Trinity College Holds Annual Welcome Weekend Event for Class of 2029

Bella Chirkis ’27 & Nick Cimillo ’26

Executive News Editor & Features Editor

On Sunday, April 6, Trinity College held its annual welcome weekend event for the class of 2029 admitted students. The day was packed with activities and gifts and allowed admitted students to learn about Trinity, take mock classes and meet one another before they officially join the Trinity community. The day started at 8:30 a.m., when the admitted students were brought into the Ferris Athletic Center for check-in and gifts. Each admitted student received a free tote bag, pin and other gifts to take along with their day. After checking in, the admitted students were greeted by the Trinity Cheerleaders, and sat down to a video of all the College has to offer. The video included students talking in class, the men’s basketball team winning the NCAA Division III championship and shots of the Chapel and campus itself. Later during the check-in event, attendees were treated to performances from two of Trinity’s a cappella singing groups; the co-ed Pipes sang the College’s alma mater, “‘Neath The Elms,” followed the all-female Quirks’ performance of “Welcome to the Coop,” a reworked version of Taylor Swift’s “Welcome to New York.” “Welcome to the Coop, it’s been waiting for you,” they sang. “Brand new people, brand new start, this is where you make your mark.”

The students were able to make their own custom Trinity College t-shirt for free outside of Peter B’s and indulge in the shop’s open tab. After the admitted students were welcomed in the gym, they were all able to take a mock class that suited their interests to see what the academics at the College are like, and give them the opportunity to meet with some of the professors here. These mock classes included “Congress and the President,” “Film Production: Film a Scene Together,” “Seeing the Unseeable: Reconstructing Images from Projections,” “How to Reconstruct Past Climates,” “Nutrition: Food and Fads,” “Electricity, the brain, and toxins,” “Reading Science Fiction,” “Literature and the Law,” “Biomechanics of Human Movement,” “Economics at Trinity,” “Political Science at Trinity,” “ Why the Middle Ages Matter Today,” “Universal Human Rights in an Era of Rising Nationalism,” “Educational Studies at Trinity College,” “Research Experiences in Psychology,” “What can AI teach us about language and writing,” “Creative Writing” and “Hearing and Deafness.” With such a wide range of mock classes, students are able to learn what they are the most passionate about and get a taste of their future education at Trinity. During the time that students were in their mock classes, the parents of the admitted students were separated into two groups: “Professors as Mentors” which took place in the gym and “Hartford Has It!” which took place in Cinestudio.

The groups convened at Mather dining hall where lunch was served, and admitted students got a taste of our dining hall food and set up. The admitted students and parents were then taken on a tour of the residential life at Trinity, to be able to see the dorms that they will live in as first-years in the concrete jungle, and also get a broader idea of the housing that they can apply for as they continue their academic journey. The admitted students and parents got the opportunity to tour the Career and Life Design building and learn about the opportunities they have from the staff there, as well as the Cultural Life on campus. 

Welcome Weekend was a similarly packed day for the student employees of Trinity’s admissions who were largely responsible for conducting tours as they got to know the class of 2029. One student employee, Noelle Hanson ‘26, spoke with the Tripod on her experiences from the all-day event: “My role was to help bring students to [mock] classes,” she recounted, “give them residential life and full campus tours, as well as just generally help with trying to keep [things] going smoothly with the rest of my coworkers.” When asked about specific highlights from the event, Hanson recounted a serendipitous encounter: “One of my favorite moments from the Welcome Weekend was seeing one of the families I gave a tour to this past October,” she said. “They stopped me while I was giving another tour and they [said], ‘Oh my goodness, we remember you! You gave us a tour in October, our son is committed to Trinity now!’ I just thought it was really cool that I even made that lasting of an impression on a family, and [that I] got to see them at Welcome Weekend. [It was a] very full circle moment.” Overall, Hanson also reported that admitted students and families seemed to have a very positive impression of the College and its campus: “The students seemed to react well to being on campus [and] attending events,” she concluded. “They all seemed to really like the campus, constantly comparing [buildings] like Jarvis to Hogwarts. They all also seemed to like the activities they were going to; when I would pick them up from class or even lunch at Mather, they all seemed to [be] hav[ing] a really good time.”  

The day ended with a closing celebration, after the admitted students got a taste of what it would be like to go to Trinity College and the future they will have much sooner than they think.