Dr. Trimble ’80 Awarded John Phillips Award
The Academy Trustees and the Executive Committee of the General Alumni honored Cornelia “Connie” Liu Trimble ’80 with the 2016 John Phillips Award during last Friday’s assembly. Trimble is a doctor who has been recognized for her contributions to the field of immunotherapy and her work in cancer research and prevention. The assembly saw three standing ovations—two before she spoke about her experience living a “Harkness life” in a world without Harkness.
The award is given annually to an Exonian who exemplifies John Phillip’s ideals of goodness and knowledge and who has contributed to the welfare of the Exeter community and the world since his or her graduation. According to Mitch Bradbury ’78, chair of the 2016 Awards Committee, Trimble stood out from the candidate pool because of her “wonderful work” in medical science over many years.
As Director of the Johns Hopkins Center for Cervical Dysplasia and Professor of Gynecology and Obstetrics, Pathology and Oncology at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Trimble’s research focuses on developing and evaluating interventions to prevent cancers associated with persistent HPV. She is one of very few practicing physicians that conduct research.
Trimble never imagined going to boarding school, but when a family friend showed her an Exeter brochure, she was immediately interested. When she arrived at the Academy, she said that being an Asian American woman made her feel like she stood out, but also gave her motivation to prove her value and to try to work harder than her peers. After Exeter, she studied civil engineering and international relations at Princeton University at the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs. She then obtained a medical degree from Vanderbilt University, before going on to earn a master’s degree at the writing seminar at Johns Hopkins University. While there, she met surgeon and professor Donald Woodruff, who sparked her interest in pathology.
She accepted a pathology internship and residency at Cornell University. In 2015, Trimble became the seventh woman in Johns Hopkins’ history to hold the title of full professor of pathology and obstetrics.
Bradbury said that this year’s Awards Committee, which was made up of 13 alumni ranging in graduation year from 1954 to 2004, met in Boston in January and spent a significant amount of time deliberating and discussing the candidates.
He acknowledged that the process was difficult because the school is “blessed with so many great alumni,” and each year only one wins the prestigious award. They thought about the individuals and the issues that each has worked to change or fix. “Connie was just an individual who deserved to be this year’s winner,” he said.
"I had been flying way below the radar, which was a survival strategy. Then there I was, way not below the radar.”
In February, Trimble gave an assembly in which she talked about her work in cancer research. As she was leaving the Academy Building, she received a phone call from Bradbury. He told her that she was to be the recipient of the 2016 John Phillips Award. In response she said, “Dude, for real? Are you kidding me? Is this a prank call?” She felt validated and said that no recognition could have meant more to her.
“I had been plugging along, doing my thing, trying to figure out how to get a person’s immune system get rid of HPV pre-cancers,” she said. “I did not think that my work was ‘sexy’ or ground-breaking; I thought it was common sense. I had been flying way below the radar, which was a survival strategy. Then there I was, way not below the radar.”
After the Academy sent out an email to alumni about her recognition, Trimble heard from several people around the world—some who she had never met, some who she had not talked to since graduation. She said in light of the recent sexual misconduct cases, people were relieved to hear good news from the Academy.
“I realized that I wanted to remind everyone of what was fundamental and good about Phillips Exeter Academy,” she said. “One of our common goals is to make PEA a safe place for students.” She then decided to give her acceptance speech not about her work but rather as a talk with the students, finding it important to tell them how much they are loved and cared for as members of the community.
As a member of an immigrant family, lower Adrian Kyle Venzon felt moved by her story and shared some of the experiences that she described during her assembly. He thought she was a good choice for the award because the work she does actively makes a difference in people’s lives. “She is a role model for us because she came from the same place: Exeter,” he said. “She calls this place her home, and it is ours too. She is one of us and that’s what makes her so inspirational.”
Upper Maya Kim, who said she was moved to tears of joy during the assembly, also found Trimble to be an inspiration. She felt comforted by Trimble’s idea that “you don’t have to have everything figured out,” since she is someone who has been extremely successful in her field. Kim thought Trimble truly shows what it means to be an Exonian in the “real world” as she is using what she learned from Harkness to contribute to cancer research. “She literally taught herself immunology,” Kim said. “If that’s not dedication, I don’t what is. She is a woman in science, and she shows us all that we can do it too despite how hard it might be.”
As an Asian American, lower Hanna Pak felt inspired by Trimble, all her accomplishments and her positive outlook on life. Pak said the assembly was amazing and that Trimble connected with the Exeter student body. “Seeing how passionate she was about her work made me hopeful for the future,” Pak said.
While Trimble was at Exeter, there were not many Asian students or girls, so in her high-level math class taught by former mathematics instructor Rick Parris, she was an outlier. Trimble looked up to Parris as a mentor. Coordinator of Academic Support Services Pamela Parris, Rick Parris’ wife, recalled times when Trimble and her male math classmates would come to her faculty apartment in Merrill Hall to do homework together. Parris said that when the homework was done, the boys would leave, but Trimble would stay and help her feed their baby. Then the two would put the baby in the crib and read stories to her.
“When she was finally asleep, Connie and I literally crawled out of the room,” Parris said. But by then it would be close to check-in and Trimble would rush back to her dorm, screaming “Sprinting time!” as Parris vividly remembers. Since she graduated, Trimble has come back regularly to visit faculty families who share similar memories with her.
“She cares about everyone she works with, and I can see how much she loves to connect with fellow Exonians,” Parris said.
“She is a listener, and that’s part of why she is so successful. She doesn’t make it all about her; she shares the workload and the triumphs with others.”