Trinity Featured on PBS News Hour
Trinity was featured on the highly regarded, national TV program, PBS News Hour, on Tuesday, October 19, 2021. The in-depth segment, reported by PBS White House correspondent Yamiche Alcindor, focuses on Trinity clearing account balances of undergraduate students using federal funds from the American Rescue Plan , as part of Trinity’s commitment to make a college degree affordable. The segment is part of PBS News Hour’s “Rethinking College Series.”
Yamiche Alcindor interviewed Trinity students Annissa Young and Kiara Tate, and Trinity’s Provost, Dr. Carlota Ocampo. There’s extensive of footage of Trinity’s campus, students walking to class – and even a volleyball match!
Watch the segment here! (Includes a full transcript.)
The segment is also available on YouTube. The segment starts here.
In summer 2021, Trinity cleared $2.8 million in student balances for 535 undergraduate students who owed balances to Trinity. The average pay off amount was $4,299. More than half of the students whose balances were paid off (52%/207 students) are D.C. residents, mirroring the proportion of D.C. residents in Trinity’s student body. Another 42% students (169) are Maryland residents, also mirroring the proportion of Maryland residents enrolled at Trinity. Of the Maryland residents, 65% (110 students) are residents of Prince George’s County.
Trinity’s bold action to make college more affordable has been covered by a number of media outlets, including the Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, Diverse: Issues in Higher Education, Inside Higher Education, Forbes, Catholic Standard, WTOP radio and local Fox-5 News. The Trinity story was distributed by the Catholic News Service and appeared in dozens of publications across the country. Annissa Young was the focus of many of those news stories in summer and fall 2021.
Kiara Tate is the daughter and niece of Trinity graduates: Her mother is Carmen Ealey-Tate, who earned her bachelor of arts in human relations in Trinity’s School of Professional Studies in 2011 and her master of science in administration in human resource management in 2013. Her aunt, Carmella Ealey Smith, earned her bachelor of arts in Trinity’s Weekend College in 1997. Both of them are members of the Trinity Gospel Choir.
Yamiche Alcindor, who also hosts “Washington Week” on PBS, was a guest speaker on campus in early October 2021, in an engaging and candid conversation. Watch her interview here.
Kiara Tate and Yamiche Alcindor.
Annissa Young and Yamiche Alcindor.
Media Inquiries: Contact Ann Pauley, Trinity Media Relations, pauleya@trinitydc.edu
The Trinity segment is at the beginning of this YouTube link:
