Trinity Magazine | Fall 2018

THE MAGAZINE OF TRINITY UNIVERSITY FALL 2018

TIGERS TAKE THE ENTERTAINMENT INDUSTRY BY STORM

TRINITY Fall 2018 Editor Jeanna Goodrich Balreira ’08 Writers Molly Mohr Bruni, Jeremy Gerlach, Nicolette Good ’07, Miriam Sitz Grebey ’10, James Hill ’76, Carla Sierra Photographers Dan Baumer, Zachary Brock ’18, Bri Davis ’15, Anh-Viet Dinh ’15, Rob Greer, Joshua Moczygemba ’05, Siggi Ragnar

Instagram The Class of 2022 climbed 264 steps to the top of Murchison Tower where they were greeted by President Danny Anderson. #TowerClimb #traditions

Graphic Designer Laura Kaples Illustrator Katy Freeman ’16

Trinity Online Web Extras Interact with videos, slideshows, and other content through the magazine’s web extras. A “gotu.us” URL at the end of a story signifies there’s more to experience online—just type the URL as printed directly into your web browser.

Social Media Follow Trinity on social media and stay updated with stories from students, faculty, staff, alumni, and friends.

Show your Trinity spirit with #TigerPride! facebook.com/TrinityUniversity youtube.com/TrinityUniversitySA twitter.com/Trinity_U instagram.com/TrinityU gotu.us/linkedin

Instagram Over its nearly 150 year history, Trinity University has developed traditions passed from one generation to the next. Tiger traditions celebrate the spirit of the campus.

President Danny J. Anderson Board of Trustees April Ancira ’02 Erin M. Baker ‘99 Ted W. Beneski Walter F. Brown Jr. Stephen W. Butt ‘77 Miles C. Cortez ‘64 Janet S. Dicke ‘68 Douglas D. Hawthorne ’69, ‘72 Marshall Hess ‘88 Gen. James T. Hill ‘68 Walter R. Huntley Jr. ’71, ‘73 John R. (J. R.) Hurd E. Carey Joullian IV ‘82 The Rev. Dr. Richard R. Kannwischer ‘95 Christopher M. Kinsey ‘79 Dr. Katherine Wood Klinger ‘72 John C. Korbell Oliver T.W. Lee ‘93 Steven P. Mach ‘92 Robert S. McClane ‘61 Melody Boone Meyer ‘79 Marshall B. Miller Jr. Michael F. Neidorff ‘65 Thomas Schluter ‘85 Thomas R. Semmes L. Herbert Stumberg Jr. ‘81 Jessica W. Thorne ‘91 James S. Sanders ‘98 Alumni Adviser The Rev. James D. Freeman ‘83 Synod of the Sun Representative

Trinity is published two times a year by the Office of Strategic Communications & Marketing and is sent to alumni, faculty, staff, graduate students, parents of undergraduates, and friends of the University.

Editorial Offices Trinity University Strategic Communications & Marketing One Trinity Place, San Antonio, TX 78212-7200 Email: jgoodri1@trinity.edu Phone: 210-999-8406 magazine.trinity.edu

CONTENTS

40 TU Wit 48 Behind the Scenes 54 Live Long and Podcast 58 Alumni Profiles

PLUS SPECIAL FEATURES 23 “America’s Most Modern Campus”: Trinity’s historic district buildings 30 Breathe It All In: A choir trip to Austria

DEPARTMENTS

2 President’s Message

23 Special Features

4 Letters to the Editor

38 The Entertainment Issue

8 Trinity Today

58 Alumni Profiles

14 Tiger Pride

64 Class Notes

18 Lit Picks

71 Alumni News

20 Trinity University Press

74 Chapter and Network Activities

22 In Memoriam

79 Commentary

Making the Cover Bright. Colorful. Fun. Katy Freeman ’17, the illustrator for this issue’s cover and feature article, took these words and ran. We hope her renderings bring a smile to your face—after all, that’s what these alumni aim to do, too!

PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE

From final exams to fraught elections , these are

by laboratories of learning that allowed these

serious times. The workload is heavy. The is-

students to practice their crafts.

sues of our day are heavy. But the burden can be

From TigerTV and KRTU radio to the Mi-

lightened by laughter. A uniquely human affect,

rage yearbook and the Trinitonian newspaper,

laughter is something we do more often in the

students of all majors garner relevant, hands-on

company of others, for others, evoked by others.

experience that might only be available to stu-

This edition of the Trinity magazine looks at

dents at the graduate level elsewhere. Coupled

those alumni who lift us up through humor and

with an award-winning communication depart-

entertain us in ways that open the door to new

ment chaired by Jennifer Henderson, Trinity

conversations.

produces graduates able to seize opportunities

Anderson and Vice

Among those featured is Raj Desai ’99,

and differentiate themselves in a crowded field.

President Tess Coody-

an award-winning comic and writer who

Also in this issue you’ll read about the retire-

rolling for a Learning TUgether webinar last spring, where President

Anders ’93 had a conversation about the

addresses some of our nation’s toughest and

ments of beloved faculty and staff, along with

most critical conversations through the lens

some profiles of a few new faces on campus. It

of humor. Kevin Mohs ’87 inspires us with his

has indeed been a busy fall semester, and we

work exploring the beauty and grandeur of an

hope this edition of Trinity magazine makes

the Tiger Network

environment at risk. And the improv group

you smile as we bring this chapter to a close.

archives at live.trinity.edu.

Missed Opportunity shares perspectives on the issues women face in a comedic field that has historically been male-dominated.

The Trinity students and alumni in this

Happy Autumn wishes,

issue describe the skills that enabled them to address these conversations in the first place.

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above Cameras were

These are skills acquired through a Trinity ed-

Danny J. Anderson

ucation, rooted in the liberal arts and enhanced

President

TRINITY Fall 2018

liberal arts and Trinity’s role in higher education.

Watch the episode in

CONTRIBUTORS’ PICKS

Jeanna Goodrich Balreira ’08 Editor

Molly Mohr Bruni Managing Editor

Jeremy Gerlach Brand Journalist

Anh-Viet Dinh ’15 Creative Producer

Lost

Titanic

Auralnauts

The Office

Laura Kaples Graphic Designer

James Hill ’76 Assistant Sports Information Director

Miriam Sitz Grebey ’10 Contributing Writer

Nicolette Good ’07 Contributing Writer

McHale’s Navy

Jane the Virgin

Miriam thinks everyone should watch Jennie Snyder Urman’s telenovela-inspired Jane the Virgin. With an absolutely delightful cast, this rollercoaster of a show is smart, hilarious, selfaware, and totally addicting.

Silver Tears

Jeanna got so lost in Lost, she cancelled a date (with the guy she ended up marrying!) to watch the two-part series finale on a Netflix DVD that she’d gotten in the mail that morning.

Polar bears, time travel, and diamond-hoarding Brazilians— what’s not to love?

Malcolm in the Middle

Laura’s pick is one of empathy—Malcolm in the Middle is as relatable as it gets. Whatever the show spilled, exploded, picked on, or swept under the rug, she has been through it. But at the end of the day, it’s important to get through life with humor.

Near, far, wherever you are, Titanic is Molly’s pick for a movie that has it all—romance, tragedy, history, and Leonardo DiCaprio. She is an avid collector of the movie’s memorabilia, including four Heart of the Ocean necklaces, three model ships, and one red-haired wig.

McHale’s Navy, which aired on ABC from 1962-66, is a comedy about a wacky group of sailors also regarded as one of the finest combat crews in the Navy. The comic timing of the actors was flawless! James even visited Universal Studios and saw some of the filming locations.

Digital editing wizards Craven Moorhaus and Zak Koonce change movie dialogue to hilarious (and disastrous) effect. Don’t miss their re-mastered, dystopian Star Wars saga, replete with original music, “Space Hooters,” and everyone’s favorite droids, Creepio and Far2-D2.

With so many references to make in real life, The Office is Anh-Viet’s pick mostly because he can see himself in it. With Andy’s voice and Darryl’s keyboard skills, Anh-Viet would fit right in...

If only Michael Scott would hire him!

Silver Tears (New West, 2016)

by Aaron Lee Tasjan is one of Nicolette’s favorite albums for its lyrics, the ’70s country-rock vibe, and the sequin jacket on the cover art. He’s an Ohio native who eventually ended up in Nashville. She’s a big fan of his solo work.

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LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Trinity magazine received dozens of letters to the editor about the cover for The Spirit of Trinity. Made of 673 submitted and archived photos, the collage was built by a software using an algorithm that maps color values to images.

If you would like a copy of The Spirit of Trinity magazine cover as a poster, email me at jgoodri1@trinity.edu. We have a limited supply left—the early Tigers get the worm!

- JGB

TRINITY TRAVELS Trinity Tigers are world travelers, and Trinity magazine wants to see your photos! Use #TrinityTravels to share your photos on social media or submit them to the magazine.

Want a copy of your own cut-out LeeRoy? Download and print at gotu.us/CutOutLeeRoy

First-year student Roman Wilson ’22 explored the Grand Canyon, Tucson, Az., and Yosemite National Park.

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EDITOR’S NOTE

If laughter is the best medicine , the final scene from Modern Family

season 6, episode 10 is the cure. I won’t spoil it for you, but after Lily has been trying all episode to pry from her cousins “how babies are made,” she finally summarizes her theory in her own words to Alex, Luke, and Manny. I usually only get tears in my eyes from Sarah McLaughlin adopt-an-animal or St. Jude’s commercials, but y’all, this scene had me in stitches.

Having recently experienced the less Lily-ified, more scientific truth to how babies are made, and having successfully made one for Cabral and myself, I can tell you another (non-scientific) truth: Laughter is the best medicine. There is nothing quite like the sounds of a baby giggling because he thinks peas are funny, shrieking because he turned to his favorite page in his favorite book, or hysterically squealing because his favorite ball makes a fart noise.

Even after a hard day at the office or a long night in online classes, it’s almost impossible not to laugh right along with him.

Reader, when is the last time you belly laughed—from your gut, with tears in your eyes, without a care about who could see or hear you? If your answer is less recent than “yesterday,” it’s been too long.

We’ve crafted this issue to spread a little joy, to work a little magic, to entertain. It may not inflict those belly laughs (though Jeremy throws a few amazing punches), but we hope it lets you take a step back from polarizing dinner table conversations or overwhelming social media comment sections to simply enjoy the world around you. Immerse yourself in scenes that are funny, smart, and fantastic. Laugh with the jokes in I Love You, America. Admire the costuming in Big Little Lies. Act out the fight scenes from In the Heights with your leftover wrapping paper tubes. Hey, we’re not advocating that you abandon all causes and drop all protest signs— we just want you to take a break for a little while.

Let us—and let these award-winning Trinity students, faculty, and alumni—entertain you!

Laughing out loud (all the time),

Jeanna Goodrich Balreira ’08

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The Big Picture TigerTV gives many Trinity students a chance to explore opportunities in broadcasting, television, and film, including Benjamin Gomez ’17 (left) who hosted the Not So Late Show his sophomore year. Gomez, who became station manager and also interned at KRTU, now scouts musical talent in Los Angeles—a job that “turns a love for live music into business.”

Photo by Anh-Viet Dinh ’15

TRINITY TODAY

Tops in Texas University ranks No. 1 in Texas College Consensus named Trinity University the No. 1 university in Texas, ahead of previously top-ranked Rice University, and No. 49 in the nation in its Top Consensus Ranked Colleges & Universities list. In addition, the Wall Street Journal/Times Higher Education College Rankings placed Trinity in the No. 79 spot in the nation, an improvement of three spots from the 2017 ranking of No. 82. Also, the Princeton Review named Trinity in its 2018 edition of Colleges That Pay You Back: The 200 Schools That Give You the Best Bang for Your Tuition Buck.

In the recently released 2019 “America’s Best Colleges” rankings by U.S. News & World Report (USNWR), Trinity remains the top institution in Texas and No. 2 overall for regional universities. Santa Clara University took the No. 1 spot for universities in the West with a score of 100, to Trinity’s 99. Trinity held the top spot for “Best in the West” for 26 years, having had a score of 100 in the past. The University’s decrease of one point reflects a change in weights by USNWR for certain indicators.

USNWR also gave Trinity high marks in the following areas: • No. 1 in best value • No. 3 in undergraduate teaching • No. 4 for most innovative.

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Hirani

Horr

Golden Scholars Two Trinity students join list of prestigious Goldwater Scholars Two Trinity University students majoring in chemistry and biology have been named 2018 Goldwater Scholars. Zoheb Hirani ’19, a chemistry major from Missouri City, Texas, and Daisy Horr ’19, a biology major with a concentration in ecology and evolution from Austin, were selected for the prestigious program for students who intend to pursue research careers in the sciences. Hirani and Horr become the 21st and 22nd Trinity students to be named Goldwater Scholars since 1994. Hirani is leaning toward research that will lead to a doctorate in the field of enzyme design by directed evolution. Horr is a McNair Scholar, and after graduating she plans to work in a graduate school lab to study vertebrate evolution or ecology.

Scherer

Yang

Let’s Get Down to Business School of Business names dean, associate dean The Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB) has re-accredited Trinity University’s School of Business for five more years in a nod to the excellence of the school’s leadership, faculty, curriculum, and students. Robert F. “Bob” Scherer has been named dean of the School of Business after having shepherded the School through the successful re-accreditation process. Deli Yang, the Burr-Clark Professor of International Business and head of the international business program at Trinity since 2009, has been named the associate dean. She will focus on the integration of the liberal arts and sciences with business curricula.

In Good Hands Trinity students address opioid crisis Charles “Jonah” Wendt ’18, a political

Shaking it Up Campus dining and catering options expand Trinity University signed a new, five-year dining services agreement with Aramark after a request for proposal review process over the spring semester. Trinity’s food service provider since 1984, Aramark proposed significant changes to the food service experience on campus, such as extended operation hours, long-awaited to-go options, renovation plans to Mabee Hall and its kitchen, the ability to exchange meal swipes at other retail locations on campus, and the opportunity for faculty and staff to purchase meals from Mabee at a reduced rate.

The University has also implemented several new franchises into campus dining, including a Starbucks in Coates Library and a Steak ’n Shake in Mabee Dining Hall.

For a look back at the dining services selection process, visit gotu.us/diningRFP.

science major, co-founded Students for Opioid Solutions (SOS), a student-run organization that aims to prevent opioid overdoses on college campuses nationwide.

SOS hopes to lobby universities nationwide to train and equip campus police officers and RAs to recognize and respond to opioid overdoses. The organization has already helped student governments at six universities pass opioid-related legislation—including Ohio State, Colorado State, and the University of Alabama—and has a presence at more than 80 total schools spread through more than 40 states. At Trinity, Health Services, along with Campus Police and University administrators, have developed an extensive partnership with the Bexar County Opioid Task Force.

Those who can do, teach.

Education department receives grants Trinity University’s Department of Education received significant funding this past spring, including a $429,000 planning grant from the Walton Family Foundation to help spur innovation and collaboration across area public and charter schools. The planning grant will go towards the design and creation of a new school incubator and principal fellowship program. Nine students in the Master of Arts in Teaching (MAT) program were awarded the Charles Butt Scholarship for Aspiring Teachers: $10,000 for one year in the MAT program to promising individuals interested in teaching in the state of Texas. This scholarship is part of a $50 million Raising Texas Teachers initiative sponsored by the Raise Your Hand Texas Foundation.

Room for Growth Trinity students meet with official delegation in Madrid, promote Spanish investment in Texas This summer, 18 Trinity students hopped

on a 5,000-mile flight to Spain for Trinity’s annual Madrid Summer Program. As part of the six-week experience organized by Trinity’s Center for International Engagement, these Tigers interned for Spanish companies, took classes led by faculty from the University’s Mexico, the Americas, and Spain (MAS) program, then spent their evenings immersed in Madrid’s vibrant culture.

But this year, the group was also called on to help an official San Antonio economic delegation open a door for Spanish investment in San Antonio. The delegation, launched as an investment promotion mission to Spain, included Texas Secretary of State Rolando Pablos, the San Antonio Economic Development Foundation, and the San Antonio Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, among others. They met with Spanish industry leaders in the fields of cybersecurity, advanced manufacturing, and renewable energy, pitching San Antonio as an attractive gateway to the U.S. market.

Trinity was invited to join the delegation, says finance and decision sciences professor Eugenio Dante Suarez, to demonstrate San Antonio’s talented labor pool. “This delegation has opened the door to a new model of experiential education. Our students will provide a seamless landing for their companies as they expand their operations to San Antonio,” Suarez says.

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TRINITY TODAY

above Students participate in the Kente (left) and

With Flying Colors Kente and De Colores ceremonies celebrate honor, community, and connections for Black and Latino Tigers

De Colores (right) ceremonies.

by Jeremy Gerlach Black, green, red, yellow, and purple: These are iconic col-

ors of the Akan ethnic group from south Ghana, draped through woven cloths called “Kente” stoles and bestowed throughout history on ancient kings and queens.

At Trinity, Khaniya Russell ’19 and the Black Student Union have given the Kente cloth a place of equal joy: an annual graduation ceremony where seniors are honored by their peers in front of their families and friends and are each conferred with a unique stole.

“This symbolizes the honor they’re receiving by going through commencement,” says Russell, who organized

their four years on campus. Students also explain their proudest moments and accomplishments at Trinity.

Trinity’s De Colores ceremony is another opportunity for students to reflect on their proudest moments at Trinity while celebrating their culture.

At De Colores—a unique celebration of Trinity’s graduating Latina/o seniors that takes its name from the Spanish term for “in colors”—24 Tigers, including Janett Muñoz ’18, headed to Trinity’s Parker Chapel. Seniors invited their families, friends, and countless members of the Trinity community who’ve supported them in school,

“The colors on the stoles represent the many colors of the Latino people, the many areas we come from and languages we speak.” the ceremony. “It’s a ceremony that comes from Historically Black Colleges and Universities, and it’s so important to us that we’ve turned this into an annual event at Trinity, too.”

At the event, loved ones and family members bestow their graduates with the graduation stoles. One by one, each honored individual is introduced by another chosen honoree. These introductions break down the degree, organizations, and roles each member has played during

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and each selected a loved one to present them with a colorful stole in honor of their graduation.

“The colors on the stoles represent the many colors of the Latino people, the many areas we come from and languages we speak,” Muñoz says. “As minorities, we are always being fragmented and divided—by race, income, education, even body type—but this ceremony is a way for us to be united.”

Leaving a Legacy University staples step into retirement Summer 2018 saw many Trinity legacies enter retirement, including those listed below. Combined, these Tigers served the University for more than 225 years.

Patricia Simonite

Professor of Art and Art History Mary Stefl

Professor of Health Care Administration Dr. Jann Wilder

Shari Becker Albright ’83, ’86

Murchison Distinguished Professor of Practice in Education and chair of the Department of Education Jackie Bevilacqua

Coordinator of Health Services C. MacKenzie Brown

Professor of Religion Nancy Ericksen

Assistant director for Study Abroad Thomas Gardner

Herndon Distinguished Professor in Geosciences Manuel Garza

Mechanical engineering technician Susie Gonzales

Senior writer Diane Graves

Assistant vice president, University librarian, professor Kenneth Greene

Professor of Music Mary Jump

Manager of grants Stephen Nickle

University chaplain and the Everett H. Jones Chair of Ministry Wanda Olson

Assistant director for Residential Life James Roberts

Cowles Distinguished Professor of Life Sciences in Biology Linda Salvucci

Associate professor of History Diane Saphire

Associate vice president for Institutional Research and Effectiveness Sharon Jones Schweitzer ’75

Assistant vice president for external affairs

Physician for Health Services

“God has richly blessed my life here. I have integrated people and places in ways such that they will always be knitted to my soul. I am grateful to the Trinity family, at every level, as I venture forth into more of our vaunted ‘lifelong learning.’” - Stephen Nickle Fresh Faces Trinity says “Bienvenidos” to new hires in new positions The University has welcomed several fresh faces across campus.

Norvella Carter

Interim chair of the Department of Education Kara Larkan-Skinner

Executive director for Institutional Research and Effectiveness Rachel Rolf

General counsel Deb Tyson

Director for Residential Life

Stunner at Stumberg In surprise move, Stumberg Competition awards $35,000 total to Quick Sip Coffee, PATCH The 2018 Louis H. Stumberg Venture Competition ended in a night of surpris-

es for two competing startups.

While Quick Sip Coffee, founded

by Jacob Hurrell-Zitelman ’20, took home the event’s $25,000 grand prize, a last-minute infusion from an anonymous donor awarded an additional $10,000 for fan-favorite and runner-up PATCH, a smart-tech pill bottle startup run by Gavin Buchanan ’19, Andrew Aertker ’21, and Nathan Dullea ’18.

Alongside Quick Sip and PATCH, the event saw a strong showing from fellow competitors MONA, an augmented reality app founded by Andrea Acevedo ’18, and Intersourcing, a startup that connects U.S. businesses to overseas manufacturing, run by Sean (Zekai) Pan ’19, Brett Rasic ’19, and Steven Oleksak ’17.

The competition, now in its fourth year, has invested more than $215,000 in 23 student start-ups, which range from international Colombian tax firm Coldeclara to outdoor camping company Relax and Do Designs (RADD). The event will start its next seed round in Spring 2019.

San Williams

Interim University chaplain

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TRINITY TODAY

Can’t-Miss Experience Trinity students spend the summer investing in lifelong learning From hiking through the rainforests in Costa Rica to studying the brain’s

response to cocaine through on-campus research, nearly 250 Tigers spent their summers learning near and far. This summer, nearly 140 Trinity students collaborated with faculty members to conduct undergraduate research, and 110 students interned for organizations around the country.

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Eighty percent of type 2 diabetes patients with foot ulcers require amputation. That’s why Adil Ahmed ’19 and Abbie Jones ’20 worked with engineering professor Dany Muñoz-Pinto to design hydrogel wound dressings that will enhance skin cell reproduction. The wound dressings aim to help heal lesions quicker, lessening the need for more invasive procedures.

