Volunteer Spotlight

Mike Gilman ’76, P’05

Sometimes rain can spoil a first impression. Not for Mike Gilman ’76, P’05. When he visited Trinity College as a high school senior, it poured all day. “I still loved it,” he says. “The beauty of the campus but also the liveliness. It just seemed like a place where people enjoyed being.”

Gilman grew up on Long Island. He was a social kid who loved sports and did well enough in school but says he wasn’t always the most industrious student. That changed at Trinity. “It was this combination of great learning and feeling excited by studying with accessible professors in small classes,” Gilman says. “I didn’t have that as much in high school. I had some advanced classes where I felt challenged and a few good teachers, but at Trinity it was really consistent.”

He majored in psychology and economics, discovering his aptitude for the latter through an introductory course with the late Frank Egan. Egan became his adviser, and they kept in touch after Gilman graduated and started working with a leading quantitative economic consulting firm. At one point, Egan invited Gilman back to campus to teach students about econometrics.

The exceptional academic experience is just one driver of Gilman’s enduring gratitude for Trinity. He made lifelong friendships through intramural sports and did play-by-play commentary for football and basketball games on WRTC. “That was great,” he recalls fondly. “I actually thought about a career in broadcasting, but I was a pretty good economics student.”

During his sophomore year, Gilman got involved with AIESEC, a nonprofit that gives students business exposure by having them pitch local companies on creating internships for international students. He remembers meeting with the chairman of Heublein, the food and beverage conglomerate whose portfolio included Smirnoff Vodka and Kentucky Fried Chicken. Gilman credits such opportunities––along with his internship at Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena after his junior year in Italy––as playing a critical role in developing the interpersonal skills that he relied on throughout his 35-year career in institutional sales.

Gilman, who is now retired, spent most of his career working for Wall Street firms while living in Los Angeles. He has been a proud and active Trinity ambassador from the moment he landed on the West Coast. As a volunteer for the Admissions Office, he has interviewed scores of prospective students. As a class agent, he has supported fundraising efforts by connecting with fellow alumni. “As far as I’m concerned, he’s been ‘Mr. Trinity in Los Angeles’ since the ’80s,” says classmate Elaine Feldman Patterson ’76.

Gilman is the long-standing president of the Trinity Club of Los Angeles. In this capacity, he has organized countless events on behalf of the College. From memorable nights at Dodger Stadium to community service projects to meet-and-greets for incoming first-years, he has worked tirelessly to bring California Bantams together. “I don’t think anyone understands how much work it is to make those events happen, even with support from the College,” says Patterson. “Heaven knows how many venues he had to check out, negotiate with, and then ‘market’ those events to others.”

In addition to leading the club, Gilman has served on the Executive Committee of the Trinity College Alumni Association and has frequently been part of his class’s Reunion Committee. When asked about the breadth of his volunteer efforts, Gilman responds with modesty. “I do a little bit of a lot of things,” he says. “I don’t know how great I am at anything, but I’ve been involved in a lot of different ways because I love Trinity.” He is proud to have passed this love down to his daughter, Sara, who graduated from the College in 2005.

“I love Trinity and what it’s given to me for so many reasons,” Gilman says. “For the skills that helped me in my career and for helping me become the person I am today.”

—Eliott Grover