ELKINS – Davis & Elkins College will celebrate the success of its Upward Bound TRIO programs with a reception from 2:30-4 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 27 in the Upward Bound Trio programs offices on the third floor of Booth Library. Members of the D&E and local community will have the opportunity to meet members of the programs’ staff and former participants.

A set of federally funded college opportunity programs, TRIO motivates and supports students from disadvantaged backgrounds in their pursuit of a college degree. D&E hosts three TRIO programs – two Upward Bound (UB) and a Veterans Upward Bound. 

Davis & Elkins College Upward Bound Programs Director Carol Suder-Howes hopes community members and Upward Bound students and alumni will join the celebration in person or through social media using hashtag #TRIOWORKS. During the celebration, Assistant Upward Bound Directors Alison Shields and Katy Dillon will share quotes from current UB senior essays and insights from alumni.

“Each message we will share from seniors’ essays reads similar to this senior’s quote: ‘Upward Bound has pushed me more than ever to want to go to college and get my degree so I can pave my own path that no one else has traveled on, which in return will lead me to happiness and success,’” Suder-Howes said.

The Davis & Elkins College Upward Bound college preparatory programs serve Barbour, Pendleton, Pocahontas, Randolph and Tucker counties with support from TRIO funding provided through a U.S. Department of Education competitive grant process. The only cost to the 138 participants or families served each year is transportation to and from activities and a commitment of time to program activities. Transportation from Pendleton and Pocahontas counties is provided.

The intensive intervention UB programs prepare students for higher education through various enrichment and academic experiences. Campus-based UB programs provide students instruction in literature, composition, mathematics, science and foreign language during the school year and the summer. UB also provides intensive mentoring and support for students as they prepare for college entrance exams and tackle admission applications, financial aid and scholarship forms.

Initiated as part of President Lyndon B. Johnson’s War on Poverty, TRIO programs were the first national college access and retention programs to address the serious social and cultural barriers to education in America.