TRIO Works in Coos Bay!, Feb. 10

Students and graduates from Southwestern Oregon Community College will participate in a national day of service partnering with the local Coos Bay Area Habitat for Humanity on February 27, 2016 as a way to show appreciation to the community for its support of the TRIO programs. 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. Unlike student financial aid programs which help students overcome financial barriers to higher education, the TRIO programs (Talent Search, Upward Bound, Upward Bound Math/Science, Veterans Upward Bound, Student Support Services, Educational Opportunity Centers, and the Ronald E. McNair Post-Baccalaureate Achievement Program) have been providing valuable supportive services to students from poor and working families to help them successfully enter college and graduate for over 40 years. Since 1993, TRIO Student Support Services (SSS) at Southwestern has served 160 students each year from all over the county and beyond. SSS services include: tutoring; academic advising; student success workshops; personal and financial counseling; career counseling; assistance in applying to four-year institutions; university visits; and assistance in applying for financial aid. According to Maureen Hoyler, president of the Council for Opportunity in Education, an education association which represents TRIO students, college graduates, and professionals nationwide, “These programs work because they are run at the local level, student-centered, performance-based, and non-bureaucratic.” Today more than 1,000 colleges, universities, and community agencies host more than 2,700 TRIO projects that serve approximately 840,000 young people and adults. Thirty-five percent (35%) of TRIO students are White, 35% are African-American, 19% are Hispanic, 4% are American Indian, 3% are Asian-American, and 4% are listed as “other,” including multiracial students. Seven thousand TRIO students have disabilities. According to Michelle Benoit, Director of TRIO SSS at Southwestern, “We want more people in the Coos Bay area to know about the services of the TRIO programs. We also want people to know that this program works and should be expanded to serve more students from low-income families across Oregon.”