Alden Pool

BURGIN STREETMAN posing in the library.

After years of working for a bookstore by day and theatre company by night, Burgin Streetman, senior English major, returned to her undergraduate studies at Trinity during her 50s. Finally completing her degree has been a goal of hers for years, and she is relieved that coming back to school was not as challenging as she initially thought.

For the majority of her early 20s, Streetman worked various literary jobs in upstate New York: a clerk at a bookstore on Fifth Avenue that catered to clientele like Stephen King and Marilyn Monroe; vice president of children’s books at Barnes and Noble; corporate and publishing coordinator for “The Muppets,” producing shows such as “Bear in the Big Blue House” and even, on occasion, puppeting the characters. Jobs like this, she said, were a really neat introduction to the literary world.

“I was a huge Muppet fan when I was little, so that was really exciting for me,” Streetman said.

After leaving “The Muppets” after Jim Henson’s death and another position in Workman Publishing, Streetman fell in love and moved to Texas to get married. She started working from home when her son, August, was born, and this led to the creation of her online blog, “Burgin Writes Here.” Eventually, Streetman found a long-lasting career at Trinity University Press, one that spanned over 12 years.

Streetman returned to classes after consulting with a friend at work, who encouraged her to apply to Trinity. At first, she said that she thought going back to school would be hard to share with others.

“I started thinking, ‘You know what, I need to get over being embarrassed,’” Streetman said. “I’m flipping the whole narrative about not telling people because I had the opportunity to take classes for free.”

Streetman never really felt support from past educators. She said that at Trinity, every professor has been supportive and encouraging.

“Academically, I never really felt like a superstar,” Streetman said. “Just to have teachers supporting me, telling me my stuff is good, telling me my writing is good, telling me my work is good. As a 40-year-old woman at that point, it was super empowering for me.”

Streetman said that her favorite part of the day is coming to Trinity to participate in classes, regardless of her schedule. She said she values the academic experience at Trinity immensely.

“Being able to experience not just feeling good about grades, but working hard for the grades, it’s so enjoyable that you want to do the best that you can because you’re having such a great time,” Streetman said. “I almost wish that everybody could come back to college as a 40-year-old person because it’s completely different. This time that I’ve had here is such a gift. It’s so important.”

The age difference between Streetman and her fellow classmates has not been an issue, she said. She enjoys being in a space where young people gather to share their thoughts on the world. According to her, coming back to college is like learning for the first time again, only with more adult experiences to support her.

“When I see young people around me seeing these ideas for the first time, it really gives me hope that I don’t find many other places,” Streetman said. “Just to see you guys lighting up and getting so excited about ideas, it gives me hope in a world where there isn’t a whole lot of it. I wish that every young person should be able to experience this.”