The glow of studio lights isn’t new to Trinity Watts; she has been directing productions since before she could drive. What’s new is the stage she’s preparing for now: a future in film, media and storytelling, with one ambitious, faith-rooted goal.
“I want to win God an Oscar,” she said with a smile that makes you believe she just might.
Watts has become a recognizable presence on Olivet Nazarene University’s campus, not because she seeks attention, but because she creates space for others to shine. Whether mentoring peers, serving in ministries or producing campus content, she leads quietly, intentionally and with purpose.
For Watts, Olivet was never unfamiliar. She grew up in Crete, Ill., about 45 minutes north of campus, and the university always felt like home. Her father is an alumnus, and she remembers attending Homecoming with him for the first time when everything “just clicked.” By her sophomore year of high school, she felt certain Olivet was where she belonged. She still toured nearly 10 other universities, but none matched the peace she felt here.
Her heart for people extends across many areas of campus. She co-leads Imago Dei, mentors through Youth for Christ at Aspire, attends Entrepreneurship Club meetings and stays active in creative ministries.
Storytelling has always been part of who she is. While most kids put on skits, she turned her basement into a full production.
“I wasn’t just putting on a skit, I was running a full-blown production for friends and family. I’d spend hours planning scenes, then fire up the smoke machines and lasers like I was directing a concert in my basement,” she said.
Her church later helped continue shaping that calling. At Family Christian Center in Munster, Indiana, she serves on the media team as a TV broadcast director, assisting with livestreams and running the switchboard during services. She also participates in GriefShare, a ministry her mother helped start, where she saw how storytelling and faith can bring emotional and spiritual healing.
Her roommate, Angela Rojas, met Watts during freshman orientation.
“We met walking toward Benner Library,” Rojas said. “I overheard she was lost, so I helped her, and we’ve been friends ever since.” She describes Watts as hardworking and passionate, someone who finds creative ways to accomplish her goals.
“A ‘no’ doesn’t stop her if she’s committed to success,” she said. The two often end their days making tea together, a simple tradition that has become a favorite part of their friendship. “It might sound silly, but it’s our time to slow down and talk,” Rojas said. “She shines God’s love and shows what it means to love like Christ selfless, caring and kind.”
Watts is already building her creative brand, Trinsetter Productions, writing original scripts and dreaming of films that can succeed in mainstream spaces without compromising faith.
“I want to create films that exist in the world but are not of it. “
For Watts, success is secondary to calling. She believes her purpose is to use her creative gifts to make God known wherever He leads her. Whether her path takes her to a big stage or keeps her behind the scenes, she is determined to tell stories that glorify Him.
A girl who once staged basement productions with fog machines is now writing for a different kind of stage, one she hopes will lead people closer to Christ. If her journey ends under bright Hollywood lights, she already knows who she’ll be handing the trophy to.
