One Transfer, Many New Beginnings: How a Student-Athlete Found Her Community at Trinity
Melissa Whitmore ’26 is an English major with a minor in Rhetoric, Writing, and Media Studies from Hanover, New Hampshire. On campus, she is a captain for the women’s basketball team, a reader for the student literary magazine The Vernacular, and works for the Trinity Athletics in game operations. Additionally, she is a writing intern for Trinity’s Office of Communications and Marketing and loves showing her Bantam pride.
Here, she shares how she found her community at Trinity:
Transferring to Trinity was one of the best choices I’ve ever made. So, whenever I get the chance to tell people why it was the right move for me, I take it!
Ever since I was a child, I knew I wanted to play collegiate basketball, but the real question was where? After months of searching, I committed to play Division I basketball at a small institution in Massachusetts. At the end of my first year there, I knew that school was not the right fit for me. I was looking for an athletic experience that wouldn’t overshadow my academics, while still leaving room to be social and build meaningful friendships that would last well beyond my time as a student.
As I was exploring the idea of transferring to Trinity, I was immediately taken by our beautiful campus and enamored by the ways that people described their own experiences here. When I came to campus on my recruiting visit with the women’s basketball program, a few of the current players showed me around. I had toured Trinity once before at the end of high school, but this visit was different because it gave me a glimpse of what daily life on campus is like for the team. As we walked, every single player who guided me stopped to greet at least one person we passed. Trinity’s relatively small undergraduate community makes that possible and creates a genuine sense of connection.
Even now, when I host prospective student-athletes, I share that story because it was one of the moments that convinced me Trinity was the right place for me. What I noticed then has become my everyday reality: wherever I go on campus, I always run into someone I know, whether it is a teammate, roommate, classmate, friend, or even a professor.
I decided to attend Trinity to play Division III basketball and everything fell into place. In just a few short weeks, it was clear that Trinity had everything I was looking for and I was exactly where I was meant to be. My first semester taking courses here made me realize how much I enjoyed being academically challenged. The courses I have taken have led to some of the most interesting and thought-provoking discussions. As a student, I watched as the spectrum of academics, athletics, and social opportunities came to life before my eyes.
Being part of a team on campus gave me 16 built-in friends, which has been an incredible resource, especially when adjusting to a new environment as a transfer student. Athletics offers a community of people navigating similar challenges, fostering a natural sense of connection and belonging. With that, my circle is certainly not limited to, but enhanced by the Athletics Department, as I have made many more friends attending other sports games and socializing with other teams.
Separate from athletics, our small school environment has granted me the opportunity to meet and foster many relationships in and outside of the classroom. This is how I met my best friend my first semester here, when we were randomly paired up for a class discussion. Similarly, I have built other friendships in organizations like Best Buddies, Mock Trial, a cappella, sororities, fraternities, and more, and am lucky to live with eight of my closest friends—all of whom are involved in activities like these.
Joining a school when the majority of people in my class already had one year to experience Trinity while I was not there felt daunting when I first arrived. Over time, I learned that while those people may have made memories without me, there were so many memories to be made with me, too.
Being a member of the Trinity community means something different for everyone. For me, it’s leaving an engaging class and heading to practice with my teammates. It’s the long days of studying and the late nights full of laughter with friends. It’s stepping onto the court and hearing familiar voices cheer me on. It’s about taking a chance, putting myself out there, and finding a place that truly feels like home.
