Where Are You on the Yellow Brick Road to Graduation?

            Are you undecided and feel like choosing a major is a far more difficult than what you initially thought? Are you bombarded with student loans and don't know when you'll get out of debt? Is registering for classes each semester a splitting headache and a half? How can you take charge of YOURfuture? Fear not fellow student because TRIO may be the ANSWER FOR YOU!

            TRIO is a program that is federally funded through the U.S. Department of Education to provide assistance to 1^st generation, low income students, as well as students with disabilities to complete their four year degrees.  TRIO was a result of President Johnson's war on poverty in the 1960's, which then led to TRIO branching off into three divisions: Talent Search, Upward Bound and Student Support Services. Out of the 3 divisions, Student Support Services (SSS) is the college level program that currently serves 204,096 students nationwide, and offers more personalized academic advisement, help with FAFSA and other financial aid issues, networking skills, leadership skills, job shadowing/internships, while promoting other university services such as the Learning Center, Career Services, and Student Life.

            TRIO SSS came to Northeastern's campus on September 1, 2010 and serves 380 students.  TRIO S.S.S NEIU has 3 branches to it: Access, which assists students with disabilities, Achieve, which assists students with just about any major, and Teacher Preparation, which assists students majoring in education. Each branch has an advisor and enrollment coordinator, lending to a total of six TRIO staff members. I decided to go visit TRIO and ask their staff what they felt they could bring to the table for their students. Richie Heard, who is a TRIO SSS Access Academic Advisor said, as he firmly shook my hand, that he can "look at each student individually and advise them personally." Marcial Garibay, who is a TRIO SSS Teacher Preparation Academic Advisor, stated with a smile that "I was just like the students I advise; 1^st generation and low income. So I know what it's like to go through the College of Education, therefore I can better advise a student who is in a similar situation." Lastly, I spoke with Marianyelli Hanna, who is a TRIO SSS Teacher Preparation Enrollment Coordinator, and she confidently said that she is "a double alumni from NEIU, both undergraduate and graduate, therefore I can help direct and navigate a student through Northeastern and the resources it has to offer, as well as use my own experience of going through the College of Education to help the student."

 TRIO NEIU and the Writing Center is currently sponsoring and promoting a writing workshop, as well as a stress management workshop.  They are also in the process of organizing their annual summer leadership summit. I had a sit down conversation with Terri Hlavin, the Director of TRIO SSS Achieve and Teacher Preparation, and she believes that TRIO is a great fit with other programs on campus similar to TRIO, such as Project Success and Proyecto Pa'Lante. "Students can join TRIO any time of the year any year as long as they meet at least one of the criteria—first generation students, income qualifying students, and students with disabilities. TRIO is a program that will greatly benefit a student who wantssupport and guidance, and is sincerely willing to participate in the TRIO process."  By next semester Hlavin told me she would like to see TRIO collaborating more with other organizations on campus, so that students become more involved in campus activities. She also envisions students advocating for the very things TRIO helps support, for example an increase in Pell and IMAP grants so that students can attain their university degree. When I asked her how she felt about TRIO as a whole, she happily said that she is "very excited because this program is new to Northeastern, which allows us to build from the ground up with students and with support from the entire NEIU community. TRIO services will be developed to support the needs of the student, to fit the student population, instead of the student trying to fit us."

Contact Information:

Stop in at room 412 LIB (Library) and pick up an application

OR

Call (773) 442-4971 to setup an appointment with a TRIO staff member

            OR

            Go to www.neiu.edu/triosss  for more information.