By Nicole Aimone

Feb. 24, 2016

Students coming into college from low-income households or being first in their families to tackle higher education were honored during a National TRIO day celebration on Feb. 20.

National TRIO day is an event created by the U.S. Department of Education to honor the students involved in the programs. Students in the McNair Scholars and the Upward Bound programs at UW-Whitewater were honored during Saturday’s event.

Goodson Vue, the assistant director of the College Scholars Program at UW-Madison, served as the keynote speaker for the event, which was held in the UC Hamilton Room.

TRIO is made up of eight programs to aid students in their education from middle school to college, as well as first generation college students. There is also a training program for staff to assist the students involved in TRIO programs.

For many, the day of recognition represents more then accomplishments; it also shows how these programs have helped to change many communities.

“These programs resonate very deeply in some communities in the United States that have had a history of challenges in accessing higher education,” said Ramon Ortiz, interim assistant vice chancellor for Multicultural Affairs and Student Success.

TRIO day is meant to celebrate the success of students in the TRIO programs, but also meant to celebrate overall student success at Whitewater. Student leaders, as well as students who earned a GPA of 3.5 were honored at the ceremony as well.

“When you get to the bare bones of what we’re doing, we’re celebrating the success of students and these programs serve as a vehicle to facilitate that success,” Ortiz said.

For students these programs help them to further their education because they have been provided with many resources and programs at Whitewater to succeed.

“It lets me know about different resources like for tutoring and resources for research, scholarships and recommendation encouragement,” said junior Brandon Rapier-Childs, who was awarded at the ceremony.