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From the Midwest to Trinity: A Convergence of Values

By Laura Hamlin Weiler ’00, Head of Community Engagement
"I lived for five years in the Midwest, and I loved it. The people were so nice. The people were so open."
— John Irving, author
Residents of the midwestern portion of the United States are traditionally known for being neighborly, altruistic, and tough, among other positive qualities. These traits are three of our T.I.T.A.N.S attributes that we celebrate in our community every day. And currently, we have five faculty and staff transplanted from the middle of the country. Coincidence? Maybe not.

These five faculty hailing from the heartland of America were drawn to Trinity by its sense of community, its welcoming spirit, and the everyday values that harken to their home states.

Adam Banwarth, Trinity’s Strength and Conditioning coach, is from Dubuque, Iowa. Like many from the Midwest, Banwarth has a strong sense of pride about his hometown and home state. My first meeting with Banwarth resulted in a geography lesson quickly scrawled on a whiteboard. In the decade he has been a Titan, Banwarth has educated hundreds about the finer points of the great state of Iowa, and we are all better for it. “Iowa is wonderful because it is full of communities who would do almost anything to help their neighbor,” he says. “It has diverse topography (more than you would think), including rolling hills, river bluffs, and wide river valleys. It is a place where kids are allowed to find themselves and discover their own interests.” Sounds a lot like Trinity!

Banwarth says he sees parallels between the welcoming culture of the Midwest and Trinity: “You are always welcome in any space at campus at any time. You can just stop by a classroom and you are welcomed in.”

Banwarth also brings his midwestern work ethic to the weight room, where he encourages athletes to be Iron Titans and push themselves to be their best. He has coached hundreds of athletes with his non-nonsense mien and his belief in their abilities. He perpetuates the same welcoming atmosphere in the weight room that he appreciates in Trinity’s classrooms. “The weight room is open to anyone who is willing to work hard and do their best,” he says.

Director of College Counseling Dan Geary echoes the sentiment of hard work as a midwestern value. Geary, from Wisconsin, grew up on significant acreage that required daily maintenance and intentionality (another T.I.T.A.N.S. attribute). “There was a series of tasks to be done, and you had to be methodical in completing them,” he remembers. Geary also got his first job at age fourteen and held the same job through high school and college, taking pride in moving up the ranks. When you see him on campus, you can see this work ethic is very much intact, as he is in perpetual motion working to guide students on their college journey.

In his youth, Geary enjoyed the midwestern ethos of making the most of community offerings, and he implores Trinity students to do the same with their time on campus. “Trinity has so much to offer and you can engage at whatever level is comfortable,” says Geary. “That is a great aspect of the school.

Physics teacher Elizabeth Kelley wears her Cleveland, Ohio pride on her sleeve, literally. She often unites with fellow Cleveland sports fans, needing only to see their sweatshirt to form a bond. Altruism and enthusiasm remind Kelley of her roots when she sees them reflected at Trinity. “I like to be part of a group, rather than an individual,” she says. “I’d much rather stand behind an entire science department than be singled out as a physics teacher.”

Kelley says giving back and community service were ingrained in her upbringing: “I was raised to support others, to bring others together.” Kelley has been involved with Special Olympics of Virginia (SOVA) for past eight years and her daughter, Anna, has been the race director for the SOVA one-miler that happens on campus every fall.

Kelley is also co-faculty sponsor of Trinity’s Richmond Forum pages program, which again, emphasizes service. Trinity provides the volunteer forum pages for each event. She also is the faculty sponsor for Trinity’s Science Society. Of giving back, Kelley says: “That has been a goal for my own family and also for the Trinity family. I love being a part of events where you leave feeling better than when you arrived.” And as for her enthusiasm, her catchphrase, well-known to her students, is, “High-five, knuckle-knock, let’s go!”

English teacher Stefanie Jochman came to Trinity by way of Sheboygan, Wisconsin, a city of 50,000 residents known for its friendliness. Jochman was thrilled to find a similar welcoming spirit here at Trinity. “The friendliness and the familiarity of everyone reminds me of home,” she says. Jochman remembers how nice that felt on her first day at the school, “Everyone knew me and my background as I began.”

She also appreciates the southern hospitality of the city. “The friendliness of Richmond appealed to me,” she says “And admittedly, I feel a sense of camaraderie when I see people wearing clothes from the midwest. I may even shout out ‘Go Packers!’ to a fellow fan,” something that makes her laugh because she used to cringe in embarrassment when her father would do the same. “I am becoming my father!” she says with proud amusement.

Jochman also appreciates Trinity’s supportive atmosphere. “Student support of one another and of their interests and activities is something I appreciated locally in Green Bay and Sheboygan,” she says. “I see that here [at Trinity].”

Finally, she revels in working with students who are willing to take on whatever task needs to be completed without question or a desire for recognition. “It makes my heart happy to work with the students who will do whatever is needed — the ‘chip-in’ mentality is very midwestern,” she says.

Chemistry teacher Laura Swiatek moved to Richmond from Toledo, Ohio, this summer. She felt drawn to Trinity during her interview process. “It was clear to me that this was a place where people cared about each other from the first time I stepped on campus,” she remembers. “When I interviewed, everyone was friendly and engaged me in conversation and made me feel welcome.”

Once on campus, Swiatek has appreciated the freedom she is afforded as a teacher coupled with tremendous support to explore. “I feel so empowered here as an educator by the other faculty,” she says. “I have been encouraged to be a pioneer in my classroom. I can try things that I know will be good for kids, but I may not have been able to try them in another setting.”

Swiatek says this creates a positive cycle in her classes: “I so appreciate the fact that every time I try something different in my classroom, all I get is positive encouragement from other faculty, and it then encourages me to try other things that I have not tried.” That sense of exploration and pioneering certainly harkens to the Midwest and its settlement as well as Trinity’s motto of “Discover Your Path.”

Swiatek sums up the midwestern parallels well by saying: “I sometimes forget that I am not in Ohio anymore because the feeling on campus is very homey to me. I am reminded that I am not in Ohio, though, when I hear people say “y’all’.”
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