March 1 was a day of celebration for six Portland-area students and for the programs that mentored them. In a ceremony held at the Native American Student and Community Center, students, family members, PSU faculty and staff gathered in recognition of National TRiO day.
March 1 was a day of celebration for six Portland-area students and for the programs that mentored them. In a ceremony held at the Native American Student and Community Center, students, family members, PSU faculty and staff gathered in recognition of National TRiO day.
Sponsored by the Diversity and Multicultural Student Services, the ceremony honored Portland State students, local high school students and the TRiO programs. Each student selected for recognition was nominated by their respective programs based on the student’s outstanding achievements.
“Traditionally we choose two outstanding students in each of the programs,” said Charissa Ringo, office manager for Diversity and Multicultural Students and member of TRiO/Student Support Services.
Ringo explained that students are selected “based on a student’s level of participation in the program, challenges they have overcome, and current achievements and leadership.”
TRiO is funded by Title IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965, Ringo said. TRiO started as a group of three educational programs that aimed at providing higher education for students of underrepresented demographics.
Currently, there are eight TRiO programs that work with first-generation college students, low-income students, and students with disabilities and language barriers to build tools for a successful college education and life post-graduation.
Ringo explained that TRiO has 2,785 national programs “currently serving approximately 836,000 students.”
“The students are the living, breathing continuation of the Civil Rights movement,” said Philip Dirks, program director of Talent Search and Upward Bound, who has spent 23 years working with the programs.
Upward Bound (the first TRiO program) and Talent Search help high school students prepare for college and careers, according to Ringo. Student Support Services and the Ronald E. McNair Post-Baccalaureate Achievement Program focus on college students, helping them earn degrees and find job opportunities.
“Many years ago, in 1986, upward-bound programs touched me personally,” said Jackie Balzar, vice provost of student affairs at PSU. “Since then, I’ve had this joy in working with students whose lives have been transformed by TRiO programs.”
Over the course of this year’s ceremony, each of the six students received an introduction by a representative of their respective programs. While the awards were not accompanied by monetary compensation, the students each received a plaque and were encouraged to say a few words of their own. Each shared particular thanks to TRiO and to those who helped them.
Ringo explained that the students recognized for their achievements came from backgrounds that made it more difficult to get an education. “The students are ones who have overcome a lot,” Ringo said.
Gabe Elias, student body president at Benson High School, plans to enter PSU in fall 2013 to study health sciences. A participant of the Talent Search program, Elias is a student at Health Occupations of America.
Saba Saleem currently attends PSU and is in her third year as a communication major. Saleem lived in Pakistan until she was eight years old and faced a language barrier when she began her education in the U.S. Student Support Services helped her learn about herself, get through the tougher years of college and become a promising writer.
Blanca Fernandez is a child and family studies senior at PSU. She is one of six children and is the first to attend college. Her mother worked to support the family, and Fernandez rewarded her by earning numerous scholarships to attend PSU. While in her second year, Fernandez got involved with Student Support Services, which helped her decide on a major and a career direction.
Phu Nguyen is a first-generation international student who said that his experience in Upward Bound helped him overcome income and cultural barriers in his education. He is also the student body president at Madison High School. He credited TRiO with helping him to achieve a 4.13 grade point average in high school, and he hopes to attend the University of Pennsylvania or Stanford University.
Gisela Gonzalez-Montiel, as a bilingual high school student, helped break down language and cultural barriers with assistance from Upward Bound. Eventually, she learned to make friends and earned a 3.91 cumulative high school GPA. She has already interned at various organizations, including the Oregon Health and Science University and ACE Mentor Program. She plans to attend the University of Portland in the fall.
Tania Villanueva, also a part of the Talent Search program, could not attend the ceremony.
The Ronald E. McNair Post-Baccalaureate Achievement Program also recognized Jacob Biamonte, a 2004 PSU McNair Scholar, for his accomplishments. Biamonte earned his doctorate in computer science from the University of Oxford in England in spring 2011. He also works as the co-principal investigator at the Centre of Quantum Technologies in Singapore. TRiO helped Biamonte throughout his educational life, aiding him when he was facing a cultural barrier as a first-generation Latino student.
TRiO speakers thanked the recognized students for all of their hard work as well as their family members for their dedication. They encouraged visitors to support TRiO and all it can do to help underprivileged students.
“What could you do to ensure that TRiO programs are still here tomorrow?” Balzar said.
