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<\/p>\nBy Christine Sanni<\/p>\n
Brendan Clark \u201921 stands as a testament to the lasting impact an institution can have on its students\u2014and the lasting impact students can have on the institution. Clark\u2019s story begins, like many others, with an education that transformed his life.<\/p>\n
\u201cTrinity is not just any college,\u201d says Clark, a corporate attorney in Wilmington, Delaware. \u201cIt is the place where I learned how to reason, how to argue, and how to act as a leader in the world.\u201d<\/p>\n
He goes on to say that \u201ca Trinity education, in 1823, in 2023, or long after, will always remain central and relevant to the formation of the next leaders in the world.\u201d For this reason, Clark says, he has done something that not many of his peers have considered: elected to name Trinity in his will. \u201cMy bequest is a statement of my faith in Trinity.\u201d<\/p>\n
Clark, who also serves as the Class of 2021 secretary and as a class agent, is following a long-standing tradition of many Trinity alumni. William G. Mather, Class of 1877, M.A. 1885, Hon. 1932, solidified his legacy at Trinity not only during his lifetime by gifting the Chapel to the College but also after his death, through a monumental gift in his will. In 1959, Trustee Martin W. Clement, Class of 1901, Hon. 1951, proposed that $500,000 of Mather\u2019s bequest be used to name the new student center after him\u2014thus, the William Gwinn Mather Student Center, now known as Mather Hall, was born.<\/p>\n
Other transformative bequests to Trinity include the clock tower that was built thanks to a bequest from Louis W. Downes, Class of 1888, Hon. 1913, who had long dreamed of the structure adorning the space between the Chapel and Williams Memorial.<\/p>\n
Throughout its history, Trinity has benefited from the generosity of donors whose influence extends far beyond their lifetimes, and the tradition continues today with alumni such as Clark and others who, through Trinity\u2019s All In campaign, have helped to raise millions through planned gifts, including bequests and annuities.<\/p>\n
Clark\u2019s decision to include Trinity in his will places him within a growing group of alumni known as the Elms Society. Members of the Elms Society frequently speak of how their Trinity education changed their lives. Trinity Board of Trustees Vice Chair Walt Harrison \u201968, H\u201918, former president of the University of Hartford, says he credits his time at the College with shaping his intellectual and personal development, while retired investment banker and former Trustee Sophie Bell Ayres \u201977, P\u201912, says, \u201cThe Trinity community has played a central role in my life ever since the moment I stepped on campus as a student-athlete; the experience was a true gift to me that gave me wings.\u201d Former Trustee Steve Elmendorf \u201982, a political aide and lobbyist, says he attributes his success to two influential professors, Clyde McKee and Jack Chatfield \u201964, who \u201cimparted an invaluable context of the past, taught me how governments function, and provided a palette for creating my future.\u201d<\/p>\n
These transformative experiences are at the heart of why many Elms Society members give back: They want future students to have the same opportunities. \u201cTrinity gave me the foundation,\u201d says former Trustee Patrice Ball-Reed \u201980, an associate judge in the Circuit Court of Cook County in Illinois. \u201cI want future students to have the same opportunities.\u201d Liz Hanusovsky Patterson \u201905, Trinity\u2019s director of annual giving who also is a regular Trinity College Fund donor, adds, \u201cJoining the Elms Society was an easy way to make a lasting commitment to my alma mater and the generations of Bantams to come.\u201d<\/p>\n
For many, the bonds with Trinity are as strong as those with family. Jerry Hansen \u201951, P\u201978, \u201984, \u201988, GP\u201912, \u201916, \u201920, whose Bantam connections span decades as a student, alumnus, administrator, volunteer, parent, and grandparent, sees the College as his second family. \u201cFamily means everything to me, and Trinity is family,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n
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