Jaymie Bianca ‘21, is a triple major in educational studies, human rights, and English. She’s passionate about education and educational policies— from human rights to disability rights.

SoMA, and peer Annastazia Chin ‘22, recently spoke with Jaymie about her experience at Trinity over the past four years:

Throughout her four years here on campus, Jaymie has found many outlets to be herself. She was originally drawn to Trinity because of the size of the institution and its human rights program. Jaymie values the education received from Trinity because this place became a space for her to combine all of her passions with her major and was able to learn how to hone in on her many skills and talents.

Tell us a little bit more about yourself
I grew up thirty minutes away from Trinity in Bristol, Connecticut where I was born and raised. I love to write poetry and I’m a baton twirler and have twirled at many Trinity football games.

Can you unpack your involvement at Trinity over your four years?
Over my four years at Trinity, my passions have evolved. During my first year of college, I was cast in the stage production, “Macbeth.” I enjoy acting and I haven’t able to do it often so, I value that experience. I signed up for community service clubs but, what stuck with me was the Women & Gender Resource Action Center (WGRAC), and I started volunteering for the events “The Vagina Monologues,” and “Take Back The Night.” In my sophomore year, I was fortunate enough to lead the event, “Why Vote,” through WGRAC, and attended several different conferences where I got the inspiration to start, IGNITE—a female empowerment and political leadership organization at Trin—which is a chapter of a national organization, but is also under WGRAC. Throughout my last two years at Trinity I’ve contributed to the Campus Climate Incident Response Team (CCIRT), Title IX Working Group, Racial Equity Group Summer 2020, pursued research in Public Humanities Summer 2020. The connections that I made were extremely incredible. Everything kept building onto each other. Trinity truly takes what you are passionate about and then connects you with people who will help you to get where you want to be.

How has Trinity helped to mold you into the woman that you are today?
I remember even before coming to college, I said to myself that I’m never going to go into politics. I liked advocacy work but I never thought I’d go into politics specifically. But what Trinity showed me is that there is an overlap with advocacy and politics and I can use politics in a way that I can help people whilst engaging in what I’m most passionate about. From the connections I made here, I was able to propel an organization on campus that fosters women’s leadership.

How are you feeling about graduation?
Bittersweet. I’m going to miss the community of people I have here at Trinity. I’ve met the most incredible human beings over my four years here. It’s going to be hard to leave that—especially because Trinity has become a huge part of my life. I’m taking a gap year just to explore the world and see what it truly has to offer. I’m excited to see what the future holds, and I’m excited to see what’s next for me on my journey.

What have you taken away from your experience here at Trinity?
Persistence is key. There were a couple of opportunities that I wanted, and at first, some of the responses were not in my favor, but with many follow-ups and trying again, some of those “no’s” turned into “yes’s”. If you want something, then you really have to go after it. “No’s” can be hard, but don’t always take them at face value. A lot of the times “no’s” can turn into a “yes”. So, if it’s something that you want—go after it.

What are you grateful for?
Opportunities. I think I take it for granted sometimes. I’m grateful for the opportunity to be involved in so many spaces on Trinity’s campus. The people I’ve met here have truly helped me to become my best self. Having a voice on Trinity’s campus.

What is one tip you’d give to anyone coming into college?
ASK FOR HELP. As a first-generation college student, I didn’t know the answers to a lot of things. As someone who was so reluctant to ask for help, I had to let my guard down and accept that getting this help will aid in my overall advancement in the future. Ask for help from a variety of different people. Ask for help from your friends, the counseling center, professors during office hours, from people who are involved in your extracurricular activities, ask for help in a multitude of spaces. People can give you advice from different perspectives and the professors and staff are there to help guide you as resources. Now more than ever, it’s so important to ask for help.

If you had one thing to say to the world what would it be?
Keep going and don’t give up. Apply yourself. Go for that opportunity. Sometimes the only thing that is stopping you is yourself, and that can be the hardest obstacle. Once you’re able to get over that hurdle, then that’s what will help you to succeed. You’re going to learn along the way. You’re going to make mistakes, but it’s not about the mistake, it’s about your resilience, and how you can come back from that.

LET’S BE SOCIAL: @jaymie.bianca