Seward County Community College’s TRiO Student Support Services program continues to be a pillar of academic and personal support for first generation students. Through a variety of initiatives and resources, the program is striving to further enhance student success, retention, and graduation rates, making a significant impact on the lives of students who need it most. 

TRiO has long served as an important resource for students who face challenges navigating college life without the guidance of family members who have attended higher education. The program’s mission is to support first-generation students by providing academic tutoring, career advising, mentoring, and more. With new programs and initiatives introduced in the past year, TRiO is positioned to expand its reach and impact, helping students on track to graduate. 

Magdalena Lopez, who has served as a career and academic advisor of TRiO for two years, emphasized the importance of a specialized approach to student success. 

“Our primary goal is to get everybody to pass, and transfer,” Lopez said. “We’re ensuring that every student has the resources they need to succeed, whether that’s through academic support, career guidance or just someone to talk to when they’re feeling overwhelmed. By providing these services, we help those students from low-income backgrounds, first-generation students and those with documented disabilities, to build confidence and navigate the challenges of college life.”

Nursing student Natalia Carrillo, a first-generation college student, has directly benefited from TRiO’s services. Carrillo, who is now in her second semester at SCCC, credits the programs with giving her information that she wasn’t aware of to excel academically. 

“The tutoring sessions have been helpful, especially for hard classes,” Carrillo said. “Also, the advisors are really nice, and they give me free snacks, and I get to meet nice people.”

Carrillo isn’t the only one who has benefited from TRiO. International student Nissi Mkhosana, originally from South Africa, also finds a sense of community and support through the program. As a tutor for TRiO, Mkhosana works closely with students from diverse backgrounds, offering academic assistance while fostering a supportive environment.

“My love for helping people is what got me into TRiO, I’m really passionate about getting to know different cultures and different people and just learning through them,” Mkhosana said. “Tutoring other people helps me emphasize more work on myself, and just to go back and make sure I’ve learned all the work correctly in order to teach someone else.”

In addition to academic support, TRiO also provides social and cultural engagement opportunities, helping students feel more connected to their campus and peers. The TRiO program is also part of a larger effort at SCCC to improve retention and graduation rates, particularly among first-generation and underrepresented students. 

As SCCC continues to grow, TRiO remains as an important tool in helping students achieve their academic goals and prepare them for successful careers.

“TRiO is important because we emphasize the importance of building a community and providing personalized support to help students achieve their goals.” Lopez said.