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Caroline McKeighan ’19 and Curtis Segarra ’19 spent two weeks in south

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Students from Trinity’s international criminal justice program visited the Netherlands to learn about the International Criminal Court. This picture was from their last evening in the country, taken at the 1984 Winter Olympics bobsleigh track in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

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Megan Smith ’18 spent her summer break interning for Green Spaces

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central Utah with geosciences professor Ben Surpless studying fault lines. The team flew drones over the fault lines to capture 4k video, which they then transformed into 3D maps of the fault system back on campus.

Alliance of South Texas, a local nonprofit dedicated to urban nature conservancy. But this isn’t just a traditional internship—it’s a full-time, professional position funded by a stipend from Trinity’s Arts, Letters, and Enterprise program.

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More than 60 students participated in Students + Startups, an initiative led by Trinity’s entrepreneurship program that places students in internships with startup companies in San Antonio. Nine Trinity students worked at cloud-based data security firm Jungle Disk this summer, housed in San Antonio’s downtown hub for tech startups, Geekdom. The “Triniteam” built a customer service chatbot using Google’s DialogFlow, developed a social media presence for the company, got intensive programming experience, and even took time to mentor local high school students.

In the spring, Trinity was awarded an $800,000 grant by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation to support opportunities for undergraduate research in the arts and humanities. This summer, the Mellon Foundation supported more than a dozen undergraduate research projects, including topics such as fake news and media literacy, the stigma surrounding HIV and AIDS, and racism in professional football recruitment.

Read more on Trinity’s Experiential Learning blog

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at gotu.us/undergradresearch.

Class of 2022 Breaks Records University enrolls largest, smartest class in recent history

Class of 2022 Enrollment Statistics

As the last of the deposits from first-year stu-

dents rolled in on May 1, 2018, Trinity was overwhelmed with the results. More than 8,600 applications, after a 34 percent admit rate, netted the largest and most talented class in the University’s history.

“It’s very exciting, but it was not necessarily intentional,” Eric Maloof, vice president for Enrollment Management, told the Trinitonian in August. “We saw a spike in yield from some of our highest-performing admitted students.”

In addition to an increase in average GPA and test scores, the diversity of the class increased as well: Just over 39 percent of the class comes from underrepresented populations.

APPLICATIONS

ADMIT RATE

FIRST-YEAR STUDENTS ENROLLED

30.1 1339 3.61 AVERAGE ACT

AVERAGE HS GPA

39% UNDERREPRESENTED 15% FIRST-GENERATION COLLEGE STUDENTS 15% PELL-ELIGIBLE STUDENTS 6%

23%

INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS

STUDENT ATHLETES

Winning Strategy Alumna takes on new role at Trinity Michelle Bartonico ’08 has been named

AVERAGE SAT

assistant vice president (AVP) for Strategic Communications and Marketing (SCM). As Stumberg Meyer director, she led the department in launching a spirit campaign, revamping the University Welcome Aboard website, and developing a strategic partBoard of Trustees expands under new nership with Enrollment Management to leadership strengthen market position and improve student recruitment.

The University elected new leadership As AVP, Bartonico’s title mirrors SCM’s to its Board of Trustees, which also evolving charge. “Going welcomed new members this year. forward, we are going to push the envelope to help Chairman the University achieve its L. Herbert Stumberg Jr. ’81 vision,” Bartonico says.

Chair-elect and vice-chair “We are going—and it will Melody Boone Meyer ’79 be demanded of us—to do things differently than Bartonico New members we’ve done before. We’ll April Ancira ’02 have to ask hard questions, come up with anChristopher M. Kinsey ’79 swers, and continue to innovate, all in pursuit Thomas Schluter ’85 of moving the University forward along our Stephen W. Butt ’77 strategic plan. Together, with our students, fellow departments, and faculty—the heart of our University—we’re going to keep creating a better, stronger market position for this University and for our brand.”

The Trinity Family University adopts new parental leave policy for staff Trinity has approved a new parental leave benefit for all eligible classified and contract staff, providing 12 weeks of paid leave for bonding and adjustment time with the arrival of a new child. The leave is a benefit offered to all full-time, benefit-eligible staff members with at least one year of full-time service at the date of the birth or adoption of their child, and who will be acting as the primary caregiver for this child. The new policy is part of a collaborative effort between the University and the Trinity Staff Engagement Committee (TSEC).

“This policy is a wonderful representation of Trinity’s values,” President Danny Anderson says. “By honoring and respecting our employees and their families, we demonstrate our commitment to community and the individual. Moreover, we advance our pursuit of excellence, as we strive to be one of the top places to work not only in San Antonio, but also in higher education.”

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TIGER PRIDE

2017 Athletics Hall of Fame The Trinity University Athletics Hall of Fame Class of 2017 was inducted on Oct. 14, 2017, during halftime of the Tigers football game with Centre College. The Alumni Weekend ceremony marked the 10th class to be inducted since 1999.

Standing (left to right): John Tobola ’94, football; Jack Shull ’82, baseball; Michael Burton ’01, football; Paul Gerken ’72, men’s tennis; Josh Smith ’04, men’s soccer.

Seated (left to right): Director of Tennis Butch Newman ’65, accepting for Donna Stockton Roup ’76, women’s tennis; Megan Selmon Kelly ’03, women’s basketball; Lizzie Yasser Barnett ’02, women’s tennis.

Women’s Basketball The Tigers won their third consecutive SCAC Championship, and the fourth in the six-year tenure of Head Coach Cameron Hill ’99. Trinity advanced to the NCAA Division III Tournament first round and completed the campaign with a 23-4 record.

Senior Micah Weaver was elected to two All-America squads, the D3hoops.com All-America Third Team, and the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association NCAA

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Division III Coaches’ Honorable Mention All-America Team. Weaver was also named to the D3hoops.com All-South Region Second Team, and she was honored as the SCAC Co-Player of the Year.

Weaver chalked up 1,000 career points, becoming the 17th Trinity women’s player to accomplish that feat. During the 2017-18 season, Weaver averaged 19.5 points per game and also led the team with 90 assists, 151 total rebounds, and 72 steals. Sophomore Abby Holland joined Weaver on the AllSCAC First Team. Mollie Hughes made the All-SCAC Third Team, marking the third time the Tiger senior became an all-conference honoree.

Men’s Basketball Led by 19th-year Head Coach Pat Cunningham, the Tigers completed the season with a 15-12 record. The Tigers advanced to the SCAC semifinals for the first time since the 2014 season.

Rivara

Sophomore Danny Rivara was elected the SCAC Defensive Co-Player of the Year and also earned a slot on the All-SCAC First Team. Rivara paced the Tigers by scoring 16.2 points per game.

Senior Matt Jones made the All-SCAC Third Team for the third year in a row and finished his collegiate career with a school-record 453 assists.

Hagmann

Swimming and Diving Seven Trinity student-athletes competed at the NCAA Division III Swimming and Diving Championships in Indianapolis, and five earned All-America and Honorable Mention All-America kudos.

Senior women’s swimmer Lindsay Hagmann finished sixth in the 50-yard freestyle, receiving All-America distinction. The 200yard freestyle quartet of Hagmann, senior Lauren Cuda, and sophomores Star Rosales and Abbie Jones became Honorable Mention All-Americans with a 13th-place performance. All told, Hagmann gained All-America status six times in her collegiate career.

First-year men’s diver Daniel Valmassei secured Honorable Mention All-America status with a 10th-place finish on the 1-meter board.

Hagmann and sophomore men’s diver Jacob Hurrell-Zitelman were tabbed for the Google Cloud NCAA Division III Academic All-District 8 At-Large Teams.

The Tiger teams swept the SCAC Championships, held at The Colony, Texas.

Trinity’s women brought home their 15th consecutive SCAC Championship trophy, and the men captured their seventh. Coaches Scott Trompeter and Stan Randall were selected as the conference Staff of the Year for both the men’s and women’s competitions.

In addition, four Tigers were elected SCAC Male and Female Swimmers and Divers of the Year: senior Charles Clark, Hagmann, Valmassei, and senior Christine Peterson.

Trinity Wins SCAC Presidents’ Trophy

Trinity Ranks in Learfield Directors’ Cup Standings

Trinity captured the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference (SCAC) Presidents’ Trophy for the seventh consecutive year and a conference-record 18 times.

The Presidents’ Trophy is a 300-pound railroad bell awarded each year to the best overall program in the eight-team conference. The “Bell” is on display in the lobby of the newly renovated William H. Bell Athletic Center.

Tiger teams completed the 2017-18 campaign with 500 points, winning 10 SCAC Championships throughout the year: men’s and women’s cross country; men’s and women’s soccer; women’s basketball; men’s and women’s swimming and diving; men’s and women’s tennis; and women’s track and field.

Trinity athletics received a national ranking of No. 31 in the final Learfield Sports Division III Directors’ Cup standings.

More than 400 NCAA Division III institutions are ranked in the prestigious standings, administered by the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics. The Tigers amassed 475 points based on NCAA postseason competition.

The fall sports teams chalked up 216.50 points, winter sports scored 105, and spring sports wrapped up the season with 153.50.

Britney Sullivan Elected SCAC Woman of the Year Trinity track and field senior and All-American Britney Sullivan was elected SCAC Woman of the Year.

Voting was conducted by conference senior female administrators. Sullivan was also nominated for the 28th annual NCAA Woman of the Year Award, which honors graduating student-athletes who have distinguished themselves in the areas of academic achievement, athletics excellence, community service, and leadership.

Trinity senior swimmer and All-American Lindsay Hagmann was a finalist for the SCAC Woman of the Year accolade.

Track and field senior and All-American Matt Love was a finalist for the SCAC Man of the Year honor.

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TIGER PRIDE

Hall

Chaumette

Track and Field

Baseball

A school-record nine Trinity Tigers qualified for the NCAA Division III Outdoor Track and Field Championships. Six men and three women competed in La Crosse, Wisc.

Senior Cody Hall was runner-up in the men’s 110-meter hurdles and earned All-America honors in the event, finishing a scant 0.01 seconds from the championship time. He completed his career as a threetime All-American, including a slot on the 2017 NCAA Indoor 60-meter hurdles team.

Senior Matt Love was an eighth-place finisher and All-American in the men’s discus throw, competing for the third year in a row.

Britney Sullivan placed seventh in the women’s triple jump. The senior competed in her fourth consecutive NCAA Outdoor Championships and attained All-America distinction. Junior Molly McCullough raced to a ninth-place finish in the women’s 3,000-meter steeplechase and missed All-America kudos by five seconds.

Love and McCullough were elected to the respective Google Cloud NCAA Division III Academic All-District 8 Men’s and Women’s Track/Cross Country Teams.

The Tiger women captured their fourth consecutive SCAC Championship. Sixthyear Head Coach Marcus Whitehead and his assistant coaches were elected the SCAC Women’s Staff of the Year for the fourth straight occasion.

Hall was tabbed as the SCAC Men’s CoTrack Athlete of the Year, and Love was the Field Athlete of the Year. Sullivan was chosen as the Women’s Field Athlete of the Year.

Guided by 20th-year Head Coach Tim Scannell, the Tigers completed the season with a 33-9 overall record and a 14-4 mark in the SCAC. Scannell was elected the SCAC Co-Coach of the Year, which earned him the accolade for the 10th time in his career.

Junior pitcher Jeff Lonnecker and sophomore outfielder Rafe Chaumette were elected to All- Region Teams. Lonnecker was tabbed for the American Baseball Coaches Association All-West Region Second Team and the D3baseball.com All-West Region Second Team. Chaumette was named to the ABCA All-Region Third Team and the D3baseball.com All-Region Second Team.

A strong relief pitcher, Lonnecker led the Tigers with a 1.52 ERA while working 47.1 innings on the mound. He was undefeated with a 4-0 record and tied for the team lead with three saves. Lonnecker led Trinity in strikeouts with 68 to his credit. The hard-hitting Chaumette paced Trinity with a .392 batting average while driving in 47 runs.

Chaumette, senior first baseman Michael Davis, and sophomore catcher Michael Goodrich were selected for the All-SCAC First Team. Shortstop Jack Wisniewski was honored as the SCAC Freshman of the Year.

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Kutach

Trinity won its seventh consecutive SCAC Championship, and Kutach was elected the SCAC Women’s Tennis Player of the Year. Kutach earned All-SCAC accolades for the third straight year, as did junior Andrea De Leon.

Head Coach Gretchen Rush ’86 and Assistant Coach Jacob Carrillo received high honors from the ITA. Rush, who completed four years at the helm, was selected as the Wilson ITA Division III West Region Women’s Coach of the Year. Carrillo was tabbed as the Tasc Performance ITA Division III West Region Assistant Coach of the Year.

Lambeth

Men’s Tennis Women’s Tennis The Tigers advanced to the NCAA Division III second round and completed the season with a 13-11 overall record and a 13-7 mark against DIII opponents. Trinity was ranked 21st in the final poll. Junior Caroline Kutach received a bid to the NCAA Singles competition and earned All-America honors, tying for 20th in the final Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) rankings.

Trinity received an automatic bid to the NCAA Division III playoffs and advanced to the third round. The Tigers defeated the University of Texas-Tyler in the second round and fell to Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Colleges in the third. Trinity wrapped up the campaign with a 16-12 overall record and a 14-10 mark against the Division III opposition. Trinity was ranked 17th in the final DIII poll.

Cormier

Junior Wilson Lambeth and sophomore Jordan Pitts were selected for the NCAA Doubles competition. The Tiger duo completed the season ranked 11th in the nation.

Prior to the NCAA Tournament, the Tigers captured their ninth consecutive SCAC Championship. Head Coach Russell McMindes ’02 was elected the SCAC Men’s Tennis Co-Coach of the Year and now holds at least a share of the award for the eighth time in his nine-year tenure. Firstyear Wilson Hamilton was selected as the SCAC Newcomer of the Year, and Lambeth became a three-time All-SCAC honoree.

Women’s Golf The Tigers fell just short of winning the SCAC Women’s Golf Championship. After a strong rally, Trinity lost in a playoff to Southwestern University at Shenandoah, Texas. Juniors Elizabeth McGillivray and Emilee Strausburg tied for sixth place, and senior Taylor Moser placed eighth, as the three Tigers earned All-SCAC honors.

Led by 20th-year Head Coach Carla Spenkoch, Trinity captured the Schreiner Invitational in Kerrville, Texas. Strausburg was the medalist at the event held in March 2018.

Men’s Golf Trinity placed fifth at the SCAC Championships, and senior Corbin Cormier finished in a tie for fourth place for All-SCAC First Team kudos. Senior Redmond Lyons tied for eighth place and made the All-SCAC Second Team. Lyons earned All-SCAC recognition for the fourth straight occasion.

Guided by fifth-year Head Coach Sean Etheredge, Trinity emerged as team champion of the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor (TX) Fall Invitational in Killeen, Texas.

First-year Dawson Dally became Trinity’s first men’s individual champion since 2013.

Softball The Tigers finished the season with a 1624 overall record under Head Coach Brandi Dolsen. Junior outfielder Devon Potter and sophomore utility pitcher Adrienne Edwards were selected for the All-SCAC First Team.

Potter led the team with a .366 batting average and was tops with 19 runs scored in her column. Edwards hit .283 and was second on the squad with eight doubles, along with cracking a home run.

live.trinity.edu Tiger Network is Trinity’s live streaming network, covering athletics and special events for a worldwide audience.

Tiger Network showcases #TigerPride in full HD with realtime replays, color commentary by professionals and student-athletes, and on-demand options.

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Potter

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LIT PICKS

What I Most Love to Do Coleen Grissom’s Lit Picks

In the spring of 1958, I signed my first contract as a

full-time employee of Trinity University; in the spring of 2018, I signed my last such contract and now lumber toward a status coveted by some, dreaded by others. For me, it’s a status that’s not in all ways appealing. Although I know I will not yearn to grade papers, to drag myself out of bed before daylight, or to try to stay alert in my trusty Honda as the bumper-to-bumper traffic engages me on Highway 281, I will surely miss the interactions with students and colleagues that have so long filled my life.

When I have asked others (all younger than I) what motivates them to retire, they inevitably offer some version of: “There are so many things I love to do, and now I will have time for them.”

Alas, what I most love to do is lead discussions of fine literature with articulate, intelligent adults. Never much of a traveler, disinterested in bridge, mahjong, hiking, kayaking, gambling, knitting, and such, what I relish is lolling on a sofa with canines upon my person (and felines giving me the paw from the doorway) as I read one book, finish it, and start another, selecting along the way the ones that I really must introduce to students.

I will, as long as I am able, satisfy my love of teaching by continuing to do so in two venues outside the University. I take “older” students through “literary excursions” in which I’ve led discussions of contemporary literature for several decades, and I also hope to continue the occasional short story studies at the McNay Art Museum which are part of its “ArtFULL Wednesday” programs. Charged with selecting stories that somehow relate to a current or upcoming exhibit, I both have fun and learn. Surely these commitments, along with occasional public speaking, will keep me out of trouble, but how I will miss the routines and the rituals of working with Trinity students.

A New Yorker cartoon recently captured a caution I need as I imagine life without being frequently on campus: A doctor explains to a patient, “I think you’ve been paying too much attention to what’s going on.” I already share that problem and will have to find ways to wean myself even more from disturbing information overload.

Those of you who care and decide to worry about me as you read this news should relax; yes, I will be 85 in early January, but, thanks to excellent physicians and good genes, I am in pretty good health—so far encumbered with only the typical delights of my age group: arthritic

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left knee and gnarled fingers (which always results in my gesturing toward the wrong student when trying to call upon one in class thus forcing an unprepared peer to think I’m gesturing toward her or him), AFib, allergies, and some short-term memory loss. That recent spring class in which I had four students named “Emily” just about put me over the edge. Talk about writing on the wall! “Emily” (two of these), “Emma Lee,” “Emilee,” and the writing was disturbingly repetitive.

There will be no celebration of my retirement at the end of this academic year; some of you will remember a perfect celebration when I retired from the administration in 2000. Can’t beat that. But, I have asked for my friends in charge of such aspects at Trinity to launch a concerted campaign to encourage further contributions to the Coleen Grissom Endowed Scholarship Fund, which, let’s hope, will continue through the decades to assist bright young people who enroll here.

Luckily, the powers that be promise that I can still occasionally contribute to this publication and recommend readings. So, here are this year’s—arranged alphabetically by author’s last name, not by my favorites because each is a favorite and worth your while.

Margaret Drabble’s The Dark Flood Rises Simply an exquisite book—wise, inspiring, funny, heartbreaking, thought-provoking.

Louise Erdrich’s Future Home Of The Living God

Margaret Atwood and Erdrich discuss this novel in an interview online as Erdrich tries her hand at imagining the future—and, yes, it’s another view of the government taking over women’s rights to control their own bodies.

Oh, and evolution starts occurring in reserve.

Jennifer Egan’s Manhattan Beach After her brilliant Goon Squad, even though this is an engaging, interesting novel, it’s far from unique.

Omar El Akkad’s American War In my constant quest to broaden my reading horizons, I plowed through this first novel about a second civil war, this one initiated over the use of fossil fuels. Political divides in America?

Pretty fanciful, don’t you think?

Andrew Sean Greer’s Less Though my “mature” students in Literary Excursions found this satire boring, the Pulitzer Prize committee and I disagreed. It’s the most hilarious book I’ve read this year, and God knows I need a few laughs.

Adam Haslett’s Imagine Me Gone One can’t laugh all the time, and I certainly never did during this story of the effects of mental illness upon not only the ill but also on the entire family.

Rachel Kushner’s The Mars Room Kushner’s choice of the “prison-industrial complex” as her setting does not make for an easy or pleasant read, but it is vivid, fascinating, and informative.

Ursula Le Guin’s No Time To Spare Though I’m no fan of fantasy or science fiction, I cherished every word as I read these exquisite essays about growing old, growing older, and finding meaning in one’s life.

Attica Locke’s Bluebird, Bluebird Locke’s setting for this story of racially motivated crime is rural East Texas, right along Highway 59 where I grew up, and most will recognize some of her tropes.

Celeste Ng’s Little Fires Everywhere As in her debut novel, Ng seems to abide by the adage, “write what you know,” and here offers us another family-centered story of a challenging life in Shaker Heights.

Tommy Orange’s There There A member of the Cheyenne and Arapaho tribes, Orange releases his debut novel that may have a few too many characters, but it’s fast paced and filled with information about a culture most of us need to know better.

Ali Smith’s Autumn This novel, a finalist for the Booker Prize, is the first in what’s to be a quartet of works.

Smith is never an easy read, but she’s a wise, insightful, and often deeply inspiring artist.

Jesmyn Ward’s Sing, Unburied, Sing If you haven’t already discovered Ward through her National Book Award winner, Salvage the Bones, it’s high time you get started since Ward is clearly one of the most promising voices in contemporary fiction. The book will break your heart and “make you want to be a better person.” (Once a student life dean, always a student life dean…)

Meg Wolitzer’s The Female Persuasion This novel doesn’t rank with the others in literary merit, but it’s quite an engaging commentary on several significant issues of contemporary American society.

– Coleen Grissom Professor of English, Trinity University

What We Most Love to Honor about What She Most Loves to Do In an apartment off of Heidi Lounge with no air condi-

tioning, a young woman—head resident and English instructor—flicks the lights on and off, on and off. It is 8:30 p.m., time for the “girls” of Heidi to return to their rooms before curfew. The year is 1958, and the 24-year-old with her hand on the switch is Coleen Grissom.

Over the next six decades, Grissom would move from Heidi to Northrup Hall and in the process transform Trinity University with her inimitable wit and intellect. In a phrase, she persisted. This academic year marks the last of her Trinity career as a full professor and the end of an era.

