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The event, which was held inside the Hawkins-Carlson Room at Rush Rhees Library, was one of dozens across the country held in recognition of the 40^th anniversary of National TRIO Day.

TRIO programs have been around since the 1960s but it wasn’t until 1986 that a congressional resolution declared February 28 as National TRIO Day to commemorate the “annual achievements of the Federal TRIO programs in communities across the country,” according to the Council for Opportunity in Education. The Kearns Center is home to four of those federal TRIO programs. Those include the Upward Bound Classic (UBC) Program, the Educational Talent Search (ETS) Program, the Student Support Services (SSS) Program, and the Ronald E. McNair Program – which has been continuously funded at the URochester since 1992. And while each program is unique and has their own specific areas of support, they all serve students who are income eligible and considered first-generation. “Celebrating events like these underscores the impact of our work,” says Interim Director of the Kearns Center, Dr. Antonio Williams. “Our duty to our students is genuine; it cannot be faked or simply turned on. We are changing lives in real time, and our relationships with our students are real because we believe in them, and they believe in us through our actions. Our words are never empty or false promises. This is built on real connections and mutual belief, and we will continue to honor the TRIO legacy now and in the future.”

The Kearns Center’s National TRIO Day celebration had a unique focus this year, creating a space where current students and Kearns TRIO alumni could connect. Twenty-three current high school students, 23 current Ä¢¹½´«Ã½ college students and 24 alumni attended the event. “It is incredibly important to connect our current students with alum,” says Melissa Raucci, Assistant Director for College Programs at the Kearns Center. “We often talk about TRIO being a national network and being a family, but sometimes that is hard for current students to envision. To have an event like this where current student see the power of TRIO; the connection of alum to our programs even 5, 10, 15 years later, is truly powerful,” she says.

The legacy of TRIO was on display during the event when a panel of four TRIO alumni spoke about their experiences while in the programs, and how it has impacted them throughout their academic careers and now in their professional lives. “I look at the work that I do and how it has been so inspired by the work that Upward Bound has done and the work that the Kearns Center has done to ensure that folks have equity and access to things that weren’t built for us, and so I appreciate the work that this center does,” said panelist OJ Shepard, an Upward Bound alum and current Ä¢¹½´«Ã½ employee. Panelist and TRIO McNair alum Arianna Taylor (’23) who is now in a PhD program at Syracuse University, echoed Shepard’s sentiments. “As a first-generation student I didn’t even know what a PhD was, [it was hard] to conceptualize me even being in a PhD program, and so I really valued the community here and I really valued the programs here. So, to the students who are here now, y’all are in great hands!”

But students don’t have to spend years in any of the Kearns Center’s TRIO programs to feel their impact. Several first-year TRIO SSS scholars were at the event on Saturday and resonated with the overall message of the day. “For me, TRIO means a safe space,” says SSS Scholar Alanna Reyes a first-year student studying Health, Behavior and Society at URochester. “I didn’t even know about the Kearns Center, but one day I was sitting outside Carlson Library and I was really upset about Chemistry and I came across Austin (a Kearns student worker) and he told me about the Kearns Center and the Chem study groups [the Kearns Center helps organize] and from then on I’ve been at the Kearns Center every day – I just find the Kearns Center to be a space where I see a lot of people like me.” SSS Program Manager Jessica McCane is happy to hear that her students are feeling a sense of belonging. “Engaging our first years is vital to the longevity of our programs, but especially TRIO SSS. Students who become engaged in our Center and programs in the first few weeks/months of their first year here are then likely to be engaged throughout their time at URochester, because then it is already built into their routine and list of safe spaces on campus. As they move through their time here, they become advocates for our programs and encourage other students to join, continually expanding our network and spreading our message throughout the University,” McCane says.

SSS, McNair and Upward Bound TRIO Alum and Ä¢¹½´«Ã½ graduate Jason Cao (’24) came back to campus to celebrate National TRIO Day and reflected on his time in Upward Bound back in high school – crediting the program with helping him get to college. “TRIO means a lot. It really helped me even back in my high school days when I wasn’t sure when it came to colleges. I didn’t know what colleges to go to - if I should go in state or out of state. Upward Bound really helped me find out what college suited me the best and helped me through that college application. If I were to do it myself, I wouldn’t have had a clue what to do.” That feeling of not knowing what to do is something that Ben Godfrey, Assistant Director for Pre-College Programs, hears quite often from his high school students in the UB and ETS programs. “For many of our pre-college students, earning a bachelor’s degree can feel distant, something they hope for but cannot yet fully picture,” says Godfrey. “Celebrating TRIO Day alongside a community of people at different stages of the journey gave our students living proof that their aspirations are attainable. Hearing former Upward Bound participants reflect on their high school experiences and then speak about where they are now helped our students connect the dots between who they are today and who they can become,” he says. Upward Bound and Ä¢¹½´«Ã½ alum, Abduljabbar Said (’23), is happy to reflect on, and share, his experiences with current students and what he has gained through TRIO, including confidence, direction, and the discovery of his passions. “[These programs] gave me the career exposure that I needed,” Said explains. “It helped me get into the Ä¢¹½´«Ã½ where I was able to excel as a digital media studies student and allowed me to find my passion in video game development and front-end development.”

With a packed room full of familiar and new faces, there was a tangible feeling of support and gratitude that could not be ignored, as students and alumni alike were able to mingle, share stories and ask questions. Godfrey is happy that the high school students he works with were able to be a part of an event that highlights the strength of the TRIO community. “When students can see themselves in those who have walked the path before them, college stops feeling abstract and begins to feel real. For our students, celebrating 40 years of National TRIO Day provided not only inspiration but reassurance that they are not alone.”