Rylee Trendell '19 Says Pacific Was Just the Right Place For Study and Sport

When he had to decide where to go to college, Rylee Trendell ’19 from Coos Bay, Ore., faced that question that so many new students have confronted: Where can I combine my love for basketball with my love of amphibians?

OK, well, maybe it’s not a universal concern, but it was for Trendell, who has always loved the outdoors and the sciences and is a pretty fair basketball player as well. Now that he’s on the verge of graduation, Trendell says Pacific has given him what he wanted and needed. He’s had time on the court and time in the lab.

“Because it’s such a small campus, you’re able to form meaningful relationships with your professors,” said Trendell, a biology major and the son of a middle school science teacher. “The research that I’ve been doing right here has been an amazing experience that I probably wouldn’t have gotten at a larger university.”

At Pacific, the 6-foot-3 Trendell made the basketball team. He also made the dean’s list, which requires a minimum of a 3.70 grade point average. Most important, he advanced his knowledge of the natural world and made personal connections with professors and other students.