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Stamping Your Trinity Passport

Sam Parker ’16 tells Titans to grow by embracing discomfort, taking risks and seizing opportunities at Trinity
The week before Homecoming is a traditional time to welcome alumni back to Trinity to speak at Chapel, and on September 29, the school welcomed Sam Parker ’16 to the podium. Active in athletics, theatre, visual arts and robotics while at Trinity, Parker encouraged current students to branch out and explore the unfamiliar. 

Comparing the Trinity experience to an extended international trip — Parker encouraged students to collect as many stamps on the “Trinity passport” as possible: “experiences, adventures, opportunities to grow, have fun, make friends get uncomfortable.”

As an inexperienced 8th grader, Parker took a risk by signing up for the school’s first-ever spring hike on the Appalachian Trail. “I had never been backpacking before, and I didn't know anybody on the trip,” he said. “Little did I know I'd love it. I did it every single fall and spring break for the next four years and had friends join me each time that I went out.”

Parker praised resources unique to Trinity, like the Academic Resource Center (ARC), which he encouraged students to think of beyond just tutoring or study help, but to “help you figure out how you learn and how your brain works.”

After Trinity, Parker graduated from the School of Media Arts and Design at James Madison University and currently works for Brex, a financial services company. The second of three siblings who all went to Trinity (Sage ’12 and Gabriel ’19), Parker was introduced by their mother, Jennifer Parker, who has taught visual art at Trinity for several years.

“The arts are a super important part of your life,” he said. “Whether you think you're artsy or not, the movies you watch, the clothes you wear, the music you listen to, the books you read, books you may or may not have for summer reading, play an important role in the way that you see the world and express yourself within it.”

“[And while] most of you aren't going to be professional basketball players, Olympic track stars or sponsored mountain bikers,” he continued, “how you engage with fitness and athletics now builds a foundation for a healthy and active life.” 

Referencing a quote from author Timothy Ferris, “Life punishes the vague wish and rewards the specific ask,” Parker concluded: “Push yourself, give yourself goals and write them down, and go for it!”
 
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