Cumberlands student chosen for Bridging the Gap Fellowship

University of the Cumberlands is proud to announce that Trinity Brown, a senior from Fayetteville, Georgia, has been chosen to join the Bridging the Gap Fellowship.

Bridging the Gap is a virtual course offered through a partnership between Spalding University and F2F. Cumberlands began offering the course in Summer 2021 as an extra avenue for students to “learn how to better listen, understand, be heard, and seek common ground” and learn from “constructive tension” in conversations about religion, race, politics, and policy in order to help “solve problems across people groups,” in the words of Jerton Evans, director of diversity and multiculturalism at Cumberlands.

Evans is thrilled that Trinity will be joining the Fellowship.

“There were continuous requests from fellow students for her to become part of the Bridging the Gap Program in this way,” Evans said. “She is very well thought of all over campus and has built positive, long-lasting relationships with peers, faculty, and staff. Trinity is a leader by nature and possesses every skill set necessary to become successful in whatever future endeavor she pursues. She is funny, charismatic, and brings out the best in those who surround her. It is no wonder to me as to why she was selected for the prestigious position of Bridging the Gap Fellow. Trinity represents what the Diversity Leadership Council stands for and is an asset to University of the Cumberlands.”

As a Fellow, Trinity will act as a teaching assistant to the facilitator during the Bridging the Gap course. It will be her duty to offer firsthand advice to the students about her experience in the course and ideas on how to apply the skills they learn in their everyday lives.

Trinity said, “I feel honored and blessed to be allowed the opportunity to work as a fellow. After taking the class, all I could think about was how I was going to use the knowledge and skills.”

Trinity is captain of the women’s lacrosse team for Cumberlands and is co-president of the Diversity Leadership Council (DLC) on campus. The Council has joined with other campus organizations to collaborate on campus events like cookouts, game nights, sporting events, and worship services. It has also hosted panel discussions with guest speakers. The DLC operates with three core initiatives: the NetWorth Network Program, where it connects professionals with students to better their understanding of pre-requisites (such as courses and experience) they need in order to acquire particular professions; Open Window Sessions, which are held during DLC’s monthly meetings, to discuss social issues and how to solve them; and volunteering in community service opportunities as they arise.

What Trinity has enjoyed most about the Council is the sense of community it brings.

“There is so much comfort in knowing there are people you can relate to on multiple levels. It makes it easier to tackle tough topics and have in-depth conversations,” she said. “Being part of DLC has also shown me the power that comes from unity. We are stronger together than we are divided, and it is nice to see exactly how true that is.”

The university congratulates Trinity on receiving this honor. For more information on University of the Cumberlands’ efforts toward inclusivity and unity, visit ucumberlands.edu/diversity.