Colorado State University Students and Graduates to Celebrate Success of Pre-College Programs with Trio Day

Since 1965, over 10.5 million Americans, more than half from poor and working families, have benefited from the services of the Trio pre-college and college programs: Upward Bound, Talent Search, Upward Bound Math/Science, Veterans Upward Bound, Student Support Services, the Ronald E. McNair Post-Baccalaureate Program and the Educational Opportunity Centers.

High school-level Trio students, college graduates, administrators, counselors and teachers will gather to celebrate National Trio Day from 11:00 a.m.-1:30 p.m. Feb. 26 in the Red Carpet Room of the Durrell Center at Colorado State University. The five Trio programs sponsored by Colorado State University will offer graduate speakers from each of the programs.

Upward Bound, the first Trio program sponsored by Colorado State in 1977, is an intensive high school program, serving 85 students a year from nine area high schools. Joe Rogers, Lieutenant Governor of Colorado, is an Upward Bound alumnus. Through the constant positive reinforcement that I received from the caring Upward Bound staff, I have been truly able to rise upward… Upward Bound sought to encourage me and many other kids like me who never saw a way out of poverty or a chance at college. An Educational Talent Search, which began at Colorado State in 1988, serves 1,000 students annually, starting in middle school and taking them through high school. Initiated in 1978, the mission of the Academic Advancement Center is to assist and help retain students once they are on campus. The Ronald E. McNair program, named after one of the Challenger Astronauts, began in 1989 and serves 40 students each year who are seeking graduate degrees in math and science fields. The Educational Opportunity Center, which began in 1991, helps adults re-enter the educational system at the high school, vocational or college level, and serves 2,600 students per year.

Trio began 34 years ago as three pre-college and college-level programs: Upward Bound, Talent Search and Student Support Services. They were established to enable Americans, regardless of economic circumstance, race or ethnic background, to successfully enter college and graduate.

In many communities throughout America, the Trio programs are the only programs that help low-income Americans to enter college, graduate, and move on to participate more fully in America’s economic and social life, said Arnold Mitchem, president of the Council for Opportunity in Education.

Trio programs are designed to identify promising students, prepare them to do college-level work, strengthen math and science skills, provide tutoring and support services to students once they reach campus and provide information on academic and financial aid opportunities. Currently, over 2,000 projects are hosted at over 1,200 postsecondary institutions and more than one hundred community agencies.

For more information on Trio Day and Trio programs, contact Derrick at 491-3506 or call the Center for Educational Access and Outreach at 491-6473.