Reflection

1. I loved this project overall because it made me reach into the archives to discover new things about the school that I did not know about previously. I had an idea of what the details might be, but I was blown away with how different all of the events actually were. Throughout the project, I began to have a clearer picture being painted in my head of exactly how things were 25 years ago. Now, I feel like it could be a conversation starter with anyone I meet in the future that was around Trinity during the time of this construction.

2. I was surprised at how many details went into one decision of constructing an actual weight room and the life beforehand. I was shocked that Trinity had such brutal conditions for student-athletes before they finally made the move to improve everything. I was very impressed by the results that were generated from this move and how it has positively affected the school for such a long amount of time.

3. I think the hardest part of the overall project was managing interviews and getting in touch with primary sources. You are dealing with busy people who have tough schedules for themselves so reaching out to them is easy while actually making time with them can be tough. While I ended up being able to accomplish everything we needed to, I did feel crunched at certain times to make sure everything was done when people were not responding to emails. I think it left a positive effect on all of us because it made us stay persistent and on our toes to get everything done and stay in contact with people.

4. If I could start over, I would probably get everything done a little sooner. Going off of the last point, I did not realize how tough it would be to get in contact with some people and I think this made things tough because then I had to rush a little to get my interviews and research in. While it did not end up hurting me, it could have been easier simply by getting after it earlier.

5. I felt as though I was actually a student here in the early 1990's by doing this project because of the picture I had painted in my head. I learned what life as a student-athlete was actually like 25 years ago and how things have changed. This was the most interesting part because I was able to compare and contrast life as a student-athlete now versus 25 years ago and how Trinity has adapted to change over time.

6. Outside of the classroom I have a conversation starter with anyone I come across. This was almost a life event as I dedicated a long amount of time to researching something that happened 25 years ago and even long before that as I researched the bowling alley and old weight room in the 1960's. If I ever come across people in the real world who were student athletes in the early 1990's at Trinity or schools that we played against, I can bring this up with them and bring back tons of memories for them that I would have no idea about if it were not for this project.