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Dustin Luca
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SALEM, MASS. – TRIO, a federally funded program that has helped generations of underrepresented students graduate, marked 50 years at Salem State University Tuesday night with a ceremony celebrating student success that also honored Sen. Elizabeth Warren with an inaugural TRIO Advocate Award.
The university’s TRIO Student Support Services program is part of a federally funded initiative established in the 1960s to expand access to higher education for students who are the first in their families to attend college, come from low-income backgrounds, or have disabilities. At Salem State University, the program provides academic advising, tutoring, mentoring, and financial aid guidance, supporting students from their first year through graduation and helping improve retention and completion rates.
TRIO Student Support Services at Salem State University held its annual celebration Tuesday night, where about 50 graduating seniors were inducted into the National TRIO Alumni Association and received cords to mark the completion of their journey through the program.
“TRIO programs are about being a touchpoint for our students, from the second they get to campus to when they walk across the stage,” said Kevin Linton, director of TRIO at Salem State. “Our program is one of a few that are a wraparound service working with the students day one and helping them freshman, sophomore, junior year, all the way to senior year.”
While accepting the inaugural TRIO Advocate Award, Warren lauded the graduating class of students for “your resilience, your determination, your courage, and everything that has made this moment possible.”
“You have fought hard to be here today,” Warren said in a video message to the students. “You balanced classes and jobs. You figured out childcare. You worked day and night, and night and day to make sure that you made it through that tough class. That’s the fighting spirit of Salem State, and the people in this room embody it more than anyone.”
The following awards were also given:
- TRIO Champion Awards: Seraphine Ndula, Daniella Dankwa
- TRIO Hero Awards: Nataly Solis Bamaca, Jaylee Howard
- TRIO Partner Awards: Center for Accessible Academic Resources, Bruce Perry
- TRIO Work Study Student of the Year Award: Elaina Baladez
- TRIO Alumni Award: Karen Velasco Duffy ’24
- TRIO Hall of Fame Award: Dean of Students Shawn Newton