Local students participate in National TRIO Day, Feb. 25

SWOCC release – Coos Bay, OR – Students from Southwestern Oregon Community College TRIO Talent Search and Upward Bound Programs will participate in the 2019 National TRIO Day on Saturday, February 23, 2019 to express appreciation to the community for its support of the TRIO programs. Middle school and high school TRIO students from across Coos County will take part in a service learning project at Washed Ashore in Bandon, as well as provide local outreach activities. The students will attend a private tour of Washed Ashore Gallery with the general theme of “Use Your Imagination” (to change the world, find what you care about, and be your best self) and will learn facts about marine debris. Students, parents, and staff will also participate in a workshop where they will sort debris and assist with building projects. Washed Ashore is working on two penguin sculptures planned to go on exhibit at Disney. National TRIO Day is a day of celebration, reflection and action around increased access to higher education for disadvantaged students. Federal TRIO Programs help low-income and first-generation students enter college and earn a college degree. Every year on the last Saturday of February, high school and college students, teachers, Members of Congress, local officials, TRIO Program staff, participants, alumni, and many others celebrate the positive impact of federal TRIO Programs in our communities throughout the nation; reflect on the importance of educational opportunity programs in creating a fairer society for all Americans; and act to protect and further access to higher education for low-income and first-generation students. On Thursday, February 21, 2019 Representative Caddy McKeown spoke on behalf of National TRIO Day on the floor of the Oregon House of Representatives. In her remarks she stated, “Students who participate in these programs are at least twice as likely to enroll in and graduate from college than students from similar backgrounds who do not receive TRIO services . . . In Coos, Curry, and western Douglas counties, TRIO programs reach 1,335 students and their families through Southwestern Community College. I am so proud to share that Southwestern’s program Director Michelle Benoit is the president-elect for the Oregon TRIO Association and Southwestern’s Sharilyn Brown is the president-elect for the Regional TRIO Association – the first time in over a decade that an Oregonian has been elected to this position.”