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DOUGLAS KIM '87
Call it "The Burgess Effect." I remember seeing the school for the first time and having that unmistakable feeling everyone who's seen those William Burgess-designed buildings has had over the past 130 years. You feel immediately cloistered by the sheer scale of those proud buildings and more than a little seduced. I'm quite certain the architect intended for us to have that exact sensation and, in my case, it worked.
The evening I was initiated into the Pipes, the College's oldest a capella group, is a memory that will last a lifetime. It's a ritual of outdoor singing and celebration that's pure joy and camaraderie.
In my mind, the tweedy, irascible Rex Neaverson was the archetypal Trinity professor. He didn't hold class; he held court.
After assigning a paper, Professor Dirk "Dutch" Kuyk gave one bit of advice in an English Lit course I'll never forget: "Whatever you do, please make it interesting for me to read." Interesting? Succinct and cogent were prerequisites I knew, but the notion of making it interesting came out of nowhere. It was at that point in my writing that things got, well, interesting.
Social networking sites like Facebook, Linkedin and Twitter have made it easier to connect with classmates, but it's never been terribly hard. People from our tiny alma mater are everywhere you look and it's been a pleasure keeping in touch with them as class secretary.
It was a privilege to study under Prof. James Potter, to read his definitive work, The Robert Frost Handbook, and to have been among his very last students.
I write ads and got my start at some of the classic New York agencies on accounts like IBM and Intel. Ultimately, my Art Director and I launched our own shop and Dovecote was born. We're a startup, but it's an exciting time. As new media matures, there's been a resurgent focus on strong, measurably compelling, creative work, and not just the technology delivering it. You might say we've come full circle back to Prof. Kuyk's advice about keeping things interesting.
So many Trinity people have been incredibly kind to me over the years, but particularly at the outset of my career. One alumnus' family put me up in the City while I looked for that elusive first job and yet another helped mentor me later as I learned my craft. As a rule, Trinity people are exceptionally good to each other. It's a remarkable community that has consistently turned out some of the most decent people I know. I say we do what we can to make more of them.
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