One Small Step

For Stefanie Jochman, English teacher, it all started on the night of January 18, 2020 in Downtown Richmond’s Altria Theatre. Jochman was one of a half dozen Trinity faculty and student attendees at that evening’s installment of The Richmond Forum featuring Dave Isay, founder of Story Corps, a long-running oral history project often heard on public radio. That night, Isay announced for the first time that Richmond would be among four pilot cities for a brand new project called “One Small Step.” The premise: bring two strangers together and have them intentionally share and record a conversation, with the aim of bridging divides and allowing common humanity to supersede political or cultural differences.

“That night of the forum was so moving,” recalls Jochman. “Listening to the One Small Step conversation that Isay shared reminded me that the change I want to see begins with me and my actions; if I want my students to practice thoughtfulness and civility, I have to lead by example.” Jochman reached out first to participate as an individual, and was paired with a complete stranger. “There was something really powerful hearing someone else read my story back to me,” she reflected on the experience. “Similarly I had to speak his story to him.”

Inspired even further by her own “one small step,” Jochman knew instantly that she wanted to pay this experience forward to the rest of the Trinity community. Her time serving on Trinity’s Diversity, Equity and Inclusion advisory committee convinced her that these conversations would bolster the sense of belonging that the school strives for among all students and faculty.

“My goal was to make it less about politics and more about connecting and belonging — connecting faculty and students who may not have otherwise connected,” said Jochman. “In a year when we’ve all been a little boxed in, it has allowed us to find common ground with colleagues and get to know other faculty.” So far, there have been 22 Trinity participants (11 students and 11 faculty and staff). “It’s really powerful to be listened to,” said Jochman.

“I learned that the people I talked to had at least one thing in common with me,” said student participant Ellie Daglio ’23. “If another student was considering participating I would encourage them to give it a try because you could learn something new and meet someone you might never have met.”

“The essence of diversity and inclusion is really about getting to know people, who they are, where they come from, and what they value,” said Betsy Reid, English teacher and faculty participant. “One Small Step just made that process so interesting.”

“The change I want to see begins with me and my actions; if I want my students to practice thoughtfulness and civility, I have to lead by example.”

— Stefanie Jochman

“The essence of diversity and inclusion is really about getting to know people, who they are, where they come from, and what they value.”

— Betsy Reid, One Small Step participant

Trinity’s leadership in the One Small Step program was also featured in a June 2021 article in the Richmond Times-Dispatch. Columnist Bill Lohmann spotlighted both Jochman and her counterpart at Maggie Walker Governor’s School, Wendy DeGroat. “The RTD story inspired new One Small Step programs at two other area high schools,” said Jochman, “and StoryCorps will be consulting with Trinity as it creates materials to facilitate OSS programs in more schools across the country.”