Computer science teacher Susan Frederick hoisted the championship belt above her head, as the cyber security team crowded around her, all smiling as it sunk in that they had just won the Lockheed Martin CYBERQUEST. 

   In 2023, the Trinity cybersecurity team was created, and with the leadership of Frederick, they went on to win CYBERQUEST their very first year competing, establishing the strength of Trinity’s program early on. 

   Frederick has served as an integral part of the Trinity family over the past 26 years. From creating cybersecurity champions to founding the middle school cheer team to teaching almost every coding course at Trinity, Frederick has left an indelible mark on Trinity that will last long after her retirement at the end of this year. 

   In August 1999, Frederick arrived on campus, and throughout her time here, she has taught a huge variety of classes including all of the programming classes, robotics, graphics, app design and cybersecurity. Additionally, she has helped several students through their own independent studies. 

   As Frederick’s classes have evolved, so has her teaching style, choosing to lean more into collaborative and discussion-based learning exemplified by the scrum methods rather than assessments. Scrum is a well-known project management framework that aims to build teamwork and accountability. 

   “We’ve added more of the scrum methods into the classroom since I first came,” Frederick said. “It was very strict. Here’s a lesson. Here’s a quiz. Here’s a test. And now, it’s more of here’s the information, discuss the information (in groups).”

   By using this method of teaching, Frederick has been able to cultivate a creative, educational environment that sets students up for success. 

   “I really appreciate (that) Ms. Frederick is not very on top of you during class,” senior Nicholas Saraiva said. “A lot of teachers will have very strict (guidelines) for a creative class, where you have to follow all this and that. And (Frederick) has parameters and things to follow. But, coding is a very open subject where you can do a lot, and she allows that mobility to thrive in her class.”

   Frederick emphasizes self-confidence in her students and focuses on making sure they know their own capabilities. 

   “She’s one of the most encouraging teachers I’ve ever had,” junior Sarah Cantwell said. “She pushes me to try it, even if I don’t think I’ll be good.”

   This theme of encouragement is mirrored in Frederick’s role on the competitive coding and cybersecurity teams, whom she has repeatedly led to success. 

   “She’s definitely the team coordinator,” senior James Hawley said. “She plans all of our events. She’ll make sure that we have everything ready before the events. After the fact, she’ll always enjoy any successes we have with us and she’ll celebrate with us. She’ll tell us what we could have done better, what we did good, and kind of just be a role model.”

   Through her teaching, Frederick continues to gift her love of coding to students and aid them one-on-one in finding opportunities both on and off campus that will fuel their future careers. 

   “Ms. Frederick has had an outstanding impact on my trajectory,” senior James Hawley said. “When I came in sixth grade, I knew I wanted to do something in computer science, and she’s helped me choose which classes would be best for me. She even helped me land an internship with Lockheed Martin, which was very good for my career.”

   On top of her work in the computer science program, Frederick has also had an outstanding impact on Trinity athletics. When she first came to campus, Frederick founded the middle school girls cheer program and served as their coach from 1999 to 2008. And, from 2009 through this year, she was a coach for the varsity bowling team. 

   One of Frederick’s bowlers, Class of 2024 alumna Amanda Lang, even went on to compete in Division I Bowling and earn an NIL contract.

   After departing from Trinity, Frederick is planning to continue teaching her online coding class and work on expanding computer science resources to underprivileged children at her church. 

   “We have some underprivileged children (at my church), so I’ve gotten some attorney office(s) to donate laptops so we have them to work with,” Frederick said. “And then hopefully Trinity will be donating some more of their (laptops and) more of their books so that these kids can get exposure.”

   While everyone is excited for Frederick and her future plans, she will be sorely missed here at Trinity and be leaving behind some big shoes to fill. 

   “I know a lot of people have become very familiar with her and she’s definitely a big advocate for the program in general,” Hawley said. “She’s going to be a hard spot to fill because she also taught so many classes. There would be times where she would … be teaching two to three classes at a time in order to allow people to dive into more of what they want to do rather than a really big broad subject. Her leaving is going to leave a very big hole in the tech department.”