Northwest to host National TRIO Day celebration

Students and alumni of Northwest Missouri State University TRIO programs will commemorate 35 years of success while expressing appreciation to the University and community during the annual National TRIO Day.

Northwest will celebrate Wednesday, Feb. 24, with a virtual program. An evening event with Paradigm Shift will include interactive learning and engagement for students and parents. 

Northwest TRIO Student Support Services, Upward Bound, and Upward Bound Math and Science also will celebrate throughout the week by hosting and participating in campus events in collaboration with the Office of Diversity and Inclusion and Career Services, including a mid-term stress release “Funtivity.”

Additionally, Northwest TRIO will induct three individuals into its Hall of Fame – RyAnne Herron, a senior at Rock Port High School and Upward Bound participant; BriAnne Blackmore, a senior at Turner High School in Kansas City, Kansas, and an Upward Bound Math and Science participant; and Lauren Earnest, a Northwest senior political science major who works with Student Support Services and Upward Bound Math and Science.

“Northwest TRIO programs provide services to mitigate economic, social and cultural inequities that impact access to higher education for underrepresented students,” Cassie Tavorn, the director of Northwest TRIO programs, said. “We work to level the playing field in a global society by positioning our students on a trajectory of change in student success.”

About TRIO

Enacted by a congressional resolution in 1986, TRIO Day is a national call to citizens from all walks of life to come together to promote educational access and success in communities where TRIO programs continue to create change.

TRIO is a federally recognized educational outreach program designed for students with disadvantaged backgrounds. It offers a comprehensive set of services through three different programs – Student Support Services, Upward Bound, and Upward Bound Math and Science.

Unlike student financial aid programs that help students overcome financial barriers to higher education, TRIO programs provide valuable, supportive services to students from poor and working families to successfully enter college and earn degrees.

Since 1986, Northwest TRIO programs have promoted educational opportunities while assisting students in their personal journey of earning a higher education degree. TRIO’s partnership with Northwest assists with addressing the unique needs of 331 academically capable individuals who are first-generation students and who come from families with limited income.

Northwest TRIO programs create environments that inspire engaged learning, motivate continuing education and support lifelong learning. TRIO’s comprehensive set of services and activities – each designed for a specific group of individuals from ninth grade through adulthood – include academic tutoring, cultural enrichment, financial assistance counseling, summer on-campus residential programs, admissions counseling, instructional assistance and student mentoring.

For more information about the TRIO programs at Northwest, visit www.nwmissouri.edu/trio/, or contact the TRIO office at 660.562.1862 or ssswebp@nwmissouri.edu.