Montana Western TRIO Program to Hold Event for National TRIO Day

February 19, 2020

On February 20, 2020, students involved in Montana Western’s TRIO Student Support Services will be holding a tabling event in the hallway outside the office at Main Hall 215 from 11 a.m. – 1 p.m. The campus community is invited to stop by to meet the inspiring students in the program, learn more about the services that TRIO SSS offers, and have a cup of coffee or cider.

National TRIO Day is a day of celebration, reflection and action around increased access to higher education for disadvantaged students. Federal TRIO Programs help low-income, first-generation and  students with disabilities enter college and earn a college degree. Montana Western’s TRIO SSS program currently serves 160 students a year.

Every year at the end of February, high school and college students, teachers, members of Congress, local officials, TRIO Program staff, participants and alumni and many others:

• Celebrate the positive impact of federal TRIO Programs in our communities throughout the nation.
• Reflect on the importance of educational opportunity programs in creating a fairer society for all Americans.
• Act to protect and further access to higher education for low-income and first-generation students.

“Being a member of TRIO allows people like me, a low-income, first-generation student, to be heard and understood in my struggle, and to be told I’m not alone on my adventure to further myself in my endeavors. Having an extra hand, ear, and mind to help me on my course in life is more than most people can ask for and I am eternally grateful,” said TRIO student and Interdisciplinary Social Science major Daniel Flannery.

TRIO SSS provides mentoring services to students in addition to connecting them with a community of peers and providing students a support network. TRIO SSS at UMW provides intensive advising and workshops for students during every stage of their education. The program offers students a welcoming space where they can meet and find support. TRIO SSS also provides students with a computer lab.

Melody McHaley, an English major, also shared her experience in the TRIO program. “The TRIO program at Montana Western has led to me achieving more success in my academics than I could have ever hoped for. As someone who nearly failed out of high school, and now has made the Dean’s list every semester in college, I owe a great deal to TRIO and its amazing employees,” she said.

For more information about the University of Montana Western TRIO Student Support Services office and provided services, please visit their website