Trinity University happens to share its name with several of its students here on campus. Whether it be wearing their name on a T-shirt, getting confused when overhearing a conversation or even just always having a fun fact ready for class icebreakers, every Trinity has had a different Trinity-related experience. In the end, however, they said that it all boils down to finding a way to have fun with the shared name.
Trinity McCray, sophomore biochemistry major, said that the school’s name absolutely played into her decision to become a Tiger.
“I learned about Trinity back in high school,” McCray said, “I had a free period, I saw that they were visiting, and I was like ‘Oh, it’d be so funny if I went to Trinity as a Trinity.’ So I went [to the table], and then found out ‘Hey, this is a cool school. I like it.’”
Being a Trinity amongst various Trinity-named things was not new territory for McCray. She said that growing up in Austin, she was aware of both a Trinity River and a Trinity Street, but now she is more involved than ever before in something that shares her name.
“I had some bank situation and it was like, ‘Oh can I have your student ID’ and I was like ‘sure’ and she was looking at it and said ‘wait, that’s really fancy is your name Trinity or do you go to Trinity?’ I said ‘both,’” McCray said.
Trinity Chapa, sophomore business management and human communication double-major, said that she thrives off of the joke potential of sharing her name with the university.
“On my tour here I made a joke to somebody and I was like, ‘Would I get a discount?’ They said ‘no’ and I said ‘I will fight for this discount,’” Chapa said.
Chapa has yet to receive the said discount, however, she said she still has two more years to fight for it. Chapa said that telling people she founded the school is her favorite joke to make.
“When I wear a Trinity shirt I feel like it’s for me. I wear it with pride,” Chapa said. “It’s hilarious going into the bookstore and thinking, ‘Wow I’ve made such an impact in my two years here.’ Every day my friends are like, ‘Wow, Trinity offers so many opportunities,’ and I’m like, ‘I don’t think I did anything’… it’s really funny.”
Trinity Hatchett, senior political science major, shared her experience in how she got the name Trinity, stating that three is and has been a consistent part of her lore.
“I’m the third child and I was born in the third month of the third year [2003] at 3:03. My parents like the name … that was the background for them as to why I was named,” Hatchett said.
Hatchett said that sharing a name with her school does not usually impact her daily life, but she has gotten some great stories out of it.
Hatchett recounted a story where she ran into a friend of a friend at Target. She said that she ran into that person while she was wearing a Trinity-branded polo. She went to introduce herself and she watched the other person look up at her, down at her shirt, and then back up at her.
“It really doesn’t bother me though,” Hatchett said.
Trinity Rosas, first-year chemistry major, said that sharing her name with the school was nothing more than a happy coincidence. The coincidence, though, was not funny to her at first. “If it’s someone I’m decently close to, I’m like, ‘Okay, cool,’” Rosas said. “But if it’s a middle-aged white dude, it makes me want to sock them in the face.”
After some time, she got used to the joke. Her advice to other Trinitys both now and in the future is to take control of the narrative.
“Don’t let Trinitys at Trinity rattle you as much as it did me.”
