Trenton Garrett, Southwestern University, Men's Basketball - Character & Community

Trenton Garrett, Southwestern University, Men's Basketball - Character & Community

TRENTON GARRETT OF SOUTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY, a senior forward on the men’s basketball team from Missouri City, Texas, has been selected the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference (SCAC) Character and Community Male Student Athlete of the Week for the week beginning February 22.

The SCAC Character & Community award honors the efforts of student-athletes who excel in the field of athletics, and also serve their campus and community.



Faith has been a big part of Trenton Garrett’s life for as long as he can remember. His upbringing in the church helped shape his personality, and even some of his long-term dreams.

“I’ve been active in the Baptist church as long as I can remember,” Garrett said. “Down the road, I'd love to become a pastor.” 

While faith defined Garrett’s character, his time at Southwestern has helped him find his voice through his work as vice president of EMPIRE, or, the Established Men Promoting Intelligence, Respect, and Efficacy. 

“EMPIRE is a male-led service organization aiming to advance minorities on campus,” Garrett said. “We do volunteering, food drives, and work to improve campus life and the surrounding Georgetown community.” 

Garrett joined the organization when he arrived on campus during the fall of 2017. He was approached by founders Markell Henderson and Jahmall Dumes, who were both members of the football team at the time. 

“Knowing that the minority group of men on campus is small, we need to stick together,” Garrett said. “They reached out to me and made sure I was involved and coming to meetings. The majority of the members are student-athletes, so we all know the commitments and sacrifices we make. Everyone is on the same page.” 

EMPIRE was created to provide a positive social and political context that will influence the success of African-American males on the Southwestern University campus. The group has largely done that through educational opportunities and service to the community. 

In Garrett’s time with EMPIRE, the organization has helped lead food drives that donated 100 pounds of food during the holidays, toy drives for needy children, and held events like its annual crawfish boil. It has also held panels to discuss matters like policing in communities and diversity inclusion on campus. The group is also working to establish a scholarship for minority students on campus. 

“Our voice is important because it brings changes and different ideas on campus,” Garrett said.  

During Garrett’s tenure, EMPIRE has also grown beyond its original perception of being only for Black men, growing to a roughly 60/40 split of Black and non-Black students. 

“Although EMPIRE is for minorities on campus, we’re very inclusive,” Garrett said. “It’s very diverse with people from all backgrounds. It’s very cohesive, very much like a brotherhood.”

The bridges Garrett has helped to build in the community have also helped prepare him for his professional life. Garrett will graduate this year with a degree in business, here he hopes to find a job in the Austin area in human resources; specifically in diversity inclusion. 

“EMPIRE has helped open new doors, make new connections,” Garrett said. “It has helped me learn to manage responsibilities, work with people, and speak with authority. EMPIRE has helped me become more compassionate in helping the community.” 

Whether in business, or on the pulpit, Garrett lives to serve his community. His time at Southwestern has simply provided more tools to do so.

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