Calvin Taylor, senior history major
Best memory at Trinity University?
“I worked as an intern for these German Fulbright students who came to campus. That whole month was maybe the best time. We had some parties, we hosted some parties for them. It was cool, I got to take them all around campus and San Antonio. This was last semester. It was cool to share everything I loved about Trinity with people from a different country. They seemed to have a good time too, so it was nice to see that other people were enjoying what I enjoyed about campus.”

Worst memory at Trinity University?
“Probably going through COVID. My first year I was cooped up in my dorm, and it was hard to make friends and meet people. It is a bad memory, but I feel like I had to go through it — it is part of the journey. In a way, I have made peace with it.”

What are you most proud of?
“I’ve grown my ceramics skill a lot. I started doing ceramics seriously at Trinity, and I do feel that going here has shaped my skill as a craftsperson.”

Biggest lesson that you will take with you from Trinity?
“In our modern world, sometimes I think we lose the art and the charm of talking to people you know. Talking to your neighbor. Trinity has taught me that. That is what I’ll take. It is the big life lesson.”

Noor Jahlul, senior sociology major
Best memory at Trinity University?
“Four years. Trying to pick one memory is hard. First thing that came to mind was my orientation process when I joined my fraternity Kappa Kappa Delta. I can’t really talk too much about it, but you kind of made a whole bunch of new friends at once. I rushed right after COVID. I was really lonely at the time, so it was a really great time to socialize, make new friends, get to know people and get out of my bubble. I am really close with those guys still. I am still in the fraternity, and I expect them to be lifelong friends.”

Worst memory at Trinity University?
“The entirety of my O-Chem class. While I was still doing my pre-med thing I took O-Chem. In high school, I was that type of student that did not really have to study that much — I was able to coast through. But you cannot do that with O-Chem here at Trinity, as I tried to. It was horrible. I struggled with that class. The entire time I did not like it, I did not have fun and I was not interested in the readings or in the assignments. I guess that kind of accumulated during the final season. The weeks leading up to the final, I had the flu, and I had it really bad. I was bedridden and I couldn’t move and I had to worry about all of these super STEM finals. Definitely, it was a memory to forget, an experience to forget — for sure.”

Biggest lesson that you will take with you from Trinity?
“When I look back at myself before Trinity, I was so naive. As a high school graduate, I felt like I was on top of the world and that I knew everything.. I’ve learned how people interact, what kind of friends you make. I’ve also learned that I do not have to be everyone’s friend. It is super easy to get into that mindset at Trinity because it is so small. So, I kind of learned that one through mistakes. I also learned that it is okay to pursue my passions and that it is okay to do things that others, my mom, does not want me to do. My mom was very against me leaving pre-med and doing sociology, and I feel like I have found a really fulfilling niche for myself. I am a lot happier in this major. I have learned how to try to look more inward when I’m making decisions and to relying on people around me.”

Anna Miller, senior urban studies and sociology double-major
Best memory at Trinity University?
“Some of my favorite memories have been walking around the campus with my friends at night, or just hanging out after studying at the library. Little moments that happen on campus. That is what came to mind at first. Being exposed to lots of different ideas and ways of thinking, especially in my majors — beyond that too, getting to learn more about the world at Trinity has been really valuable. I am so different now than I was when I started.”

Worst memory at Trinity University?
“The stress that comes with being a Trinity student, having to balance a lot of different things: social life, school life. Sometimes it is harder than others. That would probably be my least favorite part. A specific memory would be nights at the library when I’m like, ‘I’m not gonna finish this!’ It is a whole bunch of stuff and being stressed about that.”

Biggest lesson that you will take with you from Trinity?
“Listen and learn from the world around you instead of just being in your own head and world. I feel like the classes and people that I met have really helped me to do that here, to think outside of myself. Both in the school sense, academic sense and interpersonally — with friendships and relationships with professionals.”

Caterina Mora, senior business analytics and international economics double-major
Best memory at Trinity University?
“My favorite memory is probably the times that I spent at the library. Freshman year, I used to spend it on the fourth floor with my friends having Starbucks and studying and talking a lot. Now that I am an upperclassman, I spend it on the third floor, sometimes in the very back or sometimes next to the IT area. But those are the moments that more casual conversations happen, but you also get really good memories that randomly pop into your mind in random moments.”

Worst memory at Trinity University?
“As an international student, there are some episodes of homesickness and sometimes stuff happens at home, and you are not able to be with your family. It definitely gets rough. For me, last year, a very close family member passed away and it was very close to finals as well, so I could not just take a plane and go back to Spain for a week, and I had to stay here at Trinity. But definitely the community and my friends were super helpful, they were always by my side. And they also know that I could not just drive two hours and go and visit my family, so they invite me to every single event that they have. For example, Thanksgiving or random weekends at home, they invite me, and it is good to get that feeling of family again.”

Biggest lesson that you will take with you from Trinity?
“For me, I would say that it is adaptability, because here you interact with a lot of different people with very different backgrounds. There are a lot of students with different ways of thinking, culture and beliefs. You definitely learn the skill of how to adapt to every environment, and know how to interact and interpret different situations. It has taught me how to make the most of your experience. Because as a first-year, you are still figuring out what you want to do. You kind of tend to overestimate the time that you are going to be here. You are like ‘oh, four years, I have a lot of time,’ but you really learn throughout the years to make the most of every experience whether it is a class or a club.”

Lucy Orosco, senior finance major
Best memory at Trinity University?
“My favorite memory would be the partying after tests. After you have been studying a ton, everyone at Trinity is super competitive and super intelligent, everyone is super focused on studying, but after tests happen, I like to relax with my friends. I love Bays. Going to Bays and talking to my friends and seeing everyone and seeing how such a small community can become your family has become one of my best memories at Trinity.”

Worst memory at Trinity University?
“I low-key feel it is also an international student thing. There are a lot of times that not even people our age are going through the stuff that we are going through like filing taxes, finding where to put your stuff during summer breaks or winter breaks. So, also I would say my worst memory was COVID times. We were the class of COVID. We were not able to have the community that freshmen have. It took a while to cultivate relationships because we were not able to be in contact with a lot of people.”

Biggest lesson that you will take with you from Trinity?
“My biggest takeaway from Trinity is that you can make any place your home if you are willing to adapt, … but also — learn to love the challenges that life gives you. I think that Trinity is at many times very competitive, there are sometimes moments where you will contemplate whether what you are doing is correct or not. I think it is one of those things that has let me learn how to take decisions in my life. You get to a point of life where you stop taking whatever comes to your way. . It enabled me to learn to overcome things and learn from them and keep going. Not only staying with that and knowing that I cannot do anything, but taking decisions to improve, not only for my future but for the people that I am around. You can grow anywhere, no matter the circumstance, no matter what, there is always a way to improve if you want to.”