Trinity High School began a new initiative–the Great Books Program–amidst the outbreak of the pandemic last spring. This has given students and faculty of Trinity High School a way to stay connected to one another and to expand understanding of some of the world’s greatest pieces of literature. Trinity’s Great Books Program offers students guided reading and discussion of a list of great works on a host of topics from various cultures and time periods. Students encounter some of the most powerful voices from around the globe and throughout the ages. During the pilot phase of this program, in the spring and summer of 2020, more than 30 students participated.

One participant was Lucy Cooper-Silvis ’21, who, along with friend Patrick Caffrey ’21, tackled what is often hailed as the greatest novel of all time, The Karamazov Brothers by Fyodor Dostoevsky. Lucy said that, while she has always been an avid reader, she’s “always struggled with classics, no matter how much I want to read them, simply because the style is so unfamiliar to me. That’s one of the biggest reasons I was so excited about the Great Books Program.” The Karamazov Brothers is a tome, with more than 800 pages and a syntax that is long and winding; the book is not an easy read. On that, Lucy said jokingly that the novel taught her “how to hold my attention on a paragraph that stretches over seven (yes, seven!) pages.” But it’s not called one of the world’s greatest novels without reason. “Jokes aside,” Lucy said, “I learned a lot about theories on morality and societal pressures to do evil.” She and Patrick were motivated to read the novel because of encouragement from Mr. John Cominsky, who read it with them. “To hear the insights of these two seventeen-year-olds on such a complex novel was so inspiring,” said Cominsky. “Most college students don’t even read this, let alone have the conversations that Lucy, Patrick, and I did this summer.”

The Karamazov Brothers is in the “Russian Novel” category. Students in the program choose a minimum of six books from at least six different categories to read before they graduate. There are more than 20 categories to consider, including “African American Experience,” “Eastern Religions,” “Native American Experience,” and “Golden Age of English Theatre.” “Part of what we were aiming for with this program,” said Mrs. Trish Bolster, “was allowing students to read voices of various cultures and time periods first-hand.” Brynley Kirchhoff ’22, for example, was motivated to read Maya Angelou’s I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings because she enjoys reading and “loves the idea of working one on one with a faculty member on classic books.” The book, said Brynley, allowed her to “learn about the challenges people of color face in their everyday lives.” Exposure to other cultures and ways of living through authentic voices is one of the benefits of this program.

Students earn credit on their final transcripts and receive special recognition at graduation when they complete the program. The ultimate benefit is for students to encounter the “great questions” of human life through exposure to these great books. Another important benefit is encouraging students to incorporate reading into their private lives. Mackie Flake ’21 read All Quiet on the Western Front because of his interest in military conflicts. Though he would not describe himself as a huge reader, he said the book “made me think about war from the perspective of a teenager like myself and the toll it has on your humanity.”

Congratulations to the students and faculty members for their work to date. The following students have already completed books:

Alexandra Arnold ’23, A Farewell to Arms (Hemingway), read with Mrs. Stager

Benjamin Bonsall ’23, Siddhartha (Hesse), read with Mr. Hocker

Daniel Britten ’22, Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, read with Mrs. Babusci

Gracie Britten ’21, The Murder of Roger Ackroyd (Christie), read with Mrs. Zellers

Patrick Caffrey ’21, The Karamazov Brothers (Dostoevsky), read with Mr. Cominsky

Lucy Cooper-Silvis ’21, The Karamazov Brothers (Dostoevsky), read with Mr. Cominsky

Tessa Cooper-Silvis ’23, Great Expectations (Dickens), read with Mr. Hocker

Mackie Flake ’21, All Quiet on the Western Front (Remarque), read with Mr. Cominsky

Matthew Glinski ’21, Sister Carrie (Dreiser), read with Mr. Cominsky

Brynley Kirchhoff ’22, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings (Angelou), read with Mr. Cominsky

J.R. Long ’22, The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes (Conan Doyle), read with Mr. Cominsky

Olivia Maddux ’21, Crime and Punishment (Dostoevsky), read with Mr. Cominsky

Sydney Manning ’23, Dracula (Stoker), read with Mr. Cominsky

Alyssa Matzoni ’21, A Farewell to Arms (Hemingway), read with Mrs. Stager

Maisie McLees ’23, A Farewell to Arms (Hemingway), read with Mrs. Stager

Hanah Miller ’21, Uncle Tom’s Cabin (Stowe), read with Mr. Cominsky

Isabella Mirachi ’23, The Secret Life of Bees (Kidd), read with Sr. Susan Kuk

Lucas Puig ’22, Night (Wiesel), read with Mr. Cominsky

Sonali Shields ’23, Snow Country (Kawabata), read with Mrs. Bolster

Addy Sitlinger ’21, Hidden Figures (Shetterly), read with Mrs. Leandri

Melanie Uroda ’21, Ambiguous Adventure (Kane), read with Mr. Cominsky

Isabella Zarkin ’21, The Awakening (Chopin), read with Dr. Heinick

Ryan Ziegler ’22, A Farewell to Arms (Hemingway), read with Mrs. Stager

The following students are in process with their reading:

Alexandra Arnold ’23, The Story of a Soul (St. Thérèse of Lisieux), reading with Mr. Root

Daniel Britten ’22, Killer Angels (Shaara), with Mr. Paul Judge ’93 (volunteer)

Gracie Britten ’21, Dune (Hocker), with Mr. Hocker

Patrick Caffrey ’21, Dune (Herbert), reading with Mr. Cominsky

Antonio Centenera ’23, The Story of a Soul (St. Thérèse of Lisieux), reading with Mr. Root

Jose Centenera ’23, The Story of a Soul (St. Thérèse of Lisieux), reading with Mr. Root

Lucy Cooper-Silvis ’21, Dune (Herbert), reading with Mr. Cominsky

Tessa Cooper-Silvis ’23, Killer Angels (Shaara), with Mr. Paul Judge ’93 (volunteer)

Mackie Flake ’21, Selections from American Supernatural Tales, reading with Mr. Cominsky

Rebecca Freedman ’22, Hidden Figures (Shetterly), reading with Mrs. Leandri

Rebecca Freedman ’22, Night (Wiesel), reading with Mr. Cominsky

Elli Gasaway ’23, The Story of a Soul (St. Thérèse of Lisieux), reading with Mr. Root

Matthew Glinski ’21, Crime and Punishment (Dostoevsky), reading with Mr. Cominsky

Silas Gross ’23, Killer Angels (Shaara), with Mr. Paul Judge ’93 (volunteer)

Joseph Hayes ’23, Hidden Figures (Shetterly), reading with Mrs. Leandri

Morgan Jurash ’22, The Murder of Roger Ackroyd (Christie), reading with Mrs. Zellers

Brynley Kirchhoff ’22, All Quiet on the Western Front (Remarque), reading with Mr. Cominsky

J.R. Long ’22, Oliver Twist (Dickens), reading with Mrs. Babusci

Sydney Manning ’23, The Lord of the Rings (Tolkien), reading with Mr. Cominsky

Alyssa Matzoni ’21, Hidden Figures (Shetterly), reading with Mrs. Leandri

Lucas Puig ’22, Up from Slavery (Washington), reading with Mr. Cominsky

Hanna Salus ’21, The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks (Skloot), reading with Mrs. Rose

Addy Sitlinger ’21, The Awakening (Chopin), reading with Dr. Heinick

Melanie Uroda ’21, Everything I Never Told You (Ng), reading with Mr. Cominsky

Any students interested in joining the program can contact program moderators Mrs. Trish Bolster or Mr. John Cominsky.