From the valley and for the valley, Trisha was born and raised in Tracy, went to Fresno State and has spent the last ten years supporting the mission of UC Merced.
At Fresno State, she earned her bachelor’s in Recreation Administration with an emphasis in Sports and Entertainment Facility Management. She also earned a certificate in Special Event Planning, which has been put to extensive use in her roles at UC Merced.
She began her UC Merced career as an event coordinator in the SSHA department managing seminars and conferences. She then transitioned into the Chancellor’s office as the Executive Events and University House Manager before settling into her current role of Assistant Director of Protocol and Signature Events. However, if positions were properly titled by job duties and assignments her title would be Chaos Coordinator.
On that same front, after work hours, her title could be Chaos Coordinator, Round II. Trisha and her husband Nick are parents to Maddox (8) and Reagan (19 months) along with their dog Balto (11). Trisha is the SUV soccer-mom-of-soccer-moms and loves the role. Maddox’s team won the 10U championship and she could not be prouder. If Trisha takes a day off, you can likely find her in the school classroom volunteering or on a class field trip. She will stay up until 2 a.m. creating the perfect class gifts and craft, complain about it all the next day, and then do it again for the following event. She does carve out time to travel, craft and create projects for herself, and even sneaks in an occasional spa day to relax, but her children are the center of her universe.
When it comes to UC Merced, the students are the center of her work. When asked her favorite aspect of her job, commencement was the resounding, hands-down response. “It is the epitome of events on a college campus and the reason we all do what we do,” she said. “Being one of the people who get to see the students off as they hear their name announced and quite literally setting the stage for them brings me so much joy.”
In every event, Trisha gives her all and External Relations is eternally grateful for her coordination of chaos and her dedication to the team.
QUICK FACTS
Favorite Color: Bright Green
Favorite Food: Pineapple, pepperoni and jalapeno pizza on white sauce. YUP.
Favorite Drink: Strawberry Acai Refresher from Starbucks or a Jameson and Ginger if it's the weekend.
Netflix or Hulu? Disney+
Spotify / Apple Music / Amazon Music: Spotify when my son let’s me pick the playlist.
Favorite Movie: Not sure I have one, but How I Met Your Mother is my favorite TV show!
Favorite Band: Depends on my mood...
Movie Theater or Couch: Couch
Mountains or Ocean: Mountains when it’s not snowing.
Read or Watch TV: TV
Favorite TV / Movie / Book Genre: Comedy.
Life Motto: My words to live by are “These are the good ol’ days”
Favorite Job: I was recruited my senior year in high school to work for the National Cheerleading Association (NCA) and travel to teach youth-college age cheer campus during the summer. I worked for this company for 10 summers and loved it so much that after college and once I started my “professional career” I would utilize vacation days to continue to work the minimum amount of campus to stay active. This organization introduced me to three of my closest friends, gets credit for any confidence in public speaking that I obtain, and trained me to be a confident traveler.
