<\/p>\n
Damian Wilmot \u201997, P\u201925 and Yndia Lorick-Wilmot \u201999, P\u201925<\/h5>\n
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The Umoja House is a three-story wood-frame building at 72 Vernon Street, with a covered porch shading its front. One of Trinity\u2019s three cultural houses, Umoja is much more than a structure\u2014it has offered many generations of Black Trinity students \u201ca place of solace,\u201d says Trinity Trustee Damian Wilmot. \u201cWe held our student organization meetings at Umoja,\u201d he says. \u201cWe also gathered there to study, interact socially, let our hair down, and bond as a community.\u201d<\/p>\n
Umoja also is where Damian first met his future wife, now Yndia Lorick-Wilmot \u201999, P\u201925. Both Yndia and Damian have been long-standing leaders in the Trinity community, guiding various Trinity campus organizations, including the Pan-African Alliance (now known as Imani), the Trinity College Black Women\u2019s Organization, and the Black and Latino Men\u2019s Collective, and serving on the executive board of the Black Alumni Organization, which Damian also led as president. They remain active and engaged alumni.<\/p>\n
\u201cUmoja House has a deep, rich history,\u201d Yndia says. \u201cIt not only provided a meeting place for our organizations\u2019 boards but also served as a space for Black and brown alumni to connect with current students and host cultural events and activities that celebrate the diaspora.\u201d That history and the couple\u2019s personal connection to it is part of the reason they have been generous to Trinity and have directed gifts to the Umoja House. \u201cWe made deep connections through the Umoja House,\u201d says Yndia, who, in addition to being one of the inaugural co-chairs of the Marjorie Butcher Circle\u2014an alumnae group recognizing women\u2019s philanthropic leadership\u2014has served as a guest speaker at Trinity and a mentor to many students.<\/p>\n
Damian, who also enjoys mentoring students, adds, \u201cWe both came from households where the scripture \u2018to whom much is given, much is required\u2019 is deeply integral to our passions and purpose. We\u2019ve always given our time and talent to Trinity over the years, and now we are blessed to be in a position where we can give our treasure, too.\u201d<\/p>\n
Yndia notes, \u201cWe wanted to ensure the legacy of Umoja House lives on and the physical place would continue to positively serve current and future students as it did for many students in the past.\u201d<\/p>\n
The couple also created a current-use scholarship for underrepresented students through the Trinity College Fund. \u201cDamian and I want to help students with similar backgrounds to pursue their scholarly interests in fulfilling ways,\u201d says Yndia.<\/p>\n
Yndia and Damian\u2019s philanthropy recognizes that \u201cpart of the learning is not just what you get from the professors, but what you get from outside the classroom,\u201d Damian says. \u201cIt\u2019s so important to maintain a rich, diverse, and psychologically safe environment for students to thrive and become the best version of themselves.\u201d<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Stan Marcuss \u201963 and Rosemary Marcuss<\/h5>\n
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Stan Marcuss remembers scholarly discussions spilling out of the classroom and onto the Long Walk as he and his fellow students emerged from history class.<\/p>\n
\u201cProfessor [George] Cooper, who taught my British history course, not only encouraged it but would join in,\u201d says Stan. \u201cEconomics professors LeRoy Dunn and Ward Curran participated in after-class gatherings on the Long Walk, too.\u201d<\/p>\n
The intellectual alchemy between Stan and his teachers inspired him as an undergraduate in the early 1960s. \u201cI loved being at Trinity. Learning how to think, to read, to speak. I was given the chance to ask why,\u201d he recalls.<\/p>\n
Scholarly discussions continued to connect Stan to Trinity, even as he moved on to become a Marshall Scholar at Cambridge University, a student at Harvard Law School, and a fellow at Harvard\u2019s John F. Kennedy School of Government, doing research on urban issues in Washington, D.C.<\/p>\n
\u201cLinda Minoff, who worked in the development office, introduced me to Professor Garth Myers in urban studies at Trinity, and I was delighted when Professor Myers came up from Trinity to Harvard to attend several of my seminars and hear me speak,\u201d Marcuss says.<\/p>\n
He and Myers often talked about different mechanisms for inspiring collaboration between faculty and students, and those conversations ultimately sparked Stan and wife Rosemary\u2019s interest in supporting scholarly enterprise at Trinity by creating the Marcuss Fellowship in Urban Studies, a program administered by Myers.<\/p>\n
