The Trinity Perspective | Summer 2016

SUMMER 2016

Coding Confidence Trinity alumnae make great strides for women in tech

Meet other innovative, visionary Tigers

Daniel Lubetzky ’90 B.A., International Studies & Economics

Since its founding in 2004, KIND has been on a mission to make the world a little kinder, one snack and one act at a time. KIND’s snacks are made from delicious, wholesome ingredients, and through its social mission, the company is committed to inspiring and celebrating kindness. Daniel Lubetzky ’90, the founder and CEO, conceived KIND after traveling extensively and becoming frustrated with his own snacking options. Today, he remains committed to creating products that are healthy and tasty, while also building a company that is economically sustainable and socially impactful.

The Trinity Perspective magazine is produced quarterly.

Through these pages, explore the many facets of life at Trinity University and get to know the faculty, staff, and students that call Trinity home. With the vibrant city of San Antonio as a backdrop, discover the many benefits and opportunities our community has to offer. Oh, and we may throw in our favorite restaurants around town for you to check out while visiting our 117-acre campus.

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ABOUT TRINITY Trinity University is a private, residential, co-educational institution with an undergraduate focus. So, what does that mean for you? It means that we are a place that is here to focus on YOU. We connect you with the best possible resources, caring and engaged faculty members, committed staff members, and world-class students destined to have a positive impact on our community.

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Brittany Haby ’15

Breaking Barriers

Alumna excels at San Francisco 49ers fellowship and attends NFL Women’s Summit

By Carlos Anchondo ’14

In April 2015, Sarah Thomas became the first female official in NFL history. In January 2016, Kathryn Smith was hired by the Buffalo Bills as the first female full-time coach. This past July, following in the footsteps of these trailblazers, Brittany Haby ’15 became a Denise DeBartolo York Fellow for the San Francisco 49ers. Haby serves as a Fellow in the football administration and analytics department in a 12-month, entrylevel position, designated for a talented and driven woman interested in an NFL career.

After learning of the opportunity through Jacob Tingle, professor of business administration and chair of the sport management minor, Haby applied for the fellowship. Since 2011, the position existed within the 49ers’ marketing department. That changed when Hannah Gordon, the 49ers’ vice president of legal and government affairs, received a visit from Brian Hampton, the team’s director of football administration. A request was made that the department utilize the Fellowship, and Haby, an economics major from Helotes, Texas, was chosen as the recipient.

“Throughout the season, we’ve been doing write-ups for the coaches and the scouts, who predict whether college or pro players would be a good fit for our organization,” Haby says.

“We build models to make those predictions.”

Since beginning her fellowship, Haby has thrived on the fast-paced environment and the ability to work efficiently as a team player, something she learned through group work while

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at Trinity. Haby says that her sport management classes in particular taught her how to contribute as both a leader and a follower.

On February 5, just two days before Super Bowl 50, Haby attended the inaugural NFL Women’s Summit in San Francisco. The conference brought together some of the greatest names in sport, like tennis stars Serena Williams and Billie Jean King, as well as leaders in business and politics, such as former U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.

The summit’s purpose was to celebrate the impact sports can have on women’s lives and their ability to lead, not just in athletics, but in all facets of life. Haby said she “felt blessed” to be included and was able to meet role models such as softball player and sportscaster Jessica Mendoza.

“Jessica and I were able to connect, and we had a great conversation about how she deals with being a woman in a male-dominated field,” Haby says. “It was also nice to see just how much the NFL is reaching out and trying to include women in the sport itself.”

A softball player during her years at Trinity, Haby has experienced firsthand the benefits of sports. She says that the commitment softball demanded taught her to embrace both good and bad days, while always keeping the end goal in mind. Working toward her goal, no matter what the obstacle, is something she has kept in mind while finding her footing with the 49ers.

Additionally, Haby says she was glad she attended the NFL Women’s Summit because Roger Goodell, the NFL Commissioner, announced that the NFL would adopt a “Rooney Rule” for women. The Rooney Rule requires the league’s teams to interview minority candidates for head coaching and senior operations jobs. This extension of the

The NFL is keeping the conversation going about women within the NFL. It is encouraging that it was not just women supporting women at the conference, but men supporting women as well.

At Trinity, Brittany Haby learned to be a team player, a skill she uses daily at her fellowship with the San Francisco 49ers.

rule would demand that women be considered as candidates for executive NFL positions.

“The message that the summit sent is that the NFL is keeping the conversation going about women within the NFL,” Haby says. “It is encouraging that it was not just women supporting women at the conference, but men supporting women as well.” As the draft approaches, Haby and the 49ers’ analytics department continues to provide scouts with the most accurate and up-to-date information on recruits.

