Author Archives: mmunn1

Trinity University Analysis – Melyssa Munn

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Summary

Founded in 1869, Trinity University in San Antonio, Texas, is a Presbyterian university that is geared towards bringing in ambitious students and sending out graduates ready to lead. Trinity goes beyond the typical Christian ideals in order to make anyone attending feel welcome and accepted. The university looks for the curious, all-questioning student who won’t settle on the first answer given. They keep a confident and powerful tone throughout their website and as such their ideal reader is someone who is accepting, confident, and ready to take on a challenge within their academics and within their lives. 

Credit: Trinity University

Analysis 

Trinity University’s tone throughout its website leaves a feeling of empowerment to those that visit it. Upon clicking on the website, readers are shown Vanessa B. Beasley who has recently been inaugurated as president of Trinity (TU homepage). Having a strong leader be the first thing you see when starting to learn about Trinity has the effect that if students attend this university, they will also have the opportunity of leadership positions within the school and after they graduate. Also located on the homepage, is the statement “Trinity University is a force in motion” followed by a couple of statistics showing how Trinity alumni have become successful in later academics and the workforce (TU). Trinity University is confident that any student that steps foot on its campus will be successful while attending, and after attending Trinity. 

Two other tones conveyed by Trinity are inclusion and acceptance, with one of their said values being inclusion. For many years, Trinity has strived to celebrate old traditions while also creating new traditions with its students as history continues (TU community). One of their missions is to build “a community that both honors our past and shapes our future” (TU missions and values). They have students of many different backgrounds and try to appreciate and honor each of their unique cultures. Despite common stereotypes regarding presbyterian churches and their unacceptance of the LGBTQ+ community, Trinity University fights those Christian ideals and celebrates the pride community that they have at their University. They showcase their acceptance through pride events and celebrations shown by pictures on their website (TU missions and values). Their acceptance allows for anyone that attends, whether they are Christian or not, to feel comfortable and welcome while receiving their education at Trinity.

Credit: Trinity University

Trinity University’s ideal reader is someone who is curious not only about the world but about other people and is an accepting person of everyone. The university wants students who care as much about the past, present, and future as they are when it comes to sustainability. As a liberal arts school, Trinity is looking for students that are interested in the arts and creativity. The website talks about how the students can be explorative because Trinity has “big-school resources in a small-school environment” meaning they have the resources to learn big while also having the aspect of a small community – only about 2,000 students are enrolled each year – in which everyone can feel acceptance from their peers (TU life at Trinity). Trinity University values sustainability and is “dedicated to a sustainable future” and would want anyone attending their university to feel the same way (TU our campus). They have the discussion of environmental issues and solutions built into their curriculum so every student can get an understanding of what is going on with the environment, even if the student is not going into an environment-related major. They have “a range of opportunities [that] are available for students, faculty, staff, and alumni to be involved in environmental efforts” (TU our campus). Trinity wants students that not only work hard during their school years but post-Trinity as well. It is number one in the state of Texas for alumni employment rates which goes to show they get its students ready to enter the workforce after they graduate with the education and work ethic they receive while attending its university. 

Response

I would definitely consider attending Trinity University had I known about it while applying to my other colleges. Being an atheist, I would not have had a second thought before saying no to Trinity upon finding out that it is a presbyterian university. However, researching the university and doing this assignment has shown me that yes, they are mainly presbyterian, but they do not follow typical Christian beliefs when it comes to different races, cultures, and the LGBTQ+ community. It has a big emphasis on its goal to promote sustainability to those that attend its school, and even just the general public. I am big on environmental issues and nature was one of the values I included in our freewriting in class, so their mission is a mission of mine as well. The fact that they acknowledge climate change and make sure everyone on their campus has a moderate knowledge of the issues we are currently facing is also convincing. They want hardworking students and I have always been known for the hard work that is put into my studies. I feel as though I would fit right in at Trinity, especially with the fact that it’s not that big of a school – campus-wise, and student-population-wise – which means it is a lot easier to get involved with sports and extracurriculars which is important to me as well because I like to get involved in my schooling whether it be athletics or leadership positions within clubs. Trinity University also has a bachelor of science program for psychology which is what I plan to major in. 

