What 200 Years Taught Us

The Bicentennial planning committee first met in earnest in February 2022 in the time of COVID. The task felt overwhelming with the disruptions of the pandemic: we were Zoom-fatigued and isolated at home and the idea of coming together as a real community on campus seemed a distant possibility.

Yet President Joanne Berger-Sweeney was determined. She reconstituted the leadership by enlisting Mitch and Hellen (who was only four weeks into a new job) and by reinvigorating the concept of the People, Place, and Liberal Arts committees. Early on, this committee—a collection of trustees, students, alumni, faculty, and staff—made fundamental decisions about the duration and the celebration theme that would guide us for the next two years.

Most importantly, we articulated the reasons why we were producing this celebration. We wanted our community to:

• Celebrate. Instill pride within our community, especially for alumni.
• Welcome. Invite alumni, families, and the local community to visit campus to see the College as it is today.
• Highlight. Talk about the historic, worldwide contributions of our community in a broad array of fields.
• Reflect and dialogue. Elevate Trinity’s profile and its historic/ future relevance through thought-provoking and inter-generational conversations.
• Engage. Involve the community through opportunities for all to support the future of the College.

With the help of project manager Teresa Ilnicki, the core planning committee met weekly to develop, envision, and sustain planning for the Bicentennial year. The group included Kate McGlew, Rose Ferrie, Dwayne Busby, and Jason Rojas M’12, with the later additions of Christina Bolio, Karolina Kwiecinska ’16, Caroline Deveau, Katelyn Rice, and Alexandra Muchura-Mensah ’04.

The road to the May 5, 2023 kickoff was far from straight. Over the course of 15 months, we worked through moments that were marked by optimism and those marked by occasional bouts of doubt and uncertainty. Most importantly, we experienced intense focus when we launched each project and event.

It’s not easy squeezing 200 years into one. We researched other anniversary celebrations at peer schools and read through history books about Trinity’s past. Yet, what we heard clearly was that we needed to design a celebration that was right for Trinity as it is now. Distilling down a massive list of community-submitted ideas was no easy task, but eventually it turned into the work that 16 working groups pursued.

In the end, we produced 47 events that engaged more than 11,000 attendees. For global reach, we designed digital engagement that included a monthly e-newsletter and a fulsome retelling of our history through 270 community stories and an expansive interactive timeline, thanks to the help of Eric Stoykovich, Christina Bleyer, Kristen Cole, Andrew Concatelli, and Sonya Adams. Carlos Espinosa ’96 led the creation of a historic virtual campus tour. We developed a distinctive visual identity, complete with a new accent color —an orange that tested well with students but required patience for some alumni.

Bicentennial Essays are meant to provide lessons for the next century. To that end, in our essay, we offer these parting thoughts:

• This community is complex. There is no single narrative that can define us. We were well served by allowing community members to submit their own stories for a history that is more authentically.
• This community is passionate. For every seven supportive and appreciative comments, there was one critical opinion. While we say thank you to the critical comments, we extend wholehearted gratitude to the supportive comments because they lifted our spirits in a big way, carrying us through a tough year.
• There were sublime moments of joy, including the production of “JOY.” Words cannot describe how it feels to see the events throughout the year successfully executed or to launch a website that was well received.
• Shared values really do carry us. No one could have predicted the world events of the fall and spring, or the profound impact they would have on college campuses throughout the country. We are grateful that this community held steadfast in a commitment to each other and to what we value.
• We learned to lean on those who give their time as acts of love. More than 50 people volunteered, putting their best ideas forward and producing an extraordinary program. They didn’t have to do it, but they did because that is who we, as a community, are.

On behalf of the 50+ committee members (click here for full acknowledgement), thank you. It is with great pride that we conclude this yearlong celebration. It was a true honor to serve the community in this manner and we hope that the resulting celebration was befitting  of Trinity College.

If people felt just one small moment of connection, pride, or joy, it makes these past two years worth it for all of us.

Until the next anniversary celebration, we wish you well!