North Central Missouri College’s TRIO programs hosted their annual TRIO Days Celebration on February 21-24th to commemorate the achievement of the Federal TRIO programs and our students.
NCMC houses three of the seven federally funded programs that make up TRIO: Upward Bound (est. 1999), Student Support Services (est. 2001), and Talent Search (est. 2021). TRIO programs, established in 1964 from the Economic Opportunity Act and later the Higher Education Act, were the first national college access and retention programs to address the serious social and cultural barriers to education in America. 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 also 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.
Every February, Student Support Services and Upward Bound celebrate the federal TRIO Grants by hosting a celebration and participating in a community service project. This year, SSS and UB students, staff, faculty, and friends were invited to participate in an interactive display in Geyer Hall, where participants were asked to finish the sentence, “TRIO encourages me to…” on a speech bubble. The UB program also celebrated with a panel discussion featuring Student Support Services students who were asked about their experience adjusting to the college setting. Additionally, UB students created engaging TikTok videos for recruitment of new students and celebration of TRIO Days. Follow this link to watch the video.
SSS also celebrated by making beaded friendship bracelets and shared notes of kindness on campus. Follow this link to a map that shows how many TRIO programs there are across the nation.
