TCU this weekend will present degrees to 2,400 candidates in four ceremonies Saturday and Sunday at the Ed and Rae Schollmaier Arena.
One of them is Trey Fruend, who arrived on campus from his hometown of St. Louis with an insatiable appetite for learning but not exactly sure how it would manifest in an undergraduate degree.
However, he had been accepted to TCU on a full-ride scholarship. Fruend’s goal was to make his college experience a complete one.
“I didn't know what I wanted to major in when I came in,” Fruend says. “I was interested in e-commerce. People told me to try the business school. So, I entered the business school, but I also like science. I wasn't sure if I wanted to be a doctor, so, I took bio and chemistry classes, as well. And then I didn't think the business school was the best fit for me.
“So, I changed that to political science since I like the study of government. At the end of my sophomore year, I figured out that I had more space in my schedule for more classes. I ended up adding an economics major as well because I wanted to take more classes about that. And then I kept my biology major since I also like science.”
Fruend will walk across the stage on Saturday to receive two bachelor’s degrees in three majors, in political science, economics, and biology.
Oh, and we should not forget his minor in mathematics.
This is what you call well-rounded.
TCU
“I wanted to maximize my learning potential,” says Fruend, who is also a graduate of The John V. Roach Honors College.
Fruend will graduate in the AddRan College of Liberal Arts, part of the early, first session of commencement exercises at 9 a.m. Saturday at Schollmaier Arena.
The inaugural class of the Anne Burnett Marion School of Medicine, the Brite Divinity School, and the College of Fine Arts will also be participating.
“Our students have become innovative leaders and are prepared for the challenges and opportunities ahead of them,” said Daniel Pullin, TCU president. “TCU has given them the life skills, education, and knowledge to continue to their next step and make a difference here in Texas and beyond, in the global community. We congratulate them all and look forward to celebrating commencement weekend.”
The university will also present an honorary doctorate to Godeliève Mukasarasi, an activist of women's rights for more than 40 years through social work. The recipient of the university’s 10th Global Innovator award in 2018, Mukasarasi is founder and coordinator of the Rwandan organization Solidarity for the Development of Widows and Orphans Aiming at Work and Self-Promotion, also known as SEVOTA. Initiated in 1994 in the aftermath of the genocide committed against the Tutsi in Rwanda, the organization aims to ensure moral and organizational support to its beneficiaries who are women survivors or victims of violence and children born as a result of such violence, and vulnerable households, including those of widows and orphans.
“It was challenging, but I think I was able to have a good study-life balance,” Fruend says. “I was able to get involved in a lot of different activities and organizations at TCU and made a lot of good friends. The class work was challenging, but it was definitely doable. I don't think I was too much. I took classes I was interested in and just tried to learn as much as I could.”
His extracurriculars included the Student Government Association, the Model UN program, and Beta Upsilon Chi, a men’s Christian fraternity in the Greek life system, and TCU Wesley, the campus’ United Methodist group.
In April, he was the head delegate to the Model UN conference in New York City, which included a trip to General Assembly Hall of the United Nations.
“A really cool experience,” he says. “The conference is basically in Midtown, between Times Square and Central Park. It's just really a cool area of the country.”
Playing a role, too, in his decision on three majors was the pandemic, which descended on society during his freshman year. His majors were at the “intersection of that public health crisis.”
What’s next, he’s not sure yet. Law school is a possibility, he says, but he plans to take a step back for a period of discernment.
Ultimately, Fruend says, he wants to use his knowledge as power to make an impact on community.
Editor's note: A previous version of this story incorrectly stated that Fruend received three bachelor's degrees.
