The North Central Missouri College’s TRIO Department celebrated the series of federal grants that make their programs possible during the week of National TRIO Day (February 26). For millions of students from low-income families who strive to be the first in their families to attend and graduate from college, seven federally funded programs called TRIO are making a world of difference. NCMC is home to three of these programs: Talent Search (est. 2021), Upward Bound (est. 1999), and Student Support Services (est. 2001).
Students, staff, faculty, and friends celebrated in many ways. All week, students, faculty, staff, and friends viewed a Scrabble-themed display of words representing what TRIO meant to the students. Upward Bound created an additional display of inspirational words chosen by their students. On Wednesday, guests visited the Student Support Services and enjoyed a treat of cake and ice cream. Continuing the celebration, guests stopped by the SSS for some popcorn on Thursday. Additionally, Upward Bound staff and students crafted fleece blankets for the local Green Hills Women’s Shelter.
TRIO programs aim to motivate and support students from low-income backgrounds, potential first-generation college students, under-represented students, military veterans, and students with disabilities. TRIO provides academic advising, tutoring, mentoring, guidance on college admissions and financial aid, and other support services necessary to promote college access, retention, and graduation. TRIO programs provide individualized and intensive services to students in overcoming the obstacles they face as the first in their families to attend and graduate from college. Today, more than 1,000 colleges, universities, and, community agencies host more than 2,800 TRIO projects that serve more than 800,000 young people and adults. Since 1965, an estimated 6 million students have graduated from college with the support and assistance of TRIO programs across the country. Follow the link to a map that shows how many TRIO programs there are across the nation:
To learn more about NCMC’s TRIO programs, visit Student Support Services and Upward Bound websites or contact Janet Pultz at (660) 357-6348 or [email protected].