Today, as Haby analyzes the historical data of players,

she recalls her senior project with math professor E. Cabral Balreira about NBA predictions and attempting to determine whether or not teams might have a home court advantage. By manipulating the probabilities so that a home team would have a greater chance of winning, Haby and Balreira tested their bias theory. Eventually proved right, Haby credits projects like that one with building the foundation that has allowed her to excel with the 49ers.

Like many other women in sports, Haby doesn’t consider herself a pioneer, just a person working in a sport that she loves.

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Coding Confidence Trinity alumnae prepare the next generation of programmers at Codeup

Hannah Westberg ’14

Jenni White ’14

Hannah Westberg, left, and Jenni White, right, are both alumni of the Codeup boot camps, an experience that greatly informs their work.

By Carlos Anchondo ’14

Behind every webpage, e-mail, and smartphone app is a programmer who made it happen. In today’s digitally connected world, the push to innovate is stronger than ever before. At Codeup, a San Antonio learning center offering web development boot camps, Hannah Westberg ’14 and Jenni White ’14 are building an educational experience that prepares students for employment in programming or software development.

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As director of student success, Westberg connects Codeup graduates with opportunities in the community and conducts outreach to potential employers.

White, as director of operations and director of student experience, is responsible for people and product management and oversees Codeup’s team of instructors.

Although they are now no strangers to the programming world, both knew little about coding when they were hired. Following a steep learning curve, including enrollment in a Codeup boot camp, both are fully invested in the Codeup mission of cultivating a skilled tech workforce.

“Most students at Codeup are career changers, and what we are doing for people

is empowering them to make that change in an effective way,” Westberg says.

Westberg, a communication and anthropology double major from Overland Park, Kan., says the majority of Codeup students are from Texas, with a large percentage from San Antonio itself. She is excited that many graduates choose to stay in the city and energize local businesses with their newly honed skills. CodeUp is regulated by the Texas Workforce Commission as a career school and college.

The average age of a Codeup student is 28. Additionally, 50 percent of students are minorities and 25 percent are women. Since its inception, the startup has designated two scholarships for women, a necessity

Students come in as a certain person and, after 16 weeks in our boot camps, they exit with a whole new set of knowledge.

Westberg and White call the Codeup team a small, agile group that can brainstorm and implement a solution to almost any problem.

according to White, who cites the maledominated tech field as evidence. White, an international studies major from Albuquerque, conducts one-on-one meetings with students to discuss their progress in the boot camp and any concerns they might need to address.

“Students come in as a certain person and, after 16 weeks in our boot camps, they exit with a whole new set of knowledge,” White says. “Easing the struggles and hearing the victories of students along the way is really fulfilling.”

In the full stack boot camps, students learn both front-end and back-end web development. It turns “non-techies” into entry-level web and software developers.

If graduates do not find work, half of their tuition is returned. Since beginning at Codeup, Westberg and White say they have been honored to help develop the

programming and personality of the company. Both say that it has been a joy to be part of a small, close-knit team.

One skill that each woman has learned is the ability to delegate effectively, prioritizing time and responsibilities to get things done.

The duo organizes Demo Days, where students present their capstone projects to a room full of potential employers at the end of their boot camps. Both have seen an increased quality in every consecutive Demo Day they produce.

“It has been really cool to see what Demo Day has become for us,” White says. “Neither Hannah nor I would have been successful at these jobs without the problem solving, critical thinking, and communication skills that we learned at Trinity.”

Recently, Codeup moved locations into The Vogue Building; White managed this transition, including a collaboration with an interior designer to craft a custom office

space on the building’s third floor. Although it was just a “hop, skip, and a jump” down Navarro Street, White says it was equally challenging and satisfying working on a realworld project with physical constraints in the midst of the tech world.

As Codeup continues to grow and build on its 93 percent placement rate*, Westberg and White continue to be in awe of what students have achieved with a Codeup diploma. Looking to the future, they say that working at Codeup has taught them how tech can be applied to any industry and any problem. Harkening back to the interdisciplinary connections they made at Trinity, Westberg and White are now able to “see connections across all facets of their business,” from the students whom they serve to the technology that is taught. *Within six months of graduation.

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Andre Sandoval ‘16

Andre Sandoval (first row, second from left) celebrates with participants of 3DS Quito after a successful three days of entrepreneurship and networking.

