Last words

Voices of the Trinity College community in the media

“The way people bond with their pets—whether they feel emotionally secure or experience anxiety in the relationship—may be just as important as pet ownership itself in shaping well-being.”
— Brian Chin, assistant professor of psychology, on the connection between mental health and owning a pet; The Conversation, February 28, 2025

“Athletics doesn’t just create temporary champions; it shapes character and instills values that extend far beyond any court or field.”
— Joanne Berger-Sweeney, president and Trinity College professor of neuroscience, on her passion for basketball and other sports; The Hartford Courant, March 13, 2025

“They have each established an inspiring track record that reflects their commitment to community and determination to improve individual lives in meaningful ways.”
— Jeremy Race, CEO of Junior Achievement of Southwest New England, on those named to the Junior Achievement Business Hall of Fame, including Trinity President Joanne Berger-Sweeney; patch.com, February 24, 2025

“When students come to Trinity, they can expect to be mentored by leading teacher-scholars, with opportunities to do impactful research alongside faculty mentors.”
— Sonia Cardenas, Dean of the Faculty and Vice President for Academic Affairs, on Trinity’s recent classification as one of the country’s “Research Colleges and Universities” by the Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education; www.trincoll.edu, February 13, 2025

“Racism is what produces race, because we ‘need’ these hierarchical distinctions in order to maintain these imbalances that we have in our society.”
— David Sterling Brown ’06, associate professor of English, on the work of historian Barbara Fields and the parallels between Shakespeare’s time and contemporary racial struggles; Old Gold & Black, March 7, 2025

“What is actually really valued in a lot of these instances is uniqueness. And that is one thing that chatbots actually do not do very well.”
— Alexander J. Helberg, visiting assistant professor in the Allan K. Smith Center for Writing and Rhetoric, on the use of AI in writing personal essays for college applications; The Hartford Courant, January 6, 2025

“There are already two other things I’ve written. I love this genre.”
— Mark Nelson O’Brien IDP’95, on his intention to make his recently released graphic novel, The Waterloo Diaries: The Bedsore Conspiracy, be the first in a series with recurring characters; The Hartford Courant, February 21, 2025