s this new beauty being made right in front of you,” says Champion, a human communication and theatre major from Klein, Texas. “You feel a sense of wonder from the first notes, and that’s probably what Haydn wanted when he wrote his pieces.” At this summer’s Classical Music Festival, elite musicians from more than 25 nations gathered to perform classics such as Haydn’s “The Creation” and Beethoven’s “Mass in C Major.” The festival, now in its 43rd year, is set across a dramatic set of venues, ranging from the iconic Haydnsaal and modern Kulturzentrum, to towering, ancient churches and chapels such as the Mattersburg Pfarrkirche, St. Stephen’s Cathedral, and the Bergkirche. Even among these staggering settings and professional musicians, Trinity’s choir wasn’t
drowned out. In fact, the group was actually invited to the festival to serve as the featured, host choral ensemble, says Gary Seighman, music professor and director of Trinity’s choral program. “We’ve been singing with the San Antonio Symphony for the past seven years,” Seighman says. “That’s why we keep getting invited to these kinds of things: We perform next to professionals, and that professionalism shows.” But Tigers don’t have to be professional musicians, or even music majors, to perform at a high level, says David Heller, professor and chair of the music department. “What makes Trinity unique is that all students are able to participate in music, at whatever level they want,” Heller says. “If you look at the roster of our ensemble, 95 percent of them are from outside the music department. Even if they’re going off into economics or physics or engineering, those are the
people we need sitting in our choirs, strengthening the cultural life of the world.” Kiyana Saidi ’21, a neuroscience major from Houston, says the trip tested the physical strength of the group, too. The choir spent more than a week in daily rehearsals, with eight-plus hours of standing, singing, and perfecting their craft. “Being there in the heat, everyone’s sweating, but nobody cares,” Saidi says. “It’s raw emotion, creation. You leave everything behind, you hear the music. It’s very surreal.” At each of the festival’s rehearsals and performances, Trinity professors performed alongside their pupils. Ultimately, Champion says, building relationships with faculty who are willing to take action, to make music right next to you, can open doors for Trinity students—not just to the past, but to the future. “Performing like this, you’re part of something bigger than yourself, and you get to hear and experience this beautiful piece of art that’s happening right in front of your eyes,” he says. “You have these layers and layers of history that you’re performing and interacting with, but also you’re giving it this revitalization…performing it with a group that’s never been together before.” And even if Champion never returns to Austria, he’ll be able to carry the music of this moment with him the rest of his life—every time he breathes it all in. “I think that’s why people love classical music,” Champion says, “because it’s always breathing, and you’re breathing new life into it.”
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Exponential Experience Trinity students seek out real-world experiences, preparing themselves to confront global challenges, answer questions, and question answers. Trinity equips students through experiential learning, undergraduate research, and international engagement, arming them to be stewards for change in the classroom, across San Antonio, throughout the country, and around the world.
Throughout the City Last spring, more than 90,000 people flocked to San Antonio for the 2018 NCAA Men’s Final Four. But thanks to Trinity students, thousands of other basketball fans got to experience college basketball’s signature event remotely. Ten students from Trinity’s sport management and
In the Classroom Last fall, Trinity students surrounded themselves with superheroes and villains in a communication course about the Marvel universe. The core of the class revolved around big, cultural touchstones, such as the Black Panther movie, the Avengers series of tentpole films, and even graphic novels, comics, and more old school comic media. And at Trinity, students get out of the classroom and into the real world. They headed to the Alamo City Comic-Con and conducted ethnographic research, studying attendees’ tendencies and habits. Bonus: some students blended in with their own cosplays!
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communication programs interned with the NCAA social media team during the Final Four. These interns gathered photo, video, and other media assets to help the NCAA publicize the festivities happening off the court, including concerts, fan events, slam dunk contests, and even flaming wing-eating contests.
Ever since I moved down to San Antonio to attend Trinity, there’s just been so many of these chances to learn and ‘experience’ at the same time. HA IL EY W IL SON ’ 19, F INA L F OUR INT ERN
Around the World Trinity gives Tigers a unique pipeline to Monterrey— a vibrant, bustling city of more than 4.7 million and
Across the Country
home to Monterrey Tec, billed as the “MIT of Mexico.”
Kristie Kummerer ’18 discovered a beautiful, long-lost
partnership since the early 1990s, where Tigers studying
medieval manuscript gathering dust in Trinity’s Special
a breadth of subjects, including political science,
Collections library. The collection of choral chants requires
math, business, and sports marketing, team up with
a mix of musical, religious, and historical knowledge to
Tec students on projects. For example, this year they
understand, since the document is ancient and steeped in
partnered to build an import-export flower company for
complex Latin and Catholic terminology. So, finding it was a
an orchid farm in Mexico. Together, Trinity and Monterrey
stroke of destiny for Kummerer, a music and history double
Tec are poised to spearhead a new wave of academic
major who also studied Latin and minored in medieval
exchange between the United States and Mexico.