A Global Entrepreneur Andre Sandoval gives back to his roots through mentorship and innovation

By Carlos Anchondo ’14

Andre Sandoval ’16 remembers the day he took the MCAT. After finishing his exam, Sandoval walked out of the testing center and sat down on the curb. He felt directionless.

Uninspired. He questioned whether or not he truly wanted to pursue medical school and continue as a biochemistry major.

That day in the parking lot, something clicked for Sandoval.

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Taking a semester off from Trinity, Sandoval contemplated experiences that had made him happy and fulfilled. He thought about his time with 3 Day Startup (3DS) San Antonio and joined the team at Biovideo, a company that documents the first few days of a child’s life on camera. The opportunity to create applications for a real-life startup reignited Sandoval’s entrepreneurial passion, and he changed his major to business administration with a concentration in marketing and an entrepreneurship minor.

Inspired by 3DS, a weekend entrepreneurial boot camp for college students, Sandoval decided to bring the program to his native Ecuador. In 2014, Sandoval launched 3DS Quito, with more than 50 participants in the initial program. Graduates include the Cuestionarix team, which Sandoval compares as the Princeton Review of Latin America. Growing off the success of the pilot 3DS in Ecuador’s capital city, Sandoval helped bring that “ecosystem of entrepreneurship” to Central America with

Andre Sandoval attends the 70th anniversary celebration of Goodwill, where he helps implement a program to launch veterans’ entrepreneurial ideas.

3DS Antigua in Guatemala. As with 3DS events in the United States, participants are taught how to craft a business model, conduct market research, pitch their idea to investors, and more– all in a three-day span.

“My experiences with 3DS opened my eyes and allowed me to completely switch my career,” Sandoval says.

“I want other people to experience that, because the potential in Central and South America for entrepreneurship is huge.”

Sandoval and his team built on their success to produce 3DS Quito in 2015, adding 3DS Cuenca and 3DS Guayaquil, with further plans to initiate 3DS Buenos Aires and 3DS Brasília.

He says that one of the most beautiful things about 3DS is that the organization does not charge any fees. Sandoval believes that economic problems should never be a factor for someone to participate, adding that some of the most humble entrepreneurs are often the most successful.

Additionally, Sandoval and business partner Jeremy Kearney have collaborated with Goodwill San Antonio to launch Catapult Weekend, a fast-paced entrepreneurship

Andre Sandoval smiles with participants of 3DS, an initiative he has worked to bring to Central and South America.

program similar to 3DS that caters to the community Goodwill serves. Sandoval called the inaugural program “high-impact,” with 38 participants who primarily created social innovation projects. There are plans to expand Catapult Weekend to better serve the military population of San Antonio.

Active in the San Antonio tech block scene, Sandoval is a member of Geekdom, a collaborative that aggregates local entrepreneurs, developers, marketers, creative professionals, and others. He says that a steadily growing San Antonio startup community has enabled him to build a “network of great leaders,” mentors that he relies on for advice. One of Sandoval’s most recent projects is called Cloud Therapy, a smartphone app that utilizes artificial intelligence to provide medical counsel to users.

“This application answers medical questions, where the more you ask the better it learns,” Sandoval says. “It understands natural language, just like you and I talk, and translates Spanish and other languages as well.”

Filtering information from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the National Institute of Health, and the Mayo Clinic, Cloud Therapy employs Watson technology developed

by IBM. Sandoval is motivated by a common struggle faced by many Latino families, where an inability to navigate the health care system due to language barriers leads to astronomical

medical bills, often for an illness that could be solved at home. Cloud Therapy uses speechto-text application program interface (API) from AT&T, so that users can dictate symptoms to their phones without having to type. Sandoval and his team have launched the app in Ecuador, where they are poised to sign a contract with IBM. “My main goal is to help low income people,” Sandoval says. “I got a chance to hear Pope Francis when he came to the U.S., and he said that one of the biggest things we can do is to take care of humanity. So for me, it doesn’t really matter if I make millions or not. The idea here is personalized medicine where you are not a number.”

As Sandoval finishes his final semester, he says that although it took him longer to graduate from Trinity than originally planned, switching his major was probably the best decision of his life. A fount of excitement about his endeavors, Sandoval says that entrepreneurship has taught him that although you may “eat dirt” 90 percent of the time, it is the 10 percent of success that makes everything worthwhile.

“I love being involved, working on an application and being the person who makes changes to it and influences and institutes the vision,” Sandoval says. “Even when you fail, it does not matter, because in the end, it’s a learning experience.”

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I want to be the person who can help people love themselves now. I want to take all that I learned at Trinity and bring it to the community that made me the human I am today.

Christina Verzijl analyzes research data with practicum student Zachary Speer ‘15.

