MAPE members help save the TRIO program

Thousands of Minnesota students can breathe a sigh of relief that they will be able to return to, or begin, college courses this fall as they continue to be supported by their campus TRIO program. Eligible first-generation students can apply to participate in the federal TRIO programs which the White House tried to eliminate, but MAPE members and many others nationwide contacted their legislators in Washington and persuaded them to protect TRIO from funding cuts.

TRIO serves first-generation secondary, postsecondary and adult students from low-income backgrounds and offers academic tutoring, counseling, mentoring, financial guidance and other support to promote college access which contributes to retention.  There are more than 42 TRIO Student Support Service programs in Minnesota, both at public and private colleges and universities across the state.  Each grant program under the TRIO umbrella serves anywhere from 140 – 220 students depending on the institution's size.

“I started talking about the possibility of losing TRIO funds in January with the chancellor of Minnesota State because it would mean the loss of marginalized students and those staff who provide the necessary support to those students. The more support staff we lose will ultimately affect retention, and it’s important to find ways to keep those grants,” Minnesota State Meet and Confer Chair Nicole Emerson said. “MAPE members were integral in sending messages to those legislators to ensure we were being heard about how important this program and the staff advisors are to our students and their educational success.”

Emerson works at South Central College, which advises 140 TRIO students each year at its two Minnesota State campuses in North Mankato and Faribault. She warns that although the TRIO grants were approved for another five years, we must remain vigilant because the White House continues to talk about eliminating the U.S. Department of Education and holds the power on whether funding is sent each year or not. 

“I work with everyone from students right out of high school to 65-year-olds. From people who want to become nurses or pharmacists or want to go into business for themselves. Our goal is to get people to a bachelor’s degree, which significantly reduces the risk of poverty,” said Julie Jo Larson, Assistant Director of Student Support Services at Minnesota State’s Central Lakes College – Brainerd and Staples.

She said Minnesota’s program is special because of its dedicated staff, “Many of whom come from the same group of people we serve. For example, I was first-generation, neither of my parents ever attended college. We have gone through many of the same things that our students have. I had a great TRIO advisor, Sue Austin. When I was ready to give up, she said, ’No, you’re not, we’re going to try this.’ The special sauce in TRIO is the staff people who take the time to get to know their students.”

As a TRIO student, Larson looked at her advisor and thought, “I want to be Sue when I grow up – and I was in my 40s!” Today, she has Sue’s office and is sitting in her chair. “It gives me great joy to be able to continue the great work she did; to be able to continue that strong tradition that for 60 years on a federal level is still very relevant and needed and making a difference in students’ lives and families’ lives every single day.”

“You hear students’ yahoos and see their tears – we have the softest Kleenex in the building,” she joked. “Many times, we can figure out how to get around the roadblocks – maybe go from five classes to three, take another class at a different time. Most of the time it is not necessary to quit school.”     

Central Lakes College has 180 TRIO students. “Many are single parents, some are single moms coming back to school when their kids are in junior high or high school. They’ve been divorced. They’re sitting at the kitchen table with their kids doing homework after dinner. That’s when you know it’s not just the mom’s life you’re changing; you’re also changing the kids’ lives. It’s really changing that whole thought of ‘what I can be when I grow up,’” Larson said. She added that often when the mother’s name was called at the graduation ceremony, one of the children could be heard proudly yelling, “That’s my mom!”