LIFE AT TRINITY HIGH SCHOOL
by Miriam Brown '08

February, 2007

Trinity High School was originally known as Rosary House, a school founded in 1919 by five Sinsinawa Dominican nuns who came from southwestern Wisconsin to provide a place of education for the young women of Chicago. The building was constructed on the foundations of Catholicism, and although Rosary House evolved into Trinity High School—eventually moving from the land where Dominican University now sits to the corner of Lathrop and Division—the cornerstone was not replaced, representing a continual emphasis on the Sinsinawa Dominican virtues of truth, compassion, justice, community, and partnership.

For example, the student handbook says, “Trinity students perform ten hours of service each year…this is considered a part of our commitment as Christians to reach out to the world around us.” In addition, “…every student is given the opportunity to explore and deepen her faith during every school year. Retreats…provide the setting and a program that helps each student learn more about herself, her God, her relationships with others, and the role that faith plays in her life.”

But how do non-Catholics who attend Trinity feel about this?

Twenty percent of Trinity’s community is non-Catholic. What do these two students out of ten think about having to take mandatory religion classes and attend monthly liturgies? Did this affect their decision in choosing to attend Trinity?

“It didn’t really matter to me that Trinity was Catholic,” Jessica Garner, a junior, said; she does not belong to any certain religion. “I knew I would have to take religion classes, but I thought perhaps I could learn more about Christianity, and explore different types of religions and see if any of them fit me.” Although she admits that the liturgies can be hard to follow, especially since she doesn’t know the prayers to say or the gestures to make, she does affirm the statement that going to a Catholic school has its benefits. “It’s given me patience and tolerance,” she said. She continued and added that after being exposed to Christianity, it impressed upon her the importance of being open towards other people.

Many other students, while not Catholic, belong to other branches of Christianity. “There’s no real difference,” Brittany Felton, another junior and a Methodist, commented. “And I never feel that there is any separation between my Catholic friends and me.”

Indeed, while religion does play a large role in Trinity’s curriculum and it’s expectations of students, it in no way isolates or ostracizes anyone. In past years Trinity has been home to girls belonging to the Jewish and Muslim faith, and there was never any tension over religion. All in all, differences in religion are overcome by the emphasis Trinity places on friendship, community, and partnership.