Combating the Thin Ideal

Psychology alumna brings body image program to San Antonio high schools

By Carlos Anchondo ’14

Each day on newsstands, the Internet, and television, consumers are presented with celebrities and models who are glamorous, svelte, and often “Photoshopped.”

For women, the expectation that they should have a tiny waist and a small amount of body fat is called the ‘thin ideal,’ or the belief that this representation is the model feminine physique.

Combating the thin ideal in San Antonio-area high schools is Christina Verzijl ’14, founder of the Body Project 4 High Schools (BP4HS).

BP4HS utilizes the theory of cognitive dissonance to decrease body dissatisfaction on high school campuses and to create more accepting environments. Cognitive dissonance is a situation where a person’s

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beliefs and actions are misaligned, resulting in a psychological feeling of discomfort.

Verzijl’s team charges participants to work against the thin ideal by using positive body language and by acknowledging that everyone’s body is unique.

“A lot of times, people assume that because they do not look like society’s ideal, then they are not healthy or are not the way they are supposed to be,” Verzijl says. “The reality is that healthy looks different for everyone.”

Verzijl, a psychology major from San Antonio, decided to found BP4HS after working in the clinical lab of psychology professor Carolyn Becker, co-creator of the Body Project. Verzijl saw BP4HS as a way to give back to the community that raised

her and to teach young women to love themselves for who they are. After graduation, Verzijl made BP4HS a fulltime commitment, fundraising her own salary and the program’s cost so that it would be free to local high schools. Currently, BP4HS operates at Alamo Heights, St. Mary’s Hall, Keystone, Judson, Lee, and the International School of the Americas.

As the program grows into a co-ed endeavor, Verzijl hopes that young adults are empowered by the organization’s message and can stand up to the harmful thin ideal.

“I want to be the person who can help people love themselves now,” Verzijl says.

“I want to take all that I learned at Trinity and bring it to the community that made me the human I am today.”

Visit Campus Monday - Friday beginning May 16, 2016 Information Session and Campus Tours from 10 a.m. to 12:15 p.m.

Spend some extra THYME on campus!

Visit the Trinity Market on Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.. www.thetrinitymarket.com

If there is one thing you take the time to do (other than completing your personal statement and finalizing your application), visit the college campuses that you are interested in. We encourage you and your family to try the food, meet the people, see the sights, and experience our beautiful campus and sunny San Antonio. The Office of Admissions is open daily (excluding major holidays and the University’s winter recess) for tours and information sessions. We’re also open most Saturdays during the academic year.

Apply Now! Applications open for firstyear students applying for the Class of 2021

AUGUST 1, 2016

The College Search An experience for the whole family

The college search is a fun and exciting time for students and families. Students get to celebrate their academic and cocurricular accomplishments and reflect

Trinity In Focus Saturday Visit Program Trinity In Focus open house programs are open to all prospective students and their families. This program is an excellent opportunity to discover the many opportunities available to students who study and live at Trinity University.

UPCOMING DATES: June 25, 2016 upon their experiences as they chart their journeys forward. Here at Trinity, we value the college experience, and that experience begins with you.

Throughout this process we encourage future Tigers to discover new interests, to grow your existing passions, and to become an empowered citizen of the global community.

To help you do this, we encourage you

to ask your friends, family, and parents for help. They can help you with your essays, be another set of eyes, ears, or taste buds on a campus visit, and can help you through the tough decisions that come with every pro-and-con list you can think of.

Resources for parents and families are available online at new.trinity.edu/futureparents-families

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QUICK FACTS

117

-acre campus located in a residential neighborhood Private, residential, co-educational, undergraduate-focused Founded in 1869 10 minutes from San Antonio International Airport Located in America’s 7th largest city

Apply Trinity University accepts both the Common Application and the ApplyTexas Application for undergraduate admission.

Learn more about applying to Trinity University online at

www.trinity.edu/applynow Both merit scholarships and need-based financial aid options are available.

Have a question for a current Tiger?

Send us an email at AskATiger@trinity.edu to get the inside scoop on student life at Trinity.

75%

of students live on campus

7

minutes from downtown San Antonio

9:1

student-to faculty ratio 97% hold doctoral or terminal degrees

2,353

undergraduates from 47 states and 60 countries 11% international students SAT Middle 50%*: Critical Reading: 570-680 Math: 590 - 680 Writing: 590-680 ACT Middle 50%*: 27-31 *Range identifies the middle 50% of Trinity’s enrolled students. 25% of enrolled students scored above this range; 25% of enrolled students scored below this range.