Each year under the fellowship, two Trinity students\u2014not necessarily urban studies majors\u2014are selected to prepare a publishable article or to engage in other scholarly work related to urban issues. Each is mentored by a faculty member, and both faculty and students receive stipends for their time.<\/p>\n
\u201cRelationships built on the exchange of ideas continue to motivate us and inspire our philanthropy,\u201d says Rosemary.<\/p>\n
The Marcusses enjoy being a part of the intellectual community at Trinity and attend the public presentations by the fellowship recipients each spring. \u201cThese young people are part of our family,\u201d she says. \u201cAnd so are the faculty. They are all family to us.\u201d<\/p>\n
Says Stan, \u201cThe people matter. Without them, the College is just a collection of lovely buildings on a beautiful green campus.\u201d<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Amanda Kauff Jacobson \u201994 and Blair Jacobson<\/h4>\n
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Trinity Trustee Amanda Kauff Jacobson and husband Blair Jacobson recall the same two highlights from college life in the \u201990s: exploring a fascinating variety of disciplines at small liberal arts colleges in the Northeast and then putting their classroom knowledge to work in summer jobs and internships.<\/p>\n
Amanda, an art history major at Trinity, interned at the Wadsworth Atheneum in Hartford and the Loeb Art Center at Vassar College. She also wrote a community arts column for a small newspaper in the Berkshires and organized an exhibit with her Trinity professor. \u201cThese experiences brought my major to life and definitely helped shape my future career path,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n
Blair, who majored in political economy at Williams College and met Amanda during their junior semester abroad in Florence, Italy, also sees the value of practical experience: \u201cInternships were the rudders that helped steer our careers.\u201d<\/p>\n
When the Jacobsons decided they wanted to make a significant gift to Trinity, internships became an area of focus. \u201cWe wanted Trinity students to be able to pursue their job interests without having to worry about paying bills,\u201d says Blair. \u201cThey need to be able to pair what they learn in the classroom with what can be done in the world of work.\u201d<\/p>\n
Amanda adds, \u201cWe hope to level the playing field for Trinity students. This includes being able to provide students with whatever they need, including business attire and transportation costs\u2014the basics.\u201d<\/p>\n
The new Kauff Jacobson Fellows Program includes a preference for nonprofit internships, which, the Jacobsons point out, tend to be underpaid or unpaid. \u201cMost people working in the nonprofit sector are more focused on a higher purpose than just money. They\u2019re devoting their careers to helping others,\u201d says Amanda.<\/p>\n
Service has enhanced the lives of both Jacobsons. When Amanda worked in publishing in New York, she volunteered for several nonprofits and remembers reading to children on her lunch breaks. Today, in addition to Trinity, she is an active board member at the Connecticut camp she attended for 13 summers in her youth and at a preservation and conservation trust in Massachusetts.<\/p>\n
Blair recalls, \u201cIn high school, I would drive to the White Plains airport to schedule seats on private jets for cancer patients.\u201d Today, he serves on the boards of a South African educational charity, of his synagogue\u2019s endowment, and of his graduate school alma mater, now the University of Chicago Booth School of Business.<\/p>\n
Amanda says, \u201cThis is behavior we want to model for our own children. And since Trinity is such a special place for both of us, we wanted to put our best foot forward with this gift and maximize its impact.\u201d<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Everett \u201cEv\u201d Elting Jr. \u201958, P\u201985, \u201987 and Joanne Elting P\u201985, \u201987<\/h5>\n
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\u201cNothing compares with a smaller, liberal arts college. A dynamic liberal arts college\u00a0in a vital state capital city like Hartford is even better,\u201d says Everett \u201cEv\u201d Elting Jr.<\/p>\n
He says his experience at Trinity was all one hopes for in college. A shy kid \u201cwithout a clear direction\u201d in his first year, he set out to major in mathematics until confronted with a harder-than-expected introductory class. Fortunately, he stood out to both an English professor and a history professor, the latter after Ev produced a sophisticated paper on the Crusades.<\/p>\n
