In honour of National Volunteer Week, we spoke with four alumni who continue to enrich the Trinity community through their ongoing engagement. Thank you to the devoted Trinity graduates who are helping to shape the Trinity experience for today’s students!
Steve Popoff ’80 and Pamela Ritchie Popoff ’80 met on their second day at Trinity, started dating in second year, and married after graduation. Pam majored in History and Economic History and after graduation, worked as an admissions officer at U of T. Steve studied Science at Trinity but transferred to Engineering and graduated as a Chemical Engineer. He then went on to do the Joint MBA/LLB program at Osgoode, and has built a career in corporate law. Steve joined as year rep shortly after graduation, Pam a few years later. Steve has been a member of Corporation for decades and has served on the Trinity Finance Committee. Along with classmates Anne Brace, Gillian Garneau, Nancy Lang, Paul Litt and Janet Young, the Popoffs are busy organizing their 45th reunion celebrations, which will take place at Trinity from May 28-June 1, 2025.
Caroline Jageman ’99 graduated with a double major in classics and commerce. After completing her degree, she attended McGill Law School and now runs her own law firm, specializing in energy law. She serves on both the St. Hilda’s and Trinity College boards, is currently helping to modernize St. Hilda’s mandate to support mental health, wellness, and gender equity; and is helping to update Trinity’s strategic plan.
Daniel Bennett ’12 studied neuroscience and psychology at Trinity and was co-president of the Trinity College Dramatic Society. He was also awarded the Heaslip Scholarship. Following Trinity, he attended the National Theatre School of Canada. He has built a career in theatre production and is currently Director of Production and Facilities for Canadian Stage. He has been a member of the Trinity Alumni Association Executive for the past four years. In January 2025, he arranged a special evening at Canadian Stage in Toronto for Trinity alumni, which included an exclusive backstage tour and a preshow discussion with the director before a production of “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?”
Our Trinity connections
DANIEL:
I felt so welcomed and supported as a student living on the Trinity campus, and in residence I made the friends that I’m taking with me to the grave. First-year me thought I would become a doctor, so of course I studied science. At the same time, I embraced all the extra-curriculars the College offers, including being part of the Varsity Blues Figure Skating team, and becoming co-president of the Trinity College Dramatic Society. In the process, I discovered my true passion was for the theatre.
CAROLINE:
Trinity was an amazing experience for me. I grew up without brothers or sisters, so living in residence was a whole new world. For me, living in St. Hilda’s was my first exposure to what living in community feels like. And it was an incredible group of people to live with. If you needed help with an assignment, someone was always there to explain it. If you needed – hypothetically speaking – help sorting through the Strachan Hall garbage to help you find your accidentally tossed student card, people stepped up. I have so many friends from my time at St. Hilda’s – I see many of them regularly, and I can’t wait to be with them at the St. Hilda’s reunion luncheon with them in May. That event is such a highlight of Reunion for me – sitting at the long tables in the St. Hilda’s dining hall with incredibly accomplished women from different generations, we can talk about anything and everything. I especially love listening to the stories of the women who were at Trinity before me.
PAM:
My parents went to U of T and I chose Trinity specifically for its Anglican heritage, its smaller size, and its traditions (the wearing of academic gowns appealed to the medieval romantic in me). I lived at St. Hilda’s, had many of my classes in the Larkin Building and absolutely loved the refuge the Trinity campus offered in the middle of the larger university and busy city. Across the hall from me was Dorothy Todd Byers ’77, who became a lifelong friend. I loved Friday night dinners in Strachan Hall when the community came together to dine. The Buttery was where we could hang out with our non-res friends and where many memorable parties took place. Trinity was important both academically and socially in my young life.
STEVE:
I was the first in my family to go to university and I lived in residence. I definitely gravitated toward all of Trinity’s traditions. I became First Year Head and Second Year Head and made lifelong friends during my first year. It was so much fun — and of course, I met Pam there!
Why we give back
STEVE:
Trinity was the most formative experience of my life, and it’s been important for me to maintain a connection with the College. For our 30th reunion, our class created a bursary. We’re proud that we’ve been able to give over 20 students $2,000 bursaries since, and we are hoping to grow that this year to mark our 45th reunion. It’s very satisfying to give someone the opportunity to have the same kind of experience we had at the College.
PAM:
We are also really inspired by what is happening at Trinity now, specifically in the Lawson Centre for Sustainability. We toured the construction a few months ago and were so impressed! This is a natural evolution of Trinity’s guardianship of the planet and will be a source of great student experiences. We recently made a donation to the Viridis project and are looking forward to seeing our names on a bench as part of this important and beautiful new addition to campus.
STEVE:
And they’ve kept the playing field where we used to go out and play touch football in the snow, which I think is great!
CAROLINE:
When a former classmate reached out and asked if I would get involved at the board level, I was happy to do it. I have enormous respect for the faculty, administration and my fellow board members at Trinity. The values of inclusiveness, equity, mental health and wellness, sustainability – these are all at the forefront of our discussions, and we are committed to incorporating those values into the student experience at Trinity. It is so rewarding to be part of a group that works well together. There’s a lot of thoughtful, considered discussion, and I continue to learn from that and apply it in other areas of my life.
DANIEL:
Trinity and the extra-curricular programs it offers were what allowed me to find my true passion and really latch on to it. And receiving the Heaslip Scholarship was what enabled me to graduate without student debt, enroll in theatre school, and build my dream career. I don’t think that would have been an option for me at that time without that support. So, when my fellow alum Shannon Garden-Smith ’12 reached out to me with an opportunity to be in the Alumni Association, I said yes. If I can be a part of giving a Trinity student the kind of opportunity I had, that feels like a great way to give back.
What we get back
DANIEL:
Being able to reconnect with classmates through the Alumni Executive has been great. Having a connection to the experience of today’s Trinity students and being able to share input on ways to continue to improve that, feels good. And bringing Trinity alumni to my theatrical home at Canadian Stage and sharing my professional expertise through backstage tours is inspiring.
PAM:
Our close friends include many of our Trinity classmates with whom we get together often, but we love coming together with them and other classmates for reunions every five years. It’s so important to connect with people who knew you as a young person. It gives me continuity, and reminds me of who I was before children, grandchildren, and everything else that has filled my life since Trinity. Steve and I have a lot of fun helping to organize our honoured year reunions and I appreciate how amenable Trinity is in helping us organize a special event for our reunion.
STEVE:
This year is extra-special because our 40th reunion was during COVID, so we couldn’t meet in person. I’m looking forward to being back on campus with everyone, some of whom we haven’t seen in a decade.
CAROLINE:
When I arrived at the College as a 17-year-old, Trinity believed in me. The faculty, the administration, the other students, the dons – they believed that I would be a good student. That I would do well. That I had leadership capabilities. And Trinity gave me a lot of opportunities, probably more than any other institution I’ve been at. I feel I’m a better person for having gone to Trinity. And now that I’m on the board, I realize that Trinity tries to create that same experience for every student. I think a place like that is rare – and I’m grateful to still be a part of it.
Are you interested in becoming a Trinity volunteer? Visit our web site to learn more or contact trinity.alumni@utoronto.ca.
