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<\/p>\nWhen it was time to apply to college, Jake Schneider \u201904 says, he did not want to go to Trinity. \u201cThere was no reason for that reluctance,\u201d he explains, \u201cexcept for the fact that my sister went there and I wanted to do something different.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rachel Schneider Mehta \u201995 loved her four years in Hartford. She blossomed as a student, majoring in American studies and minoring in Spanish studies, and sensed her brother would have an equally positive experience given their similar dispositions.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe was looking at these bigger schools, yet I just knew Trinity would be a good place for him to flourish,\u201d Mehta says. \u201cWe\u2019re both very intellectually driven, very curious people. But we both also carve out a lot of time for humor.\u201d<\/p>\n
Pulling the big sister card, Mehta insisted that Schneider apply to Trinity. She even paid his application fee. When admissions decisions were released and Schneider got into a number of colleges, Trinity offered him a scholarship that dwarfed that from every other school.<\/p>\n
The two had experienced a tragedy when their father passed away several years earlier. For the single-parent household, financial aid was critical. Schneider\u2019s reticence evaporated instantly, and he accepted Trinity\u2019s offer. \u201cI got to go to college because they picked me and decided they would be generous with me,\u201d he says. \u201cI will forever be grateful to Trinity for that help.\u201d<\/p>\n
For both siblings, Trinity provided an education that expanded their worldviews and shaped the rest of their lives. Mehta, a self-described liberal arts junkie who typically keeps five books on her nightstand, relished the opportunity to learn in such a dynamic setting. \u201cIf I had been on a singular track somewhere else, I probably would\u2019ve felt stifled,\u201d she says. \u201cBut being able to take American studies, architecture, history, religion classes\u2013\u2013to have that freedom to travel in some different directions was really a gift.\u201d<\/p>\n
Schneider adds, \u201cI wouldn\u2019t trade the education I received at Trinity for any other place.\u201d He majored in computer science, which he planned to study wherever he attended, and took advantage of Trinity\u2019s liberal arts curriculum by completing the Guided Studies: European Civilization program (now called the Humanities Gateway Program) and minoring in legal studies. Today, he is a technology and intellectual property lawyer at Holland & Knight LLP in Boston.<\/p>\n
Mehta is an angel investor and a consultant for a cybersecurity conference company. \u201cHaving a liberal arts background has made me unafraid of taking chances professionally,\u201d she says. \u201cMy experiences at Trinity gave me the inquisitiveness and confidence to enter new industries and to figure things out.\u201d<\/p>\n
As students, they each found ways to give back to the Trinity community. Mehta put her Spanish skills to use by tutoring dining hall employees in English as a second language, while Schneider represented his peers for two years as class president.<\/p>\n
As alumni, they remain generous with their time. Mehta serves as her class vice president and a class steward, which allows her to engage with classmates who have given to Trinity. Schneider is a class agent and serves as his class secretary. He also is quick to hop on the phone with current Bantams who are interested in entering his field.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf you ask alums across the generations what makes Trinity special, they\u2019ll tell you it\u2019s the people and the relationships we build with classmates, professors, coaches, and staff,\u201d says Liz Hanusovsky Patterson \u201905, director of annual giving. \u201cRachel and Jake\u2019s bond as siblings is just a more visible example of the interconnectedness of our community\u2014and the way we come together to support our alma mater and one another.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mehta and Schneider each have two daughters. As parents, they are used to getting asked to volunteer for various organizations and school committees. \u201cYou have to be careful about not saying yes to too many things,\u201d Mehta says. \u201cBut Trinity is always a really easy yes.\u201d<\/p>\n
Her brother agrees. \u201cMy rule is that if they call me, I answer the phone and I try to help the College because it helped me out when I needed it as a teenager,\u201d Schneider says. \u201cTo be in that environment with those professors and get that education, it makes you who you are.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u2014Eliott Grover<\/em><\/p>\n Illustration by Kathryn Rathke<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" When it was time to apply to college, Jake Schneider \u201904 says, he did not want to go to Trinity. \u201cThere was no reason for that reluctance,\u201d he explains, \u201cexcept for the fact that my sister went there and I wanted to do something different.\u201d Rachel Schneider Mehta \u201995 loved her four years in Hartford. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":139,"featured_media":0,"parent":3339,"menu_order":9,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-3457","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n