TRIO Day
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: Myrna Whitehead
(806) 716-2212
mwhitehead@southplainscollege.edu
Spring 2013
SPC to celebrate National TRIO Day on Feb. 20
LEVELLAND – South Plains College will participate in National TRIO Day luncheon at 11:30 a.m. on Wednesday (Feb. 20). The event is hosted by Lubbock Christian University and will be held in the Baker Conference Center.
In 1965, Title IV of the Higher Education Act established the TRIO programs to help low-income Americans enter college, graduate and move on to participate more fully in America's economic and social life. Nationally, more than 10.5 million students benefited from these programs.
The National Trio Day event is sponsored by the South Plains Trio Alliance which includes LEARN Inc.-Educational Talent Search and Educational Opportunity Center; Texas Tech University Upward Bound Programs, LSU Student Support Services Flight Plan, SPC Upward Bound and the Student Support Services STAR Center Program.
Each program will honor a TRIO achiever during the luncheon. South Plains College will honor Guadalupe Hinojosa and Brenda Keith.
These two individuals successfully completed the requirements of a TRIO program resulting in obtaining a post-secondary degree from an accredited institution of higher education. The recipient is a person of high stature within his/her profession or has received recognition for outstanding academic achievement. Each recipient has made significant civic, community or professional contributions. Lastly, as acknowledged by the recipient, his/her participation in the TRIO project had a significant impact upon him/her in obtaining his/her educational objectives.
Upward Bound at SPC selected Hinojosa as its 2013 TRIO Achiever. Hinojosa was a member of Upward Bound Program from 2004 until 2007. He received his Associates of Science in Business Administration from SPC in 2009. Hinojosa was awarded the Thomas Spencer Award as the top male graduate of SPC. He served as president of the STAR Center Student Organization and Vice President of the Hispanic Student Organization. He was inducted into the Phi Theta Kappa student honor society. In 2011, Hinojosa graduated from Texas Tech University with a Bachelor of Science in Management Information Systems. Currently, he is employed by UMC Health Systems as a Clinical Application Specialist.
The STAR Center program selected Keith as its TRIO Achiever. Keith began her college career as a non-traditional student. She has been part of the STAR Center since 2001. Keith completed an Associate of Science in Business and Accounting. She earned a bachelor’s degree in Organizational Management and a master’s degree in Organizational Leadership from Lubbock Christian. In 2008, she became the program’s Basic Skills Specialist at SPC. She recently accepted a position at West Texas A&M University.
South Plains College offers two TRIO programs – the STAR Center and the Upward Bound Program. The STAR Center (Student Support Services) program gives participants the educational tools necessary to be successful in college. Eligible students receive academic and support services such as academic advising, transfer assistance/college visit opportunities and tutoring assistance. The program is designed to increase the rates of retention, graduation and/or transfer to a four-year institution.
The Upward Bound program provides young students with the skills they need to be successful in college. Participants receive academic, personal and cultural enrichment to prepare them for higher education. Students enrolled in the ninth through 11th grades are eligible. SPC Upward Bound serves students from Brownfield, Levelland, Littlefield, Morton, Whiteface and Whitharral.
For information on the STAR Center, contact Rita Quinonez-Prieto, director, at (806) 716-2750. For Upward Bound, contact Chris Riley, director, at (806) 716-2651.
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