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The Forum Family

Trinity student pages take pride in welcoming influential and engaging speakers to Richmond
“Thousands of eyes are watching you,” says Elizabeth Kelley, head of the science department and faculty sponsor of the Richmond Forum Page Program at Trinity.
 
Before each of the six annual speaker programs at Richmond’s Altria Theater, Kelley reminds the 40 student volunteer pages of this and ticks off the other basic expectations: “Arrive at six, stuff and handout programs. At intermission, collect questions and run them backstage. No phones, no chit chat. Present yourselves in a professional manner.”
 
In exchange for their hard work, the pages have the chance to rub elbows with world leaders — and participate in some of the most important intellectual conversations of our day.
 
Billed as America’s largest nonprofit speaker series, The Richmond Forum has consistently welcomed the world’s most influential and engaging speakers to Richmond. Previous speakers include former presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama, former prime ministers of the UK and Israel, media personalities Tina Fey and Ron Howard, and astronaut Captain Scott Kelly.
 
Bill Chapman, executive director of The Richmond Forum says Trinity students play an instrumental role in the success and popularity of the programs. “They’re often the first faces our subscribers see when they step inside the theater,” he says. “The students are always eager with a smile, a welcome, and an outstretched program book… Our Trinity pages are truly a part of the Forum family.””
 
“I feel privileged to represent Trinity at these Forum events,” says Jack Kenzakowski ’20. “When I wear my Trinity tie and my student badge, I feel like I have a certain reputation to uphold. When guests approach me and thank me for volunteering and talk about how nice of a school Trinity is, I feel like I am doing right not only by myself but also by the Trinity community as a whole.”
 
“The common theme throughout all of these speaker events is how to take what you have learned and apply it to make the community around you a greater place,” says Kenzakowski. “Whether it be in the political realm or just in a neighborhood, the speakers teach everyone that we all have the ability to make change for the better.”
 
Lucie Speck ’20 says her page experience has made her feel more connected to the Greater Richmond community and engaged with the world. “Each of the Forums that I attended this year exposed me to a different way of looking at the world,” she says. “By participating in the Richmond Forum, I feel like I have become a student of the community and of the world, instead of solely a student of Trinity Episcopal School.”

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This story was originally published in the Fall 2019 issue of the Titan Trail, Trinity's flagship semiannual magazine for parents, alumni and friends of Trinity Episcopal School. 

To read more about the multiple ways that Trinity students are involved outside the classroom and engaged with the greater Richmond community, read the online version of the Fall 2019 Titan Trail. 
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