Joah Slagle
What are some early memories of your time at Trinity?
I loved Trinity as a sixth grader. I was addicted to school. Having homework over the weekends was a shock, but I loved all the things I was learning. Latin was my favorite back then: I was fascinated to learn a different language.
What classes have you particularly enjoyed?
I find math thrilling. Even back in kindergarten, I liked seeing the connections between things, and numbers let you see the connections much more clearly. Because math reflects something about reality, the expressions let you see more easily and quickly into how reality works. I also enjoy the process of learning math. We learn new things, but each new thing is connected to a previous step that you already learned. You may not arrive at the answer right away, but, in doing math, I’m comfortable with whatever stage I am at in arriving.
I feel very similarly about the process of discussion in Humane Letters. How about you?
I love reading, but discussing is harder. There are so many connections that it’s hard for me to keep track of them all and know which ones I should pay attention to at a given moment. It’s like taking the connections of math and intensifying it. There have still been times when I see a connection and it really speaks to me. The chapter in The Brothers Karamazov with Grushenka and the onion was like that. The way the reader and Alyosha both had to see Grushenka differently was a big shift. It was moving to me.
What is your favorite Trinity Academy tradition?
Spirit Week is my favorite. We get to see all the goofy and clever things everyone dresses up as. One year, I dressed up as a piano. This year, I dressed up as Hastur the Unspeakable, from a short story by Robert W. Chambers. And one costume I’m proud of was dressing as Bruce Olson, a missionary to the Bari people. The costume itself wasn’t that complicated, but I loved reading about him and was honored to be able to dress up as him.
What are some ways you’ve grown while at Trinity?
In sixth grade, everything I said was an attempt to make people laugh. I’ve learned that being funny should not be your entire schtick. I’ve tried to also be a supportive friend and be kind as much as I could. Trinity has helped me to build friendships because everyone is so supportive. The teachers care that I do the best in all my classes. They don’t worry more about teaching the class than about how students experience the class.
What extracurricular activities have you participated in?
I participated in TACO from seventh grade on. I learned a lot through playing viola and realized that beauty can come in many forms. I also did the fast part in “Journey to the West” correctly in senior year – finally! The happiness I felt was like that of God creating the universe. I also played basketball and tennis, and participated in Trinitones.
What were some of your favorite books in Humane Letters?
I really loved The Old Man and the Sea. In the exciting parts I audibly gasped, cried out, and tensed up. I also really liked Crime and Punishment. This year, I'd been waiting for years to read Dante’s Inferno, and it did not disappoint. I’d always thought of Hell as a pit of fire, just chaos. But Dante’s Hell was like a bureaucracy. It was ordered. And it made you have to think more about what Hell is and what it is for, as a part of God’s justice.
What advice would you give to a younger student about how to get the most out of Trinity?
Push on through, and enjoy what you can. Just do the work and appreciate what you like as much as your mind can handle.
What is next for you?
I'm going to take a gap year, and am considering trade school or college. I enjoy coding and hands-on work. I’ve been thinking about how I could find a job that makes use of those things.
