Why Trinity?

Ted Clement ’29

Contributing Writer

Very early in my college search, I vividly knew the exact type of school I wanted: I knew a smaller school, where I could truly know everyone was for me. I also knew I wanted to go into politics, with history being my choice for a minor, giving me an outline for the type of academics I wanted. I wanted to go somewhere where I felt like I could make a difference around campus, and wherever I would live for the next four years of my life. 

With this in mind, I started to decide on a small number of eight schools to apply to. However, Trinity was not originally on that list. In fact, I only began looking at Trinity during Christmas break of my senior year. To this day, I’m not exactly sure what inspired me to travel to Trinity that Dec. 22, on a cold, snowy day, but whatever it was, either God, destiny, chance, boredom or a random whim, I am eternally grateful. That day, my friend from back home and I drove over an hour to Trinity, with a stop at a Cracker Barrel along the way. Upon arriving, we parked on Vernon and proceeded to walk around Trinity. The snow-covered campus, especially the Chapel, was truly gorgeous and I really felt like this was a place where I’d be inspired by the beauty around me. I officially toured and interviewed on campus the following week, and I quickly fell in love with this school. 

While I was waiting for my admissions decision, I started to look into my own family history and realized I had my own connections to Trinity. Growing up, I never knew my Dad’s side of the family, so it was quite a surprise to learn how many of them went to Trinity over the years. I started feeling inspired by all the Clements who came before me and realized how much I liked the idea of building my own legacy at my “missing side’s” alma mater. In the end, though, it was Trinity’s generous scholarship that allowed me to go here. 

My final two schools were Trinity and my state’s flagship public school. This was a big decision and one I went back and forth over. I compared alumni, majors, grading curves, location and more. However, once I came to campus for the third time on admitted students day, I immediately knew I wanted to attend Trinity. I loved the campus, felt impressed by the faculty, but most of all, I really liked the people I met. I felt like my experience at Trinity wouldn’t just be an endless cycle of classes, but a real community where I could grow and turn into who I wanted to be. Yet, the fact remained that there was a large difference in tuition prices between my two top choices. I received a merit scholarship when I was first accepted here, but the school still remained pricier than the much more affordable in-state, public tuition at my flagship state school. That being said, I knew I wanted to go to Trinity and reached out to see if Trinity would increase my scholarship. Fortunately for me, Trinity increased my merit aid award and I have been lucky enough to have my college experience here. 

While my college process ended up leading to an unexpected outcome, I could not be any happier with my choice in coming to Trinity. I’ve gotten the academic experience I wanted, met people I’m grateful to know and I’ve started to take the steps towards my future that I know I’ll need to one day be successful. It is for these reasons that I’m eternally grateful to have received the scholarship I did and to attend Trinity.