After this year, Grissom hopes to teach occasionally as an adjunct professor. She notes that her time here has been the breath of life described in an oft-quoted passage from Barbara Kingsolver: “In my years of serving this institution, I have found the ‘somebodies’ and the ‘somethings’ that continue to keep me from running off ‘screaming into the woods,’” Grissom says. “What a blessing. What a gift.”

Regardless of her role on campus, Coleen will continue to inspire and ignite a love of learning in future students through the Coleen Grissom Endowed Scholarship.

Honor Professor / Dean / Vice President Grissom’s 58 years of service to Trinity with a $58 gift to the Coleen Grissom Endowed Scholarship

Donors who make a minimum $58 gift will receive a thank-you video from the legend herself.

Visit gotu.us/HonorColeen to make your gift.

Share your favorite memories about Coleen

Email coleenretires@trinity.edu with your stories, memories, or life lessons.

Those who submit memories will be entered into a drawing to win a copy of her book, A Novel Approach to Life, published

by Trinity University Press. To be eligible to win, be sure to include your current mailing address in your email.

You may also purchase a hardcover copy of her book from gotu.us/NovelApproach for a discounted price of $20, with $10 from each book going to her scholarship.

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TRINITY UNIVERSITY PRESS

San Antonio 1718: Art from Mexico edited by Marion Oettinger Jr. San Antonio 1718 presents a wealth of art depicting a rich blending of sometimes conflicted cultures—explorers, colonialists, and indigenous peoples—and places the city’s founding in context. The book is organized into three sections, accompanied by essays by five internationally recognized scholars with expertise in key aspects of eighteenth-century northern New Spain. In San Antonio 1718, more than 100 portraits, landscapes, religious paintings, and devotional and secular objects reveal the culture that reflected and supported this region’s evolving worldview, signaling how New Spain saw itself and its vast colonial and religious ambitions prior to the emergence of an independent Mexico and, subsequently, the state of Texas.

Humans of San Antonio Michael Cirlos Along with Humans of New York, which aims to share the stories of New Yorkers, Humans of San Antonio is part of the Global Humans Project, a network of major cities around the world dedicated to capturing glimpses into the lives of everyday citizens. San Antonio joins the ranks of cities from Amsterdam to Rio de Janeiro, photographed and shown through social media to the world. Michael Cirlos, the photojournalist behind Humans of San Antonio, started the social media project in 2012, combining photography and storytelling to celebrate the city’s growing downtown community. The book Humans of San Antonio is the culmination of five years of his photographs highlighting San Antonio’s vibrant culture and people.

Tides: The Science and Spirit of the Ocean Jonathan White In Tides, writer, sailor, and surfer Jonathan White takes readers across the globe to discover the science and spirit of ocean tides. In the Arctic, White shimmies under the ice with an Inuit elder to hunt for mussels in the dark cavities left behind at low tide; in China, he races the Silver Dragon; in France, he interviews the monks that live in the tide-wrapped monastery of Mont-Saint-Michel; in Chile and Scotland, he investigates the growth of tidal power generation; and in Panama and Venice, he delves into how the threat of sea level rise is changing human culture. Now in paperback, Tides combines lyrical prose, colorful adventure travel, and provocative scientific inquiry into the elemental, mysterious paradox that keeps our planet’s waters in constant motion.

Trinity University Press is committed to civic engagement with ideas. Published books, public programs, and related

media focus on helping us all understand our place in a crowded world with a particular focus on the following areas: bilingual early childhood literacy; the human relationship to the physical environment ranging from wilderness to constructed, urban life; social equity and justice; the interdependence of animal and human life; and Southwestern U.S. and Mexican regional studies. For more information, visit tupress.org.

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Trinity University Press interns with Mayor Ron Nirenberg ’99 (center), from left to right: Derek Hudson, Sarah Wysocki, Georgie Riggs, and

300 Years of San Antonio & Bexar County edited by Claudia Guerra foreword by Char Miller 300 Years of San Antonio & Bexar County captures the iconic stories, moments, people, and places that define one of the oldest communities in the United States. In its more than 250 pages, the book weaves together the voices of 45 contributors from San Antonio’s various communities and organizations, representing the ethnic and historical makeup of the city and its many viewpoints. From its earliest legacy as home to many indigenous peoples to its municipal founding by the Canary Islanders, a convergence of people from across the globe have settled, sacrificed, and successfully shaped the culture of San Antonio. The result is a 21st-century community that strives to balance diverse heritage with a vibrant economy thanks to stories from the past that provide lessons for the future.

Beverly Morabito.

Preserving a Legacy Trinity University Press and the City of San Antonio join forces for city’s tricentennial book

by Georgie Riggs ’19 Trinity University Press intern This summer, San Antonio Mayor Ron Nirenberg ’99 joined Trinity Uni-

versity Press and a host of city leaders at the Center for the Sciences and Innovation to celebrate the release of 300 Years of San Antonio & Bexar County, the official book commemorating San Antonio’s tricentennial.

Published by the Press in collaboration with the city’s Tricentennial Commission, this collection of essays memorializes three centuries of history, highlighting cultural diversity at the heart of San Antonio’s founding and beyond. The book is a major centerpiece of the year-long, citywide event observing the legacy of the Alamo City from 1718 to the present.

The project, with dozens of contributors writing about different aspects of the city’s history, posed a unique challenge. “No one author could write a definitive history of San Antonio,” says Tom Payton, director of Trinity University Press. “We decided that a much more effective approach would be to engage a group of 46 writers who represent diverse voices and perspectives, embracing the richness of the city’s story.”

“The book has a thematic approach. It starts to tell the story, but there’s still more to add to the history books about San Antonio and Bexar County,” Nirenberg said at the book’s release event. Topics range from language and immigration to military history and the role of women, all of which convey the city’s large array of cultural identities. Rather than claiming to capture the entire scope of history, the essays taken as a whole provide readers with a springboard for further exploration into the many facets of a collective story. 300 Years of San Antonio & Bexar County encourages readers to become engaged with every slice of San Antonio history and use that knowledge to forge a path for the city’s future.

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IN MEMORIAM

CRAIG S. LIKNESS Craig S. Likness, former associate professor in Coates Library, died on Jan. 19 in Pompano Beach, Fla. He was 69.

Likness was known as a consummate reference librarian and bibliographer.

He started as a humanities librarian at Trinity in 1976 and was promoted to head bibliographer in 1983 and then head of public services and collections in 1990.

He left Trinity in 2000 to take a position as director of special collections and archives at the University of Miami. Craig was known as a considerate and thoughtful colleague and boss, as well as a quiet social activist.

“Craig was a major figure in the Trinity University community for nearly 25 years,” said Chris Nolan, University librarian. “He was a superb librarian, a knowledgeable art collector, and a big fan of the Santa Fe opera. All of us at Trinity appreciated his dedication to his work and his co-workers.”

J. GUTHRIE FORD J. Guthrie Ford, Professor Emeritus of psychology, died on April 10. He was 73.

A specialist in personality and social psychology, Ford joined the Trinity faculty in 1972 as an assistant professor and was promoted to full professor in 1992.

He was named Outstanding University Professor in 1976. Professor Emeritus Bob Blystone recalled Ford’s teaching style as “exuberant, energetic, and often bombastic.”

After he retired in 1999, Ford began a second career specializing in the life and times of the Texas coast, specifically the Port Aransas and island areas. Ford also had a lifelong love of aviation and military history, particularly WWII, and his final research project centered on Amelia Earhart.

Ford is survived by his wife, Pamalee Petrich Ford, his son Brian Ford, and a granddaughter, Taylor.

FRED DORNER Fred Dorner, retired business administration professor, died on July 23. Dorner, who specialized in statistics and operation research or quantitative methods, is fondly remembered by his co-workers as a reflective colleague and a dedicated teacher.

“Fred had a very keen and entertaining sense of humor,” explains Richard Burr, Ph.D., retired finance and decision sciences professor and Dorner’s friend of 35 years. “It was a pleasure for me to have Fred include me as a close friend.”

“Fred spent hours laboriously going through exam problems because he was more interested in knowing his students understood the concept rather than getting problems correct,” said Patricia Dorner, his former wife.

He loved rebuilding Jaguar automobiles and could fix anything. Dorner is survived by daughters Katherine Dorner Hathaway and Jennifer Dorner, and grandson, Jacob Hathaway.

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THERESA GEORGIA WILSON Theresa Georgia Wilson, longtime member of Trinity’s business office, died on May 1. She was 94.​During her 52 years at Trinity, she served as a payroll supervisor, accountant, and also an endowment manager.

Wilson was the first Trinity employee to be recognized for serving 50 years. At her 50-year celebration in 1997, Raymond Judd ’56, chaplain emeritus, recalls Wilson saying, “Trinity is a good investment where the assets outweigh the liabilities.

I hope that I have distributed some of the dividends to each of you.”

Wilson was a member of Christ Episcopal Church, Friends of Hospice, Tuesday Musical Club, Opera Guild, and the Trinity University Women’s Club.

Wilson is survived by her niece Kathleen Wilson Thompson and husband Jim Thompson, and niece Linda Wilson, as well as cousins.

PHOEBE T. LINDHOLM ’67 Phoebe T. Lindholm, retired mathematics professor, died on Sept. 16. She was 81.

Lindholm retired in 1999 after teaching at Trinity for 30 years. She attended St. Mary’s Hall in San Antonio and received her bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Trinity. She received her doctoral degree from the University of Texas at Austin.

After retiring from Trinity, Lindholm moved to Rockport, Texas, in 2001. Shortly thereafter she met her husband Raymond in the Sacred Heart Church Choir. She enjoyed fishing, gardening, quilting, playing both party and duplicate bridge, and was a devoted member of Sacred Heart Church.

She is survived by her two sons, Peter and Jeremy Neesham; Jane Neesham, her daughter-in-law; four grandchildren (Weston, Kenneth, Alexandra, and Philip Neesham); one great-granddaughter, Kayden; stepchildren, Dan Judson and Kate Klein; and her three siblings, Mary Donald, Caroline Longley, and Elliott May.

left O’Neil Ford (left) and James Woodin Laurie look out over the Skyline Campus. right According to William W. Wurster,

“America’s Most Modern Campus” – The Avalanche Journal, 1955

then-dean of architecture at the University of California, Trinity’s original student union was “one of the most

University listed by the National Parks Service in recognition of architect O’Neil Ford’s vision

significant Student Union buildings in the United States. None will surpass it for beauty and utility.”

Trinity University is now listed on the National Register of Historic Places, becoming the only Texas campus to be designated a modernist historic district.

The University contains the world’s largest concentration of buildings designed

by Texas architect O’Neil Ford and his associated architects. A 43-acre collection of 26 buildings and three structures, built between 1952 and 1979, contribute to

Trinity’s National Historic District. Built on an abandoned 19th-century rock quarry, the campus is bisected by a dramatic 20-foot bluff, positioning the north end of the campus as the academic hub and the south end as the center for athletics and student life.

Explore the history of each of these 26 buildings.

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John W. Murchison Hall

Dedicated in June 1952, Murchison Hall was the second building to be finished on Trinity’s campus using lift-slab construction. The two-story dormitory helped articulate O’Neil Ford’s design philosophy of careful integration into the landscape, unobstructed views, exposed materiality, and exterior construction corridors. Originally designed to house men, it was a women’s hall until Susanna and Myrtle Halls were completed.

George M. Storch Memorial Building

Originally the George M. Storch Library, Storch was dedicated in June 1952. Constructed using the lift-slab method, it boasts an unimpeded view of the San Antonio skyline through a two-story-high wall of windows. In the 1950s, Trinity prioritized active growth of the library collection, so O’Neil Ford designed interior partition walls that were movable depending on the needs of the space and expansion of the collection.

Murchison Tower

One of the most notable structures O’Neil Ford designed for Trinity is a campanile—a substitution for a traditional church steeple—called the T. Frank Murchison Tower. The nine-story tower dedicated in 1964 remains the architectural and symbolic focal point of the campus. The sparse detailing follows the modern tradition, while the technology evokes a premodern tradition of craftsmanship inspired by the Romans.

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Coates Student Center

Originally the Student Union Building, the Coates Student Center was designed as a modernist structure that used the lift-slab method and featured windows and terraces designed to survey sweeping views of downtown. It was not completed until several months after campus opened, so students were bussed to a restaurant for meals. Trinity eventually opened the unfinished dining facilities, even as the noise of construction continued. The building underwent reconstruction in the 1970s to accommodate the growing student population.

Myrtle McFarlin Hall

witt-winn Hall

Witt-Winn Hall, completed in 1962, was part of a men’s dormitory complex including Miller and Calvert Hall. The three-story modernist Witt-Winn Hall was the last lift-slab building completed on campus.

O’Neil Ford designed the east wing with an exterior corridor constructed of exposed concrete slabs. Rooms at the south wing flank a central interior corridor. At the time of construction, Witt-Winn Hall enjoyed views of the entire skyline.

The largest building in the McFarlin dormitory complex, Myrtle McFarlin Hall was completed in 1952. Designed specifically for women, it was constructed using the liftslab method with Bridgeport “pink” bricks, expansive glazing, and exposed concrete. Following the sloping topography of the site, the building’s five-story east side tapers to three stories at the west end. Solid brick walls with enclosed stairwells protrude at the east and west ends.

Susanna (McFarlin) Wesley Hall

Completed in 1952, Susanna Hall was constructed as part of the first phase of the McFarlin dormitory complex. Before it was complete, Trinity had no housing for women, so the men’s Murchison Hall housed female students three to a room. In his design, O’Neil Ford used two rows of cement asbestos tiles topped with awning windows to enhance privacy while still allowing for the southern-facing views.

Heidi McFarlin Lounge

The two-story Heidi McFarlin Lounge was completed in 1952 as the architectural focal point of the McFarlin dormitory complex.

O’Neil Ford’s design used the lift-slab meth-

od and Bridgeport “pink” bricks to create the modernist, glass-enclosed lounge, which has a two-story, open social space with views of the surrounding landscape. Covered walkways connect the Lounge to Myrtle and Susanna Halls.

Isabel McFarlin Hall

Completed in 1954, Isabel McFarlin Hall anchors the south end of the McFarlin dormitory complex. Like other buildings in the complex, the residence hall was constructed using Bridgeport “pink” bricks and the lift-slab method in the modernist style.

The building was strategically placed so as to not obstruct views from the Heidi McFarlin Lounge.

James H. Calvert Hall

Calvert Hall opened as a men’s residence in 1954. Constructed using the lift-slab method, the modernist building is one-dorm-room deep, and the exposed slab extends to create corridors and balconies. Originally, O’Neil Ford designed louvered panels spaced between the railings on the south corridors to prevent sunlight from penetrating through the glazing on the doors. The east rooms enjoy unobstructed views, while the west rooms face a generous green space.

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Marrs McLean Hall

Marrs McLean Hall, Trinity’s first science building, was built in two stages. The west wing, with a rooftop penthouse used as an observation deck for the astronomy laboratory, opened in 1953. The east wing, which had flexible wall partitions on the third floor to accommodate varying needs, opened in 1959.

The science buildings required extra ventilation, so sleeves were cast into the slab at the perimeter and at hallway partitions.

mabee dining Hall

Mabee Hall, formerly known as the Refectory, was completed in 1965 and has the same palette of materials and style as the other O’Neil Ford buildings. The design is modern, but tempered by segmental arched window openings, bold massing, and expansive interior volumes.

Four arched-top, two-story-tall windows offer diners a view of the city, and six metal gabled skylights on the roof illuminate the cavernous dining hall.

miller Hall

When Miller Hall opened in 1954 as Trinity’s southernmost building, its rooms had views of downtown. O’Neil Ford designed a covered walkway, which leads to a central two-story, glass-enclosed lounge, to connect Miller Hall with James H. Calvert Hall. Solid brick circulation towers flank the three-story, modernist building, which was constructed using the lift-slab method.

Lightner Hall

O’Neil Ford created a dense, six-story design for Lightner Hall, a women’s honors residence completed in 1965, as campus space became more limited. The brick detailing, arrangement of balconies, and design of the arches and windows soften the design.

These design elements are hallmarks of Ford’s style of the 1960s, revealing his departure from the prevailing architectural language of the dormitories on campus.

thomas Hall

Completed in 1965, the eight-story High Rise Residence Hall, later renamed Thomas Hall, was designed with a dense, square plan as space became limited on campus. Built for female honors students, it is the first dormitory to have windows on all four façades. The building, along with Lightner Hall, reflects a marked transition into modern design tempered by historical references.

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Beze Hall

Opened in 1964, Beze Hall’s modernist design includes brick walls, exterior corridors with exposed concrete projecting slabs, and a flat roof.

A new building initiative on campus provided a larger budget for O’Neil Ford’s design, which allowed him to work without the constraints of the lift-slab method. The building is connected to Herndon Hall with a two-story concrete and metal covered walkway.

south Hall

Similar in its utilitarian style but larger than North Hall, South Hall opened in 1960 and has private balconies to the south and fixed inset windows to the north. Rows of rooms are arranged in a rectangular plan on either side of an interior corridor. Previously a dining hall, the lobby at the south end of the building captures city views.

north Hall

The modernist women’s residence hall opened in 1960.

O’Neil Ford designed North Hall to follow the curving topography of the site. The exterior corridor at the north side of the utilitarian, flat-roofed building originally used walls of cement asbestos panels topped with awning windows. Private balconies line the south side of the building.

herndon Hall

Herndon Hall, originally a women’s residence, was completed in 1964. In comparison to the early dormitories, O’Neil Ford gave the building a more developed design, which includes exterior corridors lined with horizontal, rectangular concrete columns that extend from the ground to the roof. Despite the changes, the hall was still compatible with the existing architecture.

Margarite B. Parker Chapel

Margarite B. Parker Chapel was completed in 1966. O’Neil Ford aimed for simplicity and functionality in his design of the chapel, which is defined by parabolic vaults, fine masonry, and handmade works of craft including glass, wood, and metal. The chapel melds the old with the new and was reportedly Ford’s favorite building on campus.

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outdoor swimming pool

The Olympic-size swimming pool opened in 1959. To avoid excavating into solid rock, O’Neil Ford designed the L-shaped, aboveground pool to be accessed by concrete stairways on three sides.

Two observation windows allowed coaches to critique underwater technique. When the pool was proposed, Ford designed a bathhouse and viewing pavilion, completed in 1952. The open-air pavilion is one of the purest expressions of the lift-slab technology remaining on campus.

Al G. Hill Jr. Tennis Stadium

Hill Tennis Stadium connects to the north end of campus via a staircase leading to Storch Memorial Building. It was designed by O’Neil Ford and Bartlett Cocke and completed in 1959. The original concrete bleachers extend north up the hill and are partially covered by a pavilion, which was added in 2010. The four courts at Hill Stadium are still in use.

Ewing Halsell Center

The Ewing Halsell Center for Administrative Studies, dedicated in March 1968, was the last building O’Neil Ford designed as part of Trinity’s Centennial Program. It is a three-story, 23,000-square-foot rectangular brick building. The northernmost building on campus, Halsell is one of the few buildings with no outdoor access such as a balcony, exterior corridor, or internal courtyard.

witt reception center

laurie auditorium

Completed in 1971, Laurie Auditorium was the last building of O’Neil Ford’s campus master plan. The modernist auditorium was designed to seat 3,000, enough room for the entire student body and faculty. To downplay the appearance of this mammoth structure, the architects used the topography of the site to disguise its bulk. The auditorium space features exposed wood trusses and is designed in the semicircular style of the ancient Greek amphitheater.

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The Witt Reception Center was completed in 1968. According to the Trinitonian, the center was intended to be a “‘front door’ to the men’s dorms” similar to the way Heidi Lounge was the gateway to the McFarlin women’s dorms. The building, which follows the slope of the terrain, has simple Alvar Aalto-like detailing, similar in style to Mabee Hall.

ruth taylor recital Hall

O’Neil Ford designed the modest, modernist Ruth Taylor Recital Hall in a hexagonal plan to optimize acoustics for the 350-seat performance space. Constructed using the lift-slab method and completed in 1956, the building has solid brick walls and a low-pitch, metal standing-seam, hipped hexagonal roof. Originally, a glass-enclosed walkway connected the recital hall to the music building.

ruth taylor theater

The Ruth Taylor Theater, O’Neil Ford’s 38th building on campus, opened to great acclaim in 1966. The New York Times called it a “striking neo-Romanesque, red-brick building, modern in feeling, yet evocative of an age when the theater was a spacious, joyous place to enrich the spirit and the imagination.” The exterior, clad in Bridgeport “pink” brick, has a timeless feel, intended to never appear dated in the future.

chapman graduate center

Dedicated in 1964, the Chapman Graduate Center was the first major building completed as part of Trinity’s Centennial Program.

The building has three main sections, and each face of the building is slightly different. Three round skylights positioned above a light well that extends through all four stories provide natural light to the Great Hall and former graduate school library.

coates library

Coates Library was dedicated in 1979, ending nearly thirty years of constant construction. To avoid leveling the naturally depressed site, Ford positioned the building’s main entrance at the third floor. At the request of Trinity President Ronald K. Calgaard, the University raised its annual budget for acquisitions of books, giving Trinity the highest expenditure per student for a library of any non-doctorate-granting institution in the country.

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IT ALL IN

At a prestigious Austrian music festival, 30

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Trinity choir brings a fresh voice to classical masterpieces. magazine.trinity.edu TRINITY

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Standing in Joseph Haydn’s footsteps, Nicholas Champion ’21 had to remind himself to breathe.

On a sweltering August day in Eisenstadt, Austria, Champion stood in the gilded, majestic Haydnsaal at the Schloss Esterházy Palace. Around him, sleepy gold-and-red streams of light cascaded into the same 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 Musica Festival in Austria, Champion needed to catch his breath.

It was time to sing.

words by Jeremy Gerlach photography by Anh-Viet Dinh ’15 videography by Taylor Stakes

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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,” says Champion, a human communication and theater 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 performing arts center the 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.”

above Choir members rehearse with the orchestra

AT TRINITY, WE MAKE MUSIC DIFFERENTLY

in the Haydnsaal.

