Kevin O’Connell ’04 and Caitlin Diebold O’Connell ’04

by Kathy Andrews

Trinity was where Kevin O’Connell ’04 and Caitlin Diebold O’Connell ’04 met and fell in love, but that is just one reason they had such a memorable college experience.

For Kevin, Trinity was where he learned to communicate effectively. During freshman history class, “I realized it was necessary to improve my writing skills to be successful,” he says. “With a lot of help from Professor Christopher Doyle, I was able to improve my writing efficiency, a skill I value greatly today.” An economics major, today Kevin works at Morgan Stanley in institutional equity sales.

For Caitlin, a pivotal Trinity mentoring moment came after graduation. “I was working at the Bowery Mission, a homeless shelter, and thinking about law school. It was a year after I’d graduated and I’d gone back to campus to talk with Judy Dworin [professor of theater and dance, Class of 1970]. Judy talked with me about what I really enjoyed, what I was good at doing, and helped me decide to pursue an M.A. Maintaining that connection with my college mentor speaks to the value of Trinity’s intimate setting.”

It doesn’t take long to get a sense of what motivates these New Yorkers to volunteer for the College—both serve on the Long Walk Societies Committee and Caitlin also serves as young alumni co-chair of the group.

A theater and dance major at Trinity, with a minor in legal studies, Caitlin completed her master’s at NYU in 2008 and now works in development at the American Ballet Theatre. “We’ve met a lot of interesting people who have Trinity in their hearts. It’s been rewarding to encourage our alumni friends to reconnect with Trinity through Long Walk Societies events and contributions to the Trinity Fund.”

Kevin adds, “It’s easy to make a case for giving because the Trinity Fund supports so much of the day-to-day experiences of the College. It keeps the quality high.”

“Trinity gave me a well-rounded education, which prepared me for any career,” Kevin says, “and especially well for my role in sales. Trinity is also where I met my future wife and some of my best friends in the world. And that,” he says, “counts for a lot.”

At Trinity there's such a tightly knit community of students, professors, coaches, and alumni. It's an environment that fosters an appreciation for different interests. Alex Baillargeon '10 of Westbrook, Maine, is tri-captain of the men's track and field team, a double major in economics and political science, and he recently received National All-Academic Track and Field Team honors. His senior thesis will address the U.S. government's involvement in helping to cause the current global financial crisis. He held a paid internship at UBS Financial in Hartford.