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TRIO Day, first generation students celebrated at PJC

TRIO Day, first generation students celebrated at PJC

Published or Revised May 20, 2023

TRIO programs photo

TRIO Day is a day of celebration, reflection and action around increased access to higher education for disadvantaged students. Federal TRIO Programs help income-eligible and first-generation students enter college and earn a degree.

A TRIO Day luncheon with a keynote speaker will be held on Wednesday, March 6, 2019 from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. in the PJC Student Center Ballroom. The first 50 attendees will receive a free lunch.

PJC hosts three TRIO programs: Talent Search, Upward Bound, and the Educational Opportunity Center, and they and their services will be showcased during the program.

Following will be a presentation from featured speaker Robert Webb from the Texarkana College Talent Search Project (12-1 p.m.). Webb will address motivating and inspiring individuals to pursue a degree in higher education or remain in school and finish.

As part of TRIO Day each year, high school and college students, teachers, members of Congress, local officials, TRIO Program staff, participants and alumni, and others:

  • Celebrate the positive impact of federal TRIO Programs in our nation’s communities.
  • Reflect on the importance of educational opportunity programs in creating a fairer society for all Americans.
  • Act to protect and further access to higher education for income-eligible and first-generation students.

While student financial aid programs help students overcome financial barriers to higher education, TRIO programs have been providing valuable supportive services to students from poor and working families to successfully enter college and graduate for over 50 years. 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.

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. For information about the event, or TRIO programs at PJC, contact Sheila Reece, PJC Vice President of Institutional Access and Success, at sreece@parisjc.edu or 903-782-0211 or Ashley Jones at ashleyjones@parisjc.edu or 903-782-0352.