Several new Trinity College courses offered this semester tackle topics related to the COVID-19 pandemic, including an English course on confinement literature, a psychology seminar on communication in 2020, and a first-year seminar on pandemics in history.
Whether their courses are offered in-person, remotely, or as a combination of both, Trinity College faculty members have adopted new technology and strategies this semester to connect with students and create solutions to the challenges of teaching during a pandemic.
First-year students enrolled in Trinity’s Community Action Gateway program are working with Hartford organizations on increasing voter engagement leading up to the 2020 election. The Community Action Gateway is designed for highly motivated first-year students who are interested in learning to create social change in their communities.
With Trinity’s COVID-19 Campus Alert Level at green or yellow for most of the fall semester, students have enjoyed opportunities to participate in athletics and other activities while still maintaining the necessary health precautions.
Trinity College President Joanne Berger-Sweeney took part recently in a virtual conversation called “Race, Class, Higher Education, and Democracy,” hosted by The Chronicle of Higher Education, a national leader in higher education journalism.
“My country is going through rough times,” said Daniel Santos Ramírez ’23, a Trinity College student from Caracas, Venezuela. “I came to Trinity and the U.S. to get skills and training to help make things better back home.” Santos Ramírez has co-founded a project called Yakera, an online platform empowering Venezuelans to create fundraising campaigns and access donations from around the world.
“My goal is to try to learn something about which demographics are demanding health insurance during the pandemic using exchanges and whether they are able to pay their premiums or not,” says Assistant Professor of Economics Gerardo Ruiz Sánchez.
Outside of the classroom, Trinity College offices and academic centers continue to offer many services, activities, and events for students in virtual formats, as college life adjusts to the COVID-19 pandemic.
With his summer plans upended by the pandemic, Trinity College senior Jeff Sagun ’21 created the Intercollegiate Neuroscience Research Journal Club, a 10-week online program that provides students around the world with access to current neuroscience-related research papers.
Trinity College President Joanne Berger-Sweeney has been elected to the Board of Directors of The Henry Luce Foundation, which seeks to enrich public discourse by promoting innovative scholarship, cultivating new leaders, and fostering international understanding.
