Black students and alumni strengthen connections at networking event

Khameelah Bailey ’18 moderates the “Bantam See, Bantam Do” career networking panel, which featured Chris Brown ’09, Trinity Funston Trustee Paul Mounds, Jr. ’07, Joe Gross ’94, P’12, Shanice Hinckson ’15, and Briana Chang ’16. PHOTO: DEFINING STUDIOS
Khameelah Bailey ’18 moderates the “Bantam See, Bantam Do” career networking panel, which featured Chris Brown ’09, Trinity Funston Trustee Paul Mounds, Jr. ’07, Joe Gross ’94, P’12, Shanice Hinckson ’15, and Briana Chang ’16.
Photo by Defining Studios

As last fall’s Homecoming welcomed back Trinity College students and alumni to campus, it also reunited about 100 individuals from various Trinity black student and alumni groups. On November 5, Imani: Trinity College Black Student Union, in collaboration with the Black Alumni Organization (BAO), the Trinity College Black Women’s Organization, the Men of Color Alliance, and the Office of Alumni Relations, hosted a career networking panel and dinner reception for black students and alumni. Held in Vernon Social, the event featured a panel of alumni in law, education, and STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) fields, who shared stories of their favorite memories as students and how Trinity prepared them for their careers. The event coincided with the 25th anniversary of the BAO.

Among the attendees were Karla Spurlock-Evans, dean of multicultural affairs. “The BAO offers a continuing connection between our current black students and those who’ve walked the path before them,” says Spurlock-Evans. “One of its goals is to sustain and rejuvenate connections and to keep a promise alive that began in 1992.” Among the BAO’s notable achievements was the establishment of the Black American Alumni Scholarship Fund in 1993 by BAO founding members Alfonso L. Carney, Jr. ’70 and Jack C. Barthwell III ’72. To date, the scholarship has helped support eight Trinity students.

To learn more about the BAO and how you can get involved, please contact Steve Donovan, director of alumni relations, at steve.donovan@trincoll.edu or (860) 297-2281.