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. Heller was one of several Trinity faculty members who traveled to Austria to perform alongside the choral students.

“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.

And they perform at a very high level. 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.

Even among the quaint, Alpine alleys and cobblestone streets of Eisenstadt—where vendors will hang cozy fur coats for display in the snowy winters—the summer tem-

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peratures reach sweltering levels. On top of this, 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. We were there together, and you become aware that you’re part of something bigger. It’s very surreal.”

Carolyn True, music professor, says these strenuous conditions are a textbook definition of Trinity’s take on experiential learning. “These kids are getting to perform in all of these places, to put history in living context for themselves,” True explains. “They’re dealing with the heat that Haydn dealt with. They’re having to react to weather. We take things for granted in the States.

here for a very long time,” Saidi says. “To be singing one of Haydn’s most famous pieces, ‘The Creation,’ in the palace he lived in for 30-plus years is amazing.”

The Haydnsaal, a gorgeous performance hall inside the Esterházy built in the mid-17th century, served its namesake well. The composer spent nearly 40 years writing and premiering his masterpieces within. Haydn was a notorious perfectionist, and according to palace lore, he had individual segments of flooring and wall ripped out and replaced, just to tweak the acoustics of the room.

Fellow choral member Kristie Kummerer ’18, a music and history double major, holds a reverence for these floorboards.

“There’s a specific spot that’s been preserved so people can know, Haydn walked here,” Kummerer grins. “Having played Haydn’s music pretty much all my life, being able to walk into the palace where

left Trinity students performed Haydn’s “The Creation” and Beethoven’s “Mass in C Major” in a variety of venues across Austria.

Watch a video about their trip and listen to the music at gotu.us/AustriaTrip.

“It’s raw emotion, creation. You leave everything behind, you hear the music. We were there together and you become aware that you’re part of something bigger.”

In this little town, they’re seeing how it affects life, how it affects performance life,” True says. “There are some things you can read about in books, but it’s not being here, being immersed in the culture, having rehearsals in the same place where Haydn conducted, the same instruments they used. To be able to see that and experience that, we all come back changed.”

For Saidi, experiencing the thrill of hearing their voices echo through the Esterházy was a dream come true.

“I learned about the Esterházy Palace in 10th grade at my high school, so I’ve dreamt about coming

he lived and worked, and to be able to sing the piece that he premiered here, it’s an indescribable experience—especially to be able to do that just as an undergrad.”

Kummerer and Saidi have been waiting their whole lives for a chance to touch history. And at Trinity, big-school resources, small-school size, and generous alumni support mean that Tigers don’t have to wait until they’re retired to travel the world for these experiences, or compete with graduate students or professionals for elite experiential learning opportunities.

above Director Gary Seighman (middle) conducts rehearsal.

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AT TRINITY, WE DON’T WAIT: WE DO Jonathan Maislin ’18, a communication major from Hous-

ton, says the trip wouldn’t have happened without an incredible gift from the Dickson-Allen foundation. This gift allowed Trinity’s ensemble to travel to Austria for two weeks, with some individuals paying as little as $500 to attend.

“I didn’t just have ‘two-weeks-in-Austria money’ laying around,” Maislin says. “But through the Dickson-Allen foundation, I was able to go.”

For a kid worried that he’d “get homesick” when he first came to San Antonio from Houston, Maislin has now traveled to Italy for study abroad, China for a previous choir trip, and Austria, all thanks to Trinity’s support for international engagement.

“This is the biggest and most grandiose thing we’ve ever done,” Maislin says of the Austria trip. “We were literally singing in a palace, performing with professional singers from across the world. We were honored by the mayor [of Eisenstadt]. Trinity allows us to travel the world to spread our name—to show the talents we’ve nurtured.”

OUR FACULTY OPEN DOORS

Students like Maislin weren’t alone in taking their talents to Austria. At each of the festival’s rehearsals and performances, professors Heller, Seighman, and True performed right alongside their pupils.

Having faculty as experts in their field is one thing. But at Trinity, having faculty who are willing to provide their expertise in the field can be a game changer.

For Heller, now in his 32nd year at Trinity, the Austria trip is a beautiful example of how Trinity harmonizes with the outside world.

“Sitting at the harpsichord during rehearsal, hearing everything going on around me—all of these musicians from 26 countries—for our students to be part of that musical expression, creating a choral work, it made my heart swell,” Heller says. “It’s an experience they will never forget for the rest of their lives.”

“For our students to be part of that musical expression, creating a choral work, it made my heart swell.”

Heller, a talented organist and keyboardist with a staggering breadth of knowledge on baroque and classical-era instruments, accompanied the group on the harpsichord and the organ. Alongside Heller, True, an accomplished pianist, “wore several hats” during rehearsal. Joseph Kneer, conductor of Trinity’s symphony, performed on violin, while skilled mezzo-soprano Jacquelyn Matava performed as a soloist during Beethoven’s Mass. And Seighman, a smooth tenor vocalist and acclaimed conductor, helped mold the Trinity choir’s sound into a force worthy of even Beethoven or Haydn’s masterpieces.

“I feel pride that Dr. Seighman has made this choir what it is, to where we get to perform at these (international) venues,” Nicholas Champion says.

“We’re with musicians that have been working towards this their entire lives.”

Ultimately, Champion says, building relationships with faculty who are willing to take action and make music alongside 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 as Trinity’s ensemble begins to develop an international reputation, they continue to draw the attention—and enthusiasm—of engaged choir alumni.

“We’re making music at a high level,” Seighman says. “It’s exciting to have alumni coming up to me, asking, ‘What’s the choir doing next year?’ or ‘Where’s your next tour?’ So many of our alumni can’t wait to see what we’re doing next, and even though they’re not ‘part’ of the experience, they are part of it, in a way, because we’re standing on their shoulders.”

And even if Champion never returns to Austria, or performs in a venue like the Haydnsaal, the Bergkirche, or St. Stephen’s Cathedral again, 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.

“When you perform, you feel like you’re part of something that is constantly breathing and moving,” Champion says. “I think that’s why people love classical music, because it’s always breathing, and you’re breathing new life into it.”

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During a quick visit to the KRTU studio, Jon Wiener ’10 gives listeners a taste of Home Cookin’, the ESPN radio show he hosted from 2013-16. Wiener, who became Trini-famous for calling the “Mississippi Miracle” 15-lateral football play in 2007, continues his career with Bash Brothers Media after broadcasting for ABC News, The New York Daily News, and Fox 40 in Jackson, Miss.

40 TU Wit 48 Behind the Scenes 54 Live Long and Podcast 58 Alumni Profiles

TU Wit From late-night TV to YouTube and live improv circuits, Tigers risk everything for comedy

words by Jeremy Gerlach illustrations by Katy Freeman ’17 photos provided by featured alumni

Comedian Raj Desai ’99 has busted the guts of D.C. journalists, late-night audiences, and couch-ridden 20-somethings glued to their Hulu accounts, but one of the toughest crowds he ever faced was in his parents’ living room.

In 2005, the Trinity biochemistry major— who also has a George Washington University law degree—stood in front of his mother and father in their Arlington, Texas, home, explaining to them why he was walking away from a career in civil litigation: He wanted to move to Los Angeles to become a standup comedian.

“I wouldn’t say they were glad about what I was doing with my life,” Desai deadpans. “But they at least didn’t stop me.”

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Jump forward 13 years, and it’s safe to say Desai has

won over his audience. He’s a successful comedian who’s landed absolute zingers for Anthony Jeselnik, Triumph the Insult Comic Dog, and the 2017 White House Correspondents’ Dinner, and now writes on Sarah Silverman’s I Love You, America—rated 93 percent on Rotten Tomatoes.

And Desai isn’t the only Tiger holding a feather to America’s collective ribcage. Trinity has a long list of alumni who’ve become standups, writers, and even founders of improv groups. They span TV, streaming networks, and live performance circuits.

Some are pros who spend more than 12 hours daily writing jokes that will echo worldwide, while others perform for free on the weekends for the sheer joy of the experience, grinding in between work shifts to craft intimate connections with small, local audiences who’ll never hear the same joke twice.

For all of these Tigers, comedy is a risk. For some, it’s existential: If your jokes don’t land, the bills don’t get paid. For others, it’s borderline-spiritual: If a live show rocks, the endorphins flow.

And at Trinity, we know you don’t bring down the house by playing it safe.

Raj Desai ’99

HASHTAGS AND HOLLYWOOD

Desai has traded in the oak trees of Trinity’s campus for the lush palms of Hollywood. How’d he get here, you ask? Well, every morning, he swings down sunny Santa Monica Boulevard and onto the lot at Sunset Las Palmas Studios, home to the I Love You, America set.

But if you’re looking for an answer Google Maps can’t show you, Desai has seemingly always had this destination entered into his spiritual GPS.

And while swamped in law school, Desai always made time for LexisNexis searches on famous comedians and writers, prying for clues about how they launched comedy careers. (Our Gen Z readers should note three things: LexisNexis was the Google of its day; VHS is how humans used to watch movies; and no, this story will not also run on the History Channel between Mysteries of the Ice Age and Coleen Grissom: the Younger Years.)

“My assumption was that everybody who works in showbiz, like, their dad was the ‘President of Showbiz’ or something,” Desai says. “But I just started reading about Conan O’Brien and Jon Stewart and others, and I kind of figured out how most people got into comedy writing and stand up: They just packed up their car and moved to L.A. or New York, got a day job, and started doing it at open mic nights.”

So Desai took a risk: He loaded up his ’94 Camry and headed to L.A. There, he went from “sort of a total zero” to the top of the “minor leagues of standup” relatively quickly, eventually pulling enough of his own showbiz weight to attract an agent and manager. He made appearances on programming such as The Late Show with Craig Ferguson and Comedy Central, and then, after some rough, “lean years,” he got writing gigs on shows such as The Jeselnik Offensive. Stints with Triumph the Insult Comic Dog, the White House Correspondents’ Dinner, and Silverman’s show soon followed.

At I Love You, America, Desai joins about 10 writers—including fellow Tiger John Haskell ’07.

The show, headed by a mellow-but-still-caustic Silverman, uses humor as “connective tissue” for a divided America. Through sketches, monologues,

“My assumption was that everybody who works in showbiz, like, their dad was the ‘President of Showbiz’ or something.”

“I would say since I was a young kid, really, like 12, I was obsessed with standup comedy and comedy in general,” Desai says. “One of the most important things to me at Trinity was watching Late Night with Conan O’Brien every night at 12:30 on NBC in my dorm. We didn’t have DVR, so I either had to stay up and watch it or VHS-tape it and watch the next day.”

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and interviews, Silverman engages audiences and subjects both liberal and conservative, rural and urban, young and old.

“Sarah’s using the show to pop her own bubble,” says Haskell, a Latin major who graduated from Trinity magna cum laude. “Maybe she’ll visit a family in Louisiana who were Trump supporters, and the show is literally just them picking each other’s brains,

and then you realize these are just all people who’ve experienced some form of change in their life.”

I Love You, America has also made strange bedfellows of Trinity’s Haskell and Desai, who’d never met before joining forces in Hollywood. Haskell, much like Desai, left his original career path— teaching—to chase the comedy dream.

“There was just this ‘feeling’ that took over: ‘I am going to try to pursue comedy full time,’” Haskell says of his ascent. “My family raised me to do a ‘practical’ job, so I never really thought that a career like this would be possible.”

Moving to New York, Haskell worked his way through the crowded stand-up scene, performed on the sketch circuit with friend Arthur Meyer as part of the group Two Really Fun Men, and eventually made his way onto the writing staff for The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon. There, Haskell met fellow comedian Dan Opsal, with whom he’d go on to co-build a small, absurdist YouTube channel, “Real Big Boys.”

Haskell “gravitates towards very silly stuff…

Material that gets a very guttural response out of [him] without having to overthink it.” Along this line of thinking, he’s dressed a desperate-for-work Will Ferrell as a new company spokesman for Little Debbie (replete with bright red curls and blue checkered dress); he’s forced Justin Timberlake and Jimmy Fallon to engage in mundane small talk using nothing but hashtags (because we all have that friend who uses hashtags in person); and he’s staged a yodeling match between Fallon and Brad Pitt, both perched on opposing Manhattan high-rises.

“It’s exciting, seeing something you’ve written go from this idea on a desk to having it performed on TV,” Haskell says.

On I Love You, America, you can see Haskell and Desai’s writing goes beyond the desk to merge into Silverman’s larger voice. While Desai helps write many of Sarah’s monologues, Haskell has a hand in many of the show’s separate sketches, though all the writers typically help with every element of the show.

In one bit, a graphic-tee-clad, risen-again Jesus, played by Fred Armisen, stands in line at a bougie sandwich shop in front of Silverman. He and Silverman launch into predictable riffs—Christ solves a flatbread shortage and sip-steals some Coke Zero by converting it from plain water—complemented with more subversive material: Sarah is miffed when Jesus says she’s special but then proceeds to spread the same love to everyone else in line.

above Desai performs a stand-up comedy routine, and only usually wears bananas on his head while “goofing off” in the I Love You, America writers’ room. Desai even found time to make an appearance at the 2016 Emmy Awards Show. below Haskell (middle) appears on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon as part of a regular show segment, “Two Really Fun Men.” Haskell has also performed stand-up comedy shows.

John Haskell ’07

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above The Missed Opportunity cast under their signature interstate overpass in downtown San Antonio.

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While Haskell has his quirks, Desai’s style trends towards “precise execution,” as evident in his writing for the 2017 White House Correspondents’ Dinner that lampooned both the American media as well as the president.

And you might never suspect it after conversing with the soft-spoken Texan, but Desai can land a roast that will have its victim Googling nearby burn centers. In this vein, Desai was a match made in heaven for Conan’s Triumph the Insult Comic Dog character during a stint with Triumph’s Hulu series in 2016. This production, covering watershed moments ranging from the presidential election to the Chicago Cubs’ historic world series championship, won Desai a Writers Guild Award and an Emmy nomination.

“One day, you’re going to share this memory with your grandchildren!” Triumph proclaims to a (presumably) drunk crowd of Cubs fans celebrating on the streets in Chicago. “Or,” Triumph pauses, singling out two gentlemen looking worse-for-wear, “whoever you take to your AA meetings.”

Even though Haskell and Desai have proven comedic track records at this stage in their careers, they’ll both attest that you can’t write unique, fresh material like this by playing it safe. And at Trinity, both learned that constantly opening yourself up to new voices, collaboration, or influences is the best possible risk a comedian can take.

“When I was at Trinity, I had to take a geology course,

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and an aerobics course—maybe a Japanese literature course, just all these things covering a variety of topics,” Haskell says. “And that’s what I took from the liberal arts aspect: Opening yourself up to so many different points of view is super helpful because it forces you to think outside of just one specific mindset.”

Desai says his college degree actually ended up being a perfect set of credentials for the job he has now—even if it didn’t originally seem that the biochemistry major was making a rational career move back in 2005.

“When I hear people beating up on liberal arts education, or saying people should pursue more practical careers, I totally get it. I’m also a science major, and I think it’s great,” Desai says. “But at the same time, so much of my critical thinking—even if I’m writing a script now, or reading someone’s book, or watching a movie, or watching comedy—that came from the way Trinity approaches the liberal arts.”

WHEN OPPORTUNITY ROCKS

More than 1,300 miles away from Hollywood, Samantha Grubbs ’13 has cornered another victim in a San Antonio back alley, hidden under a roaring interstate overpass.

But Grubbs isn’t here for a wallet—she’ll settle for some personal trauma.

Grubbs, a communication major and current bank marketing manager from New Iberia, La., is part of

Liz Metzger ’19

Kerry Madden ’20

Missed Opportunity, an eight-woman improv comedy team founded at Trinity. The group begins every show by asking an audience member to share a personal missed opportunity—a risk they regret never taking.

These “bits of trauma” can range from someone not following their boyfriend to Germany, a student going on a lackluster spring break with their family instead of a more unhinged one with friends, or getting married before finishing college.

With this embarrassing anecdote in hand, Missed Opportunity constructs a rapid-fire series of riffs, skits, brand-new characters, and running gags on the spot, all based around that night’s theme. As improv warrants, there’s no set, no props besides the four chairs for the group, and no script—just instinct.

“We’re that group of funny female friends that get together, and we’re giving you a fun, funny, smart show,” Grubbs says.

The group began in January 2016 as a 100-percent Trinity team, performing on campus at the Café Theater.

Eventually, they moved to the San Antonio Playhouse, and then to Bexar Stage in 2017. As members move away, the group will occasionally audition some talent from outside the Trinity bubble—including members Tina Jackson, Ariana Cuellar, Morgan Williams, and Alexandra Flores— but the group always maintains a solid maroon core of current students, alumnae, and even faculty.

Samantha Grubbs ’13

J’Leen Saeger

At a Missed Opportunity show, you’ll probably first take note of Kerry Madden ’20. A communication and theater double major from Austin, Madden loves “moving her hands, making physical choices, and playing the wacky characters.”

“People see a woman in improv, and they assume, ‘Oh, you’re good at playing Mean Girls characters.’” Madden says. “But I’ll jump in as a construction worker who’s really into brick, or a 1920s magician, or a small business-owning ice cream scooper who thinks they’re going to become the mayor of the town.”

“We’re that group of funny female friends that get together, and we’re giving you a fun, funny, smart show.”

As Madden’s characters crash into a scene, you’ll see

Liz Metzger ’19 step in to build a world around them.

A communication major from Houston, Metzger is “all about creating an environment.” At every performance, Metzger will take a part of her day—things she’s heard in a gender studies class, rants that she’s gone on—and work them into each scene.

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And students aren’t the only ones in the spotlight. J’Leen

Saeger, a visiting Trinity Spanish professor from Riverside,

Missed Opportunity never misses an opportunity to pose for the camera, whether during an improv show or while out on the town.

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Calif., brings a frenetic change of pace to the group. “I have been described,” Saeger laughs, “as having the energy of a paint can shaker. I’m very physical, and I bring energy to the table.”

While Grubbs can get wacky herself, she truly shines as a measured, relatable foil to this manic mania. “I’m the straight character a lot—I’m trying to make sense of what everyone else is doing,” Grubbs says. “And you need to be a team player to do that. While other people are playing wacky characters, I’m trying to create a world around them, trying to justify the wacky things they’re doing, to make it more real.”

For all the diverse skills these performers bring to the table, Missed Opportunity still find themselves pushing back against a comedy environment that often offers prejudice instead of respect.

Out on the live circuit, the group sometimes gets half-handed, condescending introductions from male hosts.

The group still laughs—and simmers—at one incident where a fellow comic introduced the team by saying, “And now we bring up Missed Opportunity, who’ll show you women can do some things right.”

But for Missed Opportunity, that’s just more fuel for the fire.

“I can’t even remember what our ‘missed opportunity’ theme was during the night that happened,” Metzger says. “Instead, we turned that terrible intro the guy gave us into the gag.”

“Moments like that, that’s why I joined Missed Opportunity,” Saeger says. “To see a group of women push back, doing something that’s typically male-dominated—it’s been amazing.”

But the group doesn’t want to define itself as “female-focused” or measure their success by how many punchlines and body blows they land on the patriarchy’s soft underbelly. For Grubbs and Metzger, the draw of Missed Opportunity has always been about a bigger perspective than that. “Yeah, we talk about issues that are important to women, but we’re playing diverse characters,” Grubbs says.

That diversity comes from the groups’ real-world strengths and skills, Metzger adds. “Some of us have doctorates, some are architects, and we’re all in different stages of our lives,” she says. “And you know what? It’s great to bring that to improv because I think that makes our performances more interesting and rich because we come from all these different places in our lives, and that makes the environments we create on stage that much richer.”

“I love being pushed to be better by the people I’m around,” Madden says. “At Trinity, and with Missed Opportunity, you’re able to surround yourself with people who inspire you—people you want to emulate.”

“At Trinity, you learn to work with those people, to create something bigger than yourself,” Metzger says. “You can do that at Trinity because we’re a small school, and there’s just so much support for you. Here, I’ll see J’Leen all the time on her way to class. Sam is in my sorority, and I have an old jersey of hers. Alumni, faculty, and even our librarians will come to our shows. Trinity reinforces these small little connections that go beyond our performances.”

THE SHOW GOES ON

Trinity is known for giving students a “safe space to fail”—a supportive environment to sink your claws into the turf, leaping past the low-hanging fruit and out onto a more precarious tree limb, knowing there’s a soft landing beneath.

But for comedians like Desai, Haskell, Grubbs, Saeger, Metzger, and Madden, the true value of this approach is teaching yourself to keep taking risks. “I would say at age 22, I was just not happy or fulfilled, and there are a lot of people who can say that,” Haskell says. “But if you’re going to try something new, you’ve got to make your move. If it doesn’t work out, you can always reroute and do something else.”

And that philosophy carries over to improv, where each show is a chance to try something new. “With improv, there’s no script, so every move, every decision you’re making is taking a risk,” Saeger says. “I can have the worst day, but when I’m with my girls and we have a great show, it changes the entire course of my weekend: I’m re-energized, and that carries over to other parts of my life.”

Taking risks means surrounding yourself with mentors who ask, “Why not?”

“At Trinity, I had some really terrific professors who were understanding of my general searching and head-up-my-a**-ness” Desai says.

“To see a group of women push back, doing something that’s typically maledominated—it’s been amazing.” “(Retired chemistry professor) Michelle Bushey was my adviser, and she must have written me letters of recommendation for so many different things, but when I talked about comedy, when I talked about creative outlets, she never asked me, ‘Why are you changing your mind?’”

And at Trinity, this type of risk-taking means stepping past your inhibitions, and up to the mic.

Grubbs came to Trinity with a “huge fear of public speaking,” to the point where her hands and voice would shake before every presentation.

After taking a risk with improv, she started presenting more and speaking up in class.

