AWC awarded TRIO Talent Search grant to help low income, potential first-generation college students access higher education
September 28, 2021TRIO Talent Search will provide five years of funding to help approximately 3,000 students in Yuma and La Paz counties find their path to college
Yuma, AZ (September 28, 2021) – The U.S. Department of Education recently announced that Arizona Western College was successful in securing funding to continue the operation of its TRIO Talent Search grant for an additional five years starting in September of 2022. The amount of the grant for the five years is $1.6 Million, to help low-income students who would be the first members of their families to earn college degrees to prepare for and enroll in college. AWC has had a TRIO Talent Search Program since 1998.
One of the Federal TRIO Programs, Talent Search identifies and assists middle and high school students who have the potential to succeed in higher education. At least two-thirds of the students in each local Talent Search program are from low-income economic backgrounds and families in which neither parent has a bachelor's degree. Talent Search provides these students with counseling as well as information about college admissions requirements, scholarships, and various student financial aid programs so that they can better understand their educational opportunities and options. According to the U.S. Department of Education, 80% of Talent Search participants enroll in postsecondary institutions immediately following high school graduation. In FY20, more than 309,000 students are enrolled in 473 Talent Search TRIO projects in the U.S.
Many Talent Search alumni have gone on to great success, among them former U.S. Congressman Henry Bonilla from Texas and former Oklahoma State Senator and State Representative Kenneth Corn, one of the state’s youngest in history.
Talent Search began in 1965 as part of President Lyndon Baines Johnson’s War on Poverty. It was the second of eight federal “TRIO” programs authorized by the Higher Education Act to help college students succeed in higher education. It recognizes that students whose parents do not have a college degree have more difficulties navigating the complexity of decisions that college requires for success, bolsters students from low-income families who have not had the academic opportunities that their college peers have had, and helps remove obstacles preventing students from thriving academically.
Michelle Thomas, the Director of TRIO Programs at Arizona Western College, stated, “The Talent Search Program helps students as early as sixth grade make their dreams become reality, by providing them support and opportunities to learn and grow.”
“As systemic inequality and financial hardship discourage students from succeeding in college, TRIO programs like Talent Search take on new importance because they continue to help students who are low-income and first-generation to earn college degrees,” said Maureen Hoyler, president of the non-profit Council for Opportunity in Education (COE) in Washington, D.C. COE is dedicated to furthering the expansion of college opportunities for low-income, first-generation students, and students with disabilities nationwide.
Contact:
Michelle Thomas
Director of TRIO Programs
Arizona Western College
Michelle.Thomas@azwestern.edu
(928) 344-7763