Tec and Trinity have enjoyed a special student exchange
and renaissance studies. Kummerer spent her senior year researching the manuscript, and an Austin church has commissioned her to turn it into a piece of music for their choir. Now, churches from around the nation (and even Ireland!) are eagerly awaiting its world premiere this spring.
There’s so much history and so many shared connections Monterrey has with San Antonio. JUL IA SHULTS ’ 19
At Trinity, I think a lot of people have no idea how much control you have over what you research. You come up with your own research topic, take it to a professor, and they’re so open to helping you follow your passion. KR IS T I E K U M ME R E R ’ 1 8
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Data-Driven Dairy Trinity startup brings data-driven approach to Ugandan dairy farming By Jeremy Gerlach
Alvin Mbabazi ’18 and Brent Mandelkorn ’18 grew up 8,000 miles apart, but came to Trinity with two things in common: They both wanted to start a business, and they both lived and breathed dairy. Mbabazi, a finance major in Trinity’s entrepreneurship program, grew up in Uganda. Mandelkorn, an engineering science and accounting double major, grew up in Utah but has family in Wisconsin. Both regions are cow crazy. “We got randomly assigned to each other in E-Hall our first year,” says Mbabazi, referring to Entrepreneurship Hall, Trinity’s unique residential space for students interested in startups. “We hit it off right away, and we both realized that we
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could build a business right here at Trinity that aligned with our strengths.” From that partnership, Dbuntu was born. This startup is an online data platform designed to help dairy farmers make smarter, more datadriven decisions through smartphone and SMS apps that use analytics to optimize the milk production of livestock. Mandelkorn says he’s thrilled to be part of a startup that is both sustainable and has a positive impact. “We started seeing (Ugandan) farmers increase their production by 35 percent,” Mandelkorn says. “An app like Dbuntu has the ability to make millions of lives better.” Both Mbabazi and Mandelkorn say Trinity’s entrepreneurship program provided them the resources to get their startup off the ground. “The entrepreneurship program does so much more than teach you about starting a business,” Mbabazi says. “Trinity connects you with
people, helps you raise capital, and even more importantly, they give you guidance to help you sharpen your ideas into something realistic.” The pair also competed in the Stumberg Venture Competition, an annual two-part pitch event that gives out seed money to Trinity startups. Dbuntu ended up winning $5,000 at the competition, using the money to upgrade their app and update their website. Mbabazi and Mandelkorn, now alumni, are still running the business together in Uganda.
Do you know the best way to determine if Trinity is the right school for you?
Visit Our Campus VISIT OPPORTUNITIES FOR ADMITTED STUDENTS
ADMITTED TIGER DAYS Admitted students are invited to attend a preview day designed exclusively for future Tigers. Tiger Friday and Trinity 360 programs allow admitted students to meet their future classmates, sit in on sample classes, learn about academic, co-curricular, and social opportunities from current students, and speak one-on-one with Trinity professors. Plus, parents attend sessions designed just for them.
It’s important to take the time to visit 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. We encourage you and your family to visit Trinity University—meet the people, try the food, see the sights, and explore our beautiful campus and sunny San Antonio.
SCHEDULE YOUR VISIT TODAY The Office of Admissions is open Monday through Friday (excluding major holidays) for tours and information sessions as well as most Saturdays during the academic year. We also host several open house programs annually from June through January.
VISIT US OVER SPRING BREAK
TAKE A VIRTUAL TOUR
Spring Break Visit Options │ March 11–15, 2019
Explore Trinity’s scenic campus online at gotu.us/virtualtour.
The Office of Admissions welcomes you to our campus during our spring break (or yours). Campus tours and information sessions will be offered late mornings and early afternoons Monday through Friday. We will also be open late mornings on Saturdays during spring break.
TIGER FRIDAYS*
March 22 April 5 * Space is limited.
TRINITY 360
Saturday, April 13
Schedule a visit at gotu.us/visit. 11
9:1 student-to-
QUICK FACTS
faculty ratio 100% of faculty hold doctoral or terminal degrees
Private, residential, co-educational, undergraduate-focused Founded in 1869 6 minutes from San Antonio International Airport Located in America’s 7th largest city
2,480
125 acre campus
located in a residential neighborhood
from downtown San Antonio 6 minutes
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undergraduates from 47 states and 63 countries 8% international students A D M I T T E D S T U DE N T P ROF IL E Fall 2018 Entry Term
3.67
30.6
1370
A- grade average
29-33 mid 50%
1300 -1440 mid 50%
average GPA
average ACT
average SAT