One amazing perk of teaching at a smaller institution is the opportunity to build personal and professional relationships with colleagues across disciplines.
Wendy Bilen and I started working at Trinity at around the same time. We always had a pleasant relationship though we were not initially close. That changed when we began regularly attending lunch. We soon became fast friends.
Wendy was a memoirist in the English department, I am in the psychology department. We both shared a love of books, though I will admit I didn’t fully appreciate the distinction between memoirs and biographies at the time.
Wendy’s gift as a memoirist was that she used writing to process many aspects of her life. I remember a situation where she and I were both going through some very difficult personal transitions. On a whim, I purchased a Groupon to go to the gun range. I asked at lunch if anybody wanted to go with me. Wendy immediately volunteered. We both had an interesting time at the range and Wendy turned it into a published essay – On the Range.
I remember the day she called me to say she had been diagnosed with ovarian cancer. I was floored – she was so young. She fought valiantly over the years, never losing her gift for storytelling.
From her influence I found myself reading several memoirs. It is now one of my most read genres. I’ve also learned to use writing to process my situations. And, I have incorporated memoirs into most of my classes. Often, Wendy would visit my classes to see what my students were reading.
Wendy passed away in July 2021. A loss that is still felt acutely – personally and professionally. I can’t do anything to replace her as a friend but I was determined to keep her love of memoirs alive.
In Spring 2025 the Wendy Bilen Memoir Poster Session was born. Students in several classes read memoirs and then presented them in poster format at a university wide event.
The Spring 2026 event was even more successful. Approximately 70 posters from 7 different classes were exhibited. Students, faculty and staff stopped by to speak to the student exhibitors and vote for their favorites. It was a vibrant and powerful experience for both the student exhibitors and the audience.
Additional faculty have indicated that they will participate in 2027. Wendy is still leaving her mark on the students at Trinity. I have enjoyed exploring memoirs with my students and watching them fall in love with reading.
Feel free to share memoirs you think I should be reading.
