The NDSU Office of TRIO Programs is celebrating five decades on campus. An open house is planned for Monday and Tuesday, April 17 and 18, from 10 a.m. to noon and 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. and Wednesday, April 19, from 10 a.m. to noon. The open house will be held on the third and fourth floors of east wing of Ceres Hall.
NDSU hosts three TRIO programs: the McNair Scholars Program, Student Support Services and Upward Bound. A fourth program, Veteran’s Educational Training, is modeled after the TRIO Veteran’s Upward Bound program.
“TRIO has been a cornerstone at NDSU, with each program represented on campus being of the first of their kind in North Dakota,” said Kenard Booker, TRIO associate director. “We invite students, as well as campus and community stakeholders to meet available staff during our open house.”
The federally funded programs officially began at NDSU in 1967, with the establishment of Upward Bound on campus. Veteran’s Upward Bound began at NDSU in 1972 and Student Support Services started in 1979. NDSU was one of the first 14 universities chosen in 1989 to host a McNair Scholars Program.
The educational outreach programs are designed to motivate and support students from disadvantaged backgrounds. The services are intended for underrepresented, low-income, first-generation college students and students with disabilities to assist them through the academic pipeline from middle school to post-baccalaureate programs. TRIO Programs at NDSU are administered through Student Success Programs.
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; and academic support in high school or assistance to re-enter high school.
NDSU’s Student Support Services and McNair Scholars Program are the largest programs of their kind in the state. A total of 431 students are in TRIO programs at NDSU.
“TRIO programs’ positive impact on participants is consistently proven through data,” said Angela Seewald-Marquardt, director of TRIO Upward Bound. “According to the Pell Institute, participants in Student Support Services are more likely to remain enrolled in college, earn more college credits and have higher GPAs than similarly qualified students who are not participants.”
McNair Scholars, like senior Samantha Hamernick who is majoring in English, praise the opportunities created by the programs. "I know I would not be going to grad school next fall if it were not for my participation in McNair,” Hamernick said. “The program has given me opportunities for my future that were, at one point, unimaginable. Being a McNair scholar has opened doors for me that would otherwise be closed. The opportunity to conduct my own research under faculty mentorship has helped me clearly define my academic and professional path in ways that would not have been possible otherwise."
And Upward Bound participants say TRIO made higher education possible for them. “Having classes and activities on campus allowed me to see a lot of what colleges have to offer and what the college experience is like,” said Milli Peter, an Upward Bound alumnus. “I’m so much more comfortable about going to college than I would be without this exposure.”
For more information, call the Office of TRIO Programs at 231-8028.
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