Every summer, TRIO Programs across the country change the lives of nearly 870,000 students.  I was one of those students. My life has never been the same. TRIO works. 

When I was 14 years old, I had the opportunity to attend a TRIO program at Wesleyan University. This program altered my life trajectory: it gave me a sense of hope, confidence, and truly allowed me to see my full potential.

I can remember it like yesterday, having philosophical debates on China’s one-child policy, reading Robert Frost, working on physics equations, and having conversations about DNA and matter. I was challenged at a newer level academically than I had been challenged before. 

This program, like many others across the U.S., provided me with an outlet to see things beyond my neighborhood and city. There were skills that I was unable to acquire at my public school, as well as new experiences that exposed me to colleges and careers beyond what I knew.  The TRIO program helped me envision myself as a college student one day. It instilled in me an intrinsic belief that anything was possible.

My story is not unlike those of 6 million other alumni. Yes, 6 million individuals have participated in a TRIO program over the last 61 years they have been operating. In 1964, the federal government established TRIO programs, including Upward Bound, which served 2,061 students in its inaugural year, beginning in the summer of 1965. 

Over the next six decades, additional programs and grants were developed to serve students throughout the country: Upward Bound, Talent Search, Student Support Service, Educational Opportunity Centers, Veterans Upward Bound, TRIO Staff Training Programs, Ronald E. McNair Post-Baccalaureate Achievement Program, and Upward Bound Math-Science. These federally funded programs target low-income, first-generation college students, and individuals with disabilities to build their skills and access to succeed in post-secondary education and beyond.

Not only did it change my life, but I have also had the distinct privilege of teaching in the same type of program for the last 15 years, which allowed me to become the positive, productive adult I am today.

The current president is calling for the elimination of the federal TRIO programs and has proposed to cut all funding completely. He asserts that “access to college is not the obstacle it was for students of limited means.” That is not the case, with students in high-income families earning a college degree at a rate of 62% compared to only 15% of students from low-income families, according to the 2023 U.S. Census Bureau. 

Christina Irizarry, a TRIO alumna and former Upward Bound Program Director, shared that the TRIO program she attended in high school had a profound impact on her life.  “I am who I am today because of the TRIO program…it saved my life.” Irizarry did not have plans to go to college, did not know what it meant to go to college, and did not know the first place to go for information about college. Like millions of other young people in our country, you only know what you are exposed to in your community and neighborhoods. 

Irizarry attended an Upward Bound program where she took classes over the summer, attended workshops and college visits during the school year, and was mentored and poured into by TRIO staff who believed in her success. They pushed her to see that college was accessible and continued to mentor her to, through, and after college. She discovered her passion for social work and working with students.

Turning full circle, Irizarry was given the opportunity to work at the same Upward Bound program she attended as a student, spending ten years mentoring and supporting hundreds of youth to gain access to the freedom that higher education brings.

Now the director of a college opportunities program, Irizarry said her life’s work is to be an advocate, mentor, and champion for students to find their purpose and reach their full potential, no matter what odds are stacked against them. Her experience in TRIO and working in the same program that she was a student in changed the trajectory of her life.

Lisa Noons, a Program Director for an Upward Bound program, shared countless stories of how deeply TRIO programs impact their students and their communities. Noons described how students entering the program do not truly see their potential.  At the end of just one summer, the students are completely transformed, with a greater sense of self, and are empowered and equipped to be successful in college and beyond. 

Irizarry shared a story of one TRIO alum from Hartford who graduated from UConn with an engineering degree and is currently earning his PhD, another student who is a doctor in New York, and another who is a PhD candidate at MIT. Irizarry shared how one student, even after having a baby at 15 years old, finished the Upward Bound program and now has her master’s degree, fueled by her drive to ensure a different outcome for her child than what was expected of her in the community where she grew up.

“These programs literally are agents of change for families, not just for individuals,” said Irizarry. “It’s an impact for an entire community, for an entire region, for an entire state, for an entire country.”  Both Noons and Irizarry recounted numerous students whose siblings and parents went to college because of what they saw in their own siblings or children after graduating with their degrees.  

Increasing educational attainment increases economic outcomes for the individual and our communities. TRIO programs have a proven track record of success. Students in Upward Bound are nearly four times more likely to earn a college degree than their peers with similar backgrounds;  88% of Upward Bound program graduates enter post-secondary education, 91% in the year they graduate from high school. Other TRIO programs demonstrate similar success rates.

Irizarry shared that the elimination of federal funding will have a profoundly negative impact on our entire nation, as it will remove access and support for millions of people. Without TRIO programs, many students will not know that college is possible. Their gifts and talents will not have an opportunity to be realized.

Let’s stand up for our communities and ensure the success of our young people by fighting against the elimination of the vital TRIO programs.  What can you do? Take action and contact your local and federal politicians to urge them to vote no to eliminating funding to these crucial, life-transforming programs.

TRIO works. Just look at me.

Kevin L. Booker Jr. is a member of the Connecticut Mirror’s Community Editorial Board.