“Now, when I perform, it’s just like the audience isn’t there anymore,” Grubbs says. “It’s just me and my girls onstage. And Trinity gave me that opportunity to work on myself, to get myself to that point, and it gave me this group of girls that are smart, funny, and creative. Without that, there’s no show.”

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Whether you’re watching a box-office smash on the silver screen, a theatrical hit on the Great White Way, or simply your favorite TV show from the comfort of your couch, an entire ecosystem of creative people are at work behind the scenes, night and day. Four Trinity alumni lift the curtain for a sneak peek into their worlds. words by Miriam Sitz Grebey ’10 photos provided by featured alumni

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above Not many people can say they’ve won an Emmy during their first production job, but

CrAZY aNd PeRfECT For many people in show business , an Emmy

win might be the long-awaited zenith of their career. For Cristina Miranda Bouldin ’08, it was the just the start. Shortly after graduating from Trinity with a degree in communication and a minor in film studies, Bouldin became a producer on Cristina’s Court, a courtroom reality show. Within two years, she found herself shoulder-to-shoulder with colleagues on stage at the Daytime Emmys, wearing her senior prom dress and clutching the coveted trophy.

Bouldin spent months digging through countless court cases and booking guests—a task that honed her ability to “sweet talk” potential defendants who got cold feet about appearing on TV. Three-hundred episodes later, the executive producers invited her to help with the show’s Emmy campaign in Los Angeles. “I stayed in their mansion in the Hollywood Hills,” says Bouldin, who aspired to work in entertainment since she was a child. “I thought, ‘This is a dream, this is crazy and perfect!’”

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Cristina Miranda Bouldin ’08 did, for her work on Cristina’s Court. right Patricia McLaughlin ’75 has costumed actors and actresses in movies and television series, including Big Little Lies, which won her an Emmy in 2017.

She stayed in LA for more than four years, joining a production company called Pilgrim Studios, where she worked on reality programs including Top Guns, American Chopper, and Full Metal Jousting. “All the stuff I love,” she jokes. “All nice and girly!”

Bouldin’s time at Trinity prepared her for the “get it done, make it happen” world of television. Outside of her classes, she worked on the Tiger TV program Newswave, and she was active in the sorority Sigma Theta Tau. “I was super shy coming into college,” Bouldin remembers. “Being in Sigmas definitely helped me to be more open.”

Many of her sorority sisters are still close friends, but she’s also made meaningful connections with other Tigers since commencement—including with Chelsea Holmes ’11 (check out the sidebar), who followed in her footsteps to Pilgrim Studios.

Bouldin moved back to Houston, her hometown, at the end of 2012, and she and her husband welcomed their first child this summer. As a new mom, her sweet-talking skills from Cristina’s Court may soon come in handy again—in negotiating with a toddler.

Costuming Crime-Fighters Patricia McLaughlin ’75 is not a nerd. And

yet, she’s probably more deeply entrenched in the superhero-filled world of the Marvel Universe than anyone you know, thanks to three years of outfitting secret agents and supervillains for ABC’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. “I had no interest whatsoever until I started working on it, but now I think it’s great,” she says of the TV show, which follows the exploits of a super-powered government agency from the popular Marvel film series.

“There are a lot of visual effects, alien words, alternate universes, and complicated timelines,” she continues. “It’s been quite an education.”

As the show’s costume supervisor, McLaughlin has come to know the characters inside and out, poring over scripts to determine each episode’s sartorial needs. Will the actor wear a harness underneath for stunts? She’ll size up their costume. Will the first scene of the day be bloody? She’ll have duplicate clothes ready for shots that require clean gear.

Originally from Lufkin, Texas, and now based in the Los Angeles–area neighborhood Van Nuys, McLaughlin has worked in the entertainment industry for more than four decades, but she has been a singer and actor since her youth. Her first connection to Trinity came during high school, when she spent three summers at an upstate New York vocal training program led by music professor John Seagle.

She ended up on the red brick campus majoring in drama and studying under theater professor Paul Baker, whose “integration of abilities” philosophy required students to explore every aspect of theater, from lights and sound to costumes and sets. “That experience still helps me now,” she says, “since I interact with all the different departments.”

McLaughlin graduated in three years, then moved to New York, where she worked as an actor and singer. After 13 years on stage, she pivoted out of the limelight and into the world of costuming. Using skills learned at the Seagle Music Colony and at Trinity, she quickly landed gigs in costume departments on Broadway, where she prepped clothes during the day and helped actors dress during evening performances.

In 1987, McLaughlin had her daughter and relocated to California, just as the 1988 writers’ strike began. “I had so many opportunities in New York—doors just flew open,” she remembers. “Then I came out to LA and it was horrible.

Everything was shut down!”

She found work with a company that rented clothing to shows, but it wasn’t exactly glamorous. “I was literally scraping manure off moccasins in a dark warehouse, with no AC, for $5 an hour,” she says. But before long, she hit pay dirt, landing a job as a costumer on Golden Girls, where she dressed Rue McClanahan and Estelle Getty. “Even now, that’s one of my favorite things I’ve done,” she says. McLaughlin’s career took off from there.

In her job, she organizes a team of clothing specialists to bring the costume designer’s vision to life. She has worked on everything from sitcoms and series—including Big Little Lies, which won her an Emmy in 2017—to movies such as Matilda, Malibu’s Most Wanted, and August Osage County.

While every project is unique, McLaughlin keeps her department running smoothly by anticipating challenges, communicating clearly, and prioritizing tasks. “You’ve just got to roll with the punches,” she says—fitting advice coming from someone who spends her days among crime-fighting superheroes.

While working on Tiger TV gave Chelsea Holmes ’11 her first taste of show biz, a Trinity connection got her foot in the door. The communications major met Cristina Miranda Bouldin ’08 at an Alumni Association event while studying “abroad” in Los Angeles. Bouldin, who was working at the reality TV production company Pilgrim Studios, helped Holmes land an executive assistant job there. Holmes shared a glimpse of her typical workday.

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Fight Club Ron Piretti ’70 does not like violence —a

above Ron Piretti ’70 has choreographed fight scenes for musicals from Sting’s The Last Ship to Lin Manuel Miranda’s In the Heights. photos by D. Thomas Porter

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fact that may seem incongruous with his professional life, where he has made a name for himself in the theater world as a fight director. On stage, he says, fighting is “really like dancing; it’s all choreography.”

Like McLaughlin, Piretti came to Trinity to study under Paul Baker, transferring from a college in his home state of Connecticut.

Taking courses in sculpture, dance, and writing, Piretti says he discovered many new interests, and even the city of San Antonio broadened his perspective: “I didn’t know anyone from Texas, and coming from the East Coast, being Italian, I had to learn to navigate a whole new environment—how to talk to people, how to make friends.”

After graduation, he apprenticed at the New Jersey Shakespeare Festival (now called the Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey), where he discovered the skill that would become his niche. “Someone thrust a sword and shield in my hands and put me in charge of the weapons. I thought, ‘Oh wow, this is cool.’”

He went on to earn his MFA at the Goodman

School of Drama at the Art Institute of Chicago, then moved to New York, where he acts, choreographs fights, and teaches.

Piretti made his Broadway debut in 2010 playing Officer Krupke in West Side Story— the pinnacle of his career to date, he says— and has directed fights for musicals including Sting’s The Last Ship and Lin Manuel Miranda’s In the Heights. Whether playing a character or choreographing an altercation, he sees his work as a form of storytelling.

“Everything, even a slap, has a beginning, a middle, and an end, and it all must move forward in sync with the bigger story.”

Working as an actor goes hand in hand with the liberal arts principle of learning how to learn: “You’ve got to be interested in life,” Piretti says, “and you can’t stop doing things.”

He takes classes in acting, Italian, and guitar, and attends many events in the city—including Trinity alumni gatherings—to ensure that he’s always making new connections.

“It’s all about meeting people,” he says, because you never know where a new connection might lead.

Kevin Mohs ’87 recently returned from filming on location at Yellowstone National Park for Yellowstone Live, which aired on the National Geographic Channel in August.

different discoveries Over the course of his 27-year career, Kevin Tao Mohs ’87 has

traveled from the French Alps, where he filmed an elite mountain rescue team, to the Maasai Mara preserve in Kenya, where he witnessed a herd of wildebeests, zebras, and gazelles make a perilous crossing through crocodile-infested waters. Most recently, in his role as vice president of production for the National Geographic Channel, he spent 10 days in Yellowstone, overseeing a live special. “My job is never boring,” he says, “and every day is different.”

But it’s not all adrenaline rush all the time. “I do strategic planning and manage the budget, and I also get to be creative with storytelling,” he says. “I tap into all sides of my brain.”

The variety of his professional life reflects an intellectual philosophy Mohs has embraced since his days at Trinity. “My goal was to get a well-rounded education,” says the mass communication major, who took classes in history and law, as well as acting. “A small school allows you to try a lot of different things,” he says, “and also gives you good one-on-one time with your professors, so that you can learn from their experiences.”

That broad foundation has served him well in his career, where he has created nonfiction shows for Discovery, TLC, Animal Planet, and National Geographic. It has also encouraged him to be a lifelong learner. “We see anything that can entertain, inform, or distract as our competition,” he says, “So we are always busy learning and observing, and always evaluating different techniques for telling a story.”

Maintaining connections with mentors, colleagues, and classmates has also played a large part in Mohs’ personal and professional trajectory. “You have to keep in touch with people, never burn bridges, and leave a good reputation, wherever you go,” he says, recalling how contacts from grad school led to his first production gig, then to a job with Animal Planet, where he eventually became a vice president. And in a roundabout way, none of that would have happened had he not crashed on the couch of his first-year suitemate in Washington, D.C., while applying to grad school.

As for that old suitemate? “He and his wife just brought their kids to Silver Lake,” Mohs says. “We had Maryland blue crabs and talked about our days at Trinity, when six of us were crammed into a four-person room on Thomas first!”

Mohs makes it a priority to give back to the next generation. (“Others did it for me!”) He spoke at Trinity Communications Day in 2017, advising students to set concrete goals for themselves. “You can’t just have them in your mind,” he explains. “You have to write them down, because if you say, ‘One day I’ll do this,’ then before you know it, that ‘one day’ is gone.”

In the frenetic world of show business, Mohs’ words ring especially true. But equipped with a solid liberal arts foundation, and bolstered by the widespread network of alumni always ready to lend a hand or give words of advice, Tigers have what it takes to ensure that the show goes on.

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by Nicolette Good ’07

J

ack Newman ’13 is the driving force behind

seven Trinity graduates who podcast about all-things media—from movie reviews to watchalong series to Dungeons & Dragons adventures—and they’ve done it all without ever being in the same room.

“Podcasting was mostly an excuse to stay in contact with friends,” say Newman, who hails from Durham, N.C. “People appreciate having a reason to stay friends over a long period of time.”

But this particular mashup of podcasting pals didn’t take shape until a couple years after graduation. Newman messaged friends and classmates he thought might be interested in podcasting together—people he knew from TigerTV, from the media communications lab, or from mingling in residence hall common rooms late at night.

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“A lot of us were media lovers doing projects like media storytelling in Professor Patrick Keating’s courses,” Newman says. “Trinity had a nice way of putting people together and giving you the opportunity to meet different people.”

Today Newman is a simulation technology and media specialist in the Department of Anesthesiology at the Duke University School of Medicine.

A handful of friends responded, and now the crew has created six podcast shows under the network name Tuscan Shed Media Network (an inside-joke reference to kitschy wineries). After all, they do dub themselves “a podcasting company with a little heart and a lot of wine.” Each series is marked by witty, friendly banter along with reviews of new films, TV shows, games, and anything media.

A Comfortable Niche

“I want every episode to feel how it felt when I was at Trinity,” says Newman, who was an executive producer of TigerTV’s Newswave.

“You got back to your dorm room after watching a movie, you sat back with friends, and you just had a good conversation.”

Podcasting offered Newman’s group an outlet to continue their great conversations, but with a lighter production load than a video series. Best of all,

and rated Star Wars VII: The Force Awakens. Now, they’ve released more than 120 episodes of the show.

“It gets me to see movies I might not see normally,” says Sarah Becker ’13, a music major from Ft. Worth, Texas, who minored in psychology. In addition to being a key member of the Tuscan Shed team, Becker is a church organist as well as a staff accompanist at a community college in Dallas.

“Trinity had a nice way of putting people together and giving you the opportunity to meet different people.” podcasting meant they did not have to be together in the same space to make an episode: None of the seven Trinity podcasters live in the same city.

“Video provides something scripted, concise, and driven,” says Ben Haworth ’12, who majored in communication with a minor in film studies. “But podcasting is more free-flowing and conversational, and Jack wanted to recreate the discussions we had back in college.” Haworth was a host and producer of TigerTV’s Studio 21, an arts, entertainment, and pop culture show.

Tuscan Shed’s first series was Movie Gang Podcast, a panel of rotating hosts who analyze a newly released movie each week, from popular releases to contentious franchise entries. The Movie Gang Podcast released its inaugural episode in February 2016, in which they discussed

Geeking Out

The team applied a similar format to another podcast show, Animania, in which Newman, Becker, and Trevor Flynn ’14 review and analyze their favorite anime. “The anime community is expansive,” says Flynn, a theatre major who is immersed in performance, dance, and poetry.

“One contentious issue among anime aficionados is ‘subs vs. dubs’: Should non-Japanese speaking fans watch anime with overdubbed dialogue, or with subtitles?” he says.

Tuscan Shed’s independent status lends artistic freedom to embrace niche topics, as it did with its show Geek Space Nine, a watchalong series in which the hosts watch all seven seasons of the television series Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. “It’s a small, devoted topic,” Haworth says. “Either you watch it, or you don’t.”

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Co-hosts Haworth, Becker, and Peter

Dancy ’14 were only acquaintances be-

fore the show kicked off, though they were longtime Star Trek fans. “We all got super invested in it,” says Dancy, who majored in communication and minored in business administration.

Now they’ve podcasted more than 170 episodes of Geek Space Nine together. “I got to be a lot closer with Ben and Peter, who I didn’t know very well during my time at Trinity,” Becker says. “We’ve created a bond over being Star Trek nerds.”

Tuscan Shed takes a dive from deep space into deep forensics with audio crime drama podcasts. Bobbye Pyke ’13, a communication major and former TigerTV lead anchor who is currently a law student at the University of Houston Law Center, is drawn to this genre.

“Bobbye has a passion for podcasts like Serial and Black Tapes,” Newman says. “Tuscan Shed Media Network gives her access to editors, to voice talent, and to people with acting backgrounds,” without which Pyke

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might not be able to explore producing crime podcasts further.

So Haworth, Becker, and Dancy pine for Star Trek, while Pyke harbors a passion for crime podcasts. But that’s the beauty of Tuscan Shed—similar to what their alma mater taught them, exploring a diverse array of interests makes for interesting—and well-rounded—shows.

A Menagerie of Misfits

Newman’s biography at tuscanshed.com calls the team a “menagerie of misfits… ranging from music nerds to hardcore newsies to drama geeks and lawyers,” and likens them to a second family. Many of the podcasters remarked Newman has a gift of rallying the group, and that they would not have embarked on this venture if not for his influence.

“His enthusiasm is infectious. It gets us on board and keeps us on board,” Becker says.

Enthusiasm is just one key to successfully creating podcasts separately together—each from respective hometowns, the hosts have

a live conversation using Skype or Google Hangouts, and each person records only their own audio. The audio files are then compiled and edited. “Microphones are important,” Haworth says. “There are times you lose entire projects because one microphone ruins the entire recording.”

“Everyone has a dog, and they bark sometimes,” he laughs. “But we just keep going.”

The team releases its podcasts on a podcatcher—an application such as iTunes, Stitcher, Soundcloud, or Spotify that lets listeners subscribe to podcasts—so as episodes are posted, they are downloaded to your device.

“Each of us has applied our own experiences, interests, and perspectives to the podcasts,” says Dancy, whose full-time job in Houston is with 2nd MD, where he monitors and troubleshoots video conferences between doctors and patients seeking a second opinion. “I know for me, if we are reviewing a Marvel superhero movie, I’m going to have a lot to say. Someone else may have more to say about the movie’s pacing, storytelling, or music scoring.”

Haworth suggests the least appreciated aspect of podcasting is finding natural chemistry among co-hosts.

“You can be best friends in real life, but then you record yourself and it can sound like three strangers,” he says.

“We are learning how to drop some of that formality and sound genuine, entertaining, enjoyable. You can hear Jack Googling things, fact-checking in the background. As long as we had a good conversation, it’s an easy-going process.”

Tuscan Shed’s raison d’être has been maintaining friend-

ships, but the team is still excited by the idea of creating a runaway series, such as 2014’s Serial. A true-crime podcast from the creators of This American Life, Serial captured the attention of many first-time podcast listeners.

“We always are looking to make the podcast that will take off and bring in that million-person audience, because it will help keep this group together,” Newman says.

“We’ve brought creative Trinity grads together, and a lot of good things have happened.”

Three P’s in a Podcast Learning TUgether initiative is music to Tigers’ ears What combines professors, predictions, and pinot noir?

A podcast series, of course.

As part of the University’s Learning TUgether initiative, Trinity’s podcast series showcases conversations from outstanding Trinity faculty and alumni experts on timely topics. The series is hosted by Nathan Cone ’95, vice president of San Antonio public radio station KSTX, and recorded and produced by Trinity’s own KRTU 91.7.

Predict the Academy Awards while sipping on alumni-made red wine, or learn about Trinity’s architecture on an international trip to Mexico.

Other topics have covered diversity and inclusion, financial and career development, and global, social, and political issues.

Listen, Follow, Explore

Check out the latest episodes on www.tuscanshed.com

New episodes are released the first Tuesday of every month.

To listen: g otu.us/podcasts or search

Subscribe to podcast episodes on

iTunes | Stitcher | Google Play Music | Podbean | SoundCloud Facebook

Twitter

The Movie Gang Podcast Animania Podcast Geek Space Nine Pen and Paper Pod Discover Pod A Feast for Bros

@the_movie_gang @AnimaniaPodcast @geekspacenine @penandpaperpod @discoverpod @feastforbros

Learning TUgether on SoundCloud

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ALUMNI PROFILE

Bob West ’78 The Voice of a Generation

by Miriam Sitz Grebey ’10

During a dozen sold-out live performances at Radio City Music Hall

in 1994, Bob West kept his fans giggling, singing, and shrieking with delight. “It was one of those shows that you dream about, where the audience is totally with you,” he says—even though he wasn’t there with the audience, at least not in the typical sense; while they heard his voice, they never saw his face.

“All three of us dino voice actors were on a level below the stage, but I could hear the audience through my headphones, and I could feel their energy,” he recalls. “Even from inside that sound booth, it was like we were all on stage together.”

West spent almost 12 years playing the voice of Barney, the beloved purple dinosaur. He and an actor inside the plush suit would perform simultaneously, with West singing or speaking along to his colleague’s movements. It wasn’t a typical arrangement—Big Bird, for instance, was voiced and maneuvered by the same person—but it allowed each person to concentrate on his own component of the act. “We joked that we would trademark the name of it: DinoSync,” he says.

Beyond the live shows, TV episodes, and videos, the job also

as a student representative, working for Residential Life, and singing in an a cappella group called the Serenaders (which he calls “a college career unto itself”).

As a child, West loved imitating accents, dialects, celebrities, and public figures, including Richard Nixon and Spiro Agnew. “Watergate was going on while I was in high school,” he says. “You had to have a Nixon if you were going to do impressions!” It wasn’t until college, though, that he saw his skill as a path toward a career. He made a “ridiculously long, goofball voice demo,” with a classmate in the University’s recording studio and shopped it around to ad agencies in town. “That cassette tape actually got me my first voiceover work and my first agent. So, thanks, TU!” In the decade after college, West had an active career in commercial voiceovers, once recording four jobs in three different Texas cities in a single day. That busy schedule prepared him for the next phase of his professional life, when he simultaneously worked on Barney and voiced two of Chuck E. Cheese’s animatronic characters: Jasper T. Jowls and Pasqually P. Pieplate.

“Having that many peers around you can be a turbo-charger for the engines of your mind and heart. Let that environment wind you up and spin you out into the world at full speed!” entailed recording songs and talking toy scripts and traveling for personal appearances across the world. West recalls how Sheryl Leach, Barney’s creator, referred to the height of the show’s popularity in the mid-90s as the character’s “Elvis years.” “When Barney would make an entrance, that felt pretty accurate,” West says. “Lots of love from the little fans!”

West, who now lives in Los Angeles, grew up in Finleyville, Pa., and Baytown, Texas. While visiting Trinity as a prospective student, he stayed in a room on the first floor of Winn Residence Hall. “That’s when I knew I’d found my college home,” he says. He ended up living on that same floor and cites “the dorm life” as one of the formative aspects of his college career. “Having that many peers around you can be a turbo-charger for the engines of your mind and heart,” he says. “Let that environment wind you up and spin you out into the world at full speed!”

He majored in art and enjoyed a wide range of activities, serving

For the last 15 years, West has worked in creative direction and graphic design for television and film. He’s currently a graphic designer on two ABC shows, including Speechless, which he calls “a natural follow-up to Barney in some ways, because it’s all about inclusivity and understanding.”

West feels honored to have been part of so many children’s lives as the voice of Barney “because the character is able to connect with all kinds of kids around the world.” He remembers receiving letters from parents who said the show had helped their child deal with illness, divorce, or other difficult times.

“Mothers with kids on the autism spectrum would write to say that Barney really helped their child to open up,” West recalls. “When a parent thanks you for helping their child to say, ‘I love you, Mommy,’ unprompted, for the first time, that’s something that will stay with you for life.”

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Yvannia “Yaya” Garcia ’07 In the Mix

by Jeremy Gerlach When entertainer Yvannia “Yaya” Garcia ’07 first came to the power-

house Spanish-language network Univision in 2017, she was given two iPhones and told to create a hit TV segment.

