Donor Spotlight: Kathryn Trillas

Kathryn Trillas '72 was alone and barely out of high school when she took a bus from New York City to St. Augustine. "Where Georgie's Diner is today, was the bus station where I got off. I dragged my suitcase down the street from there to Flagler College," Kathryn says. Entering her dorm room, she discovered "All the (Ponce de Leon) hotel furnishings, heavy drapes, and wallpaper were still there." As for classrooms, there were only a total of five.

In the years since Kathryn Trillas has seen the College progress from a fledging school to a top-ranked regional accredited college graduating scores of successful alumni who make their mark on the world.

It's a Cinderella story Kathryn couldn't have predicted when she stepped off that bus, and it's one in which she played a pivotal role. She continues to play an important role today as a generous donor. Her financial support creates opportunities for generations of students to come.

From Big City to Small Town

As a college-bound teen living in New York, Kathryn visited a "college search agency" where she received brochures on three small liberal arts colleges, one of which was Flagler. "My mother didn't want me to get lost in a big city college, so I chose Flagler. St. Augustine was a natural choice since my parents were history lovers." She chose wisely. "Within less than 10 years, the other two colleges in those brochures didn't exist."

Reinventing the College

Flagler almost suffered a similar fate. The College was founded in 1968; by 1971, Kathryn's third year, it was struggling. She remembers students meeting with David Redding, the College chaplain and pastor of Flagler Memorial Presbyterian Church. "Two student representatives went to see Pastor Redding to get the College on track," Kathryn says. According to The First 50 Years of Flagler College,Pastor Redding, the students, and Lawrence Lewis, Jr., "forged a path for the future of the College." Faculty and other members of the College community also voiced their concerns. "They all had the same feeling," Kathryn says. Flagler could have become another failed attempt at higher education; instead, it took a decisive turn. "Lawrence Lewis set up a proper trustee board and turned Flagler into a proper college," Kathryn says. Lewis, the great-nephew of Henry Flagler, helped reorganize the College as a coeducational institution of higher education and served as chairman of the Board of Trustees for 20 years. "We reinvented the College in my third year. Two years after I graduated, Flagler became accredited, which allowed me to pursue a master's degree at another institution." Kathryn says.

As a member of Flagler's founding class, she emphasizes the "we" in the school's reinvention story. "In the beginning, it was all hands on deck. We didn't just go to class. We were always talking about the next thing to do. Everyone got involved. It's still that way today."

An Empowered Education

This hands-on approach to learning, life, and service stayed with Kathryn after graduation. "Flagler taught us how to be an adult and make things happen. You got the feeling you could do things if you put your mind to it; that is why I did well in every job I had. Flagler gave you that gumption."

She treasures memories of her time as a young art and social science major. "Professor Hugo Ohlms took us to the beach to learn to draw waves and taught us raku pottery using an old kiln the size of a house. Professor Enzo Torcoletti arrived in my third year to teach sculpture. He was a skinny, long-haired hippie but very enthusiastic. I toured the Lightner before it was even a museum with Dr. Robert Hall, the head of the Arts Department. I had the feeling we were all experimenting and learning together," Kathryn recalls.

After receiving a master's degree in library science, Kathryn went on to work at the Smithsonian and Corcoran Museums in Washington, D.C. She eventually landed a job in the U.S. Patent Office and helped that agency open a London branch. "Flagler was, and still is, a launching pad," Kathryn says.

A Grateful Alumna

Throughout her working and traveling years, Kathryn never forgot her alma mater. "It was always in my mind if I could do something to pay it back, I would. When they started the Alumni Association, I joined and started giving small amounts annually." In 2007, she returned to Flagler for her 50 ^th class reunion, the first time she had been on campus since the 1970s.

In her last seven years as a federal employee, Kathryn accumulated savings. That, and an inheritance allowed her to purchase a home in St. Augustine. She retired and moved back to Florida full-time in 2013. Thinking back to her senior year of college, she says, "I walked down to the pier and promised myself I'd try to get back to St. Augustine. When I returned, it felt like I'd never been gone. It was a lovely place to be."

Strengthening the Arts

Flagler College and the Lightner Museum are beneficiaries of Kathryn's IRA. She designated $75,000 of her IRA for Flagler's Visual and Performing Arts Fund for Excellence. By supporting scholarships and program needs, the fund creates student opportunities and learning experiences outside the classroom that tuition and fees don't cover. Donors like Kathryn Trillas make that possible. "Up until four or five years ago, there wasn't much going on in Flagler theatre. The recent Cinderella Theatre Gala was the most professional production I've ever seen, and I've attended theatre in New York, London, and D.C. You would have never known those were student actors. The faculty's connections outside Flagler help the department and get students fired up."

In addition to financial support, Kathryn serves on the Visual and Performing Arts Board. She turns 75 this October and remains integral to Flagler's transformation. She is grateful that students today receive the same encouragement she felt as a student. "Look at what the graduates go and do. They are running major corporations. I remember Viv Helwig '08, telling students, 'Wherever you are, whatever you do, you have backup, you have the alumni.'" (Viv Helwig is founder and owner of Vested Metals in St. Augustine, and a member of the Board of Trustees.)

Fortunately for students of today and tomorrow, Flagler College has backup from generous donors like Kathryn Trillas.

To learn more about how you can become a member of the Henry M. Flagler Society through IRA gifts or bequests, contact Nicole D. Pece, Director of Development and Gift Planning at (904) 819-6406 or [email protected].