FACULTY DISCOVERY AWARD HONOREES
NEWS FA C U LT Y
Two teachers have been selected by the board of trustees to receive the 2020-21 Faculty Discovery Award.
NEW POSITIONS Chet Childress is the new director of counseling. Beginning his 27th year at Trinity, 14 as college counselor, Childress will continue to guide Trinity students to discover their best path after Trinity. Adam Lonon is the new assistant athletic director. A graduate of VMI, with a BA in economics and business, London has been the Trinity girls basketball coach since 2017 and was the athletic department’s site manager in 2020-21.
CHILDRESS
LONON
RETIRING FACULTY José Santiago has retired after 17 years at Trinity, where he began as a Spanish teacher in 2004, but spent the last 14 years as the “go-to guy” in the technology department. Over his tenure, Santiago and the tech team oversaw a complete redesign of the technology infrastructure: “from basic things like connecting all the buildings with fiber optic cables and installing latest-technology ethernet connections throughout the campus, to advanced WiFi networks and fast, reliable backbone servers, all connected to the fastest internet speeds available in this region.” Santiago departs with a sense of pride on how the community rallied to tackle the challenges of the pandemic, recalling “the feeling of being respected and empowered to make significant contributions to the overall organization.” What’s next? “Traveling, when possible, and enjoying the company of Janet, the children and the grandchildren,” he said. “Every day is Saturday!” 4
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Rick Hamlin ’96, social studies teacher, will travel to Liverpool, England to fulfill his lifelong dream of attending a professional soccer game at Liverpool’s Anfield Stadium. “When I was in high school, it was very hard to follow European soccer in America,” Hamlin wrote. “It was rarely shown on TV, but once a week there was a 30-minute highlight show on the now defunct Home Team Sports network. From watching that show, I became a passionate fan of Liverpool Football Club. The club’s tradition, style of play, and working class roots all appealed to me. Ever since then, I have dreamed of attending a real game at Liverpool’s storied home ground, Anfield.” “While I realize that the Discovery Award isn’t intended as professional development, I am sure that my soccer coaching would benefit from seeing the sport played at the highest level, Hamlin concluded. “This rich experience would certainly check off the number 1 wish on my “bucket list.” Betsy Reid, English teacher, and her husband will travel to Spain (his first trip to Europe ever) to visit one of the Spanish chaperones that Reid met in 2017 on Trinity’s exchange trip to Madrid. Reid and her family subsequently hosted Silvia Diaz-Rincon on the group’s exchange trip to the states and the two families developed a lasting bond. “In spending almost a month by her side, she served as a mentor, mother, grandmother, sister, and friend… I learned so much about life and myself in that time,” Reid wrote. “In addition to even more self-reflection and more wonderful experiences in Spain, I’ll have a chance to reconnect with my dear friend, whom I never would have met if I hadn’t chaperoned our students to Madrid.” Reid said the biggest lesson that she would share with students and the school community after the trip is that “opportunities for life and learning that can come to you if you open your heart to new relationships, open your mind to cultural experiences, and practice saying “Yes.’”
