When asked to describe the Trinity Prep family, there is no one word that can do it alone. Our school has always been the home to a group of genuinely well-rounded students and faculty members. This year, with the privilege of welcoming three exceptionally talented new staff members, we are bringing in more unique experiences to the Trinity campus. Together they bring the excitements of the world and the small experiences of life right home to us.
Although these new staff members all bring in different talents to Trinity, their strive for excellence brings us ever closer to reaching the stars.
The Music Fanatic
Our new College Counselor, Daphne Olsen, has always had a strong passion for music.
“It’s one of those things that never leave you,” Olsen said.
Olsen remembers showing off to her friends by playing two recorders at once before starting out with the saxophone. Upon moving to the U.S. from her birthplace in Germany, Olsen attended Rollins College here in Central Florida. She tried to discover what else was out there, but she ultimately came back to music. Olsen received her undergraduate degree in saxophone and vocal performance and then her graduate degree in liberal studies from Rollins College.
The admissions office at Rollins College hired Olsen a month after her graduation from college, and she remained there for seven years. Her main motive for joining the Admissions Office was the opportunity to foster relationships with students. However, Olsen always knew that she would one day become a high school college counselor.
“The admissions side of college is time-consuming,” Olsen said. “There’s a lot of traveling and a lot of time spent away from home. After seven years, I felt as if I had already done everything for the Rollins admissions office, and I wanted to grow and learn more about the overall process.”
Having always been very close to the college counselors at Trinity, Olsen decided to take a change in her life by switching to the high school side of college counseling—a common action taken by college admission officers when they are looking to settle down.
However, Olsen’s many years on the admissions side have gained her an abundance of wisdom that she is willing to share with the notoriously stressed out Trinity student.
“Enjoy your high school experience. It goes by a lot quicker than you think,” Olsen said. “When you’re in high school, it seems that it takes forever, but then your senior year passes, and you don’t want to look back on your high school life as being stressed out all the time.”
The World Traveler
Our new Human Resources Coordinator and Bookkeeper, Cyndy Schnovel has traveled all across the world before moving to Florida only a month ago. In high school, she was an exchange student in Sweden, and she was also able to visit Norway, Denmark and Finland.
“My family had an exchange student stay with us when I was in high school, and that really intrigued me,” Schnovel said. “By studying abroad later on, I was able to experience many different cultures as well as meet other kids from all walks of life.”
Prior to becoming the HR Coordinator at Trinity, Schnovel worked in the business administration at the Hill School in Pottstown, PA. Her first love has always been numbers, and that led her to study economics when she was an exchange student in Sweden. Schnovel has stayed in the field of business administration for various schools.
“It’s like a puzzle,” Schnovel said. “As far as the Human Resources component, I love working with people and making sure that they are taken care of.”
Schnovel is excited to join the Trinity family, as she believes that Trinity has the perfect mix of culture between an elite, rigorous boarding school and a small private school.
The Volunteer Enthusiast
Our new Director of Marketing and Communications, Shana Heinricy, came to Trinity with some very unique experiences from studying abroad in Dublin to doing volunteer work in Bangkok, Thailand. Travel has always been second nature to her, and that is what originally got her interested in world languages and her marketing career.
Heinricy attended Concordia College in Minnesota to receive double degrees in philosophy and classical studies. She later received her Master’s Degree in communications. Heinricy was interested in these fields because they allowed her to think deeply. She enjoys working on marketing projects and seeing a finished, tangible product.
During Heinricy’s freshman year in college, she went to a summer seminar in Greece and Italy with a philosopher and archaeologist. Until then, she had never been abroad. The experience of travelling motivated her to later study abroad at Trinity College in Dublin. Immediately after returning to the U.S. to finish her undergraduate degree, Heinricy took off to the experience of her lifetime—teaching English at the Nava Language School in Bangkok, Thailand.
“While I was going to Trinity College during the day, I went to a separate night school to get certified in teaching English,” Heinricy said. “I thought teaching English to children would be a good way to support myself overseas while being able to experience and see the world.”
Heinricy has always believed that language and communication connects the world, and that is what fascinated her. After moving back to the United States, Heinricy settled in San Francisco to continue teaching English— this time to Syrian refugees. After traveling the world and experiencing a variety of cultures, Heinricy recalls the one moment that touched her deeply.
“One time I was tutoring a refugee child who really did not want to do any work,” Heinricy said. “I asked myself why I was doing these things to children who didn’t want to learn. But one of the parents came up to me, and started pulling papers out of a backpack and saying ‘homework! homework!’ The papers she pulled out were flyers and ads for the school, but it dawned on me that she desperately wanted her child to learn and succeed in school after moving to the United States from Sudan. That mother made me realize how difficult the lives of refugees were.”
Apart from her teaching, Heinricy is looking forward to her new life in Orlando, and she hopes to stay in one place for a while.
The Renaissance Man
Patrick Mulloy joins the ranks of well-rounded people in the Trinity family. His enthusiasm for teaching has been with him for his entire life, and as our new Director of Curriculum, he has taken quite a turn with his career.
Mulloy moved from his hometown of Louisville, Kentucky only recently. He attended the Kentucky Country Day School for most of his childhood, and he graduated from a senior class of 45 students. The magnetic and small town later compelled Mulloy to return as an English and history teacher to the school before he came to Trinity. Mulloy attended the University of Pennsylvania to receive a double major in European History and English. His passion for these subjects have stemmed from elementary school.
“I came from a family of lawyers. So the plan was for me to finish college, and then jumpstart into law school,” Mulloy said. “But I really just fell in love with teaching.”
Although Mulloy has always been a teacher in his previous careers, he became fascinated with the management of students and curriculum.
“It is always wonderful to start with the basic curriculum of sixth graders and mold them into educated and developed adults through their years in school,” Mulloy said.
He is looking forward to helping all the students of Trinity attain their goals.
