Student Voices

Abigail Waldron
M’20, American Studies

“The opportunities offered to graduate students outside the classroom were a huge factor in my school decision.

“While I truly enjoyed every course I took as a graduate student, I was amazed by the on- and off-campus opportunities offered to students. Through my connections in the graduate program, I interned at the Harriet Beecher Stowe Center; cataloged the Loftus Becker Science Fiction Collection, which became a monthslong exhibit curated by me, in the Watkinson Library and College archives; and worked part time at the Connecticut Historical Society (now the Connecticut Museum of Culture and History) in its research center. As a New Yorker who commutes more than an hour, I found these experiences enhanced my time at Trinity and in Connecticut. Though I graduated in the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic, I felt prepared to enter the museum world and gained confidence through this program.

“The graduate program’s American studies and English faculties were impressive. They both supported and challenged me to be a better student, historian, and writer. While at Trinity, most of my classes were combined with undergraduate courses. I enjoyed the conversations facilitated by this mixture, and this environment encouraged me to participate more than I did during my undergraduate education. Being sometimes the only graduate student in a class allowed me to better connect with my professors and to take on leadership roles with regards to my undergraduate peers.”