Ellie Perrier

At a small school like Trinity, it can feel like there are too few fish in the sea. However, some have still been able to find their significant other while on campus.
Robin Bernal, junior religion major, is dating class of 2023 graduate Austin. They met at a Trinity Diversity Connection event on campus and started dating during Bernal’s sophomore year.
“I was eavesdropping on a conversation that [Austin] was having with somebody, and I thought, ‘Oh, yeah, this guy knows what he’s talking about. That’s good. He’s got good opinions about stuff,’” Bernal said. “And then we met again a second time and actually exchanged numbers and stuff at a Yule Ball, which was the same deal for me, I just wanted to get out of my dorm and try something new.”
Bernal said they wanted to get out and go to more Trinity events. Once they were dating, they had a built-in friend to attend more Trinity events with.
“[Austin] lived on Swashbucklers, and I live on Swashbucklers now, too, so he kind of got me into that community, and we went to some of the events there too,” Bernal said. “We went to a movie once on campus, a lot of just doing stuff on campus because there’s a lot of stuff that happens, but you just have to find it.”
Lisa Speegle, senior math major, is dating Ian, another senior at Trinity. The couple met at Mabee Dining Hall on their first day on campus as first-years, started dating nine days after meeting and have been dating ever since.
“We met, actually, on the very first day that I moved in freshman year, which is kind of crazy,” Speegle said. “This was during COVID, so I didn’t have roommates, and my suitemate was the RA, so I came in not really knowing people. I knew [Ian’s] roommate before coming to Trinity, and so I saw someone I knew and thought, ‘Oh, I’m gonna go say hi.’ Then my friend introduced me to his roommate, Ian, who I’m dating. … We just started spending time together every day.”
Speegle recommends all Trinity students take part in studying abroad, and noted that doing so at the same time their significant other was a particularly gratifying experience. Speegle traveled to Nice, France, while Ian traveled to Vienna, Austria.
“Going abroad in the same semester [with Ian] was great,” Speegle said. “I could not recommend that more. Because we started dating [while at Trinity], we would spend time with each other daily. It was nice to be able to go abroad and not live near him. … I felt like I gained that individuality from going abroad, and when I came back, I was just that much more grateful to have him around still. We both went to Europe, and every month we would take a trip to visit a new country together. That was just such an incredible experience. My advice would be to take advantage of Trinity’s amazing study abroad program. Once you graduate college, you don’t really have that opportunity again to travel for like three months in your 20s.”
John McMahon, junior physics major, is dating 2023 graduate Tamara. McMahon was a sophomore when they started dating, and they are currently dating long distance. He shared what it was like to date someone also living on campus before his girlfriend graduated.
“Dating at Trinity is weird,” McMahon said. “You’re basically either almost practically living with the person with how much you’re in each other’s dorms, or you are doing long distance and struggling. Not a lot in between. But I think that’s just college.”