 

Works Cited

Trinity University | San Antonio, Texas | https://www.trinity.edu/ 

Stella Starla Profile

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This is Stella Starla, she is the classmate I was assigned to write an academic profile on for our English 1102 class. She is eighteen and is currently working through her second semester of college acquiring an associate’s degree in health-science medical technology. She’s attending college because if she chose not to, her mom said that she would have to figure out life on her own. Her mom wants her to be independent and rely on herself, not others. She’s had many career aspirations in her life such as being a singer, baker, and OBGYN. However, Stella settled on working with ultrasounds because she wanted to be in the infant medical field, but she didn’t want to attend college for twelve years. Georgia State University was her first choice for her career path. 

In elementary school, Stella showed her liking towards school by being sociable towards her classmates and teachers, she even considered herself a teacher’s pet. She was on the Principal’s list and received good grades. Unfortunately, Stella experienced a traumatic experience involving sexual assault towards the end of her elementary years. Her assailants didn’t face as serious of consequences as they should have. She no longer felt safe at school, commonly arming herself with sticks and rocks in case she ever got attacked again. Stella became quiet and unmotivated in school following her assault and no longer had the relationships with her teachers she once did. 

Stella got high grades in her regular classes in middle school and was recommended for honors classes. She attended Coretta Scott King for high school where honors classes filled up her schedule. She surrounded herself with the smart students of her school, yet she hesitates when referring to herself as a scholar. She’s a perfectionist, she doesn’t like turning in her assignments unless they’re perfect which often leads to procrastination. She liked and related to our week three reading, “Strong Writers and Writers Don’t Need Revision,” and pointed out when Laura Giovanelli talks about procrastinators staying up late working on a paper and that “writers need revision because revision is not a discrete step” (104). Stella tends to edit and revise as she writes instead of writing rough drafts. However, she’s working on her procrastination now that she’s in college because she knows she can’t get by with that mindset. 

Stella went through school in her sister’s shadow, being compared to her sister by teachers who taught them both. The comparisons caused Stella to feel as though she needed to prove herself to others, but recently she’s ignored those expectations because she’s come to the conclusion that she’s her own person and is not her sister. She wasn’t bothered much about her grades unless she had put high expectations on herself beforehand. She says, “I’d be upset if I thought I did really good on a test but ended up doing really bad” (Starla). However, if she had gone into the test feeling as though she wouldn’t do good, the bad grade wouldn’t affect her. Her father wasn’t very involved in her academics, he wouldn’t ask about or pressure her about her grades and her mother was happy as long she passed her classes and would encourage her to do so.

School didn’t interest Stella, especially taking core classes that she didn’t enjoy. High school was more of a chore for her, she went through it to get her diploma, not enjoying the process. She suspects she was depressed toward the end of her sophomore year and she contemplated dropping out constantly, coming close to following through. However, she knew she needed her diploma in order to have the life she wanted in the future.

Despite facing many hardships in her life, Stella persevered and graduated in May of 2022. As she walked across the stage, she felt excited about making it through some of the hardest years of her life. She looked out at the crowd and met her mother’s eyes. Stella says she wouldn’t have made it as far as she did if it wasn’t for her mom. Her mom is her best friend and motivates her to keep going and try her hardest in life. Graduating quickly became Stella’s proudest moment. 

Works Cited 

Giovanelli, Laura. “Strong Writers and Writers Don’t Need Revision.” Bad Ideas. Pp. 104-108. 

Starla, Stella. Peer Review Interview. February 2023.

Weaver, Rebecca, PhD. Major Project #1, Academic Profile. February 2023.