“Our producers were shooting other shows; they had no camera or crew available,” Yaya says. “I thought, ‘How in the world am I going to create something great?’”

Spoiler alert: Yaya didn’t just come back to her producers with a show—she came back with an Emmy nomination.

Her creation, Saboristas Al Ataque, Atrévete A Probar, revolves around “hidden food gems of San Antonio.” Yaya goes to restaurants

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ALUMNI PROFILE

with her two phones to shoot 4K video, tasting the best food the Alamo City has to offer. She produced the first segment in one day, then her second. Audiences started loving it, and ratings climbed. She released her third segment, then a fourth, and onward until the show received an Emmy nomination just a year later.

“That show is my baby!” Yaya laughs. “Just me, two little cell phones, and a hand-held light, and I was able to prove to everyone I could make a hit show—and I was my own multimedia talent, my own producer, my own writer, I set my own shots. So to me, this nomination means everything.”

And for Yaya, the hits keep coming. Her recent success with Saboristas comes alongside an Emmy victory in August 2018 for her work on sports segment Contacto Deportivo on Fire-Lo Mejor de 2017. She’s also up for another Emmy in the Newscast-Morning/Daytime Show category for her regular work on Edición Digital San Antonio.

Fans will also know Yaya for her ongoing appearances on Univision’s national show, El Gordo y la Flaca (translated as “the fat and the skinny,” a show similar to E-News), as well as her daily, five-hour radio show on 95.1 FM, “Latino Mix,” where she interviews renowned celebrities and musicians.

As a budding Spanish-language broadcast icon in her own right, Yaya’s warm voice, bright fashion style, and on-screen charisma are instantly recognizable to her audience. But for all her current star power, it’s easy to forget that Yaya came to Trinity as a self-admitted “shy girl” and a first-generation college student from the Rio Grande Valley.

“I came to Trinity looking for a challenge, and I ended up having a bit of a culture shock my first year,” Yaya says. “But what I found was that at Trinity, I didn’t have to lose myself: I was still calling people ‘chica, chico,’ letting people know I was Latina and proud of it.”

Yaya ended up as a double major in business administration and communication, with a minor in art. She also served as president of Trinity’s Multicultural Network, Latino Exchange, and even found time to serve on the board of the San Antonio-Mexico Friendship Council (a nonprofit run though San Antonio’s Mexican Consulate).

“Trinity taught me to love and communicate with people from all walks of life, whether I was communicating with Latino student leaders, members of the Black Student Union, or Chinese Culture Group students,” Yaya says.

After graduating, Yaya found copywriting and voiceover work with Bromley Communications, partnering with clients ranging from Coca-Cola to CoverGirl. But Yaya was destined for more than voiceovers: By pure chance, she eventually found her way in front of the camera.

Yaya turned up for a casting call at a studio for what she thought was more voiceover work, and stumbled into an on-camera audition for an ABC affiliate music television show, Zonido. Even on accident,

Yaya still shined under the bright lights: out of hundreds of other girls up for the audition, she got the part. “It was like God sent me at the right time, right place,” Yaya says.

After Zonido launched Yaya into the regional spotlight, she broke onto the digital scene with an appearance on MSN’s Anoche En La Tele, and then the national scene with Univision in 2016. Here, Yaya started creating TV that seems like every broadcaster’s dream.

While Saboristas nourishes Yaya’s inner “foodie,” and El Gordo y la Flaca takes on current events and celebrity, Contacto Deportivo, a sports program, gives Yaya a chance to explore the entertainment side of sports. “We talk about which soccer player has the hottest cars or makes the most money,” Yaya says. “And I try to put my own spin on it to make it funny, like ‘Who has the nicest derrière, or who’s the biggest Casanova?’ And so we look past the numbers and the technical side of sports to make it a little more attractive for ‘las chicas.’”

And while Yaya’s TV production is painstakingly planned, shot, and edited, her 95.1 “Latino Mix” radio show lets Yaya have a little more unscripted fun. She may interview musicians and celebrities, but interacting with callers and fans is her favorite part of the gig.

During one bad day, Yaya heard from a caller who listens to her radio show to cope with lengthy dialysis treatments. “She told me, ‘Your positive energy is what gets me through my most painful days. I love laughing, I love listening to people yell on the air when you give them tickets to shows,’” Yaya says. “And let me tell you— boy, do I make people jump through hoops to get those tickets—they have to sing, they have to send in crazy videos, simply to prove they’re the biggest fans.”

That genuine connection with fans, Yaya explains, is the best part of working in the entertainment business.

“Fans always surprise you,” Yaya says. “When we do TV and radio gift card giveaways on Saboristas al Ataque, people go crazier for those gift cards than they do for our biggest concert tickets.”

“That’s probably why our ratings are so high,” Yaya adds. “Seems like San Antonians care more about good food than they do about Marc Anthony. Crazy, right?”

But beyond the glamour, the celebrity, and the fine cuisine, Yaya says her life is more of a grind than people realize. “People see the luxury, but they don’t see the work, the long hours I stay up writing and editing segments,” Yaya says. “They’ll see a three-minute segment, but they don’t know it took 20 hours just to create.”

That drive and creativity, Yaya says, is what truly matters for broadcasters—whether they have an entire studio at their disposal, or just two iPhones.

“That’s what I took from Trinity: When things are competitive, you’ve got to find a way to stand out,” Yaya explains. “Yeah, I wear nice dresses, I’m talking to celebrities, but my comedy and creativity, my heart and drive, that’s what draws the crowd in.”

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61

ALUMNI PROFILE

Rebekah Williams ’16 Making Magik

by Nicolette Good ’07

Rebekah Williams ’16 was surfing her scholarship program’s Facebook

page as a Trinity sophomore when she spotted a drama internship that would catalyze her budding career in theater arts and arts education.

“My dream has always been to be a professional performer,” says Williams, whose hometown is San Antonio.

As a high school senior, Williams was awarded the University’s merit-based Baker Duncan Fine Arts Scholarship for prospective first-year students planning to major or minor in theater. Following a one-on-one campus tour with Sheryl Tynes, vice president for Student Life, Williams was sold on enrolling at Trinity and pursuing a bachelor’s degree in the discipline she loved.

Williams’ application to The Magik Theatre was accepted, and her star began to rise. Interning quickly turned into teaching summer classes, and soon after she was a teaching artist, all while auditioning and acting at The Magik and other theaters in San Antonio.

As a teaching artist, Williams planned and led daily lessons in a stimulating, creative environment of her own making. When she herself was a young child, Williams was steered toward music and dance. It wasn’t until high school that she discovered the theater arts, which clicked for her automatically. “It’s so fun to see that same pas-

Also central to the playhouse’s mission is ensuring actors are paid a professional wage. This has helped to attract talent like Williams.

Today she serves as an education coordinator for The Magik Theatre, a position that allows her to combine her passion for the arts with her natural talent in educating youth. “If we don’t ever educate the kids on how to go, sit, and watch a show—on why it’s important to value art,” Williams says, “we’ll never have an audience for those shows longer than an hour, made for adults.”

Williams describes theater as a vehicle for people to consider the greater issues facing society. “Musicals have changed in the past two decades in terms of content,” she says. “More social issues, like social anxiety, bullying, autism, or loved ones with cancer, are being discussed.”

She cites shows such as Dear Evan Hansen, the Tony Award-winning musical about teens struggling with depression and anxiety.

Williams recognizes that the rise in open dialogue around sensitive issues presents both an opportunity and a challenge: Demand for this content is plentiful, but there are more stories than any one theater could possibly produce. “There are so many great books out there on bigger issues, but we don’t have the capacity to write or present a show on,” she says.

“Theater arts are for the kids who are shy and are looking for their voice, how to communicate with one another.” sion in kids and get to be the one who tells them about theater,” says Williams, who majored in theater and minored in history.

The Magik Theatre was founded in 1994 by another Trinity graduate, Richard Rosen ’69, with the intent to make theater education accessible for all. Situated in downtown San Antonio between Hemisfair and La Villita, The Magik’s mission today is “to nurture a love and understanding of theater and literature by providing extraordinary, affordable, professional theater and education experiences.”

The Magik provides financial aid for children to enroll in their classes, either downtown or at its Magik Performing Arts Center on the city’s Northwest side. The Magik also sends teaching artists out to schools, among countless other efforts aimed at making theater an experience for all people, not just those with means.

“The theater arts are not just for the kids who want to be an actor,” Williams says. “It’s for the kids who are shy and are looking for their voice, how to communicate with one another. Public speaking is hard, even for adults.”

As a direct response, Readers Theatre at The Magik Theatre emerged as a platform to present valuable, timely content at a workable scale. Each session highlights a real-life topic, such as children living with disabilities, National Deaf Awareness Month, or breast cancer awareness.

“The kids seem more aware of what they’re feeling,” Williams says. “Theater holds a mirror up to society and reveals things about ourselves through characters.”

Parents who would like to enroll their students in classes, camps, master-classes, and more can find schedules and registration information at www.magiktheatre.org. Rebekah Williams is slated to appear in The Magik’s 2018 production of A Charlie Brown Christmas as Lucy this December.

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63

CLASS NOTES

1951

1969

1971

Charles Leigon , a retired U.S.

John Richards Lee served as

Nan Missingill Davis ’71, M’72,

Air Force colonel, received the Civility with Integrity Award at the 2018 Tarleton State University Legacy Awards. The award recognizes significant contributions to the betterment of society through character, forthrightness, honorable actions, and commitment to the well-being of others.

1959 David Fischer was named

distinguished alumnus at Colorado State University and was inducted into the Hall of Fame of its Department of Economics.

Fischer was the first graduate to receive a doctorate in economics from Colorado State University 50 years ago.

Susan Manister Riley enjoys life

as a piano teacher and photographer. An exhibit of her photographic works will be on display at Art Gallery Prudencia in San Antonio. The show features vintage black and white portraits of actors and dancers from the early 20th century that have been restored, colored, and hand-embellished to reflect what these stars might have actually looked like in the moment. The show runs from Nov. 30, 2018 through Jan. 4, 2019.

John Newman currently serves

as the director of tennis at the University of Incarnate Word.

Newman is a three-time inductee into the Trinity Athletics Hall of Fame.

1967 William Dodge, D.D.S., retired

from his position of dean of the School of Dentistry at UT Health San Antonio.

1968 Linda DeMarchis celebrated

her 50th wedding anniversary with her husband, Mike. The DeMarchis reside in Fort Wayne, Ind., and enjoy spending time with their two sons and four grandsons.

TRINITY Fall 2018

served as Trinity’s delegate at the inauguration of Steven O’Day, the 16th president of Austin College. Davis serves as vice president for Institutional Enrollment at Austin College.

Harry “Bud” Holzman retired

1972 Mark Adler, M.D., joined

TruDerm as supervising physician and medical director.

Watt Casey Jr.

released his book, My Guitar is a Camera.

The book is a collection of photos from music concerts in Austin in the 1970s and ’80s.

1970 James Lawford Anderson is a

1960

64

Trinity’s delegate at the inauguration of John R. Swallow, the 23rd president of Carthage College, in Kenosha, Wisc.

1974

professor of earth sciences at Boston University.

Hasan Bülent “HB” Paksoy

retired from many years of teaching as a professor. Before retirement, Paksoy published more than 50 research papers and worked on 16 books as either an author or publisher.

Currently, Paksoy enjoys writing fiction novels.

Susan Weintraub, Ph.D., was

named Fellow by the American Association for the Advancement of Science.

David Keltner was awarded the

from the U.S. Army in 2008 after 41 years of service. Holzman serves as a consultant for Thunder Exploration in San Antonio and is the past president of the South Texas Geological Society.

Read about Holzman’s journey at gotu.us/holzman.

1975 Luis Rodriguez was appointed

to the South San Antonio ISD District 6 board seat.

Blackstone Award by the Tarrant County Bar Association for his integrity and courage in the practice of law. Keltner serves as a partner at Kelly Hart & Hallman LLP.

1976

Thomas Masinter presented

1977

his musical, Gladiators in Love, in a reading at the Overtime Theater in San Antonio in August. The book and lyrics are

by Mark Leonard ’75. Tom and Mark have been writing shows since 1971 when they wrote and produced the freshman class musical, The Marigold Tree.

In October, musical selections from Masinter’s musical, Gone to Texas, were performed in San Pedro Park. The 30-minute set included three songs and was presented by the Allegro Stage Co. founded in 2007 by Masinter and Tim Hedgepeth ’79.

Phillip Young was appointed

CEO of Northeast Baptist Hospital in San Antonio.

Robert Richards is a psychiatrist

in Greenville, S.C. His fourth grandchild was born in late 2017.

Douglas Rosenthal joined Banc

of California from Opus Bank, where he most recently served as managing director for commercial banking for the Los Angeles region. He has more than 35 years of commercial banking experience and previously worked at First Interstate Bank, Silicon Valley Bank, and Wells Fargo Bank. In addition to his degree from Trinity, Rosenthal holds an MBA from the University of Southern California.

1978

Chris Mest works as an arborist

director of professional learning for the Colorado Association of School Boards.

focusing on plant health care at a large landscaping company.

Mest wrote a book about trees, Jake and the Arborist, which was illustrated by his wife, Kathi.

1979

1981

Thomas Baugh retired from

Alan Albright was appointed

Leslie Bogar serves as the

NASA’s Johnson Space Center in August 2009. At the time of his retirement, Baugh was the manager of the Center’s Institutional Procurement Office. From August 2009 through September 2016, Baugh served as an adjunct government instructor for both San Jacinto College and Houston Community College. In September 2016, Baugh became a fulltime member of the San Jacinto College faculty as a government professor.

U.S. district judge in Waco, Texas, by President Donald J. Trump.

Shelley Malone celebrated

37 years in the industry with Malone Custom Builders LLC. Jeff Ramsey of the Ramsey

Charitable Trust, Inc. hosted the Wounded Warrior Amputee Softball Team 2018 Tournament in Albuquerque, N.M.

1982 Marshall Blackwelder partici-

pated in KRTU’s 40th anniversary celebration during Alumni Weekend 2016 as one of the founders of the radio station.

David Cantwell was awarded

the Pinnacle Award by the Palm Springs Regional Association of Realtors. Cantwell is the main managing broker at Bennion Deville Homes in Palm Springs, Calif.

Trinity Honors Outstanding Alumni In recognition of their leadership, drive, and dedication, Trinity University has named Jackie Claunch ’66 as the 2018 Distinguished Alumna and Dave ’76 and Carol ’83 Mansen as the 2018 Spirit of Trinity recipients. Claunch and the Mansens were honored in February on the Trinity campus.

Jackie Claunch ’66 2018 Distinguished Alumna

Jackie Claunch ’66 was named the Distinguished Alumna for 2018. Claunch was recognized for her outstanding service as the founding president of Northwest Vista College, one of the Alamo Colleges in San Antonio.

During her tenure, Northwest Vista grew from a handful of students to more than 16,000 and earned numerous state and national awards.

Carol Zernial was named one

of the nation’s Top 50 Influencers in Aging for 2017 by Next Avenue, the digital journalism arm of the PBS System. Zernial serves as WellMed’s charitable foundation executive director.

1983 James Plummer joined Brace-

well LLP as a partner in the public finance department.

CLASS NOTES SUBMISSIONS Send your class notes to alumni@trinity.edu or fill out the form at gotu.us/alumniupdates.

Photo Submissions: Bigger is better!

Digital photos should be saved at high resolution— 300 dpi with dimensions at least 1800 x 1200 pixels.

Email photos to alumni@trinity.edu.

Dave Mansen ’76 and Carol Mansen ’83 2018 Spirit of Trinity recipients

Dave ’76 and Carol ’83 Mansen shared this year’s Spirit of Trinity award. They met during their first week on campus, married after their junior year, and have been deeply engaged with Trinity ever since. In 2014 they became Alumni Ambassadors, crisscrossing the country to meet Tigers and share the excitement of today’s Trinity. They have both chaired the Alumni Association Board and several alumni chapter boards in various cities around the country.

Prints can be mailed to Alumni Relations, One Trinity Place, San Antonio, Texas 78212-7200.

magazine.trinity.edu TRINITY

65

CLASS NOTES

1984

1986

1988

1989

Colin Campbell worked as a

Dan Casey, CCIM, joined CRE

Andrea Hall serves as policy

Angela Miranda-Clark works in

digital compositor on the film Avengers: Infinity War. Previously, Campbell worked on Babe, The Nutty Professor, Men in Black 2, and other films in digital compositing.

Susan Ramlet has led a user

experience design team for 14 years for Medtronic, a manufacturer of medical devices and services. In her free time, Ramlet is a freelance singer for several professional music organizations in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area.

Ramlet frequently has the pleasure of singing with Cathy ’89 and Chris ’88 Crosby-Schmidt

and of living near her mother, Barbara Walter Hodges ’53.

Elizabeth A. Gill is the vice

president for Academic Affairs at Austin College.

William Y. Wood has been ap-

pointed to a judgeship in the San Diego County Superior Court.

Rauch, Robertson & Co. as a commercial real estate specialist.

Alyson Gill was named provost

of the University of the Ozarks.

Shirin McArthur started a new

website, shirinmcarthur.com, to post about her work.

Rhea Morales was honored as

the Lowell Jr. High School (Bisbee, Ariz.) Teacher of the Year and recognized at the Cochise County ceremony honoring educators in April 2018. She has been teaching in Cochise County for 16 years. Morales is also a charter member of the Sierra Vista Community Band, where she has played piccolo and flute for the past nine concert seasons.

Rev. Beth Patillo was named

interim dean of The Disciples of Divinity House at Vanderbilt University.

counsel with the Charity & Security Network, a resource and advocacy center at the intersection of national security and nonprofit rights, creating enabling space for nonprofits to conduct vital work.

Tanja Heitman was appointed

chief probation officer of Santa Barbara County in California.

Diqui LaPenta is completing her

20th year teaching biology at the College of the Redwoods and has been the associate dean of math, science, and behavioral and social science since August 2016.

John (Greg) Wise won the

2017 Book Award from the Surveillance Studies Network for his recent book, Surveillance and Film.

We “got wise” about Wise in June 2018. Read more at gotu.us/ gregwise.

Greg Ellis is a program manager

for U.S. disaster response for UMCOR, the humanitarian and relief agency of the United Methodist Church.

vice president and chief marketing officer for Frontier Communications.

Helen Torres was inducted into

the Edgewood Independent School District Hall of Fame.

Torres works for San Antonio College as the parental network coordinator.

1990 Joy Castro was featured at Bra-

zos Valley Reads 2018 at Texas A&M University. Castro read from her short story collection, How Winter Began, and her non-fiction essay collection, Island of Bones.

Cathy Marston was inter-

viewed by Telemundo about her unincorporated nonprofit, Free Battered Texas Women.

science to grades K-5 in San Diego. Nytes has a 9-year-old daughter and a goddaughter who is now a Trinity student.

Karen Babb was named execu-

tive director of Life Care Center of Merrimack Valley in North Billerica, Mass.

A Trinity family, indeed! Trustee Douglas Hawthorne ‘69, ‘72 and eight of his grandchildren show their #TigerPride during a family gathering.

How’s that for a Maroon Friday!

TRINITY Fall 2018

Rob Curtis was named senior

Kelly Nytes teaches elementary

1985

66

the Title IX office at the University of Houston.

Show your #TigerPride Mike Jarstfer was named PY1

1991 Lee Koch presented a poster on

changes in response behavior among the experts involved in a Delphi-Survey as a part of his doctoral research. The presentation, part of the conference “Use of the Delphi-Technique for Research in Healthcare and the Social Sciences,” took place at the University of Education Schwaebisch Gmuend in Germany.

Instructor of the Year at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Eshelman School of Pharmacy’s annual awards ceremony.

Josh Widoff was appointed

chief legal officer of Black Creek Group, a real estate investment firm in Denver.

1997 Cindy Karm joined the law firm

of Cutler-Smith, P.C. in Dallas, where she practices construction law and general corporate law.

Kristin Stark was promoted to

senior vice president for marketing and communications at Amblin Partners.

Submit your updates online at gotu.us/ alumniupdates

1999 Dale Flowers was appointed se-

1994

1998

nior vice president of operations for the North Texas region of U.S. Anesthesia Partners.

Amy Smolen was named process

Rev. Shannon Kershner joined

Stacy Bunck was named man-

Rev. Sarah Lund, Ph.D., was

1992

Morgan Watson works and lives

automation project execution expertise area leader for TES Core Engineering Technology Center.

the Chicago Sun-Times as the columnist of the series “Just Relations,” which focuses on social justice.

in São Paulo, Brazil.

Kathleen Bershad

published The Wine Lover’s Apprentice.

(Trinity magazine read and loved it!)

Diane Duin was named vice

president of academics at Presentation College.

James Holmes celebrated the

eighth year of Robur LLC, an oil and gas trading and logistics firm that he founded. Holmes also practices oil and gas law and commercial law in Dallas.

David Imhoof was promoted to

full professor at Susquehanna University and continues to serve as one of the directors of Susquehanna’s Global Opportunities, a program that requires all students to study abroad.

Imhoof also directs a study abroad program most summers to Austria, and this has allowed him to work with Trinity’s study abroad program.

1995 Kelly Masegian started a new job

as a career counselor at San Jose State University. This is Masegian’s dream job that she has been wanting since grad school.

Jason Steans was appointed

aging shareholder of Ogletree Deakins’ Kansas City office.

Bunck is the first attorney in the 41-year history of the firm to assume the role as a reduced-hours attorney.

2000 Jenn Janes serves as a social

worker occupying the role of mental health counselor at Bexar County Juvenile Detention.

Charlotte Kikel finished her

book, Eat in Peace to Live in Peace: Your Handbook for Vitality.

assistant director at the Travis County Attorney’s Office, where he manages mental health and treatment courts.

Natalie Kuhn, CPA, CFE, has

1996

Amber Puga was featured in

Andrew Miller joined Baron

& Budd P.C. as a shareholder.

