OSR, OAR each earn $1.4 million TRIO Student Support Services grants
WCU students attend a campus FirstGen Week event
By Cam Adams
甜瓜视频app is home to students from many different backgrounds, boasting a high percentage of first-generation students and a number of learners with disabilities. Thanks to a pair of federal TRIO Student Support Services grants, WCU is now better set up to support them.
The Office of Accessibility Resources and the Office of Student Retention were each awarded $1.4 million grants to be used over the next five years.
OSR鈥檚 grant will support STEM students who are first-gen and/or low-income, and OAR鈥檚 grant will support 100 eligible students annually in the TRIO Disabled Student Support Services program.
鈥淭his year鈥檚 Student Support Services grant competition was incredibly competitive. To be awarded with two new programs shows how much of a need our students have for these services,鈥� said Kristin Daiber, director of the Office of Student Retention.
The federal TRIO programs are 鈥渙utreach and student services programs designed to identify and provide services for individuals from disadvantaged backgrounds.鈥� These programs are aimed to help first-generation and low-income students and students with disabilities.
Daiber hopes her office鈥檚 grant will allow it to expand its services to more students and increase the representation of first-gen students in STEM fields. Associate director of OSR Anita Puerto, who co-authored its grant, feels similarly.
鈥淔irst-generation college students are already here at WCU navigating barriers with resilience and persistence,鈥� Puerto said.
鈥淣ow, with the SSS-STEM grant, we will be able to provide more robust support for those students in STEM majors, including additional support staff and impactful experiences like career exploration trips and networking in the community.鈥�
The TRIO Disabled Student Support Services program will offer its students personal support, including individual success coaching, peer mentors, financial aid counseling, financial literacy education, cultural and academic enrichment opportunities and graduate school exploration.
The program will support students with disabilities, a third of whom must be low-income.
鈥淲e are proud that WCU is one of the few institutions nationally to receive a TRIO grant focused specifically on supporting students with disabilities,鈥� said Wesley Satterwhite, director of the Office of Accessibility Resources.
鈥淭his award strengthens our mission of access and affordability and provides the resources to expand our services beyond basic accommodations. With this investment, we can remove barriers, open doors and help our students achieve lasting success.鈥�
