Over winter break, a Howard student received an email from the Chadwick A. Boseman College of Fine Arts informing a select few students about an opportunity to travel to New York City to see a Broadway show.
The email promised a chance to meet the cast and get a backstage tour, so she quickly applied to be considered. She sent over a two-page artist statement, her resume and four video links of her singing, dancing and acting.
After her acceptance, Trinity Garrison went to New York, where Howard alumna Dean Emeritus Phylicia Rashad invited her to appear on a popular morning talk show to discuss the arts. Garrison had no idea what surprise was awaiting her.
The next thing she knew, the junior musical theater arts major was backstage on NBC’s “TODAY With Jenna & Friends” anxiously waiting to be called on stage and interviewed with Howard alumnae Rashad and Taraji P. Henson.
Mic’d up, Trinity Garrison exited through the sliding doors and was greeted with hugs by the show’s cast members. To her right, Rashad began telling her about the Dr. Andrew Allen Sr. Memorial Scholarship.
It was formed by her and her sister, a fellow Howard alumna Debbie Allen, in memory of their late father Dr. Andrew Allen. Dr. Allen was a graduate of the College of Dentistry in 1945.
“In my head, I’m like, ‘That’s so great! Are we going to announce who got it?’” Trinity Garrison said.
It didn’t take long for her to realize she was the recipient of the prestigious $25,000 award. Astonished, Trinity Garrison smiled wide and tried all she could to express her gratitude.
The scholarship hadn’t been reinstated in the College of Fine Arts for the past five years. The Hilltop reached out to the school’s deans to find out why and the criteria for selection, but they did not respond in time for publication.
The last recipient, Navaeh Richardson, was given $5,000 in 2020. Henson, who graduated in 1995, also received the scholarship and credited her degree completion to the award.
“I found myself pregnant in college my junior year. I really ran out of money. I didn’t know how I was going to finish,” Henson said to Rashad. “So you and your sister and your dad, may he rest in peace, Andrew Allen, have a huge part of why I’m even where I am.”
After the segment, Henson and Rashad expressed how proud they were of Trinity Garrison and gave her words of encouragement about finishing her education.
“It feels so much more attainable, the dreams that I had. And I already knew I was gonna get them one way or another. But knowing that there’s people pushing me forward and in my corner saying, go, go, go,” Trinity Garrison said. “Now the connection feels much more potent.”
She’s had many opportunities at Howard that set her up for success. While being a cohort representative for the junior class of the College of Fine Arts, she also worked as a stage manager and dance captain, performing in multiple showcases put on by the school.
The scholarship recipient credits her upbringing and environment with much of her success. Hailing from Miami, Florida, Trinity Garrison’s childhood was filled with the performing arts.
Trinity Garrison’s mother, Chimene Garrison, recalled nights she had to run around Miami after her work shift, scouring stores for a costume for her daughter’s performance the following day. While not musically inclined herself, Chimene Garrison instilled a love of art in her children.
When Trinity Garrison’s principal recommended she attend the magnet program for visual and performing arts at Dr. Michael M. Krop Senior High School, her mother eagerly sent headshots and video clips of her daughter’s performances.
“She’s just always very eager to learn something. So she’s always the one that’s going to come first and say, ‘Let me do it.’ And because of that, it seemed like she would get picked all the time to do things, but it was because that’s just how she’s always been—very bubbly, very front and center, and trying to get what she can out of every experience,” Chimene Garrison said.
Trinity and Chimene Garrison spoke of the financial burden the award takes off them. The junior did not receive a housing assignment this year, driving them to look for an apartment just as the fall semester began. Coupled with loans the family took out to pay tuition, they are thankful for some relief.
“That scholarship could not have come at a better time for my family because it’s going to reduce the debt that we have, that we’ve already incurred, in order to keep her there,” Chimene Garrison said. “But it is a blessing, and I’m just so proud that it’s because of her hard work.”
Trinity Garrison calls on people to continue funding the arts so that students like her can perfect their craft and pass that knowledge on to future generations.
“It’s so important to continue to pour into each other, even if you don’t want to be an artist. You don’t have to love musical theater. You don’t have to love theater arts, but everyone should have an appreciation for it, what it means, and what art can do, because that’s all we consume,” she said.
Copy edited by Anijah Franklin