Miller previously served as a partner at Simmer Law Group before the law firm joined Baron & Budd P.C. Ana Unruh Cohen, Ph.D., wrote

“History Doesn’t Lie; Climate Science is Sound” for Real Clear Politics. Cohen is director of government affairs at the Natural Resources Defense Council.

named senior minister of First Congregational Church Indianapolis. Lund is the first woman to lead the church in its 161-year history.

Spencer Marks was hired as a

financial expert at Axxess, the fastest-growing home healthcare technology company. Marks will oversee the company’s efforts to grow revenue cycle management services for clients.

Matt Reuter was elected alder-

been promoted to partner and director of audit services at Randy Walker & Co.

“The One Thing I Wish I Knew Before Coming Out as Transgender” in Women’s Health Magazine.

Read the article at bit.ly/2nMXuj4.

Brad Shelley was named head of

Pembroke Hill School in Kansas City, Mo. Shelley currently serves as the associate headmaster at McDonogh School in Baltimore.

man in Town and Country, Mo. He continues as the medical director of the BJC Medical Group hospitalist program at Missouri Baptist Medical Center.

2001 Layne Loessin, president and

CEO of Entrust Energy, was named to the Houston Business Journal’s 40 under 40 Class of 2017.

Caleb O’Rear was named CEO of

Alta Vista Regional Hospital in Las Vegas, N.M., after serving as interim CEO for five months.

magazine.trinity.edu TRINITY

67

CLASS NOTES

2002

2004

Jessica Moore celebrated more

Danny Bourque performed live

than 10 years with her wedding planning company, Something to Celebrate. Moore also serves as president of the Associated Wedding Planners of Austin.

Jerry Ashworth was named

CEO and senior vice president of TIRR Memorial Hermann Hospital.

Matt Keidan served as Trinity’s

delegate at the inauguration of Michael L. Frandsen, the 15th president of Wittenberg University, in Springfield, Ohio.

Megan Prebula Lehnhoff ran

her first 100km trail race and placed 5th for females and 10th overall, shattering her goal of breaking 15 hours with an official time of 13 hours, 48 minutes, and 34 seconds. In addition to training, Lehnhoff is a mom to three and runs a blog called “Livin’ with the Lehnhoffs” at livinwiththelehnhoffs.com.

Emilio Nicolas was named a

partner at the law firm of Jackson Walker L.L.P. Nicolas lives in Austin where he practices entertainment, media, and intellectual property law.

Ryan Tobin was promoted to

president and CEO of Rose Medical Center in Denver.

2003 Sally Hurt-Deitch was appoint-

ed by the Federal Reserve to the Board of Directors of the bank’s El Paso branch.

68

TRINITY Fall 2018

at the New Orleans House of Blues in 2017 as Glitch Black.

Malisha Patel, FACHE, was

named senior vice president and CEO of Memorial Hermann Health System.

Trinity alumni are bold, innovative, and engaged with the world.

And we want to hear about it.

Submit your updates online at gotu.us/ alumniupdates

2008 Kaitlyn Allen was named Fellow

of the National Committee on U.S.-China Relations’ Young Leaders Forum. She owns and runs a sustainability consulting firm, Global Affairs Associates, in Houston. Allen and her husband, Jesus Pacheco, have two sons, Santiago and Gabriel.

2005 Trey Abshier was appointed

CEO of Palm Beach Gardens Medical Center.

Desiree Damon was inducted

into the USA Martial Arts Hall of Fame as Kendo Instructor of the Year.

Crystal Johnson Duckert, FACHE, spoke at the SXSW EDU

conference and festival about the power of storytelling. Duckert is in her 13th year of teaching.

Kimberley Mancini serves as

the managing editor at Data Recognition Corporation in Minnesota and recently had her 10-year work anniversary.

Justin Ng, an assistant profes-

sor of agronomy at Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College, received the W. Bruce and Rosalyn Ray Donaldson Excellence in Advising Award at the college’s annual Honors Day ceremony.

2006 Finny Matthew was named

president of INTEGRIS Bass Baptist Health Center in Enid, Okla.

Elizabeth Owens is a fully

licensed professional counselor in private practice at Counseling Connections of San Antonio.

Owens provides counseling and hypnotherapy for most populations, primarily with the LGBTQ+ community with a focus on transgender care.

2007 Elizabeth Glaessner exhibited

Mother Tongue, a series of paintings on canvas, scroll paper, and large silk banners draped from the ceiling, which explored the way language and personal and collective histories are formed and passed down.

Warren Yehl was appointed CEO

of Eastern New Mexico Medical Center in Roswell, N.M. Yehl served as the hospital’s COO from 2013–15.

Derrick Cuenca was appointed

chief executive officer for MountainView Regional Medical Center and MountainView Medical Group in Las Vegas.

2009 Cesar Giralt was promoted to

principal at Pariveda Solutions, a leading management consulting firm specializing in improving clients’ performance through technology and advisory services.

Jesica Kincaid joined the USA

Rice Federation as manager of international policy. Previously, Kincaid worked at the Embassy of Ireland in trade and agriculture.

Nate Longfellow served as Trini-

ty’s delegate at the inauguration of Marjorie Hass, the 20th president of Rhodes College in Memphis.

Miquela Smith is the health specialist for the AgriLife extension program and leads the chronic disease prevention program development and health education outreach in the Texas panhandle.

2010

2012

Mary Cuclis serves as general

Marco Alanis started a new

MARRIAGES manager and sous chef of Pondicheri in Houston.

Ryan Henry was appointed COO

of Tomball Regional Medical Center.

Kaitlyn Jones joined the Tobin

job at Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago.

Sylver Monaco opened a restau-

named COO of Sparks Health System in Fort Smith, Ark.

partment and set decoration department coordinator in Los Angeles working on shows such as Grace & Frankie. Shipley is working with a group of art department coordinators to put together a petition asking the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers to increase their pay rate.

Erica Jordan ‘12

and Katy Lorzakwa

to Philip LaDeau ‘11

March 25, 2017

Nov. 18, 2017

April 21, 2018

COO of the Cypress Fairbanks Medical Center Hospital in Houston.

Morgan Latin is an 8th-grade

Marisa Shipley is an art de-

Tyler White ‘06

and Jenny McCauley

Hannah Gelbs was promoted to

Center for the Performing Arts as house and community engagement manager. Jones previously worked at Trinity University as the coordinator of theatre arts.

rant with her sisters called The Sylver Spoon, located at the Texas Ski Ranch in New Braunfels, Texas.

Gabe Knapp ‘95

English teacher and began law school in the fall.

2013 Pedro Chira ’10, Helen Thompson ’10, Emily Whitney ’10, Aimee Arzoumanian was

Marie D’Avignon ’10, and Heather Hartshorn ’10 were reunited in Cleveland, Ga., for the wedding of fellow alumna Emily Whitney Foltz ’10 to Steven Foltz on May 4, 2018.

Alexander Bretoi left Nielsen,

where he focused on press analysis and quality assuring music consumption data that powers the iconic Billboard Charts, to pursue a new career with Apple in business strategy and analysis for iTunes and Apple Music.

Outside of work, Bretoi has performed the national anthem at multiple MLB spring training games for the New York Yankees, Detroit Tigers, Philadelphia Phillies, and Baltimore Orioles.

Clayton Turcotte serves as a

litigation support analyst for theKFORDgroup.

NEW ADDITIONS Harrison Andrew to Lindsay Landgraf Hess ‘11 and Andrew Hess ‘10 April 24, 2018 Clara Grace Hadley Claire

Axel Francis born

to Lindsay Baker

to Evelyn Cub-

to Mary Beth Cur-

Brillantes ‘10 and

berly Harison

ley Hambly ‘08

Christian Brillantes

‘05 and Aaron

and Will Hambly

April 3, 2018

Harison ‘03

May 7, 2018

Aug. 1, 2017 Cole Walker

2011 Andrew Hoing serves as mar-

keting manager for Ace Mart Restaurant Supply.

Chloe Lucille

to Claire Adams

to Leigh Byford

Wootton ‘09,

Wallace ‘06 and

’10 and Addison

Stuart Wallace ‘06

Wootton

Nov. 22, 2017

June 3, 2018 Jax Alcantar to Ricardo

Garner Cochran worked on

math research at the University of Johannesburg in South Africa.

Alcantar ’09 and Angela Alcantar May 21, 2018

magazine.trinity.edu TRINITY

69

CLASS NOTES

Megan Cubbler, CPA, joined

2016

the Siegfried Group as a senior associate.

Sergio Miguel was accepted into

the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia.

Elisa Reyna was awarded

Employee of the Year within her first year in the workforce. Reyna works for Scientific Games.

Theresa Gregory ‘85 and Martin Hajovsky ’87 are delighted that

their son Nathaniel Hajovsky ’22 is attending Trinity as a member of the Class of 2022. Theresa, Nathaniel, and Martin pose in front of drawings done by two of Theresa’s art professors from Trinity who became the family’s lifelong friends. Phil Evett drew the figure drawing on the left behind Theresa, and Bill Bristow drew the landscape behind Martin on the right. “Those are Trinity relationships for you,” Martin says. “They never stop!”

Andrew Rieger earned his MBA

in film producing from John Paul the Great Catholic University.

Rieger is enrolled at the UCLA School of Theater, Film, and Television for an MFA in cinematography.

queen of Spain during their royal visit to San Antonio for the city’s tricentennial celebration.

Gunther described it as an “unforgettable experience” and remembers the king joking that “he’d be back next week to give us more work to do.”

Read more about Gunther’s adventure and her own personal

2015

ties to Spain at bit.ly/2LpRc2l.

Brittany Haby is a fellow with

2017

the Colorado Rockies as part of Major League Baseball’s inaugural Diversity Fellowship Program. (pic in Vdrive) Kelly Johnston was accepted to

The city of San Antonio recognized Americorps ​programs serving the community, and the Trinity University College Advising Corps were able to take part of this recognition at City Hall. Pictured with Mayor Ron Nirenberg ’99 are Sarah Ramos, program director; Annalisa Trevino ’16, LEE High School college adviser; Julia Cottle ’16, Harlandale High School college adviser; Mariana Sigala ’16, Fox Tech High School college adviser; and Brandon Smalls ’17, Sam Houston High School college adviser.

Rocio Gunther met the king and

Katie Groke was hired as the

communications manager for Pathways, a nonprofit in Tulsa, Okla.

participate in the post-grad residency program at the Torpedo Factory Art Center in Alexandria, Va. Breanna Willis moved to South

Korea to teach and got to cheer on Team USA at the 2018 Winter Olympics in Seoul, South Korea.

Rachel Matyastik was promoted

to senior engineer.

We want to hear from you!

Your stories, updates, and memories are what make Trinity magazine great.

Not only will your updates appear in Class Notes, we may also find them inspirational and reach out for a story or profile.

Submit your class notes (or submit one for a friend!) at gotu.us/alumniupdates.

ALUMNI NEWS Alumni Relations and Development Welcomes Two Top-Level Staffers

by McKenna D. Parr ’18

Joannah Stone Pickett Assistant Vice President for Alumni Relations and Development

Joannah Stone Pickett has been named an assistant vice president for Alumni Relations and Development at Trinity University. Pickett assumed her role at Trinity in August, noting, “I look forward to working with the University community to deepen the levels of philanthropy and make more available the gift of a Trinity education—bringing world-leading faculty and curious students to work collaboratively on real world issues.”

Pickett joins the Trinity family from Georgetown University, where she served as the assistant vice president of Annual Giving. She has lived in San Antonio for three years with her husband, Chris, a military physician, and their two children, Jack and Lucy.

Ryan Finnelly Senior Director for Alumni Relations

Ryan Finnelly, a seasoned alumni professional and fundraiser, began his role as the senior director for Alumni Relations in September. He will play an integral role in managing an experienced alumni relations staff while expanding opportunities for strengthening relationships with alumni.

“Working in an environment that is focused on impacting lives is exciting, and to be in a role that seeks to connect people back to the place, experience, and people that influenced them is personally fulfilling,” Finnelly says.

Finnelly comes to Trinity from Loyola University in Chicago, where he served as the alumni relations director for the Health Science Division. He and his wife, Emily, have three children: Henry, Nolan, and Caroline.

As a family, they love movies, being outdoors, and actively cheering on the Chicago Cubs.

Welcome to the Alumni Leadership Academy Learning TUgether program emphasizes professional development

by Henry Seward ’18 In the summer of 2018 , 25 Trinity alumni completed a pilot program for the

University’s newest Learning TUgether initiative, the Alumni Leadership Academy. The Academy contributes to Trinity’s revamped dedication to providing alumni with beneficial opportunities for professional development. The program follows the trend set by the Learning TUgether podcast and webinar series, where alumni gain an inside look at how classes and topics are taught and explored at Trinity.

“Being able to network with alumni outside of my class and in different career fields was an invaluable part of the experience,” Ashley Poston ’15 says.

“Getting a behind-the-scenes look at where Trinity is headed gave me a bigger appreciation for the University and more marketable material that I can give to potential students.”

The monthly, two-hour-long sessions each featured two presentations that focused on professional skill development and the impact of various departments at Trinity. Each session began with a professional development lecture, with topics ranging from enhancing one’s public speaking ability to exploring the fundamentals of board and volunteer management.

Following each lecture, Trinity’s vice presidents presented on how they are implementing specific strategies through their departments at Trinity. Additional leadership presentations educated alumni on the daily life of the average student at Trinity and how the University selects its incoming class.

“I think it’s a great way to reconnect with the University while learning more about our peers and how the University is continuing to evolve,” Siro Gutierrez ’04 says. “It’s great Trinity continues to invest in alumni learning and education.”

Trinity’s Learning TUgether initiatives include a variety of opportunities to be engaged with the University in lifelong learning.

Podcasts | Webinars | Trinity on Tour | Alumni Leadership Academy Learn more at gotu.us/LearningTUgether

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IN MEMORIAM

Kate McCrocklin

Evelyn Byrnes

Lloyd W. Brown ’52

Olga Medellin

Jack Gulley ’58

Marion Jefferson

Gault ’36

Camp ’49

Feb. 2, 2018

Marroquin ’54

June 14, 2018

Trammell ’62

Feb. 25, 2016

Jan. 20, 2018

Nov. 22, 2017 Edward Maquardt ’52

Elmer Wilke ’39

Ernest Denham ’49

Oct. 26, 2017

Nov. 28, 2017

Nov. 15, 2016

Vera Ferske Snow ’54

Carlos Lozano ’49

Feb. 5, 2018

Dec. 22, 2017

April 22, 2018

Dec. 12, 2017

E. Kent Kimbell ’58 Pat Symons ’54

March 11, 2018

March 30, 2018 Eunice Hermes ’63

March 10, 2018 Mary Jones

Thomas William Borders ’63

March 22, 2018 Charles Mencio ’52

Patti Spear Calvert ’42

Nov. 12, 2017 John Ivy ’58

Suzanne Silcock

Van Chapman ’42

Prentice Barnett ’50

Mencio ’52

Augustus Hall ’55

De Satrustegui ’58

July 12, 2017

March 16, 2018

Dec. 8, 2017

Dec. 15, 2017

Jan. 1, 2018

Marilyn Glaze

Robert Bremner ’50

Lamar Moore ’52

Matthew

Carl Thurman ’58

Hoster ’42

March 25, 2016

Jan. 21, 2018

McLemore ’55

Dec. 13, 2017

Margaret Kenney

David Brantley ’53

Paul Anderson ’43

Hopkins ’50

Jan. 20, 2017

May 27, 2017

May 4, 2018

Jan. 16, 2018 Anne McLeod Morris ’63

Nov. 17, 2016

William Everheart ’64

Feb. 26, 2018 Donald Maddox ’59 Walter DeLange ’56

Richard Crooks ’43

Frank Hovell ’50

June 20, 2016

Feb. 2, 2017

Feb. 29, 2016

Kay Smith Jordan ’64 Beverly Stoy ’59

Carroll Myers ’56

James Kennedy ’64 Charles Van Pelt ’60

Margaret Pearson

Adele Alcorn

Gamel ’53

Thomas Neel ’56

Seehafer ’43

Read ’50

Dec. 10, 2017

Nov. 9, 2017

Feb. 16, 2016

June 15, 2017 Myrna Mangum

Emma Diaz

Dec. 16, 2017

March 15, 2018

Jan. 24, 2018 Mary Grace Arhart

August 24, 2017

Feb. 1, 2018

Dec. 6, 2017 Noel Caldeira ’53

Jan. 16, 2018

Jan. 30, 2018

March 18, 2016 Emily Van Eugene Ruf ’60

Duyvendijk

Dec. 29, 2017

Ginsberg ’65

Janice Dyer ’45

Arturo Trevino ’50

Hansler ’53

Ramos ’56

April 20, 2018

Jan. 21, 2018

March 20, 2018

May 12, 2016

Elmer Faust ’46

Sidney Adair ’51

Sarah Springer

Margaret Joan

Sept. 26, 2016

March 16, 2018

Walldov ’53

Roberts Robuck ’56

Jo Claire Welch ’60

March 19, 2018

April 1, 2018

Jan. 7, 2018

Aurelia Morrow

Betty Phillips

Moore ’46

Center ’51

William Watkins ’53

Billy Sneed ’56

Gerald Evetts ’61

Feb. 7, 2018

Feb. 10, 2017

March 9, 2018

Feb. 19, 2018

August 19, 2017

Bobby Wallace

Cecil Jones ’51

Barbara Wu Yu ’53

Robert Tooke ’56

Willa England

Price ’46

Dec. 28, 2017

June 27, 2018

Sept. 13, 2017

Knight ’61

Allan Stehling ’51

Betty Barnes

Patricia Luke

March 29, 2018

Barnes-Crews ’54

Pelton ’57

Georganne Terry

May 24, 2018

May 10, 2018

Hitzfeld ’61

William Lambert ’66

Nov. 26, 2017

June 21, 2018

Dec. 16, 2017 Teddy Wallace ’60 May 27, 2018

Nora Krisch Shire ’65 Oct. 19, 2017 Richard Yeager ’65 Dec. 26, 2017 Christena Ann Dolph Crawford ’66

Jan. 27, 2016

Nov. 13, 2017

Robert Coffin ’47 April 27, 2018

Sarah Whatley

Nov. 20, 2017 Sandra Garcia ’66 Nov. 27, 2018

Robert Chambers ’48

Stewart ’51

Tommye Everett

Jean Milam

March 10, 2018

March 12, 2016

Fite ’54

Atkinson ’58

Donald Hrebec ’62

James Rogers ’66

June 7, 2018

Jan. 5, 2018

March 10, 2018

Dec. 1, 2017

Bernard Goss ’54

Sylvia Martin

Rodney Lewis ’62

Albert Hill ’67

April 6, 2016

Bebinger ’58

April 10, 2018

Dec. 5, 2017

Hemona Hickok

Stanley Allen ’52

Gotthardt ’48

April 22, 2017

Dec. 29, 2017

Jan. 29, 2018

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Ruth Klund

Roy En ’73

Cesta Ayers ’78

Upchurch ’67

May 11, 2017

April 15, 2018

Dec. 19, 2017 Thomas

Eddie Bonner ’78

Ann Beasley

Wertenberger ’73

Jan. 25, 2018

Butler ’69

Dec. 30, 2017 Sandra Weigand

April 21, 2018 J. Guthrie Ford ’69

Billy Eichholtz ’74

Barnwell ’79

March 17, 2017

June 26, 2016

Maria Hughes ’74

Allison Sockler

Jan. 17, 2018

Duesing ’80

GEORGE C. “TIM” HIXON ’64

April 3, 2018

Trinity Alumnus and Trustee

Rein Vander Zee ’80

George C. “Tim” Hixon ’64, longtime Trinity Trustee, friend, and supporter, died on July 18. He was 81.

As chairman of the Board of Trustees from 2007-10, he helped Trinity navigate a successful $200 million capital campaign. Hi is the namesake of the Hixon Natatorium in the Bell Athletic Center. Hixon graduated from Trinity with a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration, and he received the Distinguished Alumnus Award in 1987. He retired from the Board in May 2017 and was subsequently bestowed the Distinguished Service Award and Trustee Emeritus status by his fellow Trustees.

Hixon’s commitment to conservation was known at home and around the globe. He received the 1997 Chevron Conservation Award, the nation’s most prestigious honor for conservation, and served in various capacities, including as treasurer of the African Wildlife Foundation and executive vice president of Game Conservation International.

Hixon’s life was honored at a memorial service officiated by the Rev. Raymond Judd in July at the Parker Chapel. “Tim’s impact on Trinity has been far-reaching and will be felt by generations of Tigers, faculty, and staff,” Trinity President Danny Anderson said.

“Moreover, his generosity of spirit was a blessing to all those who knew him.”

April 10, 2018 Donald Loftus ’69 Jan. 29, 2018

Remembering His Impact

Allen Johnson ’74 Brent Newton ’69

April 4, 2018

March 1, 2018

Feb. 11, 2018 Nancy McGown

Elizabeth Wihelmy

Minor ’74

Melinda Kay

Urrutia ’69

Sept. 19, 2010

Clements ’83

August 27, 2017

July 7, 2017 Satchis Dolan ’75

Kristi Fossum

March 22, 2018

LaMontagne ’70 Dec. 11, 2017

Oct. 18, 2016 Joseph Dunwoody ’75 Jan. 11, 2018

Ruth Luna ’70 Dec. 6, 2017

Oct. 4, 2017 June 14, 2017

June 12, 2018 Jan. 12, 2018

David Hallman ’86 Jan. 21, 2018

Harlan Beach ’76 March 24, 2018

Yoichi Aoki ’71 Jan. 3, 2018

Stephen Schechter ’85

Robert Arredondo ’76

John Ward ’70 Nov. 7, 2017

Harold Powell ’83

James Dzielawa ’75

Davis Mead ’70 Jan. 29, 2018

Stephen Geertz ’83

Juana Ramirez Trevino ’89

Dennis Millirons ’76

March 4, 2018

April 2, 2018 Bettye Gatlin ’72 April 14, 2009

Cynthia Wells ’91 Dean Witten ’76

Dec. 23, 2017

March 16, 2018 Thomas Pacey ’72 Dec. 12, 2017

Clinton Conatser ’93 Michael Whistler ’76

Jan. 24, 2018

Nov. 24, 2017 Maxine Watson

Torey Wilson ’93

Sabol ’72

Claudine Chaves ’77

Sept. 9, 2015

Dec. 17, 2017

M. Nora Dwan ’73

Helen Fay Gilbert

Green ’97

Jan. 5, 2018

Pomerantz ’77

Nov. 17, 2017

Jan. 29, 2018 Jean Lee Kennedy

Nov. 21, 2017

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CHAPTER AND NETWORK ACTIVITIES

Save the Dates Alumni Choir Festival February 22-23, 2019 Remember getting into the holiday spirit singing “Silent Night” by candlelight at Vespers? Or going on choir tours with your closest friends? All members of Trinity’s choral program, past and present, are invited to reconnect with longtime friends, relive your choir memories, and re-energize your passion for music.

