Trinity Catlin ‘23
Major: English
Next Step: LMU’s English M.A. Program
A liberal arts education in the Jesuit tradition is marked by an intrinsic love for learning, and Trinity Catlin loves that in the LMU Bellarmine College of Liberal Arts she has been able to nurture her natural curiosity, to question, and to explore. Catlin is graduating with a bachelor’s in English, and will continue on to the M.A. program.
Through the Core curriculum, Catlin has taken many courses outside of the English Department and has thoroughly enjoyed them all, particularly her theology courses. “Although I love my English courses, I love having the opportunity to expand my education outside of that one academic school of thought, and being able to bring in knowledge from other courses into English academia,” said Catlin. “Jesuit education aims to educate the whole person, and in that process I feel like I am building skills in being flexible in my thought processes, opinions, and interests.”
The Los Angeles native arrived at LMU in 2021, transferring in the fall of her junior year. She had been encouraged by a professor at her previous university to study English, and was drawn to LMU’s English Department because of its interdisciplinary connections with disciplines like journalism and screenwriting. However, as Catlin put it, once she arrived at LMU, “I became so involved and interested in English academia that I focused all my energy on the single degree.”
Catlin’s love of the English program grew through the mentors she met along the way, in particular Sarah Maclay and Julia Lee—who was her supervisor for the Knott’s Fellowship, which provided Catlin the opportunity to attend the AWP Conference and complete a chapbook this year. Catlin is looking forward to continued collaboration with Lee and Maclay while in LMU’s English M.A. program. She believes that the program will help build on her experiences as an undergraduate, a time in which she has been able to cultivate rough ideas for a future thesis.
“I am grateful to be able to do the creative concentration, which will have a nice blend of academic and creative writing in the curriculum,” said Catlin.
After graduate school, Catlin hopes to work as an editor in the publishing industry, as well as have more of her own work published. She enjoys “the collaborative process that occurs between editors and writers,” and hopes “to experience more of it from both angles.”
After completing a bachelor’s and about to embark on her M.A. in BCLA, Catlin advises current students to take advantage of opportunities to talk with their professors. “In some majors like English certain career paths or opportunities might feel inaccessible,” she said. “But professors in one’s major offer an incredible wellspring of advice and direction, and have your best interests at heart.”