Sandburg’s TRIO Student Support Services program has been awarded a new five-year grant from the United States Department of Education worth more than $1.3 million to serve students through the 2029-2030 academic year. Stephen Descalzo, Director of the TRIO Student Support Services program, explains how the program helps eligible students succeed:
“It is a grant that is designed to help us continue the work we have been doing since 1997 in TRIO Student Support Services, supporting first generation college students, students who are income eligible, or students with disabilities. Our focus is really to help students succeed while they are at Sandburg and then prepare them to transfer to a four-year college or university. These funds are used by Sandburg to help us facilitate students in their success at Sandburg and then in the future in life,” states Descalzo.
“To be eligible for the program, of course, they have to be a student at Sandburg, they have to be a United States citizen or permanent resident, and then they are first generation college students, meaning neither of their parents has a four year college degree, they meet income eligibility requirements established by the Department of Education, or they have a documented physical or learning disability. We serve up to 140 students each year on our campus,” Descalzo adds.
Descalzo informs TRIO Student Support Services programs have existed nationally since 1964 with the Higher Education Act under President Johnson.