• Attend Trinity’s spring choir concert • Honor former director Claude Zetty at breakfast • Enjoy performances by Trinity’s student-led a cappella groups • Rehearse and perform memorable works alongside alumni and current students • Share stories and make new friends at a dinner reception with remarks by Trinity President Danny Anderson Register at gotu.us/choirfestival

The Atlanta Chapter hosted Joy McGaugh ’04 for a happy hour at New Realm Brewing on the BeltLine.

Chapter activities listed between Nov. 1, 2017 – July 31, 2018

ALBUQUERQUE Albuquerque alumni met up for a casual happy hour at Starr Brothers Brewing on March 14, coordinated by Sal Perdomo ’13, Chapter president.

ATLANTA The Atlanta Chapter Board hosted Joy McGaugh ’04, associate director for Alumni Relations, for a happy hour at New Realm Brewing on the BeltLine. The Chapter also welcomed new alumni at a happy hour at Torched Hop Brewing Company on June 13.

donate to the Inside Books Project and also helped complete a letter-writing campaign for the nonprofit I Live Here I Give Here. On April 25, Alli Roman, Trinity’s director for Diversity and Inclusion, and Tiffany Puett, Trinity religion professor, traveled to Austin for a lecture and discussion on diversity and inclusion in the workplace at WeWork Domain. Additionally, Austin-area alumni welcomed 2018 graduates to the area at a happy hour at the legendary Mean Eyed Cat on June 7.

BAY AREA

Trinity on Tour 2019 Saturday, April 6, 2019 Trinity on Tour is coming to Dallas!

At Trinity on Tour, alumni, parents, and friends discover a shared vision for Trinity’s future and attend “classes without quizzes” by Trinity faculty, all while strengthening relationships with fellow Tigers.

Learn more at gotu.us/trinityontour

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AUSTIN The Health Care Administration Alumni Association held a reception in Austin on Jan. 25 at Strasburger & Price. Special thanks to Corinne Smith ’86, ’94 and Will Schlotter ’85 for their sponsorship. Austin-area alumni participated in a “Social and Service” event on Feb. 3 as part of the annual Trinity Cares initiative. At a happy hour at St. Elmo Brewing Company, they brought new and gently used books to

The Bay Area Chapter hosted a happy hour at Pioneer Saloon in Woodside, Calif., on June 27.

CHICAGO Melissa Zeman ’07, Chicago Chapter co-president, hosted Tiger alumni for a happy hour and wine tasting at wineHouse on March 12. The Health Care Administration Alumni Association held a reception on March 25, where 80 HCAD alumni, faculty, and

Area health care administration alumni reconnected in Chicago (top), Denver (left) and Forth Worth (right).

students reconnected in Chicago in association with the annual American College of Healthcare Executives (ACHE) Congress.

On July 9, Chicago-area alumni were treated to a special visit from Jacob Tingle ’95, director for Experiential Learning, and Jamie Thompson ’04, director for Student Involvement, where alumni learned about the exciting opportunities available to Trinity students today and what campus life is like for current Tigers.

CEO of Community Hospital Corporation, Plano, who helped make this event possible.

On May 20, the Dallas Chapter came out to cheer for the Frisco RoughRiders Minor League Baseball team.

DENVER On April 11, a group of health care administration alumni and Mary Stefl, Professor Emerita of health care administration, gathered in Denver for a reception hosted by Ryan Tobin ’02, ’04, CEO of Rose Medical Center.

DALLAS The Dallas and Fort Worth Chapters combined forces for a Trinity alumni experience at the Fort Worth Stock Show and Rodeo on Jan. 26. For their annual Trinity Cares service project, Dallas-area alumni assisted Community Partners of Dallas with an Easter basket drive on March 16. On March 23, they were treated to a happy hour at BrainDead Brewing featuring co-founder Sam Wynne ’07. On May 17, 35 HCAD alumni and faculty enjoyed reconnecting at the Dallas/Fort Worth Health Care Administration reception at NYLO Hotel in Dallas; special thanks to Jim Kendrick ’95,

FORT WORTH The Fort Worth Chapter sorted and packed 6,500 pounds of food, equating to 5,416 meals, at the Tarrant Area Food Bank at their Trinity Cares event on Dec. 7, 2017. Following a successful volunteer shift, alumni departed for Barcadia Bar & Grill for an evening of fun and games. On June 29, Michael Johnston ’77 opened his home to welcome Fort Worth alumni and families for a social gathering before attending the Concert in the Gardens at the Fort Worth Botanic Garden.

HOUSTON The Trinity Health Care Administration Alumni Association held a reception at Little Woodrow’s Eado in Houston on Feb. 6 during the Texas Hospital Association Conference; special thanks to Mike McBride ’90 for helping sponsor this event. Houston-area alumni sorted and packed items at the Houston Food Bank for the Chapter’s annual Trinity Cares service project on Feb. 17. Houston-area alumni hosted President Danny Anderson and Elisa Massimino ’82 , the 2017 Distinguished Alumna, for a lecture and discussion on Feb. 22 at the United Way Community Resource Center. On March 31, area alumni enjoyed a boat tour of Buffalo Bayou on the “Spirit of the Bayou” pontoon boat, coordinated by Martín Schwed ’12. The Houston Chapter’s “Welcome to Houston Happy Hour” for new graduates was hosted at Sable Gate Winery on June 14. The Chapter also cheered on the Houston Dynamo soccer team in their match against FC Dallas on July 21.

Before the match, the group met up at Little Woodrow’s Eado for pre-game camaraderie.

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CHAPTER AND NETWORK ACTIVITIES

top left Austin Chapter alumni participated in their Trinity Cares service project. bottom left Alumni in the Bay Area hosted a happy hour. above Houston Chapter alumni enjoyed a boat tour of Buffalo Bayou on the “Spirit of the Bayou” pontoon boat.

METRO PHOENIX The Metro Phoenix Chapter met up for its “Welcome to Phoenix” happy hour at Bevvy Uptown on June 7.

NATIONAL CAPITAL AREA The National Capital Area was the host chapter for the second annual Trinity on Tour gathering, which featured a behind-thescenes tour of the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, a keynote discussion with Rackspace co-founders Dirk Elmendorf ’97 and Pat Condon ’97, lectures from several Trinity professors, and a special discussion with President Anderson on the importance of free speech in higher education. On May 19, the Chapter held its annual Trinity Cares event with Food for All DC, where alumni helped bag and deliver groceries and emergency food to those in temporary situations of need. National Capital Area alumni also gathered at the Texas State Society’s annual picnic on June 17.

NEW YORK Thanks to the generosity of Jenna Fagnan ’95, New York Chapter alumni were treated

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to an exclusive happy hour at the Tequila Avión Embassy in Manhattan on Feb. 1.

Chapter alumni prepared and served meals for the homeless at The Bowery Mission for their annual Trinity Cares service project on March 10. Area alumni also gathered to enjoy the warm spring weather at an outdoor happy hour at Pier A Harbor House in Manhattan on May 17.

OKLAHOMA CITY The Trinity Health Care Administration Alumni Association held a reception in Oklahoma City on Feb. 8, courtesy of Chuck Spicer ’95, at the The Children’s Hospital at OU Medical Center.

SAN ANTONIO San Antonio alumni and friends gathered at Bar 414 at the Sheraton Gunter Hotel for a happy hour before heading across the street to the Majestic Theatre for a performance of the Broadway hit musical, The Color Purple, on Feb. 7. Cool Crest Miniature Golf provided a blast from the past on an art deco-era miniature golf course for San Antonio-area alumni and families at a special event on

March 24. On April 15, geosciences processor Daniel Lehrmann led a special hiking tour of the Canyon Lake Gorge, carved by floodwaters from the Guadalupe River during a summer flood in 2002. A sell-out crowd of 200 alumni and friends of Trinity attended Fiesta’s 77th annual Texas Cavaliers River Parade in the grotto at the Henry B. González Convention Center. President Anderson and Vice Presidents Mike Bacon ’89 and Dee Jones mixed and mingled with local alumni at the party, while Vice Presidents Sheryl Tynes and Tess Coody-Anders ’93 and the Trinity Jazz Band joined alumni from Austin, current students, and LeeRoy on the Trinity University float in the parade.

Also for Fiesta, alumni from San Antonio and Austin helped wrangle the giant tiger balloon in the 127th Battle of Flowers Parade on April 27. The theme of this year’s parade, celebrating San Antonio’s tricentennial, was “300 Timeless Treasures,” and Trinity’s theme was “Tiger Pride: A Trinity Tradition.”

Additionally, San Antonio-area alumni were treated to a special presentation by David Holmes ’82, CEO of Santikos Enterprises, hosted by April Ancira ’02 at Ancira Jeep

Chrysler Dodge Ram at the Business & Entrepreneur Networking Mixer on May 24.

The first Young Alumni Summer Series was a rousing success! Trinity’s most recent graduates were invited to mix and mingle with their fellow San Antonio-area alumni at a happy hour on May 24 and an after-hours mixer at the San Antonio Zoo on July 12. The pilot program rounded out the summer with an active yet relaxing service trip picking up debris on the Mission Reach of the San Antonio River by kayak. Next year, all alumni chapters have the option of participating in a Young Alumni Summer Series event.

clockwise from top right San Antonio Chapter alumni celebrated Fiesta at the Texas Cavaliers River Parade. San Diego Chapter alumni celebrated Texas Independence Day with fellow alumni of Texas universities. New York Chapter alumni gathered for an outdoor happy hour at Pier A Harbor House.

Albuquerque area alumni met up for a casual happy hour at Starr Brothers Brewing. The Metro

SAN DIEGO

Phoenix Chapter met up for

The San Diego Chapter celebrated Texas Independence Day in southern California with fellow alumni of Texas universities at Grand Ole BBQ Y Asado on March 2.

its “Welcome to Phoenix” happy hour. The National Capital Area was the host chapter for the second annual Trinity on Tour

ST. LOUIS

gathering. Oklahoma City

The St. Louis Chapter helped repackage food and household items for distribution at the St. Louis Area Foodbank on Feb. 24 for their annual Trinity Cares event.

Chapter alumni gathered for a reception with the Health Care Administration Alumni Association.

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Your Trinity Alumni Chapters There’s a chapter or network near you! If you would like to be involved in chapter or network activities, contact your nearest chapter president or check out chapter pages at gotu.us/alumnichapters.

Albuquerque

Denver

National Capital Area

San Antonio

Sal Perdomo ’13

Bob Trigg ’86

Doug Black ’94

Derick Rodgers ’92

salvatorperdomo@gmail.com

bob@gtinjurylaw.com

douglas.l.black@gmail.com

drodgers@lawdcm.com

albuquerque@alum.trinity.edu

colorado@alum.trinity.edu

Erin Whitaker ’00

sanantonio@alum.trinity.edu

erin.whitaker@outlook.com Atlanta

Central Florida Network

Jeff Winland ’97

Matt Giles ’07

jeff.winland@aprio.com

mggiles@gmail.com

nationalcapitalarea@ alum.trinity.edu

Megan McClurg ’98 meganalysa@gmail.com

New England (includes New

atlanta@alum.trinity.edu

San Diego

sandiego@alum.trinity.edu

Colorado Springs Network

Hampshire, Vermont, Maine,

Austin

Kim Newberry ’93

Massachusetts, Rhode Island,

Seattle

Lydia Valdes ’95

kdnwbrry@yahoo.com

and Connecticut)

Vacant – if interested, please

lvaldes@austin.rr.com

Brianna Tammaro ’13

Kelley McGill ’14

email alumni@trinity.edu

austin@alum.trinity.edu

brianna.tammaro@gmail.com

kelleysmcgill@gmail.com

seattle@alum.trinity.edu

Chris Crawford ’10 Bay Area

Fort Worth

chriscrawford.jr@gmail.com

St. Louis

Brittney Elko ’08

Elizabeth Eder Northern ’09

newengland@alum.trinity.edu

Allison Hawk ’88, P’19

Brittney.Elko@gmail.com

elizabethmarieeder@gmail.com

thebayarea@alum.trinity.edu

ftworth@alum.trinity.edu

allison@ahcconsulting.com New York

stlouis@alum.trinity.edu

Helen Harris ’92 Charlottesville, Va. Network

Houston

helenmarieharris1@gmail.com

West Texas – Abilene Network

Allison Wright ’01

Karyn Hall ’11

newyork@alum.trinity.edu

Jed Crowe ’85

allisonwright27@gmail.com

karynhall814@gmail.com jouston@alum.trinity.edu

Chicago

jed@crowegroup.biz North Carolina Network John Papazian ’04

West Texas – Lubbock Network

Melissa Zeman ’07

Kansas City Network

john.papazian@gmail.com

Caroline Kopp ’79

mharmany@gmail.com

Bill Keith ’08

Anthony Rodriguez ’05

caroline.kopp@att.net

chicago@alum.trinity.edu

bill.r.keith@gmail.com

ajrodrig@gmail.com

Lindsay Bean ’09, ’11

Charles Joseph ’84 Cleveland, Ohio Network

charlesejoseph@icloud.com

Vacant – if interested, please

West Texas –

Los Angeles

email alumni@trinity.edu

Midland-Odessa Network

Karen Fisher ’10

oklahomacity@alum.trinity.edu

Sara Burleson ’81

Tim Gibbons ’85 tfgibbons@gmail.com

lindsay.b.bean@gmail.com Oklahoma City

Columbus, Ohio Network

karenfisher17@gmail.com

Duane Weaver ’79

losangeles@alum.trinity.edu

dweav1265@gmail.com

saraburleson4@gmail.com Portland

Shelby Landgraf ’07

Leslie Wilkins ’06

shelbyllandgraf@gmail.com

Metro Phoenix

namroxx@gmail.com

Dallas

Tara Zoellner ’01

portland@alum.trinity.edu

Tulsa Network

Hannah Thai Tupper ’10, ’13

tzoellner@gmail.com

Rio Grande Valley Network

Jaclyn Metcalf ’08

hthaitupper@gmail.com

arizona@alum.trinity.edu

Josh Yost ’96

jaclyn.metcalf@gmail.com

jyost1@rgv.rr.com

Alexa Harrison Maloney ’12

dallas@alum.trinity.edu Nashville, Tenn. Network

alexanharrison@gmail.com

Vacant – if interested, please

Jason Maloney ’11

email alumni@trinity.edu

jason-maloney@utulsa.edu

For more information on alumni chapters and network cities, call the Office of Alumni Relations at 210-999-8404.

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COMMENTARY The Commentary section of Trinity magazine was introduced in 1997 as a place for alumni to share creative writing. Sharon Jones Schweitzer ’75 hasn’t been away from campus long, but we are enthralled by her Trinity journey.

If you have commentary you’d like to share, email jgoodri1@trinity.edu.

My Trinity Journey

by Sharon Jones Schweitzer ’75 My Trinity journey began as a young girl, with

my earliest memory of campus being a time when my siblings and I sat in my father’s truck. We were waiting outside the Marrs McLean Science Building for my mother to finish class. This recollection is made more vivid by the fact that I can still smell the guacamole cups that were in a bag of takeout from Teka Molino that we’d picked up to bring home for dinner that night.

Like most couples of that era, mother and father started a family young and then worked to get an education and build careers.

My mother was the first in her family to graduate college. We were there the night she did, under a lunar eclipse in August of 1961.

Stationed in the back rows of the Sunken Garden Theater, where children’s voices would not carry forward, we anxiously waited for her to walk the stage and receive her diploma from then-Trinity President James Laurie. Marilyn Jones ’61 would later go on to earn a master’s degree in urban studies from Trinity in 1978. (We attended that commencement ceremony as well.)

I suppose it should have come as no sur-

prise, especially to myself, that I would grow up to become a Trinity Tiger, too. I enrolled with an interest in writing and journalism, having served as an editor for my high school newspaper. In the early 1970s, Trinity had invested in state-of-the-art television production facilities, the best in the city of San Antonio at that time.

The lights, cameras, and production of television proved to be a powerful lure, and I signed up for every course and experiential opportunity offered. Trinity’s broadcast-quality mobile bus partnered with the local television stations to produce documentaries and live programing, ensuring that Trinity students would have the opportunity to be part of the production. While I relished the quality academic facilities, I would later realize it was the breadth of my liberal arts education that would help me most in my career as a broadcast journalist and professional communicator.

After graduation, I spent 14 years at the San Antonio NBC station, serving as a production assistant, studio director, news reporter, and anchor. Shortly after my 10-

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year reunion, the call came from Trinity to become involved in the University’s capital campaign and the revitalization of the alumni network. A friend (not a Trinity graduate) asked if I knew what I was signing up for. I responded: “No, I’m not sure, and I don’t really know if I’m ready to serve.” But I couldn’t say no to an institution that had played such an important role in my life.

Trinity’s successful capital campaign in 1986 provided me an opportunity to tap into a network of alumni who shared a similar undergraduate experience: professors who inspired us, like Dick Gentry (communication), classes that challenged us (Philosophy Professor Ewing Chinn’s logic course), and connections we maintained years after graduation.

With a little bit of trepidation, I went on campaign calls and asked alumni to join me and others in investing in the University’s future and its students. As the “Campaign for Distinction” wrapped up, I was offered a leadership opportunity as president of the new San Antonio Alumni Chapter. I recall a large alumni reception at the San Antonio Museum of Art. During the reception, then-alumni director Russ Gossage, in what felt like a rather unplanned moment, asked me to go to the top of the stairs in the entry atrium and “say some words about the Trinity Alumni Association.” As I pushed down the butterflies, I remember reminding myself that Trinity had instilled in me skills to handle the curve balls and the ability to take on challenges that ultimately led to personal and professional growth.

A few years later, another call from Trinity came. This one I was ready for. In May 1988, I joined the Trinity staff as director of Public Relations. I am proud of the work we’ve done to advance Trinity’s reputation.

I am deeply grateful for this incredible opportunity, for a career blessed with fabulous colleagues—both on staff and in the faculty—

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for the opportunity to grow as a professional, as a leader on the Trinity campus and in the San Antonio community. Serving Trinity was an enormous privilege.

Trinity entrusted me with the role of University spokesperson. I gave hundreds of media interviews—always striving to provide accurate information and project the University’s calm and reasoned management of the issue.

It was a privilege to be the “University greeter and escort” for some of the world’s most prominent leaders who came to campus to lecture. Former prime ministers, presidents, heads of state, politicians, military leaders, journalists, authors, historians, and scientists. There are too many names to list from over the years, but each left me with a memory of their time on the Trinity campus.

It was an honor to serve five Trinity presidents with their communication and public relations needs: Ron Calgaard, John Brazil, Dennis Ahlburg, Michael Fischer (interim), and Danny Anderson. I learned valuable lessons from each.

I never thought much about being part of a legacy Trinity family until our daughter, Marina, decided to make Trinity her college choice. Now a senior, her father and I are very proud that she did.

As I set out on my new Trinity journey, I know that I will remain connected as a Trinity parent and alumna, especially as a member of Trinity’s 150th Anniversary Celebration Committee.

After all, I will always be a Tiger at heart.

150 Memories... and Counting Remember when your best friend proposed to his fiancée at the reflection pool? When you ran up Cardiac Hill to Miller Fountain for Bid Day? When you had to wear a beanie as a first-year? Or when you spent so much time studying in the library that your friends set up a tent?

To celebrate the University’s 150th anniversary, Trinity’s Special Collections and University Archives, in partnership with Trinity University Press and Strategic Communications and Marketing, is launching a drive to collect, preserve, and display alumni photos and memories—to document “Trinity as told by Trinity.”

To submit memories, visit gotu.us/150memories Or send by mail to University Archives, One Trinity Place, San Antonio, TX 78212-7200

Photos

Artifacts and Objects

Share photos of your favorite times at Trinity. Be ready to identify key people or places in the photos as well as

Do you have a physical token from your time at Trinity—maybe a jersey, a trophy, or that one essay you made an ‘A’ on that you’re still holding on to? Snap a photo of it on a solid-colored background; using your camera phone is fine, as long as you send photos in high resolution.

the years they were taken.

Other Memories Have a story or other memory to share? We would love to hear it! Submit your stories using the website link.

Questions?

Email Jeanna Balreira at jgoodri1@trinity.edu or call 210-999-8441.

One Trinity Place San Antonio, TX 78212-7200 CHANGE SERVICE REQUESTED

Between the Static “Students living in residence halls no longer face the choice between varying degrees of static for their TV entertainment. With the arrival of cable on campus comes a station unique to Trinity: Tiger Television, channel five.”

- Trinitonian, Sept. 6, 1996 TigerTV, more than two decades strong, is still a central hub for majors across the campus to get hands-on experience in the studio, in the control room, and—of course—in front of the camera. And now that you’ve seen them on the big screen, heard their jokes, or admired their costumes and special effects, peek inside to see which Tiger alumni got their start on Trinity’s own cable channel.