Foundation First

Clare Cooper '92 credits her time at Trinity University with laying the foundation for a career that blends business strategy, technology, and leadership.

Today, Cooper serves as senior director of the Enterprise Project Management Office (ePMO) at Whirlwind Steel Buildings Inc., a Houston-based manufacturer of pre-engineered metal buildings. She oversees teams of project managers, analysts, and technical specialists while leading major technology initiatives across the company.

Cooper also has a consulting business, Aircoop Technologies LLC, which focuses on strategic and tactical work in program and project management. It includes technology efforts, packaged software systems, and other enterprise software systems.

After graduating with a bachelor's degree in business with concentrations in accounting and marketing and minors in computer science and mathematics, Cooper began her career as a software developer with Accenture. The interdisciplinary education she received at Trinity proved invaluable.

"The combination of business, quantitative analysis, and technology gave me a strong analytical foundation that has been invaluable throughout my career," Cooper says. "My accounting background helped me understand the financial side of organizations, while my marketing studies provided insight into customers, markets, and how businesses position and deliver value. Trinity also emphasized critical thinking, collaboration, and communication, strengths that have served me well in leadership roles."

Beyond the classroom, Cooper's Trinity experience was defined by athletics and campus life. She competed on Trinity's women's basketball and volleyball teams, which shaped her work ethic. Cooper holds a special place in Trinity women's basketball history, scoring the team's first three-point shot when the three-point line was added in the 1980s.

"Representing Trinity in athletics was an incredible experience and an opportunity I never took for granted," Cooper says. "Being a student-athlete taught me discipline, teamwork, resilience, leadership, and time management. Balancing practices, travel, games, and academics required me to prioritize and juggle multiple responsibilities, skills that later translated directly into my professional life."

Cooper was a member of the Spurs sorority and was also involved in intramural sports, where she worked under the late Jim Potter '63, M'67, the director of the program for 33 years.

She continues to give back as a Trinity True supporter, directing many of her contributions toward Athletics, Fraternity and Sorority Life, and the Coleen Grissom Endowed Scholarship.

"Dean Grissom made a tremendous impact on me and the Trinity community. She had a sharp, sarcastic wit and a heart of gold, and she cared deeply about students," Cooper recalls. "Supporting her scholarship is one small way I can give back and help ensure that students who might otherwise struggle financially still have the opportunity to attend Trinity and experience the community she helped build."

Looking back, Cooper says the most valuable takeaways from Trinity were the mindset it instilled and the connections she made.

"My advice would be to stay curious and open to opportunities," Cooper concludes. "The career path you start with may evolve in ways you don't expect, so it's important to build strong foundational skills like analytical thinking, communication, and adaptability. The relationships you build at Trinity can last a lifetime and often open doors in unexpected ways."