Reflection

What did you enjoy about this project?

I enjoyed the experience of looking into the history of Trinity and the sport department that existed for intramurals and Division III sports. It was really interesting to see what sports have come and gone, but also the extent to which the intramural department has grown. There have been a lot of different heads of the department and it still has a very dominant presence on campus. I enjoyed finding out that field hockey did exist at Trinity, even if it’s time was fleeting and perhaps it did not reach its full potential.

I also enjoyed learning how to find things in the Archives. I had never had a need to go and do research from old records in the Archives in any of my other classes, and I found it very interesting. It reminded me of looking through old yearbooks and looking back on great memories and experiences. I learned a lot about how Trinity used to look, how they changed the way they keep records completely, and I got a glance at all of the old newspaper articles and photos. I found it rewarding each time I discovered a document or photograph that would aid my project.

What surprised you about this project?

The most surprising part of this project for me was that field hockey even existed on Trinity’s campus at one point in time. Then, the second surprise for me was finding out how my current club, Gamma Chi Delta, was very involved with the sport and often came out as top competitors in the ranks when the end of the season came around. It was really interesting to personally do all of this research on field hockey at Trinity because I was able to mentally compare it to the experiences I had in high school and on club teams when I played. It also surprised me how it just seemed to fade off and disappear from the campus pretty fast, so it makes me wonder if there is ever a chance it will return.  

What was the most challenging aspect of the project, and how did you manage it?

The most challenging aspect of the project was collecting lots of minor information to piece together in order to determine a time frame of when field hockey existed as an intramural sport. This meant a lot of time spent digging through records in the Archives and reading old Trinitonian articles about intramurals as a whole. Then the second challenge I faced, was tracking down someone who had participated in field hockey during the four years it was on campus. This was difficult and I had to use a lot of connections I have currently to reach out to their alumni networks, which eventually helped me find an individual who had played at Trinity.

I managed all of this by trying to continue and use the little information I had to point me in the right direction and lead me to the next step in my research. I started online with records mainly from the Trinitonian and Mirage and from there went to the Archives to look at intramurals as whole. I spent time looking through the Intramural folder in the seventies and that was what allowed me to determine my timeline of the sport, and from there I was able to be more specific with my searches and go into the photograph section of the Archives and uncover more field hockey documentation.

If you could start over, what would you do differently?

If I were to start over I would likely choose another sport. While it was very exciting to me that field hockey did exist for a brief time at Trinity, it would have been easier to find research and more people to interview if I had picked a more popular sport or one that was on campus for a longer time. Intramurals are very prevalent today still, so I could still stay in the realm of IM sports. However, perhaps I could do something like sand volleyball or one that has been on campus for a long time. I did the best with what I could find and who I had the privilege to talk to, but I think the research could have been even more thorough for a sport with a longer time frame.

What did you learn about history and/or the historical process through this project?

I learned that understanding the history of things and where they began is very important to understand the current state of many things. A lot has changed about Trinity athletics and the school overall. It was very influential for me to be able to look back at where Trinity came from and see all of the progress we have made.

For the historical research process, I learned that it takes a long time and must be started early. I am lucky that I was worried about finding enough information about my topic, so I tried to be very proactive about making Archive appointments and spend a certain amount of allotted time each week to work on some aspect of my project. For this historical paper it required a lot of patience because some of the things I needed took lots of digging of waiting to get responses from certain people. In the end it all came together, however it was a long process that involved piecing together a lot of separate and minor snippets of information to paint a big picture.

What did you learn through this project that can be applied to life outside the classroom?

I learned that the connections you have with people could come in very handy when you have to do something you thought those people might not be able to help with. I reached out to people in different networks and asked them for help. Two people from these networks extended my message to people they knew and eventually I was given two individuals who directly helped with my project.

Due to the relationships I have with some professors on campus and individuals in multiple clubs I am involved in, it allowed me to have more of a reach with different types of alumni. This has taught me to always be polite and extend a helping hand to others, so when you need a favor they will do the same for you. Don’t take relationships for granted as having more people in your network can help not only when it comes to work or projects, but also for maintaining a pleasant position in the community.