Student achievements in TRIO Upward Bound, TRIO Student Support Services and TRIO McNair will be celebrated

The University of Wisconsin-Superior will celebrate the achievements of its TRIO students on Wednesday, May 3, from noon to 4 p.m. beginning in the Yellowjacket Union.

Student achievements in TRIO Upward Bound, TRIO Student Support Services and TRIO McNair will be celebrated during the event, which will begin at noon with a lunch and be followed by speakers Provost, Maria Cuzzo; TRIO student speaker Haley Stalls, a TRIO Upward Bound alum and current TRIO Student Support Services and TRIO McNair student, who will speak to her experience in all three programs and the impact they have; and keynote speaker, Jennifer Vogler, UW-Superior Department of Education assistant professor.

An awards program and overview of the TRIO programs will begin at 1 p.m. T Leeper, gender and sexuality programs coordinator, will be recognized with the Staff of the Year Award, which recognizes exemplary mentorship and TRIO program advocacy. Haji Dokhanchi, professor and chair of the Social Inquiry Department, will be receiving the McNair Faculty Mentor Award.

A McNair and Student Support Services graduation celebration will follow, while a mock college class for Upward Bound students will be taking place in Swenson Hall.

The event will conclude with a TRIO Open House from 3:30 to 4 p.m. in Swenson Hall, Room 2047.

Unlike student financial aid programs which help students overcome financial hurdles to higher education, the TRIO programs recognize the importance of overcoming all barriers to success. For more than 50 years, they have been providing valuable supportive services to help first-generation students and students from low-income families, veterans, and students with disabilities enter and graduate from college.

TRIO services include:

• Assistance in choosing a college
• Tutoring
• Personal and financial counseling
• Career counseling
• Assistance in applying to college
• Workplace and college visits
• Special instruction in reading, writing, study skills, and mathematics
• Assistance in applying for financial aid
• Academic support in high school or service to re-enter high school

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.

TRIO serves students of all racial and ethnic backgrounds. Currently, 34 percent of TRIO students are White, 33 percent are African American, 21 percent are Hispanic, 4 percent are Asian- American or Pacific Islander, 4 percent are American Indian, and 1 percent are listed as “other,” including multiracial students.