A group of first-generation, low income, and disabled college students traveled from Mt. Pleasant to Washington D.C. recently, this thanks to the TRIO-SSS (Student Support Services) Grant Program at Mid Michigan College.
Among the destinations included University of Pittsburgh, Capitol Hill, George Washington University, United State Holocaust Memorial Museum, Arlington National Cemetery, and several Smithsonian museums.
"The whole experience was awesome, and the diversity of our group made the trip even more impactful. Standing in front of places I never thought I would see was an amazing experience," says Jeremy Cook, TRIO-SSS program participant at Mid.
"From standing on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial where Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his I Have a Dream speech to seeing all the memorials and historic landmarks, all my senses were engaged. I cannot choose one favorite destination from the trip, there are far too many and each offered something unique."
The TRIO-SSS Grant Program is intended to assist students considered to be facing barriers to their education, including first-generation, low income, and disabled college students. The goal is to see students receive a degree or transfer to a four-year institution.
There are 140 students in the program.
Mid Michigan first received the grant in 2015, receiving more than $200,000 for salaries, equipment, supplies and materials, and software. To maintain funding, 81 percent of TRIO-SSS students must remain in good academic standing. According to numbers provided by the college, 95 percent of Mid’s TRIO-SSS students were in good academic standing at the end of the winter 2017 semester.
"Taking students to experience new places and university settings expands their horizons and increases their self-confidence," says Mary Battaglia, Director of the TRIO-SSS Grant at Mid.
"As a team, we take our students’ success seriously, and find providing them with these experiences immensely satisfying."
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