I remember the exact day I chose to attend Trinity University. I was on spring break of my junior year of high school, and my mom had insisted on a family road trip to San Antonio, while I’d insisted on a trip to New York City. We compromised and went to San Antonio.
After a long four hours of driving, routing to the nearest bagel shop somehow brought us to Einstein’s at Coates Student Center, and my family wound up on Trinity’s campus — completely by accident. As sunlight slipped away on an uncomfortably hot spring evening, I felt that all-too-familiar fear of not knowing what my future held. To assuage my anxiety, my dad suggested an innocent walk through campus while we munched on our cheesy veggie melt sandwiches.
In an embarrassingly short amount of time, my family and I became utterly disoriented. We were absolutely lost in this labyrinth of eerily similar buildings — buildings I have now come to know like the back of my hand. It took a while, but we finally found an older woman with a tiny white dog to show us around. I told her I was nervous about college, and she told me she’d pray that I get into Trinity. She spoke so highly of this campus and its people that I decided I had to make this campus my home on the spot.
This isn’t the first time I’ve told this story; in fact, when Chaplain Alex Serna-Wallender first heard it, he identified the kindly older woman in my story as Kathy, a beloved former Trinity neighbor. She moved away a few years ago, but Chaplain Alex actually went out of his way to find Kathy and tell her my story. It warms my heart that Kathy now knows that the small act of kindness she showed a nervous high school student helped me find my home here. She’ll never fully know how much her words meant in that moment, but they gave me the reassurance I needed to take a leap of faith — and that’s the kind of impact people at Trinity have on one another, often without even realizing it.

To me, there’s nothing more Trinity than that story. It’s a place where people look out for one another, even in the smallest ways, and those gestures ripple farther than they ever realize. Kathy cared about me before I was even a student here, and years later, Chaplain Alex cared enough to reconnect her with my story. That cycle of care is what makes this community feel less like a college and more like a family.
If there’s one thing I want you to take away from this long-winded story, it’s this: Your people are here, and we’re really excited for what you bring to the table. You can find us in club meetings, at Nacho Hour, stressed at the library or in the Trinitonian newsroom. At this publication, everyone is deeply appreciative of the first-years who join our staff and campus, and we do the best we can to make sure they fit in, despite the adjustment pains they might be feeling.
As Bob Ross said, there are no mistakes, just happy accidents. Stumbling upon Trinity was certainly one of the happiest accidents of my life, and I am endlessly grateful for the experience. Any time you feel homesick, know there is a community here for you. So, to sum it all up, thank you for joining us here at Trinity. We are thrilled to have you.