Ev credits Trinity with broadening his perspectives on life, which set the stage for a successful marketing and advertising career that took him around the world. His retirement has furthered his explorations as he and wife Joanne have traveled to more than 100 countries since retiring.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhile countries and peoples certainly have plenty of differences, there are common elements everywhere,\u201d he says. \u201cThe travel and worldwide exposure have created an inducement and an\u00a0encouragement to play a role in contributing to the world. Trinity\u2019s Human Rights Program is one way of\u00a0my making that contribution.\u201d<\/p>\n
With funding for a professorship and program development, the Eltings are responsible for helping Trinity craft its Human Rights Program (HRP), the first of its kind at a liberal arts college in the United States. With a robust curriculum, research opportunities, and internships at leading human rights organizations, the program seeks to foster critical debate about human rights problems, interdisciplinary dialogue, and conversations that bridge the divide between local and global human rights concerns.<\/p>\n
Ev notes, \u201cWe have been fortunate to play a major role in the establishment of the Human\u00a0Rights Program at Trinity and to have been able to watch it grow and become\u00a0important in the College\u2019s offerings and activities.<\/p>\n
\u201cNot only have Trinity\u2019s life and its students\u2019 lives been enhanced by the Trinity\u00a0Human Rights Program, Joanne and I believe that our lives have importantly been as well,\u201d he adds. \u201cWe have enjoyed tremendously our discussions and interactions with the HRP\u00a0faculty and students, and the program has been an important part of our lives. I like the way the HRP has evolved and grown, and I\u00a0look forward to that continuing in the years to come.\u201d<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Kelli Tomlinson \u201994 and Steffan Tomlinson \u201994<\/h5>\n
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When Kelli and Steffan Tomlinson visit Trinity, what they notice most is the vibrant sense of community that emanates from students, faculty, and staff and radiates into the areas surrounding campus. At the same time, Hartford residents who come to events energetically engage with those at the College in what has become a circle of positive energy.<\/p>\n
\u201cEvery time I attend a board meeting,\u201d says Kelli, a Trinity trustee, \u201cI\u2019m inspired and further engaged. The Trinity people are remarkable, and then there\u2019s Hartford. [President Joanne Berger-Sweeney] has created powerful connections between Trinity and the surrounding community.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen we were students,\u201d Kelli explains, \u201cthere was a juxtaposition\u2014geographic and economic\u2014between Trinity and Hartford. It always bothered us. Joanne has done so much to bridge that divide.\u201d<\/p>\n
The College has relied on alumni and friends like the Tomlinsons to support the vision of a positive town-gown relationship. The Tomlinsons have provided support of many kinds, including important gifts for the Trinity Plus curriculum and for entrepreneurship. Yet what is closest to their hearts is their philanthropy for scholarships for Hartford students, particularly those who are the first in their families to attend college.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur commitment to first-generation students happened a while back, certainly before I joined the board, and partly in response to what we perceived as a chasm between the College and the community,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n
When scholarship recipients are interested in meeting alumni and friends of the College, Kelli enjoys having that connection. \u201cI\u2019ve loved interacting with them. I\u2019ve met a number who came to Trinity as part of a bridge program in East Hartford.\u201d<\/p>\n
In fact, the Tomlinsons\u2019 commitment to first-generation students is bicoastal. They are involved with three organizations in California\u2019s Bay Area, including one that provides wraparound services for children beginning in the fourth grade and following them through college. Thanks to one of these organizations, Kelli says, a former fifth grader whom she mentored is a first-year in college.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve seen the power and effect of investing in first-generation students,\u201d she says. \u201cUplifting young people so that they have equal access to the opportunities has been life-changing for us.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf I could say something to alumni who are disengaged, I\u2019d tell them, \u2018Come back to campus. You will not believe what you experience and what has evolved at Trinity. Meet current students\u2014the caliber and breadth of who they are is remarkable.\u2019 \u201d<\/p>\n