First-Year Seminar Mentor Jasmine Gentry ‘17 leads our class in our Admissions simulation

Today I came back to full-time teaching at Trinity College, and what made this day extra special was working with Jasmine Gentry ’17, the mentor for our first-year seminar on Color & Money: Race and Social Class at Trinity and Beyond. While students read the first book (Mitchell Steven’s Creating a Class, an ethnography of the college admissions and financial aid process at a liberal arts college), they engage in a role-playing simulation as admissions officers who must accept or reject 15 applicants to their hypothetical college. During the simulation, Jasmine’s role is the Associate Dean of Admissions, and I’m her administrative assistant. Today she stepped up to the plate to engage our crew with their first assignment. It’s always a thrill to see younger people take charge of their learning. So I kept my mouth shut for a few minutes and took this photo. Follow our simulation — and watch out for some interesting plot twists to come — at http://commons.trincoll.edu/colorandmoney.